As a result, many ‘non-essential’ nutrients are now being seen to have a significant impact on the pets’ health. Taurine for example is an important nutrient for cats. Taurine is an amino acid, which is found in the free form in invertebrates and in the bile of mammals. It promotes the intestinal absorption of lipids (fats) as cholesterol.

 

What does taurine do?
Taurine is an important part of the feline diet and is essential in preventing a disorder in cats called "dilated cardiomyopathy" (which is a failure of the heart muscle whereupon the heart tissue itself swells to try to meet the animal's circulatory needs), as well as being very significant in helping feline reproduction and prevention of a progressive retinal disease called "feline central retinal degeneration" (FCRD) which will cause blindness if left untreated.

 

In queens that have taurine-deficient diets, we find more stillbirths, fewer live kittens born, and ultimately fewer kittens that survive to the weaning stage.

Obesitas
Not only in humans, obesitas is becoming an important disease, also pets are suffering from beng too fat. This often results in diabetes. Feline diabetes is even about to become the number 1 disease in cats. As a result of eating more and exercising less, more than a third of cats are overweight and the number of cases of the disease has risen five-fold in 30 years. Edinburgh University researchers estimate that one in 230 - or up to 400,000 pet cats - is diabetic.

Obesitas is also a problem in dogs. A quarter of dogs are clinically obese and overweight rabbits and even hamsters are also a common sight in vets' surgeries.

Therapeutic diets 
Nutrition plays an important role in treating and preventing diseases such as obesitas and diabetes. Pet food companies increasingly add therapeutic and veterinary diets to their portfolio. Royal Canin for example has an extensive range of these products. Such specific pet food is often recommended and sold by the veterinarian and cannot be directly purchased in the shops.

See also:
News - AVMA and Hill's fight pet obesity   
News - UK pet insurance warns for pet obesity   
News - Using plants to produce anti-allergy pet food 

Article - Nutritional influences on eye health of pets

Article - A promising new way to promote pet health