Why Do Some Cats Love Watermelons?

You wouldn’t think cats would go near a watermelon. But some cats adore them. I don’t know why but I can guess, although my guess is quite possibly wrong. I couldn’t find an answer on the internet.

Watermelons are sweet and juicy with quite a firm texture to bite into. The “meat” of the watermelon is red. They are a very healthy food for humans. I’m told that they contain an amino acid called L-citrulline, which the human body converts to L-arginine. I am not sure whether this is significant. Cat might like watermelons be because L-arginine very important to a cat. Perhaps cats are able to detect this particular amino acid in watermelons through smell.

Perhaps the most obvious reason why quite a lot of domestic cats like watermelons is because the “flesh” of the watermelon (the bit inside) appears similar to bloodied flesh. The firm texture may also feel a bit like flesh when eaten by a domestic cat. Cats like eating animal flesh, obviously. There is lots of water in a watermelon and the classic domestic cat prey, the mouse, is made up of 70% water. So there are similarities between the watermelon and the mouse!

One big difference is that watermelons are sweet in flavour. You would have thought that it would put off a cat. You may know, though, that the domestic cat cannot taste sweetness in foods and therefore it is irrelevant that the watermelon tastes sweet.

A domestic cat eating watermelon looks odd but it isn’t that far from a domestic cat eating a mouse from the cat’s point of view. The cat in the video is a Persian.

3 thoughts on “Why Do Some Cats Love Watermelons?”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Molly seems to like it. I think that when a cat drinks water it doesn’t get so much in it’s mouth lapping it up like they do. Infact they are mean’t to hydrate through food.

    But

    I would guess that for a cat, a bit of water melon is about the largest amount of liquid/water they would ever in their mouth since the melon holds til you start to chew on the piece.

    So it must be a very wet and refreshing thing for a cat – and very natural too. They like the organic smells of plants and grasses and fruits I find.

    Reply
  3. OMGosh!! Our Abby LOVED watermelon juice which she would steal from my husbands breakfast plate – quite unfortunately, it gave her terrible diahhrea… eeks!

    Reply
  4. This is a new one for me.
    I’ve never had a cat interested in watermelon.
    Maybe the water content has something to do with it.
    Cheerios, sour cream, and apples are fairly popular.

    Reply

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