Feline Future B-Complex

The B vitamins are a family of water-soluble vitamins involved in many essential processes, including energy metabolism, nervous-system function, formation of blood cells, and the metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, most B vitamins are not stored in substantial amounts in the body and therefore need to be supplied regularly through the diet.

In a natural prey diet, B vitamins are supplied throughout the animal’s tissues, with particularly high concentrations found in organs such as the liver. Fresh liver serves this purpose in food prepared with TCfeline Original. TCfeline Special Formula, however, is designed to be nutritionally complete without the addition of liver. This required replacing not merely one or two nutrients from liver, but its broad contribution of B vitamins.

Rather than using a B-complex supplement formulated for humans, I developed the Feline Future B Complex specifically for cats. The B-vitamin profile of raw beef liver was used as the biological starting point and compared individually with NRC recommended intakes for cats. Where the NRC recommendation for a particular B vitamin was higher than the amount supplied by liver, the NRC level was used; where liver naturally provided more, the liver level was retained.

Feline Future B Complex contains Choline L-bitartrate, Niacin, D-calcium pantothenate, Methylcobalamin (vitamin B12), Thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), Pyridoxine HCl (vitamin B6), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Folic acid (vitamin B9), and D-biotin (vitamin B7). Particular attention is paid to nutrients such as Niacin and Pyridoxine, where unnecessarily high supplementation is undesirable, rather than assuming that more of a water-soluble vitamin is always better.

TCfeline Original takes a different approach compared to TCfeline Special Formula because fresh liver remains part of its recipe. It does not contain the full Feline Future B Complex, but is fortified with selected B vitamins where additional amounts are needed or provide useful nutritional security. These include Thiamine, Methylcobalamin, Folic acid and Biotin. This is particularly relevant when freeze-dried liver is substituted for fresh liver or when the meat is cooked, since several B vitamins — notably Thiamine, Folate and Cobalamin — are vulnerable to processing and heat.