Help with Taurine and measuring, please.

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Cindy&Taco

Cindy&Taco

Member Since 2017
I want to give Taco Taurine as I have read that the amount of Taurine may not be sufficient in his canned food and it is also good for cats especially.

I ordered a bottle of powdered (free form) Taurine that has 1.000mg (1 gram)of taurine per 1/4 level TEASPOON. Taurine is the only ingredient in the bottle.

I also ordered micro dosing spoons, they are so tiny ;)

So, I'm looking for input, most likely from a math wizard and someone that has used Taurine for their cat, on how much would be a good daily supplement dose? Divided into 2 doses with his 2 larger meals.
The measuring spoons I have are (1)6-10mg
(2)10-15mg
(3) 25-30mg
I would appreciate anyone that can help me figure this out.
Thanks in advance:bighug:
 
I don't have an answer for you, but maybe if this bumps up, someone else will see it and be able to help you. I'm not sure about this, but commercial cat foods and commercial raw food supplements have taurine added. I don't think you need to add more, but I may be mistaken. But of course... If you are preparing raw food without a raw food supplement, then you do need to include taurine. I hope you find the answer you're looking for!
 
Where did you read that there may not be enough taurine in the canned food. If the canned food you are getting complies with the AAFCO Regulations then it should have enough taurine.

Taurine is excreted in the urine so any excess is just peed out.

If you are concerned, why don’t you give a couple of raw chicken hearts each day. They are not only rich in taurine but rich in many other vitamins and minerals. Most cats love them.
I feed a raw diet and use raw hearts each day to boost the taurine. I just freeze them after buying on a flat tray then when frozen I put them in a baggie and get out each day.

If you would rather just use the taurine I would just give a pinch of it once a day in the food.
 
I would be concerned with the spoons you are mentioning ...ie being ones for number of mg not amount such as 1/8 teaspoon etc., because unless they went with the taurine bottle, I doubt they would be accurate. This is because it depends on the concentration of powder (ratio of mg per teaspoon).
For example I feed a raw diet to my cats and make my own egg shell powder for calcium for one of my cats that can't eat bone. It's strength is 5 mg per teaspoon whereas the bought ESP is 6.1 mg per teaspoon so I have to adjust the amount to get the correct dose. Does that make sense.?

The amount of taurine needed per day for a cat is approximately 200mg, depending on how much he /she eats. As the food you buy would have taurine added, you would not need that much. A bit of extra taurine won't hurt as it's peed out.. I would go with the raw chicken hearts if Taco would eat them...they are a superfood for cats. Or failing that I would just give a pinch of taurine once a day. Any raw meat also contains taurine.
 
Thanks @Bron and Sheba (GA) and others, sorry I haven't responded.
I did some research on cat foods for quite a while a couple weeks ago, and a few articles did state that a lot of the Taurine gets cooked out in canned food and dry.
I read about how important it is for cats to get Taurine and I want the best for Taco of course :)
I came to the conclusion myself that feeding him Friskies now instead of the more expensive Beyond for 2 years that any little extra I can give him would be good for him (as long as it won't hurt him)
I don't want to over do it with the Taurine but if it won't hurt I'd like to give him some.
The spoons I got are so tiny that I don't think they're even a pinch.
I will try a tiny pinch. Taco would not eat raw, he had teeth removed at his last dental and has a hard time sometimes with his pate, so that's out, unless I try to puree them, maybe Ill try that.
So about 2 hearts per day, if he accepts them? Maybe he can have those for his snacks. Thinking out loud :)
Thanks again.
 
Candy I have a cat, Clover, who had almost all of her back teeth removed as a young cat due to double teeth forming and causing inflammation and infection. She eats a fully raw diet which I cut up into small pieces. The heart could be cut up into small pieces and offered like that. I give three heart each to my cats a day.
You are correct that cooking destroys a lot of the taurine.
I am going to send you a photo I took the other day of Clovers food cut up, and she manages that well with only front teeth. The other dish with the wing on it is Harry's as he eats bone....I have to put his normal food spread out on a large plate as he bolts down his food then vomits. This way he doesn't.
I'll have to upload the photo from my phone as my iPad won't do it.
 
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That food has chicken, small amount beef mince (she's not very fond of that), lamb, kidney and heart.
 
@Bron and Sheba (GA) thank you ! That looks delicious :eek::eek:
I think I'll go ahead and try the chicken hearts for snack to start, IF, he accepts them. He's an old man set in his ways, so this will be interesting.
From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong. The hearts should be frozen for some time, to kill bacteria. Yes?
Even tho we live in a state with more chickens than you could possibly count, I'm kind of leary of the freshness. So freeze first, and I can take out what I need for the day and thaw?
TY
 
Mine (hearts) only get frozen for a couple of days sometimes. I've even fed them fresh. But I always try and buy really fresh meat with a long use buy date..I buy a tray of hearts at a time and freeze them on a flat tray then. put them in a baggie.

Sheba was at least 12 or 13 when I started her on raw and she loved it. Especially the hearts.

I could never go back to feeding canned food now after feeding raw. It's so satisfying to give them real looking food not mushed up food.....but that's just me.

Let me know how Taco goes with the hearts
 
Cindy&Taco said:
I did some research on cat foods for quite a while a couple weeks ago, and a few articles did state that a lot of the Taurine gets cooked out in canned food and dry.
Click to expand...
That is ture and that is why the food manufacturers have to add Taurine in order to get the Taurine level up to at least the minimum specified by AAFCO
 
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