What is taurine and why does it matter for cats?
Taurine is an amino acid that is essential for cats - they cannot produce it themselves and must get it from their diet. Without it, cats develop serious and irreversible health problems.
Taurine deficiency in cats causes dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged, weakened heart) and retinal degeneration leading to blindness. Both conditions can be irreversible if deficiency continues long enough.
Why cats can't make their own taurine
Most mammals can synthesise taurine from other amino acids (cysteine and methionine). Cats have very limited ability to do this - their enzyme activity for taurine synthesis is far below what's needed to meet their requirements. They must get it pre-formed from food.
Natural vs synthetic taurine
Animal muscle meat - especially heart, dark meat poultry, and seafood - is naturally rich in taurine. A food with high-quality animal ingredients in sufficient quantity will provide taurine naturally.
Scoring: Foods where taurine is provided naturally through quality animal ingredients earn bonus points under Rule 8.
Most commercial cat foods add synthetic taurine as a supplement - listed as "taurine" in the ingredient list. This meets the cat's requirement and is perfectly safe, but it's often a sign that the base ingredients don't contain enough naturally occurring taurine on their own.
Scoring: Added taurine doesn't earn the Rule 8 bonus, but it also doesn't trigger a deduction. It's neutral.
Check for "taurine" in the ingredient list - its presence means it was added as a supplement. That's fine and better than nothing. But if you see high-quality animal ingredients like heart, dark poultry, or fish high up the list, natural taurine is likely well-covered.
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