The Vegan Thread

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PhilDAS

Cats are a particular challenge because they cannot produce certain proteins – such as taurine – themselves. They instead have to absorb it from their food, with beef, chicken and fish being particularly rich sources. Cats that don’t have enough taurine are at risk of developing a potentially fatal condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

In cats with DCM, the heart muscle becomes very thin and weak, preventing them from pumping blood and supplying oxygen to the body normally. This is a fatal disease if not corrected early on

From the ASPCA. The 'Merican RSPCA

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pit in reply to @PhilDAS

taurine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine

Synthetic taurine is obtained by the ammonolysis of isethionic acid (2-hydroxyethanesulfonic acid), which in turn is obtained from the reaction of ethylene oxide with aqueous sodium bisulfite. A direct approach involves the reaction of aziridine with sulfurous acid.[6]

In 1993, about 5,000–6,000 tons of taurine were produced for commercial purposes: 50% for pet food and 50% in pharmaceutical applications.[7] As of 2010, China alone has more than 40 manufacturers of taurine. Most of these enterprises employ the ethanolamine method to produce a total annual production of about 3,000 tons.[8]

There is nothing magical about meat.

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PhilDAS in reply to @pit

Fair enough. I don't know about these things. I do wonder about absorption in the digestive system of supplements/synthetic alternatives vs the real thing though.
Our vet told us that despite plant based ingredients having some of the nutrients that cats need, their digestive systems are able to absorb very little nutrients from it and so not to bother with any cat food that says "with vegetables" as it makes no difference to them.

Although ours are on Hill's which does have various plant based ingredients so who knows.

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