Cats are notoriously picky eaters. But what if we could develop their food based on flavors that are scientifically proven to please them? Researchers publish in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry used a panel of cat taste testers to identify the preferred flavors in a range of chicken liver-based sprays. The cats particularly liked the sprays that contained more free amino acids, which gave their dry food a spicier and fattier taste.
According to the study, cats have a more sensitive sense of smell than humans, and the smell of their food plays a big role in whether they eat what their owner serves them for dinner or reject it. Cats are also more sensitive to umami (spicy) flavors than humans, and they cannot taste sweet things.
While meat-flavored attractant sprays can improve the smell and taste of dry food, the exact relationship between flavor volatiles and palatability is not yet well understood. Moreover, previous studies in this area lack input from a very important target group: real cats.
The study was conducted by scientists from the School of Perfume and Aroma Technology, Shanghai Institute of Technology, College of Food Science, Shanghai and Northeast Agricultural University, Heilongjiang, in China. Shiqing Song and his colleagues drew on the expertise of a panel of 10 hungry adult cats to evaluate a range of food sprays containing different volatile flavors.
The taste test
To create their scented sprays, the researchers homogenized and heat-treated chicken livers. They then used enzymes to break down the proteins in the liver paste to varying degrees to create four different food attractants. Song’s team identified over 50 different flavors in the sprays, ranging from tropical and floral to sweaty and rubbery.
For the taste test, the researchers coated commercial cat food with chicken fat and then sprayed it with one of the four chicken liver attractants. The samples were presented to the cats along with a control food that had been treated with a different commercial attractant. The team observed which bowl the cats chose first and how much food they ate over the course of the day.
The preferred flavors?
The researchers found that most cats preferred and ate more of the foods sprayed with attractants, especially the sprays containing proteins that were further broken down by the enzymes and contained more free amino acids. These compounds are important flavor precursors that can undergo the Maillard reaction, which likely produced many different flavor-enhancing compounds during heat treatment.
The popular foods also contained more mushroom and fatty flavors, while the less popular foods contained acidic and sweet-tasting compounds, possibly because fewer Maillard reactions occurred.
The researchers thank the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai for financial support and thank their volunteer cats for their participation.
Adapted from a press release.
