What is Taurine?
Taurine is an amino acid found primarily in meat. Fish, shellfish, meat and poultry.
It is abundant in the brain, the eye (especially the retina), muscle tissue, and many organs. It is an essential component of bile acids, which are produced in the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and used to break down fats from food.
Many animals (including our dogs) are able to synthesize taurine on their own; cats, however, must get taurine from the food they eat. Check the labels on the foods you buy to make sure your cat’s regular diet includes taurine (quite likely, it does). Without sufficient taurine, kittens can’t develop properly and adult cats are at risk of blindness and heart conditions.
For cats, taurine is necessary for brain, nerves, eyes, heart, digestion, immune function and fetal development. It has been common knowledge that cats need taurine, that it’s essential to be in their diet, and if not in their diet has to be added as a supplement.
For dogs, taurine is needed for eyes, reproduction, bile acid (for fat digestion) and for healthy heart. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs and cats is associated with inadequate taurine levels.
The amino acid taurine is much in the news of late, most recently due to attention from the FDA concerned about heart disease in dogs. taurine has been a topic of concern in cats as far back as the 1970s
Amino acids are required in the diet (because they can’t be made) are referred to as essential, while the others are called nonessential.
One of the ingredients in Ultra Oil is Sardine and Anchovy. We get our oil from a fishery in Peru. The Sardine and Anchovy is an excellent source of Taurine. Taurine is the very definition of essential and really important.
2. https://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/blog/the-importance-of-taurine-for-dogs/