A Michael Broad Blog
I confirmed some of the information in the infographic by discussing it with AI (ChatGPT). Here is a transcript of that conversation. I started by reading Dr Desmond Morris’s book Catlore on this topic, hence the question in the dialogue. Question: Can domestic cats taste sweetness? Response: No, domestic cats cannot taste sweetness. Cats, …
Domestic cats have the required ‘umami’ taste receptors on their tongues to respond well to an enzyme called inosine monophosphate and an amino acid called free L-Histidine which combine to produce a strong umami taste. Cats enjoy these taste receptors thanks to the inheritance of Tas1r1-Tas1r3 genes. The umami taste is described as the …
A domestic cat’s sense of taste is not quite as good as ours which is reassuring because in many respects the domestic cat’s senses are superior to ours. However, as you might know, they have difficulty in tasting sweetness. Like us, the domestic cat responds to 4 basic tastes: sour bitter salt and sweet. …
The feline tongue is a wonderous element of their anatomy. It can achieve a lot, thanks in part to the backward facing papillae made of keratin attached to the upper surface. These spines do a lot. Here is a list of 13 benefits to the cat when using their tongue. RELATED: 2 different types …
I confess that I’m confused. I have made the common-sense deduction that there are 2 different types of backward facing papillae on the domestic cat’s tongue. I have come to this conclusion for the following reasons. There are many photographs of the papillae on the cat’s tongue on the Internet. These are well-known images. …
I list five possible reasons why your cat’s tongue sticking out. One concerns oral health, and other concerns cooling down. Two others concern extreme breeding and the fifth is called the blep!
It is ironic that about 31% of dry cat food is carbohydrates. It has to be in order to make the stuff. And I think it is correct to say that carbohydrates taste sweet to at least some degree. Therefore, I’ve got to conclude that domestic cats do not taste the sweetness in dry …
Cats and dogs drink in very different ways. I don’t want to sound biased but cats employ a far more sophisticated technique based upon fancy physics. Whereas dogs use their tongues to ladle the liquid into their mouths by scooping it up, cats use the physics of inertia to overcome the pull of gravity …
