Indra's Cat Feels Limited, That's Why Anabul Doesn't Need Carbohydrate Food

Illustration of the cat's sense of taste cannot taste sweet food (Freepic)

YOGYAKARTA Indra smell and seeing cats is very sharp. But the sense of taste in feeling food is quite limited. If humans can feel various flavors, from sweet, salty, sour, to bitter. Cats are not as complex as human taste. That means, choosing cat food needs to be adjusted to their senses.

Cats don't seem to have the ability to feel sweet taste. But it has a sharp detection for a bitter taste. Launching The Spruce Pets, Wednesday, July 24, the reason is because of evolution. So if you keep cats at home and think they are too picky eater, not because they are voters but because of their biological sense of taste.

Cats are called obligate carnivorous animals. This means they have to eat animal products to survive. Their tastes may have evolved. But it's important to understand, cats don't need carbohydrates in their food. They also don't need to detect sweet tastes even though their tongue shape resembles a mammal.

Humans have about 9,000 tasters and 1,700 dogs. While cats, have fewer tasters, namely 470 who don't have sweet taste receptors in their brains to recognize sweet tastes of food. If they taste bitter, they have an advantage. Cat bitter receptors are just like humans. Even their seven types of bitter receptors are very developed. That's why cats are able to be extra sensitive to toxic foods around them.

Although cats don't have sweet receptors, they seem to be able to feel the sour, bitter, salty, and ummic flavors quite well. This is most likely due to the sharp sense of smell of cats.

Cats also don't have flavor receptors like humans and dogs. Taste receptors are proteins in taste cells that allow the brain to recognize certain flavors. In a study, researchers identified DNA sequences and examined the structure of the 2 genes, namely Tas1r2 and Tas1r3. Because cats only have one of the gene receptors that detects taste, they can only taste thick sweets even though they can't fully feel what humans feel.

The explanation above explains that cats want meat or animal products from fish. Some cats may like certain types of fruit. But this doesn't mean they can fully taste the taste in the fruit. The food also may not mean 'healthy'. For example sweet fruits or cakes that contain butter fat. As a suggestion, choose cat foods that are rich in animal protein and low carbohydrates.