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Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

scientificamerican.com

31–40 of 167 posts

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#31
Some of the stuff I've seen our cat eating, it's both obvious and a blessing that he doesn't have much of a sense of taste.

Goes nuts for the plastic wrappers you get around Pepsi cans and won't stop licking them. Little weirdo.

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#32
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All felids are obligate carnivores I think you meant "felines". [UPDATE] Nope, the OP meant felids (though my old eyes parsed it as "fields" (never heard of a "felid" before) which is why I thought it was spell checking or voice recognition gone wrong).

“felid” comes from “Felidae”, the family for cats. It’s synonymous, but a bit more formal.

Like a tuxedo tshirt. It says I'm serious but like to party.

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#33
post #16

Tell that to my cat, who fucking LOVES ice cream.

It’s the milk fat they love! My kitty also goes crazy for coconut oil, which helps with hair balls.

Yep. I recently tried this out with my cat: skim milk vs 2% vs whole milk vs heavy cream. No prizes for guessing what his preference ordering was. (He wouldn't even drink the skim! Just licked it, looked at me, and walked away.)

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#35

Knowing this, when my cats desire something sweet that I was eating, I have always assumed they wanted something else they tasted in the food -- if ice cream, then the cream, etc.

I realize that raisins are not safe for cats and did not feed them to my cat deliberately. That said, I had a cat that was absolutely obsessed with eating raisins to the point where we simply couldn’t have them around. To this day I cannot understand what was going on if sweetness was not a factor. Same cat ate the tops off an entire box of glazed donuts once as well while we were out.

My cat will lick the inside of mugs that contained black coffee - I know caffeine isn't good for cats so I don't encourage this behaviour but he definitely seems to enjoy the taste (I don't take sugar so its not sweetness he is after).

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#36
post #7

Knowing this, when my cats desire something sweet that I was eating, I have always assumed they wanted something else they tasted in the food -- if ice cream, then the cream, etc.

Mine loves cantaloupe. I’m curious which part of that she likes other than the sweetness.

...and mine likes cucumber. Go figure.

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#37
post #3

For some reason, I had always assumed there were a number of mammals that didn't care much for sweets, even though in retrospect I know that ferrets, also carnivores, will obsess over sweet drinks.

Perhaps because mustelids have an extraordinarily high metabolism for their size? https://nyti.ms/1Ur6S6C

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#38
There is a reason cats prefer meaty wet food to dry kibble, and disdain sugar entirely

This person has never met a cat. One of ours is obsessed with sweet foods like yoghurt, honey, pastries. Which we don’t generally let her have because of her teeth.

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#39
post #3

For some reason, I had always assumed there were a number of mammals that didn't care much for sweets, even though in retrospect I know that ferrets, also carnivores, will obsess over sweet drinks.

In case it isn't known artificial sweetener specifically xylitol is toxic to cats (and dogs). So things like toothpaste which has artificial sweetener for humans is bad for cat. I'm sure there are some people with cats who brush their cats' teeth.

Re: Cats Cannot Taste Sweets (2007)

#40

This leaves me with more questions as I have a cat that absolutely will not leave you alone if you're holding ANY fruit. She will cry and whine and do all she can to get to that fruit. Apple, plum, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, melons, it doesn't matter. She goes especially nuts for dragonfruit.

My cat went bananas for the smell of strawberries. No interest in eating them but adored the smell.
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