Cats are notoriously finicky eaters, as millions of pet owners can attest. Now, there's a scientific theory explaining, at least in part, why cats have such snobby eating habits: genetics.This would explain a lot about Mister Gato's eating preferences. He turns his nose up at most human food, greatly preferring the brown fishy nuggets of dry cat food we shake into his bowl twice a day (though he will enthusiastically drink almost anything you're drinking, right out of your glass or mug.)
Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and their collaborators said Sunday they found a dysfunctional feline gene that probably prevents cats from tasting sweets, a sensation nearly every other mammal on the planet experiences to varying degrees.
The first couple of weeks we had him, while he was still recovering from a respiratory infection and still very much in street-cat/scavenger mode, he quite happily ate most of the sauerkraut off of a Reuben sandwich I had on my desk, when I turned my back for a second. Nothing wrong with his "sour" or "salty" taste receptors, clearly.
Hat tip: Alert enrevanche reader and pal Victor.
No comments:
Post a Comment