Dietary taurine is essential for cats and deficiency during pregnancy may lead to abortion, growth restriction or impaired neurological function of kittens. We previously described Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent taurine transport by system beta in fragments of freshly isolated cat placenta [Champion EE, Bailey SJ, Glazier JD, Jones CJP, Mann SJ, Rawlings JM, et al. Taurine uptake into cat placental tissue fragments. Placenta 2001;22:A.42]. Here we evaluate long term culture of cat placental explants as a model for the future study of chronic nutrient regulation of amino acid transport in this species. The cat placental explants displayed (i) Na(+)-dependent [(3)H]taurine uptake and (ii) taurine transporter protein on day 7 of culture, as observed in fresh cat placental fragments. The explants had preserved the ability to secrete PGF(2alpha) hormone until day 11 of culture and remained morphologically largely intact until day 7 of culture. This model of placental explant culture will provide an important in vitro method for the study of chronic regulation of amino acid transport in the cat.