Investigation of the association between whole blood and tissue taurine levels and the development of thoracic deformities in neonatal Burmese kittens

Flat chests, characterised by a dorsoventral flattening of the rib cage, affect 3 to 4 per cent of all Burmese kittens born in the United Kingdom. Similar deformities have been reported in kittens born to taurine-depleted queens. In an investigation of whether there might be a relationship between whole blood taurine levels and the appearance of flat chests it was found that Burmese kittens had significantly (P < 0.05) higher whole blood taurine levels than Burmese queens. In addition, flat-chested Burmese kittens had higher mean (sd) levels (789 [189] mumol/litre) than unaffected Burmese kittens (702 [166] mumol/litre) and non-Burmese kittens (597 [93] mumol/litre), although these differences were not statistically significant. Higher levels of taurine were found in the skeletal muscle and lower levels in the heart muscle of the flat-chested Burmese kittens than in normal non-Burmese kittens.