Why you shouldn't give a Cat a Sweet
It seems like forever since I last made a post, when actually it has only been about 2+ weeks. Well, I've gotten kinda lazy so I'm not going to make a long post. Haha. Plus today was the first day of school and I'm getting withdrawal effects from not having had a proper "slack and do nothing" holiday.
Anyway, to re-kick-start things, I'm going to talk about cats. Well, scientists have found that apparently cats can't taste sweet things. This is due to a problem with one of the genes that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor that has left cats unable to detect sweet-tasting compounds like sugars and carbohydrates.
Scientists speculate that since the defective genes are present in all modern cats as well as a distant relative, the hyena, the mutated gene must have occurred somewhere in the past among their common ancestor. However, this ancestor must have also been a very successful hunter to have survived and bred.
In addition to losing their taste for sweet foods, cats also have deficiency of sucrase (the enzyme that digests sucrose, in case you forgot your secondary Bio). This results in the cats being unable to digest sucrose very well and causes them to get violently ill.
So if you are sadistic enough, you can go try feeding a cat a bowl of water with surcose mixed inside. Unfortunately, I think the Big Mutant Cat (that likes Rice) I know has mutated to have normal sweet taste buds and sucrase levels, so I can't use him...
Click here for the full article.
Anyway, to re-kick-start things, I'm going to talk about cats. Well, scientists have found that apparently cats can't taste sweet things. This is due to a problem with one of the genes that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor that has left cats unable to detect sweet-tasting compounds like sugars and carbohydrates.
Scientists speculate that since the defective genes are present in all modern cats as well as a distant relative, the hyena, the mutated gene must have occurred somewhere in the past among their common ancestor. However, this ancestor must have also been a very successful hunter to have survived and bred.
In addition to losing their taste for sweet foods, cats also have deficiency of sucrase (the enzyme that digests sucrose, in case you forgot your secondary Bio). This results in the cats being unable to digest sucrose very well and causes them to get violently ill.
So if you are sadistic enough, you can go try feeding a cat a bowl of water with surcose mixed inside. Unfortunately, I think the Big Mutant Cat (that likes Rice) I know has mutated to have normal sweet taste buds and sucrase levels, so I can't use him...
As cat owners know, their feline friend would much rather chase and eat a live mouse than snack on the chocolate equivalent, and now researchers have discovered the reason – cats are simply unable to taste sweet things.
An examination of feline genetics has shown a significant defect in one of the genes that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor. This “huge deletion” of 247 base pairs in the gene that codes for the T1R2 protein – one of two proteins that make up the sweet taste receptor in mammals – has left cats unable to detect sweet-tasting compounds like sugars and carbohydrates.
Click here for the full article.
posted by CS at 9:58 PM
2 Comments:
>>i always notice how much they like to lick their fur (must be very sweaty and salty) and ahem even their groin areas.
You seem to observe the weirdest things... like dogs hanging out of windows...
*yeah*
Finally posted a new entry.. *giggles*
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