Sulfur (S) is a bright yellow colored element and the third most abundant mineral in a cat’s body after calcium and phosphorus. It often occurs in bound form as sulfates and sulfides.
Some of the foods rich in this mineral include:-
- Seafood such as lobsters, crabs, mussels, oysters, scallops as well as fish like salmon, cod, and haddock.
- Organ meats including kidney, heart, liver as well as pork, chicken, veal, and beef
- Milk and dairy products such as parmesan and cheddar cheese.
- Nuts including brazil nuts, peanuts, walnuts
- Leafy green vegetables like asparagus, spinach, kale, broccoli, mustard greens, etc.
- Garlic and onion,
- Apricots and peaches.
- It is also present in some B vitamin complex, i.e., in biotin and thiamine.
In normal cat diets, some of the common sources of this mineral include amino acids such as methionine, cysteine, and taurine as well as copper and iron sulphates.
Functions
Sulfur has many functions as a dietary mineral as well as other functions including in ophthalmic solutions such as Gentamicin Sulfate Ophthalmic solution, in lime sulfur dips, and in making glucosamine for cats.
We will be focusing on only dietary functions in cats which include the following:-
- It is needed for insulin production
- It is contained in keratin that forms fur and nails
- It forms part of some amino acids such as cysteine, taurine, methionine, and homocysteine. Cysteine and methionine are incorporated into proteins.
- As carnivora.ca notes, this mineral is “concentrated in muscles, skin and bones and aids in the secretion of bile from the liver, removing potentially toxic substances (i.e., cadmium, copper, mercury, arsenic, lead, and aluminum) from the body and making collagen).
- It participates in oxidation-reduction reactions, cellular respiration, energy production, blood clotting, synthesis of collagen states Vetmag.ru
- Finally, methionine hydroxy analog and calcium sulphate can be used to acidify urine.
Requirements
There is no limit in the amount of sulfur that your cats can have. Usually, it is not supplemented as can be obtained from the various foods that have it including some amino acids, biotin, and thiamine.