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Wednesday, December 14, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Paw
Prints
Jodi Schneider McNamee
Columnist
What makes
cats finicky?
This time you went out of
your way and bought some-
thing you think Kitty would
love for dinner. The purest
grain-free tuna you could
find. But she walked away
after one sniff.
Meanwhile, Rover wolfs
down his food. No problem.
How many times has your
furry feline friend turned her
nose up at the food you so
lovingly provided?
We all have favorite
foods, but felines can be
downright fussy when it
comes to what they will or
won’t dine on. And they’ll
often decide not to like some-
thing — just when you were
convinced that you’d finally
found the one food they
loved.
So why are some cats
good eaters, while others act
like they’d rather starve than
eat what you give them?
First, rule out medical
issues. Loss of appetite, espe-
cially when it comes on sud-
denly, can be an indicator of
a serious medical problem.
When a previously healthy
cat stops eating for more than
24-48 hours, this is cause for
concern and requires a veteri-
nary visit.
According to veterinary
nutritionist Dr. Jennifer
Larsen, DVM, PhD, of
the William R. Pritchard
Veterinary Medical Teaching
Hospital at the University of
California Davis, there are
a few possible reasons for
choosy cats, including the
way they were fed as kittens,
bad associations with certain
foods or cats just being cats.
Did you know that kit-
tens who are fed a variety
of foods after being weaned
from their mother develop
varied tastes?
Larsen says that cats that
have been fed a variety of
foods are more likely to try
something new when offered.
So, it’s possible that a cat that
is repeatedly fed the same
food will develop a prefer-
ence for that food, which can
be difficult to change.
And, sometimes Kitty just
may not be as hungry as you
thought.
The reputation for being
finicky may be related to the
fact that many cats, espe-
cially those who live indoors,
have low energy requirement
and don’t need to eat much
food to maintain their weight.
In the wild, some cats
have natural preferences, so
it can be normal for cats —
just like people — to have
favorite flavors and textures.
One study showed that the
wild cats in a region in Spain
eat primarily rabbits when
available.
Did you know that unlike
a lot of species, felines don’t
go for sugar or salt? And
according to Dr. Larsen, they
do like the flavor of protein
and amino acids.
Warming up your cat’s
food, as well as offering it
when Kitty is hungry, can
help. Praising and petting
your cat at mealtime may
also increase your cats’
responsiveness. Researchers
are confronting the chal-
lenge of finicky cats every
day and have suggested that
your feline’s pickiness could
be down to how their taste
receptors respond to bitter
compounds.
The researchers of the
study, published in the jour-
nal BMC Neuroscience, iden-
tified two bitter taste recep-
tors in domestic cats, known
as Tas2r38 and Tas2r43, and
studied how they respond to
bitter compounds. They also
used cell-based experiments
to compare cat and human
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Dinah was one finicky cat that learned to like more foods by not being
free fed.
taste receptors. The abil-
ity to taste bitter chemicals
could have evolved as a form
of protection against toxic
compounds found in plants.
Co-author Joseph Rucker,
from Integral Molecular,
was surprised to see that
one of the cat taste receptors
responded to a more limited
range of bitter compounds
compared to humans.
Here is one approach to
get your finicky cat to eat.
Remember, go slow and be
patient.
If your furry feline friend
is eating only dry food that
you leave out at all times,
try stopping this practice.
Instead feed her twice a
day, at set meal times, and
take up what Kitty doesn’t
eat within half an hour. She
gets no other food until the
next meal time. Be prepared
that Kitty will make you feel
like you’re letting her starve.
This phase of the process
can be much harder on the
human than it is on the cat.
Persistence is the key. A little
hunger at meal times can be
a powerful motivator to get
your cat to accept new food.
You can also try adding
some incentives to tempt the
finicky eater.
Sprinkle cooked or freeze-
dried chicken or salmon on
top of her meal. Or drizzle a
little bit of tuna or clam juice
over her meal.
Dealing with a finicky cat
can be frustrating, and it can
take time and patience, but
hopefully these tips will go a
long way toward getting your
cat eating healthy food on a
regular basis.
Raise a Paw for Furry Friends!
Holiday Pet
Food Drive
Furry Friends Foundation, 501(c)(3), needs
your support to feed Sisters-area pets
this holiday! Please consider a
donation of dry pet-food (dog
or cat). We espcially need
nation at
Drop off your do
cat food this year. Cash
aper,
sp
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The
donations welcome! The
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pet-food is distributed in
to
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conjunction with the Sisters
or mail a ch
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Kiwanis and Sisters-Camp
undati
Furr y Friends Fo
Sherman RFPD’s Spirit of
ters, OR 97759
P.O. Box 698, Sis
Giving programs to help
E at
DONATE ONLIN
Sisters-area families.
ndation.org
Furr yFriendsFou