Natural Taurine and Other Essential Vitamins

Your cat is quite different than most mammals. Cats are obligate carnivores unlike most mammals that are omnivores (eating both meat and vegetables). By definition, the cat cannot sustain its life unless it consumes meat. This dependence on a flesh-based diet is integral to feline health, because there are numerous chemicals that a cat cannot manufacture on its own. The cat must "borrow" these preformed chemicals from another animal that has synthesized them for him. These chemicals are primarily amino acids found in muscle tissue.

Taurine ~ Possibly the most essential nutrient for cats. Present only in muscle tissue and algae. Without high levels of dietary Taurine a cat's heart function, digestive system, ocular and reproduction functions can be devastated. Since the 1970's cat food manufacturers have been adding supplemental Taurine to cat food. They have to add Taurine because, as the chart below illustrates, cooking destroys the natural Taurine content of food.

Taurine Content of Selected Foods (mg/kg, wet weight)*
ITEM	RAW MEAN	RAW RANGE	BAKED MEAN	BAKED RANGE	BOILED MEAN	BOILED RANGE
Beef Muscle	362	150-472	133	96-125	60	58-63
Beef Liver	192	144-270	141	68-184	73	36-95
Beef Kidney	225	180-247	138	130-144	76	68-88
Lamb Muscle	473	446-510	257	220-284	126	91-184
Lamb Kidney	239	128-440	154	81-290	51	47-55
Pork Muscle	496	394-690	219	126-390	118	91-184
Pork Liver	169	110-228	85	70-100	43	30-54
Chicken Muscle	337	300-380	229	140-310	82	71-180
Cod Fish	314	233-396	294	260-328	161	125-198
Oysters	698	390-1238	264	217-308	89	59-122
Clams	2400	1450-3700	1017	587-1700	446	264-794

There are some other important amino acids and vitamins (listed below) that your cat cannot live without. Again, all are components of animal tissues. Just like taurine, they are all degraded or destroyed in the cooking process. In regular cooked commercial cat foods they have to be added in a chemical form after the cooking process.

1. Arginine is essential for the elimination of protein wastes. Cats are extremely sensitive to even one meal without Arginine and would die quickly if it was not contained in their diet.

2. Arachidonic Acid is needed for immune response, blood clotting and reproductive function. Unlike a dog's liver, a cat's liver lacks the enzyme needed to convert common linoleic acid to arachidonic acid.

3. Cysteine is needed in large quantities for the synthesis of cats' own special amino acid called "felinine". Felinine is required for proper kidney function. Because our food provides cysteine, cats with kidney problems typically react well to eating Wild Kitty Cat Food.

4. Unlike other mammals, cats cannot synthesize Vitamin A naturally from carotenoids in a cat's system as it is in other mammals. Therefore, cat have to eat preformed Vitamin A which is found in high densities in livers and in egg yolks.

5. Likewise cats cannot synthesize Vitamin B12, yet it is necessary in their diets. Vitamin B12 is present only in animal products.

6. Niacin is another essential nutrient that cats cannot naturally synthesize in useful amounts, yet they need it. Meat is a rich, natural source of niacin. Diets based on cereals will always be deficient in niacin for cats.

*taken from Nutrient Requirements of Cats, Revised Edition, 1986 which in turn has adapted from Roe and Weston, 1965, Potential Significance of Free Taurine in the Diet, Nature, 205:287.