Taurine

A long shot. But does anyone have info about taurine levels in chicken meat(light and dark) and chicken hearts? Or any other meat? I have emailed many government agencies and universities but none want to talk. Email is probably not the best way to contact them. This site is a great site for looking up nutrient levels of a lot of foods, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ , but the usda doesn't list any taurine levels for any foods.

That site is wonderful! Too bad they don't list the taurine levels.

I wish I could be of more help, but I sadly don't have that info. Can't wait until we find some members who do.

The best I can tell you is that taurine is a derivative of cystine, a sulfur containing amino acid. You may be able to get a good idea by relating the two and estimating taurine levels to be slightly lower than what the cystine levels show on the USDA National Nutrient Database. However, I do not worry about taurine as long as I am not cooking or grinding food. There is plenty in a proper raw diet to meet the cat's need. Taurine is in ALL meats, but is higher in dark leg meats, heart and tongue.

I also have this link: http://www.serve.com/BatonRouge/taurine_chmr.htm

Thanks for the info and link. Have been on that site but somehow missed the taurine info. I am not worried that my cats are not getting enough. I know for a fact that they get 4 times the minimum recommended AAFCO amount. But not knowing this part of the equation has bugged me. So I though I would ask to see if anyone else has had better luck in finding out that info.