A thiamine deficiency can have serious consequences for cats and dogs. Thiamine is the name given to vitamin B1, which is used by all body cells to generate energy and thus has a particular effect on nerves and brain cells. If a cat or dog has a thiamine deficiency, this can lead to serious neurological damage and even death.
Thiamine deficiency is usually caused by diet, as vitamin B1 is primarily absorbed through food. The reasons for this can be roughly divided into four points:
- The animal basically eats too little and therefore absorbs too little thiamine.
- Cat and dog food contains too little thiamine.
- The food is stored incorrectly or heated too much, which causes the thiamine to break down or be completely destroyed.
- Your pet eats large amounts of certain raw fish (sardines, smelt, pike-perch, mackerel, carp). These types contain an increased amount of thiaminase, which destroys vitamin B1. Canned food containing the preservative disulfite has a similar effect.
To counteract a thiamine deficiency in cats and dogs, beef, poultry and offal such as liver and kidney, which you can buy in the BARF shop , are suitable. Yeast, soy flour, dandelion and fennel also help to prevent a thiamine deficiency when BARFing cats or dogs.
The symptoms of the disease appear after about two to four weeks of the deficiency. The animals salivate more, appear weak and have problems walking. When there is a thiamine deficiency, cats in particular often adopt a characteristic posture in which the head is pressed against the chest. This posture is often resolved in fits of attack, with the entire body overstretched and the head pulled upwards. This symptom of a thiamine deficiency is known as staring and is a clear sign to visit a veterinarian. You can usually compensate for the thiamine deficiency with BARF after a few weeks. Your veterinarian may also give you some food supplements with a high dose of thiamine.
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