Cats may love tuna because it tastes extra savory to them
Tuna's chemistry hits cats' savory taste receptor especially hard, one scientist says.
The Headlines · A Wall Street Record, and Why India Cut 130 Million Names From Its Voter RollAnyone who has opened a can of tuna near a cat knows the scene. The animal appears from nowhere, suddenly attentive and insistent. Taste may be a big part of the explanation.
Cats have a taste receptor for umami, the savory taste found in meat and broth. Tuna has a chemical makeup that pushes that receptor especially hard. According to one scientist, tuna is basically super umami for cats.
The finding comes from research that is still a work in progress. At a research center in England, scientists have been trying to better understand cats' sense of smell and taste, including why they do not really like sweet foods and why they can be picky eaters.
Part of the work is watching what cats choose. Staff give the animals new foods with different textures, flavors and scents to learn which ones the cats like best. In one test, they place two different dry foods next to each other on a weighing scale and track which bowl the cat ate more from. Staff also study behavior after meals, watching whether cats seem more lethargic than usual or more playful.
Separate from the taste research, companies are also looking ahead to age. Many pets brought home in large numbers during the pandemic are now reaching middle age, and companies are creating more recipes for older pets, including very soft, mousse-style foods that are gentle for senior cats to chew.
Questions people ask
What exactly is umami?
Umami is the savory taste present in meat, broth, aged cheese, mushrooms, and some fish. Scientists recognize it alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It signals the presence of certain amino acids and related compounds that are common in protein-rich foods.
Can cats taste sweet foods?
Cats are much less responsive to sweet tastes than people are. Research has found changes in the genes linked to sweet detection in cats. That fits with observations that cats generally do not seek out sweet foods the way people do.