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Why Does My Cat Like Sweets – 5 Interesting Reasons!

Why Does My Cat Like Sweets – 5 Interesting Reasons!

Even wondered why your lovely cat mewing around you when you are enjoying delicious food like sweets? Almost every cat owner has experienced this issue and seems curious whether they should share their sweet with their kitty. But the question is whether this is a safe way to feed sweet to your cat? Most veterinarians have some questions in common with the pet owners in terms of food: why does my cat like sweets?

Cats like sweets due to their genes and curiosity. Cats however cannot taste sweets due to their small amount of taste buds. While cat’s can’t taste sweets, they do enjoy the constituents present in them, such as fats and flour.

We will be explaining why your cat tries to sneak a taste of your sugary snacks despite its inability to taste them. Additionally, we will also answer some frequently asked questions from the cat owners related to why your cats are interested in taking sweet things.

Reasons Your Cat Likes Sweets

As we figured out, cats don’t have any receptors to taste sweet, so there’s no actual reason for a cat to like sweet. But why they walk around when you unwrap a sweet treat for yourself? Here we figured out five common reasons that make your cat interested to have sweet.

Your Cat Is Curious

Cats are by-born curious animals. Your cat becomes curious while seeing you eating a snack, and they want a share of it. But remember, just because your dog wants a share of your food doesn’t mean they should eat it. 

Fats And Proteins

Cats are very much fond of fats and proteins. Snacks are usually made of sugar, fat, protein, etc. Since cats don’t taste sweet, but they can taste fat and protein. In snacks, they get interested in testing fat rather than the sweet taste. For example, most cats try candy because of its minty smell.

Flavor

Cats love meat-flavored treats. Nowadays, various commercially available treats contain a negligible amount of sugar but can easily give to the cat. Cats prefer treats not because of having sugar in them but due to the other meat constituents.

Tas1r2 and Tas1r3 Genes

These two genes encode the sweet taste receptor in mammals. A recent study suggests that cats can detect some sweetness because of the expression of Tas1r2 genes while the other one (Tas1r3) remains unexpressed. But this research is still ongoing.

Your Cat Is Unique

Some cats prove the stereotype that cats don’t follow the rules. That’s why they often take sweets that some cat owners observe. This is just the out of their character because mostly cat prefers meat and other animal products to eat.

Although cats can eat sweets, they shouldn’t. Some examples of sweets your cat can eat in moderate amounts. These includes:

  • Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, etc.
  • Fruits
  • Ice cream
  • Peanut butter
  • Sweet cookies, etc.

What Does Sugar Taste Like To Cats

Cat tastes nothing when you offer them some ready-made sugar. Biologically, they don’t have any taste buds to taste any kinds of sugary things.

But some cats like to eat sugary biscuits, cookies, chocolate chips, etc., because of the other constituents present in them, such as fats, flour, etc. 

Can Cats Taste Sweet Things

No, cats don’t taste sweet things because of the absence of their taste receptors to detect sweet taste. Although some cats eat some snacks containing sugars but they can’t detect sweetness in foods. 

Can Cats Eat Candy

Cats should not eat candy. Candy is loaded with unhealthy ingredients for cats, and they may also become a choking hazard.

Pet nutritionists discourage offering candy to your cat. Although your cat may like to eat candy, remember, candy is made of sugar, and your cat’s digestive system is not compatible with sugary things.

Some candy ingredients like xylitol and other artificial sweeteners cause liver damage and seizure in cats. If the candy contains chocolate, it can cause severe illness to your cat.

Is Sugar Bad For Cats

Sugar itself isn’t toxic for cats, however it doesn’t contain much nutritional value to offer the cat. Since cats are solely carnivorous, it means they live on meat rather than plant material.

So, carbohydrates are not essential for them to live, and sometimes excess sugar may lead to overweight, diabetes, and tooth problems in your cat. 

Is It Ok To Give Cats Sweets

No, you don’t need to give sweets to your cat. Sweet contains a high amount of sugar that your cat can’t digest, and this causes digestive upset and often develops obesity and various health problems in cats. 

Things To Consider

Finally, by reading all of this, we hope you get the answer to your question about giving sweets to your cats. 

For humans and other animals, sweets are a craving item on the food list. However, cats can’t taste the sweet flavor and suffer a lot while digesting carbohydrates or sugars. So, it’s truly not worth the risk as a pet owner to give them anything that can do that kind of harm.

As a carnivore, the cat love meat and other fatty products. Their digestive system is fully designed to take foods of animal origin rather than plant matter.

Besides this, sugars negatively impact your cat’s health than its beneficial effect—high carbohydrate in diet results in obesity in cats with several heart problems.

Obesity in large-sized cats causes joint issues like osteoarthritis and tooth problems. That’s why pet nutritionists and veterinarians recommend keeping your cat’s diet under your control.

Just because your cat likes to have some sweets, you don’t need to provide it. Several sweets like raisin, chocolate, xylitol, artificial sweeteners, etc., are toxic in a specific dose for a cat. As a responsible cat owner, you need to be careful about it. 

From now on, whenever your cat wants some share of your sweet snacks, avoid it. Rather than giving sweets, you can give him a treat of chicken or fish. Your cat will love it for sure.

Some sticky sweets like honey may cause difficulties in swallowing in kittens and may contain bacterial spores detrimental to your cat’s life. Also, sugar causes unwanted digestive upsets with vomiting and diarrhea in your cat.

Some cat owners prefer giving a small amount of whipping cream to their cats. But for any emergency, always consult with your veterinarian to get proper advice.