52 Chapter 4only be found in sufficient quantity in animal flesh. Deficiency can result in blindness,
and heart, neurological and immune system abnormalities (Zoran, 2002). Cats are
therefore obligatory carnivores; in other words, they need to eat meat to remain
healthy and the foods that most cats choose to eat reflect this.
Cats have far fewer taste receptors (taste buds) than either dogs or humans, hav-
ing around 475 in comparison to 1700 in dogs and 9000 in humans (Horwitz et al.,
2010). But they can detect the taste of specific amino acids and show a preference for
those that we perceive as sweet, although they have no ability to detect sugar and are
therefore unlikely to show any preference or aversion to otherwise sweet substances.
Artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, however, tend to be rejected, possibly because
a cat will perceive them as bitter rather than sweet (Bartoshuk et al., 1975). Cats have
a particular sensitivity to and dislike of bitter tastes. A preference for sweet rather
than bitter amino acids might also help them to identify and prefer fresh meat, which
is higher in the amino acids they require than meat that has started to decompose.
Olfaction plays a major part in food acceptance; cats will often reject food if they
cannot smell it. This explains why most prefer food that is at room or blood temper-
ature rather than cold food straight out of the fridge, which will have a much-reduced
odour. For feral and wildcats, this might also be a way of identifying freshly killed
prey over carrion.
Some cats will show an increased preference for a new food when offered and
may even reject their previous food. This could be a natural behaviour to encourage
dietary diversity and therefore better nutritional balance. Another theory is that it
could prevent predation being focused on one species only, which could result in
depletion and reduced availability of prey in the locality.
In comparison, other cats may continue to eat only one type and texture of food
and reject all others. This is a behaviour that might begin even before the kitten is born.
At the time of weaning, kittens will prefer the taste of food eaten by their mother while
she was pregnant and during lactation (see Chapter 5). If the mother has a limited diet
during this time, and the kittens are not offered a variety of other food during and soon
after weaning, they will be more likely to reject new food tastes and textures as adults.
Feeding patterns
Many cats prefer to eat ad-lib or little and often, which mimics the natural feeding pat-
tern of wild and feral cats that are most likely to kill and eat several small prey animals
at varying intervals throughout the day and night. Some cats will, however, eat all the
food in their bowl at once, especially if it is of very high value to them; for example, if it
is highly palatable or if the cat has an increased appetite owing to disease or malnutri-
tion. Another reason for clearing the plate at one sitting can be real or perceived compe-
tition for food with other animals, especially other cats within a multi-cat household.
This can be more likely to occur when cats are fed in close proximity to each other.
Predatory Behaviour
Cats have an undeserved reputation for being ‘cold-blooded’ killers that prey on
wildlife purely for ‘fun’. But this is a highly anthropomorphic assessment of feline