New pet owners will definitely find it strange why they can't give pets human food; many older generations even say their pets have eaten human food for years without any problems; some owners say once their pets have tasted something delicious, they refuse to eat dog food again. So can pets actually distinguish delicious food? What exactly is delicious to pets? Stop staring blankly at the shelves full of food and snacks. The editor will delve into what deliciousness means for pets, so owners no longer worry about their pets being picky eaters.

What exactly is delicious to pets?

　　1. How do pets perceive taste?
　　Humans can taste food because there are taste organs on the tongue, forming a bumpy surface called "taste buds"; the five tastes—sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami—are chemical substances generated when food is dissolved by saliva, stimulating the taste buds on the tongue, allowing us to experience different tastes.
　　Like humans, pets also have taste buds on their tongues, but pets only have about 1,000 taste buds, while humans have 5,000 to 6,000 taste buds to perceive the taste of food. That means pets can only perceive about 20% of the taste intensity that humans experience and cannot detect as many subtle flavors.
　　Additionally, dogs can distinguish four tastes: sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. However, recent research found that cats, due to lacking a key protein in their genetic makeup, cannot taste sweetness. This is also true for other felines such as lions and tigers.

To pets, their owner's food is always tempting

　　2. Do pets lack taste nerves?
　　Why can't cats taste sweetness? Because cats are naturally carnivorous animals, they hunt mice or birds to eat and hardly ever consume sweet foods. Moreover, from the perspective of primal animal behavior, wild animals need to eat freshly caught prey quickly or risk losing it to others. Naturally, they don’t have the luxury of savoring food slowly, which prevents the development of advanced taste senses and makes developing sweetness sensation unnecessary.
　　The same situation can explain the development of dogs’ taste nerves: when a wolf pack catches prey, the alpha wolf eats first, but if the eating is too slow, others won't get even leftovers. Thus, they tend to gulp meat down with little chewing, making advanced taste unnecessary. So, do pets completely lack the need for taste?
　　For pets, distinguishing "edible or not" is far more important than recognizing "delicious or not." For example, spoiled food mostly contains sour and bitter tastes, so both dogs and cats generally reject sour things; cats dislike the bitter taste emitted by rotten meat, so they only eat fresh food; dogs, however, are less sensitive to bitterness and often dig up buried food to eat.
　　Additionally, because cats cannot perceive sweetness while dogs can, sweetness helps dogs determine if fruits are ripe enough to eat.

Not only dogs are picky eaters; picky cats are increasing too

　　3. What is delicious to pets?
　　Generally, it’s not only the "taste" that influences a pet’s perception of food, but also aroma, texture, and temperature are key factors. Especially aroma; some cats with rhinitis suffer reduced sense of smell, which greatly decreases their appetite. Dogs also judge edibility based on aroma. Once they find it edible, they often gobble it down immediately. Whether the food is carefully prepared by the owner or not, expecting pets to savor it slowly is nearly impossible.

For picky pet owners, is your feeding behavior scientific and reasonable?

　　4. Pets’ likes and dislikes for food
　　After all this, even if the food is edible, pets still have preferences, right? Why is that?
　　Factor one: taste memory from youth
　　The weaning period of pets is also called the "socialization period," and experiences in this period will affect their habits as they grow. For example, a cat that eats only fish during the weaning period may dislike eating meat later.
　　Factor two: unpleasant past experiences
　　If a pet experiences stomach pain or other discomfort after eating certain food, it will remember this forever. Even if the symptoms were not directly caused by the food, the pet will refuse to eat it again.
　　Factor three: not eating something leads to getting something else
　　Also, even if the pet isn't particularly averse to something, if it has learned that "not eating this means getting something else," it will remember this well.
　　Besides, pets seem to have the mindset of "the food in others’ bowls tastes better~" They always want to eat what the owner is currently eating, which looks very tasty. After eating, their feelings of liking or disliking the food are influenced by the owner's reactions. If scolded, they will dislike those foods.
　　5. Conclusion
　　Pets originally don’t have clear likes or dislikes regarding food. When a pet becomes picky, it is due to the owner's feeding methods. Daily life should focus on balanced, healthy diets. From now on, let them know that any food given to them is delicious and enjoyable!