We are often asked about the levels of taurine in our cat food range.
Taurine is a sulphur containing amino acid essential for vision, cardiac muscle function, and for proper functioning of the nervous, reproductive and immune system.
Taurine deficiency in cats is a recognised syndrome. It was first identified when cats began to eat processed foods.
The heat processing of commercial pet foods destroys taurine. When the pet food industry was in it's infancy the specific requirement for taurine in cats was unknown. Once the syndrome was identified in cat's fed on processed foods, the decision was made to add taurine back in to processed pet foods.
The amount of dietary fibre in the cat's diet also negatively effects the absorption of taurine. Processed pet foods are all high in fibre compared to the cats natural diet.
Cats actually have very specific requirements for a number of amino acids - taurine, arginine, methionine, and cysteine. Their natural diet (hunting mice, rabbits, insects) contains an abundance of each of these specific amino acids. Deficiencies may develop in cats who are anorexic, cats fed on foods containing plant-source proteins, and cats fed on high grain/starch content diets.
Taurine is found in abundance in animal source proteins. Which is why our Raw Essentials products are full of taurine without the need for supplementation.
Freezing does not directly affect taurine levels. However, taurine levels will decrease over time. If the frozen food is more than 2 years old, it will likely have little taurine left for the cat to utilise! Best to buy fresh frozen meats and use them within 6months.
We are also often asked about feeding fish to cats because fish is known to contain thiaminase, an enzyme that will destroy thiamine (one of the B vitamins) Cats have a high requirement for B vitamins. A continually available dietary source is is required to prevent deficiency. Deficiency is very rare in cats consuming their natural diet as each of the B vitamins are found in high concentrations in animal tissues. The cat would have to be eating fish at every meal for an extended period of time to develop a thiamine deficiency. Our recommendation is that cats consume fish up to three times a week. Variety is the key when raw feeding and we would encourage the feeding of any particular food up to three times a week but no more.
Preservatives in fresh meat cat foods can also inhibit the absorption of thiamine (Vitamin B1). Be careful if feeding meat only products that have been preserved with a sulphur based preservative. These preservatives "hold" the colour of the meat for an unnaturally long time so they stay looking good in the fridge. These preservatives can also trigger asthma in cats.
Products specifically marketed for pets such as commercial fresh 'pet meat'; 'pet mince' or processed/manufactured 'pet food rolls' may contain sulphite or potassium sulphite preservatives (sulphur dioxide 220, sodium sulphite 221, sodium bisulphite 222, sodium metabisulphite 223, potassium metabisulphite 224, potassium sulphite 225 and potassium bisulphite 228) that liberate sulphur dioxide.
Thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency can occur when dogs and cats are fed on a diet containing sulphite preservatives. Thiamine deficiency causes severe neurological symptoms and can be fatal. For decades, sulphite preservative induced thiamine deficiency has been frequently recognised by the Australian Veterinary profession. (Please note that thiamine deficiency can also occur when sulphur dioxide containing foods are fed in conjunction with foods not containing sulphur dioxide. This is because the sulphur dioxide in one food can destroy any thiamine present in the other food being fed at the same time).
For a full account of cats and their special relationship with taurine and thiamine (Vitamin B1) see our article - "The carnivore connection to cat nutrition"