taurine for dogs and cats: why heart and liver treats are nature's best source

Most pet owners know they love their animals. But far fewer know that the type of treats they choose can have a direct impact on one of the most critical nutrients in their pet's diet. Heart and liver treats aren't just delicious — they're among the most concentrated natural sources of taurine available, and the science behind why that matters is worth understanding.

What Is Taurine?

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid found almost exclusively in animal tissue. It plays a central role in heart function, brain performance, healthy vision, immune defense, and reproductive health. Despite how essential it is, taurine is not technically a "protein-building" amino acid — it doesn't get incorporated into muscle tissue the way others do. Instead, it works at the cellular level, regulating electrical activity in the heart, protecting the retina from degeneration, supporting bile acid production for digestion, and acting as an antioxidant against cellular damage.

For cats, taurine is an essential nutrient — meaning their bodies cannot synthesize it at adequate levels and it must come entirely from food. A taurine-deficient cat will develop serious, potentially irreversible health problems over time. For dogs, the picture is more nuanced: most dogs can synthesize some taurine from other amino acids, but certain breeds and diets leave them unable to produce enough on their own. American Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and English Setters have all shown predisposition to taurine-related heart disease, and research into diet-linked DCM in dogs continues to evolve.

The bottom line: taurine is not optional for cats and not something to take lightly for dogs.

What Happens Without Enough Taurine?

The most serious consequence of taurine deficiency is Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) — a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and loses its ability to pump blood effectively. In cats, taurine deficiency also causes feline central retinal degeneration, leading to progressive and often permanent blindness. Additional signs of taurine deficiency can include weakness, exercise intolerance, difficulty breathing, collapse, and reproductive failure.

Taurine deficiency can be genetic, dietary, or both. Some pets are predisposed to inefficient taurine synthesis regardless of diet. Others develop deficiency because their diet relies heavily on plant-based ingredients, grain-heavy kibble, or highly processed proteins that have had taurine cooked out of them. The most reliable way to support healthy taurine levels is through fresh, minimally processed animal proteins — specifically organ meats.

A Note on the Numbers: Raw Data vs. Freeze-Dried Reality

The taurine figures referenced throughout this post come from peer-reviewed research on raw organ meats (sourced from the National Institutes of Health, PubMed, and industry nutritional databases). These are the most widely cited figures available and give a reliable baseline for comparison.

But here's what makes freeze-dried organ treats genuinely exceptional: the freeze-drying process actually concentrates taurine rather than depleting it. Taurine is water-soluble — when water is removed from meat during freeze-drying, the taurine remains behind in greater concentration relative to overall weight. Momentum Carnivore Nutrition's own lab testing through Matrix Sciences International confirmed this directly. Our freeze-dried chicken heart tested at 1.06% taurine — compared to 0.19% in raw chicken heart. That's more than a 5x increase in taurine concentration, achieved entirely through the freeze-drying process with no additives, no synthetic supplementation, and nothing added.

So while the raw figures below are the best available reference point, the actual taurine content in Momentum's freeze-dried treats is meaningfully higher.

Heart Treats: Nature's Most Concentrated Taurine Source

The heart muscle contains one of the highest natural concentrations of taurine of any tissue in the body. This makes biological sense — the heart relies on taurine to regulate electrical signals, maintain proper muscle contraction, and protect cardiac cells from oxidative stress. Feeding heart means feeding the nutrient that heart tissue literally cannot function without.

Freeze-Dried Chicken Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
Chicken heart is one of the richest natural sources of taurine available, coming in at approximately 112 mg per 100g raw — and significantly higher in freeze-dried form. Single ingredient, 100% pure chicken heart.

Freeze-Dried Turkey Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
Turkey heart is similarly exceptional, delivering comparable taurine levels to chicken heart alongside CoQ10, B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. Single ingredient, 100% pure turkey heart.

Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
Beef heart delivers approximately 63 mg of taurine per 100g raw — lower than poultry hearts but still well above typical muscle meat, and concentrated further by freeze-drying. Rich in B-vitamins, iron, and zinc. Single ingredient, 100% pure beef heart.

Liver Treats: The Vitamin-Rich Companion

Liver doesn't match heart for taurine concentration, but it contributes meaningfully to overall taurine intake while delivering a nutritional profile that complements heart treats exceptionally well — Vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, selenium, and zinc in concentrations that are hard to match anywhere else in a single ingredient.

Freeze-Dried Chicken Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
Chicken liver comes in at approximately 110 mg of taurine per 100g raw — nearly identical to chicken heart, making it one of the strongest liver options for taurine support. Naturally rich in Vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, zinc, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Freeze-Dried Beef Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
Beef liver delivers approximately 69 mg of taurine per 100g raw alongside exceptional concentrations of Vitamin A, B-vitamins, and iron. A high-value training reward and meal topper.

Freeze-Dried Bison Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
Bison liver offers a similar taurine and nutritional profile to beef liver with the added benefit of being a novel protein — an excellent option for pets with sensitivities to common proteins like chicken or beef.

Freeze-Dried Turkey Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
Turkey liver delivers taurine alongside Vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, and Vitamin C, and is another novel protein option for sensitive pets.

Don't Overlook the Gizzard

Often overshadowed by heart and liver, gizzards are a surprisingly strong source of taurine that most pet owners don't know about. Chicken gizzard comes in at approximately 100 mg per 100g raw, and turkey gizzard at approximately 107 mg per 100g raw — putting them on par with some of the best heart options. Gizzards are also exceptionally lean, high in protein, and rich in B12, iron, and zinc.

Gizzards don't appear in Momentum's single ingredient treat lineup on their own, but they play an important supporting role in our Training Bites — which brings us to the next section.

Freeze-Dried Training Bites: Taurine in Every Reward

Momentum's Freeze-Dried Training Bites are two-ingredient, organ-based treats made specifically for repetitive rewarding — bite-sized, under 2 calories per treat, and suitable for both dogs and cats. Every flavor is built on taurine-rich organ combinations:

• Chicken Training Bites — chicken gizzard (~100 mg taurine/100g raw) + chicken heart (~112 mg taurine/100g raw)
• Turkey Training Bites — turkey gizzard (~107 mg taurine/100g raw) + turkey heart (comparable to chicken heart)
• Beef Training Bites — beef kidney (a recognized natural source of taurine per the USDA food database) + beef heart (~63 mg taurine/100g raw)
• Pork Training Bites — pork kidney (a recognized natural source of taurine) + pork heart

Every Training Bite delivers real organ nutrition in a size designed for training — which means your pet gets taurine support not just at treat time, but every single time they earn a reward.

Is Freeze-Dried Better Than Other Options?

Yes — and the science backs it up. Cooking destroys taurine. Research shows that boiling or wet-cooking can eliminate a significant portion of taurine content in meat. By contrast, freeze-drying removes moisture without heat, preserving the full nutritional profile of the raw ingredient. As our own lab results confirmed, freeze-drying can concentrate taurine to more than 5x the level found in raw meat — making freeze-dried organ treats the most efficient whole-food delivery system for taurine available in treat form.

Shop Heart and Liver Treats

All of the following are single ingredient, freeze-dried, and made and sourced in the USA:

• Freeze-Dried Chicken Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Turkey Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Chicken Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Beef Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Bison Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats
• Freeze-Dried Turkey Liver Treats for Dogs & Cats

Or explore our full Freeze-Dried Training Bites collection for taurine-rich rewards your pet will work for every time.