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Alright Meow, it's 2015!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Cat Ailments A to Z - Vitamin B1 Deficiency

Thiamine Deficiency


Thiamine (Vitamin B1) Deficiency

Thiamine plays a role in:
  • Helping the body metabolise carbohydrates into energy
 Thiamine (vitamin B1) is absorbed from the diet via the small intestine and is a key component of effective carbohydrate metabolism
  • Maintaining a healthy heart 
  • Maintaining a healthy  nervous system
  • Maintaining healthy brain function

Thiamine is found in:
  • Bread
  • Brewers yeast
  • Legumes
  • Liver
  • Meat
  • Milk
  • Some Fruits and Vegetables
  • Whole-grains

A lack of Thiamine may cause:

  • Abnormal or spastic gait
  • Anorexia
  • Aggression
  • Ataxia
  • Bradycardia
  • Cervical Ventroflexion (necks flexed/rigid, which causes an inability to raise the head, the chin rests near the chest)
  • Circling
  • Dilated Pupils
  • Falling
  • Head tilt
  • Incoordination
  • Loss of Righting Reflexes
  • Opisthotonos (backward arching of the head, neck, and spine)
  • Salivation
  • Stupor
  • Seizures
  • Twitching 
  •  The absence of thiamine can also lead to a buildup of lactate in the body and result in acidosis.
 Causes of Thiamine Deficiency:

If a cat is fed a diet containing large amounts of raw fish
  • Raw fish contains the enzyme Thiaminase
  • Thiaminase destroys Thiamine
  • Cooking destroys Thiaminase ( which protects the Thiamine)
Sulphur Dioxide (pdf regarding sulphur dioxide as a preservative)
  • Also known as Preservative 220
  • Pet food manufactures were limited to using Sulphur Dioxide as a preservative for many years
  • Natural preservatives have been gaining popularity with the use of  Citrus products
  • Sulphur Dioxide inactivated Thiamine
  • Pet food manufactures that use this as a preservative must monitor their products to ensure they contain adequate levels of Thiamine ( or hey.. why not just skip adding it in the first place?)
Thiamine is Soluble in Water
  • It can be lose if cooked in water
  • If you cook your cats food in water- use as little as possible 
High Heat can destroy Thiamine 
  • Manufactures must monitor their products to ensure they contain adequate levels of thiamine to compensate for the loss during the cooking process
Cheap Brands 
  • Cheap or generic brands of cat food may not monitor the levels of Thiamine as carefully as some other brands would. 
  • Cheaper brands tend to use cheaper products - a natural preservative would not be cheaper. 
  • Do the math - poorly monitored levels of Thiamine in a food that probably contains sulphur dioxide.
  • My personal belief is that cheaper brands contain cheaper products - these products may come to the manufacturer as what I would call 'bottom of the barrel' In order to ensure the food does not contain a plethora of bad - they cook the hell out of it. High heat can destroy Thiamine.
  • Chances are - people buying the cheap brands are not reading the labels as much as the consumer who buys a higher cost cat food ( not always true, but the cheap companies are counting on the fact that people don't read the ingredients.)
  •  Speaking of ingredients. The food items that contain Thiamine are in low..very low quantities.
  • There is not enough Thiamine in Corn  ( guess your screwed Purina)
Physical Reasons
  • Prolonged lack of appetite
  • Diseases that cause malassimilation or malabsorption of nutrients
  • Extensive surgical resection of jejunum and ileum
  • Diuresis (excessive urination)
 Cats require three times the amount of thiamine that dogs do, making them especially sensitive to thiamine loss. 

If you suspect your cat is experiencing a Thiamin(Vitamin B1) Deficiency- Get them in to see a Vet
  • Keep tabs on any recalls 
  • Be an informed consumer 
  • Don't cheap out! It may cost you much more in the end
  • If you are cooking your own pet food - make sure it meets your cats needs
  • If you are feeding Raw - make sure you speak with someone who understands pet nutrition
  • Don't assume you know what your pet needs - just because an animal in the wild would not need supplements- consider the fact that we have created this need over many many years of domestication ( and feeding poorly made foods )
  • It is never to late to change foods!
  •  Try not to buy into the hype of a product
  • Do not base your pet food choices on Marketing/ Commercials/ Fancy packaging ( consider the fact that these companies are spending huge amounts of money on marketing - instead of trying to improve their product )


 For
Further Reading

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