As we all know, pet cats are very picky about food. Anyone who likes to keep cats knows their "problem", but they don't know why they are picky about food. Today, scientists have largely uncovered the secret of this dietary habit of fe...
As we all know, pet cats are very picky about food. Anyone who likes to keep cats knows their "problem", but they don't know why they are picky about food. Today, scientists have largely uncovered the secret of this dietary habit of felines, and the answer is: genetic defects. To put it more specifically, cats lack "sweet receptors" and they cannot taste sweetness at all, which may be an important reason for cats to become carnivorous animals that rely on high proteins to survive.
Cats have many preferences: stealing fish, catching mice, and sleeping in. But no one can associate cats with sweets. No matter how good the sweets are, they don’t even smell them. But have you ever thought about why cats don’t like to eat sweets? In fact, it’s not just cats, cats basically don’t like to eat sweets. Why is this?
Due to genetic defects, cats cannot taste the sweetness.
Researchers and their collaborators at the Mennier Center for Chemistry Sensation Research in Philadelphia, USA recently published their findings. They found a gene with a function defect in felines that may make them unable to feel the sweetness. Except for felines, almost all mammals on the earth can taste sweetness to varying degrees.
Researchers extracted saliva and blood samples from six cats, including a tiger and an Indian leopard, and found that they all had a defective gene, which other mammals used to generate "sweet receptors" on their tongues. "Sweet Receptor" is formed by two proteins called "T1R2" and "T1R3", but cats do not form T1R2, one of these two important proteins due to genetic defects.
Joseph Brand, deputy director of the Menniel Center for Chemistry Sensation Research, who led the study, said: "It took us about three years to try to find out why cats don't like sweets." He also joked: "Because cats don't taste sweet at all, if you feed them sweets, they will naturally feel boring and even get angry." Brand's report was published in the latest issue of Genetics, a journal published by the Public Library of Science.
The lack of "sweet receptors" may be an important reason for felines to become carnivorous.
