Taurine- do we all know the importance of it?

[lollydollydrop]

Just found out today that the wet food we thought was really good due to high real meat content is actually terrible as it contains next to no Taurine, which is an essential amino acid for cats and deficiencies can cause a few nasty things- blindness one of them.

I feel like such a terrible parent, my maine coon is my baby :(

Heres a link, please read and check your products. Please dont flame me I feel guilty enough as it is, just dont want other people making the same mistake as us. The product was Applaws.

Incidentally, what food would you recommend? My OH is currently researching and German brands appear to be best, but only 2 are available in the UK. They are paste like pates though, which we tried on Merry and she didnt like. I think she prefers some texture.

www.petwave.com/Cats/Basics/Taurine-Deficiency.aspx

[cozietoesie]

Linked for you.

\link{http://www.petwave.com/Cats/Basics/Taurine-Deficiency.aspx\petwave - taurine}

[Rikalaily]

I feed mine Butchers choice, it has no grain fillers, has a high meat content and you can get it in the supermarket, they also have some raw food too.

[lollydollydrop]

Cozie how do you do that?! (I am really bad with computers!)

Thanks Rikalaily, we (OH) considered a raw food diet but I was unsure.. worried about cost and also I am the mum who feeds and I feel a bit funny about handling raw meat. Is that a complete food?

All the people online (OH found a thread) were slating Applaws as not being a 'complete' food and you should only feed it infrequently. Our baby has it every day!! :( It is very low in fat (too low) and about 0.5 per 100grams when it should be 5.5 ish I think. My partner did the research into food when we first got her, and genuinely thought we were doing the best for her so now he's devastated and I'm confused to find out we have not been. She is a 13 month old brown tabby maine coon :)

[toomuch2young]

OP I found this link

www.applaws.co.uk/faq_dry_cat/2.html

I hope that puts your mind at rest a little. Yes it is true cats must have taurine in their diets but we never really see a problem with this these days in cats which are fed complete cat foods, was much more a problem back in the days of the cat getting a tin of tuna a day.

[CockyFox]

My cat eats Smilla and animonda carny.
She loves applaws and cosma she has them as an occasional treat but it says on the tin it is complementary so not to feed it all the time.

[toomuch2young]

Ah my mistake, cross posted, yes if feeding the wet applaws exclusively it is not a complete food.

[CockyFox]

Sorry cross post re being complementary. My cat is a silver tabby maine coon and 10 months old.

[cozietoesie]

Have a look at Links at the bottom of the page beneath the 'Add your message' box, lolly. Here you go

applaws

[MumnGran]

Hi Lolly ... please don't beat yourself up! you are obviously a very caring cat owner, and I am sure little damage will have been done, and you are now back on the right track.

The taurine issue can be a real problem with people who decide on a raw food diet without really investigating the supplements which are needed to support it, but most commercially available cat foods offer a "balanced" diet.

I always think that - as with people - the best thing is to offer a varied diet, rather that sticking exclusively to one product. As the owner of some very picky siamese, I don't have a choice ....they turn their noses up if offered the same food too often!!

[Redbindy]

One of our little angels brought in a mole last night. Does anyone know the taurine content of that?

[MumnGran]

Depends whether he ate the head or not

[cozietoesie]

Hah! Don't talk to me about picky Siamese.

[Redbindy]

The heads still on.

[lollydollydrop]

LOL@Redbindy!!! Taurine is in weird parts of animals isnt it? So sure the mole had some in him! :)

Thank you for the links and advice, Merry didnt seem to take to anything really apart from Applaws, tuna(!) and we have Cosma too, and her dry food is Royal Canin for MC's (but they dont add Taurine to that).

When I try to vary it she doesnt eat it, and then it could get to day 4 or something and I feel so awful for her and dont want her to just eat dry so I cave in and give her what I know she will eat, which is a can of tuna.

I'm having a problem with getting her to eat more of the chicken flavour of Applaws. It could just sit there hours uneaten and then dry up. She seems to hold out for Ocean fish or Tuna but I dont want her to have a high salt content..

[lollydollydrop]

Cozie, where did you get that link from??

[lollydollydrop]

oh, I see now

[MumnGran]

Cozie ......????
Aficionado?

[CockyFox]

I grate a bit of cheese on top of snything she turns her nose up at she eats the cheese then carries on with the bowl. I wouldn't do it everyday but it seems to kivkstart het back to eating.

[CockyFox]

Any thing and kickstart. Sorry I am on my phone.

[MumnGran]

Try poaching some ordinary chicken or fish. Certainly costs no more than Applaws ...and most cats love fresh cooked. As long as she is having a mix of foods, including dry, she should be getting a balanced diet. Its easy to get hung up on something like taurine but as Cozie has said ....it really isn't an issue in most domestic situations, unless you are feeding a raw diet!

[cozietoesie]

Many many years, MumnGran.

[cozietoesie]

Come on then, lolly. Give it a try.

[lollydollydrop]

Thanks all! It seems Applaws does have Taurine but isnt complete so shouldnt make up more than 20% of her diet.. Royal Canin dry food is the other part of her diet (probably biggest part, not sure what %age though).

Does anyone know offhand whether it is a complete food and has taurine in it?

[cozietoesie]

It should say, lolly. Scrutinize the packet.

[lollydollydrop]

Royal Canin say:

Meat (e.g., the organs of fowl) is the main natural source of taurine.

That mole sounds good then?!