Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: a reversible cardiomyopathy

Pion, Kittleson, Rogers and Morris linked dilated cardiomyopathy in domestic cats to taurine deficiency and showed that supplementation could reverse the heart failure. The discovery confirmed taurine as critical not only for vision but for cardiac function, and prompted increases in the taurine content of commercial cat diets, after which feline dilated cardiomyopathy became rare. The work reinforced that cats have absolute requirements for nutrients found in animal tissue and that processed diets must be carefully formulated to meet them. It is a landmark in feline nutritional medicine and a recurring reference in discussions of why captive felid diets, especially non-whole-prey formulations, demand rigorous nutritional oversight.