Cats Can't Taste Sugar: ORly?

[RJMooreII]

Within the past couple of years genetic researchers claimed that cats can not taste sugar because they lack the gene, common to most/all mammals, that allows them to sense sweetness.

 

I have a basic objection to this, along the lines of a 'so what'?: Parallel evolution. A cat may have lost that 'standard' gene that allows sugar tasting and replaced it with another, with perhaps somewhat different mechanical operations. Especially the selectively bred little mutants we call house cats.

 

Much like the claim 'cats don't eat carbohydrates", another objection I have is the experience of myself and thousands of others: many cats will, without prompting, steal and devour fruit, drink beer, drink Coca-cola and break into jars full of hummingbird feed.

 

I am not saying the cat CAN taste sugar, I am saying that I don't think their finding 'proves' that cats can't taste sweets. And until there is a better explanation to why my carnivore likes to down bananas and Dr. Pepper, I remain skeptical.

[Santalum]

Within the past couple of years genetic researchers claimed that cats can not taste sugar because they lack the gene, common to most/all mammals, that allows them to sense sweetness.

 

I have a basic objection to this, along the lines of a 'so what'?: Parallel evolution. A cat may have lost that 'standard' gene that allows sugar tasting and replaced it with another, with perhaps somewhat different mechanical operations. Especially the selectively bred little mutants we call house cats.

 

Much like the claim 'cats don't eat carbohydrates", another objection I have is the experience of myself and thousands of others: many cats will, without prompting, steal and devour fruit, drink beer, drink Coca-cola and break into jars full of hummingbird feed.

 

I am not saying the cat CAN taste sugar, I am saying that I don't think their finding 'proves' that cats can't taste sweets. And until there is a better explanation to why my carnivore likes to down bananas and Dr. Pepper, I remain skeptical.

 

The sensation of 'sweet' is rather subjective I would say when considering it across the species barrier, much like the sensation of 'red' even within our species.

 

One person's sensation of red is not necessarily precisely the same as another person's senation of red. Consider colour blindness as an extreme example.

 

Perhaps, as you say, cats have evolved another gene for the sensation of sweetness, or perhaps even their sensation of sweetness is defined by the total absence of salt, bitter and sour etc or perhaps they have an entirely different sensation in response to sugar as we would understand it ourselves.

 

It is the case that other species have quite different sensations of colour, e.g. bees that can see in UV. So why would it not be possible that other species have different sensations of taste and different associated genes?

 

 

Dogs are carnivores and wild dogs do not ever seek out sweet foods as far as I am aware. However many domesticated dogs have a penchant for ice cream and chocolate, including mine.

 

Do dogs also not have the specific gene that is responsible for the sensation of sweetness in humans?