More recently (in the 1980s), taurine deficiency was linked to a form of heart disease - dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The changes are not reversible, but if caught early enough, taurine supplementation can save whatever vision a cat has left. As these structures degrade due to a lack of taurine, vision begins to fail. Rods and cones convert different wavelengths of light into neural impulses that are sent to the brain, and the tapetum lucidum reflects light within the eye, making the feline sense of sight especially good at night. Taurine plays an important role in the structure of rods and cones within the eye’s retina as well as in an underlying tissue, the tapetum lucidum. The first disease that we knew was caused by taurine deficiency is a form central retinal degeneration (CRD). Taurine deficiency can have severe ramifications. Therefore, without an adequate dietary supply of taurine, cats eventually become taurine deficient. Cats can make some taurine, but the enzyme required to make it out of cysteine is in short supply and needed in other physiologic pathways. Omnivores like us can synthesize sufficient amounts of taurine from other amino acids (specifically converting methionine to cysteine to taurine). In other words, they require relatively large amounts of it in their diet. Taurine is considered an essential amino acid in cats. Unlike most amino acids that connect in long chains with other amino acids to make all the various proteins needed for normal body function, taurine is found free in many of the body’s cells/tissues as well as within bile, a digestive liquid produced by the liver and secreted into the intestinal tract. For those of you who are interested in these things, its molecular structure is C 2H 7NO 3S. Whenever the topic of feline nutrition is discussed, the word “taurine” will surely come up, but do you really know what taurine is and why it’s important?
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