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Still other research finds that domestic cats perceive bitterness at the molecular level, allowing them to detect off ingredients with incredible precision. "The protein requirement of adult cats to maintain lean body mass is now thought to be higher," according to Cline, who explained that cats fed a high protein diet for 2 months in a study maintained healthy lean body mass, while cats fed moderate and low protein diets did not fare as well. In it she suggests that cats may not be getting enough protein in their diets, per the current National Research Council and Association of American Feed Control Officials guidelines. Martha Cline, a veterinarian specializing in clinical nutrition at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, recently analyzed current feeding practices of cat owners for the upcoming book, "Feline Internal Medicine," directed at animal health care experts. How cats can detect this ratio remains a complete mystery for now. "Cats initially selected food based on flavor preferences, but after 'learning' (due to prior exposure) about the nutritional composition of the foods, cats selected foods to reach a particular target balance of protein and fat regardless of added flavors," Hewson-Hughes said.Īs a result, some felines actually ate more orange-flavored chow, which had the target protein to fat ratio, than they consumed fish and rabbit-flavored foods without such a precise nutrient ratio. The other experiments were designed to disentangle the influences of flavor and aroma from nutrition. WATCH: Why Your Cute Cat Is Still A Vicious Killer The felines favored fish, with rabbit being their second choice and orange a very distant third. The foods had approximately the same protein to fat ratio.
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To explore factors affecting cat food choices, Hewson-Hughes, a senior research scientist at the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition, and his colleagues conducted a series of experiments.įirst, they presented male and female cats with three flavors of wet foods that the researchers had formulated: rabbit, fish and orange. In the wild, eating a new food can lead to stomach upset or worse, making neophobia a lifesaver outside safe home environments. Both are known as hypercarnivores, since they have evolved to eat a diet of almost exclusively meat, as opposed to omnivores like dogs. Prior research has found that cats and minks have almost identical food needs and foibles. "This means they are unwilling to try a food that is new or different to their normal food, which may make them appear fussy."
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What's more, "Cats can display neophobia," lead author Adrian Hewson-Hughes told Discovery News. This translates to about 50:50 in terms of percentage of energy from protein and fat, according to the authors of the study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. Your seemingly high-maintenance cat has evolution to blame for her picky eating.Īroma, taste and texture of food are less important to cats than is nutrition, according to a new study that helps explain not only finicky feline behavior but also what primarily controls cat cravings.Ĭats as it turns out are driven to eat foods with a preferred ratio of protein to fat: 1 to. When Fluffy turns her nose up at the bowl of food you've placed in front of her, don't take it personally.