Why is taurine so important to cats? What exactly is taurine? Why is taurine mentioned when it comes to cat nutrition and health? In fact, taurine has always been an important substance necessary for the growth of cats. , but many shit collectors are confused about why taurine is important and why it is always mentioned. Today, Da Meow will take the shit collectors to reveal the secrets about taurine~

What exactly is taurine?

Taurine, also known as "taurine", is an amino acid in protein. Taurine is a necessity for cats in their growth process, but because cats’ bodies cannot synthesize taurine by themselves, they can only ingest it from meat foods. Currently, taurine is not found in cereals!

If a cat is deficient in taurine, it can easily lead to heart disease or blindness in the cat. However, dogs can synthesize taurine through their own bodies, so there is no or very little taurine in general dog food.

Why is taurine so important for cats?

In fact, cats are completely different from other animals. Cats’ physical constitution prevents them from synthesizing taurine by themselves. Many animals can use glycine or taurine to convert bile, but cats can only use taurine. !

Officially, because cats cannot synthesize taurine by themselves, the demand for taurine in food will be very high!

So which meats are rich in taurine?

Taurine mainly comes from the internal organs or muscle tissue of animals, such as animal livers, hearts, or seafood livers. However, the taurine content in meat still depends on the strength of the animal's muscles. The stronger the muscles, the more concentrated the taurine content will be!

In addition, the heart of animals is the most muscular part of various organs, so the heart of animals often has higher taurine content. Crustaceans such as clams, scallops, clams, etc. are also very rich in taurine because they live in The underwater world requires a lot of effort to filter the substances in the seawater!

What are the consequences if a cat is deficient in taurine?

If a cat lacks taurine, it will cause pupil dilation, retinal degeneration, and even total blindness within two years! Not only that, the cat will also develop liver and heart-related problems later. If the shit shoveling officials wait until If you supplement your cat with taurine at this time, it’s already too late!

20th century, veterinary medical certificateIn fact, taurine deficiency in cats is also considered to be related to heart and liver disease. Because the cat lacks enough taurine, the cat's heart muscles cannot contract normally, and the final result is congestive heart failure. !

When it comes to this, there must be some poop scrapers who feel a little dizzy, so let’s briefly talk about it! If the taurine in the cat’s body is insufficient, it can easily cause the following symptoms:

1. Retinal degeneration: vision failure, which may lead to total blindness

2. Dilated cardiomyopathy: The heart muscle cannot contract normally, leading to heart failure

3. Digestive diseases: Cats cannot secrete bile normally and cannot absorb nutrients, so they have digestive difficulties

4. Developmental delay in kittens: Taurine is very important for maintaining the development of the cat’s brain. It can also help electrolytes move in and out of cells, strengthen the function of the cat’s brain, and help reduce the level of glutamate in the brain, thereby protecting the cat’s brain. department. If the kitten begins to lack taurine, it will be very harmful to future growth!

5. Reproductive failure of female cats: Female cats lacking taurine are unable to give birth to healthy kittens, and may even lose their reproductive functions!

6. Immune system disorder: Taurine can not only protect cats’ liver and stomach, but also enhance their body resistance. Therefore, cats lacking taurine will have reduced immunity and are prone to illness and colds!

Although taurine is good, will excessive supplementation have a negative impact on cats?

In fact, cats will almost never have adverse reactions due to excessive taurine supplementation, because the cat’s physical condition cannot store these amino acids at all, let alone storage in the cat’s fat! So if the cat supplements with excessive taurine , then they will excrete the excess by themselves!

Here, Da Meow would also like to remind you that if you are used to making cat rice for your cats, then steamed meat can retain more taurine than cooked meat. You can give it a try. ~