{"topic_id":"FEDIAF_2025_cat_arginine_taurine","category":"fediaf","context":"---\ntopic_id: \"FEDIAF_2025_cat_arginine_taurine\"\ncategory: \"fediaf\"\ntitle: \"FEDIAF 2025 cat arginine taurine\"\nlang: en\nsource_document: \"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"fediaf\"\n  title: \"FEDIAF 2025 cat arginine taurine\"\n  url: \"\"\n  retrieved: \"\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official source\"\n  needs_review: true\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T1:std-body\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\nFEDIAF 2025 cat amino acid recommendations (Table III-4a, g per 100 g DM; adult columns for MER 75 / 100 kcal/kg BW0.67, then growth/reproduction): (1) Arginine minimum 1.30 / 1.00 g adult and 1.07/1.11 g growth/reproduction (nutritional maximum for growth 3.50 g N) — cats are uniquely vulnerable to arginine deficiency because of urea-cycle limitations; FEDIAF notes the requirement rises with protein content (an extra 0.01 g arginine per additional gram of crude protein above the stated values, NRC 2006g). (2) Taurine minimum (dry pet food) 0.13 / 0.10 g adult and 0.10 g growth/repro; (canned pet food) 0.27 / 0.20 g adult and 0.25 g growth/repro — cats synthesize inadequate taurine, and heat-processed wet food lowers taurine bioavailability so canned foods need roughly 2-2.5 times the dry-food level. (3) Methionine minimum 0.23 / 0.17 g adult, 0.44 g growth (max 1.30 g N); methionine + cystine 0.45 / 0.34 g adult, 0.88 g growth — FEDIAF does not set a separate cystine minimum. (4) Lysine minimum 0.45 / 0.34 g adult, 0.85 g growth. (5) Threonine minimum 0.69 / 0.52 g adult, 0.65 g growth. (6) Tryptophan minimum 0.17 / 0.13 g adult, 0.16 g growth (max 1.70 g N). FEDIAF recommends accounting for an apparent crude protein digestibility of at least 80%; if that cannot be guaranteed, essential amino acid levels should be increased by a minimum of 10% — one reason animal-based proteins are favored for obligate carnivores.\n","sources":["fediaf — FEDIAF 2025 cat arginine taurine"],"source":{"authority":"fediaf","title":"FEDIAF 2025 cat arginine taurine","url":"https://europeanpetfood.org/nutrition/","retrieved":"","ref":"","doc_type":"official source","source_document":"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines","verification_file":""},"source_document":"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines","source_file":"","trust":{"authority_tier":"T1","fidelity":"verbatim","license":null,"display_grade":"A"},"tokens_estimated":150,"generated_at":"2026-07-16","tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}