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Have you ever tasted your pet's food? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Looking past the recent vegan drama, have you ever wondered why your pet might not like particular foods? Have you ever actually tasted the food yourself?

I have, and some taste more like a chemistry lab than actual nutrition.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (24 children)

I mean, animals don't necessarily experience taste in the same ways humans do. What tastes terrible to me may still be very appealing to a dog or cat etc., regardless of taste.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Exactly. We like sweet things as this is our way to detect glucose for our brain; salty things for minerals, etc. Our pets diets are different, so are their taste preferences. Iirc, a totally blunt piece of dried food tastes great for a cat, since they seek protein more than anything.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Yup, cats can't taste sweetness for that reason, while birds don't have receptors for spice and can eat chillies easily.

That's just the taste buds themselves, additionally:

A large part of our taste response is tied to smell. This is why food tastes different when sick. It's also hard to try yourself because you can "smell" through the back of your throat too
the air around us will affect taste perception, which is why some foods taste better or worse on a plane
genetic factors exist, such as how some people taste cilantro/parsley as soapy

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I have the cilantro soap gene. Never heard of the taste of parsley being affected the same way.

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