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Taurine is one of those words you only really meet once you start reading cat food labels properly. It sounds technical, and it is an amino acid, but what it does for your cat is simple enough: it keeps the heart muscle working, protects the retina, helps digestion along and supports a healthy immune system.
The important part is that your cat can't make enough of it on their own. Here's what that means day to day, how much they need, and what to watch for.
What is taurine, and why can't cats make enough?
Taurine is an amino acid, but not one of the ones built into the body's natural proteins. Most mammals produce it in the liver. Your cat does too, but it's a very slow process that yields only small amounts.
At the same time she loses a lot of taurine through bile acid circulation, which she needs in order to digest fats in her food. Only a small part of it is reused; most is expelled through the intestine. So the shortfall has to come from what she eats, every day.
Dogs are different, and we'll come back to them further down.
What taurine actually does
Taurine helps absorb fats from food by bonding with bile salts, and as a neurotransmitter it plays a part in regulating body temperature and brain development. It helps preserve retina and cardiac function, binds toxic substances and stabilises cell membranes.
You'll find it naturally in animal tissue, especially in heart and skeletal muscle, and also in the retina, the liver and in platelets and white blood cells.
How much taurine does a cat need?
The daily requirement for a cat weighing 4 kg is about 500 mg (or 0.5g) It varies with age, condition, weight and how much energy your cat gets through — kittens, pregnant and lactating cats and older cats all use more.
If you're supplementing with our Taurine Powder, the amounts are the same for both cats and dogs:
| Cats | Dogs | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily amount | 0.5 g | 0.5 g |
| What that looks like | Just over half a scoop | Just over half a scoop |
| Scoop size | 1 scoop = 0.8 g | 1 scoop = 0.8 g |
| How to feed | Mixed into the daily food | Mixed into the daily food |
| Pack size | 100 g | 100 g |
How long a pack lasts: at 0.5 g a day, a 100 g pack is about 200 days of supplementation — roughly six to seven months for one cat.
Can you feed too much? Taurine is water-soluble, so excess is excreted rather than stored. The recommended maximum content of taurine per kg of complete food, at 12% moisture, is 2,500 mg. At 0.5 g daily, our Taurine Powder sits well inside that.
What's in the pack
Nothing else. One ingredient, and these are the analytical components:
| Ingredient | Taurine (3a370) |
|---|---|
| Crude protein | 67.4% |
| Crude fat | 0.0% |
| Crude ash | 3.7% |
| Crude fibre | 0.0% |
Store it sealed, somewhere cool and dry, away from heat and direct sunlight. Unopened and stored properly, it keeps for 24 months from the manufacturing date.
Signs your cat may be running short
This is the awkward part: symptoms often take months or even years to show, and most cats show nothing at all while a deficiency is building.
When signs do appear, they can include vision problems, dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart), digestive issues, poor coat condition and reproductive difficulties. If you suspect a deficiency, speak to your vet. Daily supplementation is about keeping the gap from opening in the first place.
Where taurine comes from in your cat's food
Taurine comes from animal tissue, which is why dog food and vegetarian diets are not suitable for cats. It's also heat sensitive and partly destroyed during feed production, so the packaging information is worth reading closely.
If you feed raw, the taurine is there — but levels vary a lot depending on the cuts used. Heart and dark muscle meat are the richer sources. Plenty of raw feeders supplement anyway, simply so the daily amount is consistent rather than a question mark.
Wet food with a high proportion of meat carries more natural taurine and needs less topping up than wet food with a low meat content.
What about dogs?
Dogs can synthesise taurine themselves, from the amino acids methionine and cysteine — this is the real difference between the two species. But the amount a dog needs still varies with age, weight and energy levels, and deficiency is often seen in larger breeds such as Newfoundlands. Ready-to-eat foods often don't contain enough.
That's what our Taurine Powder for Dogs is for: dogs whose bodies can no longer make enough of it themselves, whether through advancing age, weight or energy levels. It supports normal heart function and the cardiovascular system, assists in heart calcium regulation, and is important for the protection of the retinas and vision.
Still not sure whether your cat needs it?
Honestly, you can't go far wrong either way. If your cat is on a good quality wet food with a high meat content, she is probably getting most of what she needs, and the powder is there as a consistent top-up rather than a rescue.
If she's raw fed, or on a diet where the meat content varies week to week, or she's a kitten, pregnant, nursing or getting on in years, that's when a daily half-scoop takes the guesswork out of it. For kittens specifically, have a word with your vet about the right amount first — growing cats have different needs from adults.
Shop taurine
Taurine Powder for Cats – 100g, £14.99
Pure taurine, no fillers and no artificial additives. Essential for heart muscle function, vision, digestion and a healthy immune system. 0.5 g a day, mixed into food.
Taurine Powder for Dogs – 100g, £14.99
For dogs that can no longer synthesise enough taurine themselves. Supports normal heart function and the cardiovascular system. No artificial additives. 0.5 g a day, mixed into food.
Both are also worth a look alongside the rest of our cat supplements if you are putting a daily routine together.
Our AniForte® products are developed in close cooperation with alternative practitioners, nutrition experts and veterinarians to support the healthy development of your pet.
