Why do cats need taurine?
Taurine is a colorless, crystalline compound which is found in the free form in invertebrates and in the bile of mammals. It promotes the intestinal absorption of lipids (fats) as cholesterol. Taurine is an important part of the feline diet and is essential in preventing a disorder in cats called “dilated cardiomyopathy” (which is a failure of the heart muscle whereupon the heart tissue itself swells to try to meet the animal’s circulatory needs), as well as being very significant in helping feline reproduction and prevention of a progressive retinal disease called feline central retinal degeneration (FCRD) which will cause blindness if left untreated. In queens that have taurine-deficient diets, there are more still births, fewer live kittens born, and ultimately fewer kittens that survive to the weaning stage. In the wild, rodents formed a large part of the feline diet, and the rodents had significant levels of taurine in their brains. When we began to domesticate cats and feed them
