Cats can acquire sour, bitter and salty tastes similar to humans, as well as the tastes of high-protein foods. However, cats’ sense of taste is different from that of humans. Cats perceive bitter, in other words pungent tastes, such as lemon and coffee, in a wider range than humans. This is also due to the fact that they consider certain foods that taste bitter as dangerous or poisonous, which is an important factor for their survival. Also, because they are carnivores and need animal protein to survive, they are extremely sensitive to the taste of high-protein foods. They can feel the taste of a much greater number of amino acids than humans. Therefore, there is a high probability that they will get the richest taste from meat and take great pleasure in consuming products such as meat.
Tastes That Cats Can’t Perceive and Their Causes
After the taste perception abilities of cats, it is necessary to consider the question “What taste can cats not get?” in order to better understand their senses. The number of taste buds on cats’ tongues is only around 500, compared to around 9,000 in humans. There is no part in these taste buds that will allow them to taste sweet. This is due to a lack of a gene called t1r2 in cats. Therefore, cats do not have subunits called t1r2 and t1r3 that allow them to taste sweet, in other words, sugar.
Another aspect of the question “Why can’t cats taste sweet?” is why they don’t need to. Cats’ sense of taste helps them consume the animal protein they need to survive, and in the process, to distinguish between foods that may pose a danger to them. However, the fact that there is no need to consume sweets in cats makes the receptors necessary to distinguish the sweet taste quite dysfunctional. Today, even cats living on the street do not need fruits or carbohydrates as the main food to survive. Moreover, when these foods are consumed in excess, they also lead to health problems such as obesity and diabetes. But of course, there are several benefits to using the right proportions of these nutrients in the formulas of cat foods prepared by veterinarians and other specialists.
