Taurine is a substance in the human brain, but when this substance is lacking, it can cause fatigue. Supplementing taurine can relieve fatigue. So, did you know that in addition to humans, there is another animal that needs to supplement taurine more, and that is cats.

Why do cats need to supplement taurine?

In 1827, scientists discovered taurine in the bile of bulls. This substance has been proven to play a very important role in the heart function, visual ability and brain development of animals. Most animals can synthesize it by themselves, but There is one animal exception: cats.

Most cats cannot synthesize taurine on their own and must obtain it from external organisms. The parts with the highest taurine content are animal muscle tissues (including the heart), central nervous system and retina. Among them, mice and Fish has the highest content. Now we can understand why cats are naturally crazy about mice and fish oil?

For cats, taurine not only supports the heart and vision of cats, but is also related to their reproductive ability. Moreover, taurine can help cats secrete bile salts to ensure the normality of the digestive system. Work. No other nutrient can replace taurine in this function.

The effect of taurine on cats

Improve eyesight: Taurine can ensure the development and integrity of the retina. In 1975, people discovered the importance of taurine while studying the phenomenon of retinal degeneration in cats. Experiments have shown that if there is a long-term lack of taurine, the cat's retina will gradually degenerate and become completely blind within 2 years. If the content of taurine is increased in the cat's diet during this period, the phenomenon of retinal degeneration can be controlled and stopped, but no amount of supplementation will allow it to return to a healthy state - due to the visual degeneration caused by the lack of taurine The process is irreversible.

Heart strengthening: Doctors have clinically discovered that dilated cardiomyopathy is related to the lack of taurine. Under normal circumstances, the concentration of taurine in the cat's myocardium is very high, about 100-250 times that in plasma. Cats with dilated cardiomyopathy have very low concentrations of taurine in their myocardium. In view of the above situation, appropriate supplementation of taurine can restore the myocardial function of most cats to normal.

Pregnancy of offspring: The role of taurine is also very important in pregnant female cats and newly born kittens. A lack of taurine in expectant mothers can cause pregnancy disorders and even inability to give birth, and this effect will also be passed on to the kittens. When a female cat lacks taurine, even if the kittens are successfully born, they will inevitably have low weight, slow growth and high mortality.

Effects on physiological functions: Cats lacking taurine will suffer from problems such as dull coat that is easy to fall off, tooth decay, increased eye secretions, and poor mental status. It can be said that taurineIt is everywhere on cats, and a lack of it anywhere will have an impact on cats.

Effect on neurological function: Taurine has a high concentration in the central nervous system of cats, and its metabolism is very active. It is an essential nutrient for normal brain development. Taurine is one of the special penetrating compounds that plays an important role in maintaining normal hydration of the brain and the volume of brain cells.

In addition, taurine has anticonvulsant effects, can effectively resist epilepsy, and has an inhibitory effect on neurons. Excitatory amino acids and toxins stimulate the release of taurine from tissue cells, and this release may be a natural physiological response to the irritant.

Therefore, cat owners should pay attention to properly supplementing taurine for cats. Adding fish oil to cat food in daily life is also a good choice! This can greatly avoid a series of diseases caused by lack of taurine.