Cats can't taste sugar

[DeepModem Mom]

Washington Post:
Cats' Sweet Tooth Long Gone
Genetic Mutation Leaves Felines Unable to Taste Sugar

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 25, 2005; Page A06

Curiosity about the cat has finally paid off with a scientific explanation for felines' enigmatic indifference to sweets.

Researchers, pet owners and cat chow manufacturers have long recognized that cats, in stark contrast to their canine counterparts, show no particular attraction to sugar. Having sampled two dishes of water, one spiked with sugar and the other not, a cat is as likely to lap from one as the other.

But why? Until now, scientists have not known whether cats simply lack the lingual apparatus to detect sugar; or have functional sugar detectors on their tongues but faulty wiring from their taste buds to the brain; or -- as some might presume -- are simply too snooty to admit to such a common craving.

Now researchers studying the DNA of house cats, tigers and cheetahs have settled the question: Cats both large and small harbor a genetic mutation that renders the sugar detectors on their taste buds inoperative.

"We have found a simple but elegant explanation for their behavior," said Joseph G. Brand of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, who with co-worker Xia Li led the study, published yesterday in the journal PLoS Genetics....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/AR2005072401107.html

[Deja Q]

1. And yet cats are known for becoming Ripley-worthy obsese...

I wish I had that genetic mutation! :D

[Missy M]

2. Maybe most cats just plain don't like sugar!

[displacedtexan]

3. Then my cat is a freak of nature.

She's 15, and she will drink sugared cereal milk but NOT artificial sweetener cereal milk.

[liontamer]

5. well if she can't taste the sweet,

then the sugared milk just tastes normal, while the artificial sweetener tastes very bitter.

[bertha katzenengel]

4. Put a piece of plastic in front of a cat and watch him lick away.

Our Toby eats plastic and our vet says it's because it tastes sweet to him. Weird.

[havocmom]

6. Maybe they don't taste sugar, but they must taste 'sweet'

or they would not be at risk from anti-freeze poisoning. Cats, dogs & sometimes kids, have been known to lap that stuff up to the point that some consumers' groups are trying to lobby Congress to force the manufacturers to modify the stuff so it tastes nasty. There are some anti-freezes which have already done so on their own.

Tip: To avoid killing the cat, pour some ammonia on and anti-freeze spill or leaks from cars. It will repel cats pretty well.

edit to correct an ommission

[Individualist]

7. Someone forgot to tell my cat

He adores Karo brown sugar syrup. I only give him a tiny amount from time to time; wouldn't want my baby to get cavities.

[katmondoo]

8. My cat loves Ice Cream

[Individualist]

12. Mine too

His favorite is Cherry Garcia.

[grace0418]

9. Tell that to my cat, because he loves strawberries, grapes, ice cream

and any kind of sweet pastry/cake/brownie. And it's not like I ever fed them to him, either. But if we accidently leave a bag on the counter with any kind of sweet bread-like product in it, he'll rip the bag apart to get at it. You could say it was a carb thing, but we can leave a loaf of bread on the counter and he won't bug it. If I am cutting up strawberries, he will meow until I cut one open for him and let him lick it (same with grapes).

He also goes crazy for olives. Which are not sweet, but just further proves his eclectic taste. :)

[ihaveaquestion]

10. This actually helps explain my cat's taste for both

fruits AND vegetables. She LOVES cantalope, tomatoes, cherries, grapes, asparagus, apples, watermelon - you name it! She's weird and I thought she had a sweet tooth, but I couldn't explain the tomatoes and asparagus. I guess she just likes a variety of tastes.

[AuntieM1957]

11. So did the cats tell them if they prefer

plain or BBQ potato chips?

Seriously now, I adore my two cats. One is 20 years old and dearer to me than a whole lot of human beings.

but is this really important enough research to warrant news time on every single morning news outlet I watched this AM?

I guess if I'm heading out into the jungle I should coat myself with sugar to prevent a tiger's attack?

Maybe I'm just feeling grouchy and need a little sugar myself, eh?

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Didn't know it was a big story -- guess I should have posted it in LBN!

:D

[pdx_prog]

14. Anything that licks their own ass can't be all that picky....

lol..