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Food selection by the domestic cat, an obligate carnivore

Food selection by the domestic cat, an obligate carnivore
Food selection by the domestic cat, an obligate carnivore
The domestic cat Felis silvestris catus is the most accessible member of the family Felidae for the study of the relationship between food selection and nutrition. In contrast to pack-living animals such as the dog, and opportunistic omnivores such as the rat, the cat is generally able to maintain its normal body weight even when allowed ad libitum access to palatable food by taking small meals and adjusting intake according to the energy density of the food(s) available. The most extreme adaptations to carnivory discovered to data lie in the taste buds of the facial nerve, which are highly responsive to amino acids and unresponsive to many mono- and disaccharides. Preferences for particular foods can be modified by their relative abundance, their novelty, and by aversive consequences such as emesis: the mechanisms whereby these are brought about appear to be similar to those used by omnivorous mammals.
felidae, cat, feeding behaviour, palatability, olfaction, taste, facial nerve, meal patterns, aversion, neophobia
205-209
Bradshaw, John W.S.
430c7c44-0070-454d-b1ce-e23f51dc7c1a
Goodwin, Deborah
6a44fe30-189a-493d-8dcc-3eb8199a12ab
Legrand-Defrétin, Véronique
894564cf-e30f-4727-b25c-b1281a27ef4e
Nott, Helen M.R.
c41dfbe8-21bb-4dd4-bbf6-eab90f9caf15
Bradshaw, John W.S.
430c7c44-0070-454d-b1ce-e23f51dc7c1a
Goodwin, Deborah
6a44fe30-189a-493d-8dcc-3eb8199a12ab
Legrand-Defrétin, Véronique
894564cf-e30f-4727-b25c-b1281a27ef4e
Nott, Helen M.R.
c41dfbe8-21bb-4dd4-bbf6-eab90f9caf15

Bradshaw, John W.S., Goodwin, Deborah, Legrand-Defrétin, Véronique and Nott, Helen M.R. (1996) Food selection by the domestic cat, an obligate carnivore. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 114 (3), 205-209. (doi:10.1016/0300-9629(95)02133-7).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The domestic cat Felis silvestris catus is the most accessible member of the family Felidae for the study of the relationship between food selection and nutrition. In contrast to pack-living animals such as the dog, and opportunistic omnivores such as the rat, the cat is generally able to maintain its normal body weight even when allowed ad libitum access to palatable food by taking small meals and adjusting intake according to the energy density of the food(s) available. The most extreme adaptations to carnivory discovered to data lie in the taste buds of the facial nerve, which are highly responsive to amino acids and unresponsive to many mono- and disaccharides. Preferences for particular foods can be modified by their relative abundance, their novelty, and by aversive consequences such as emesis: the mechanisms whereby these are brought about appear to be similar to those used by omnivorous mammals.

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More information

Published date: 1996
Keywords: felidae, cat, feeding behaviour, palatability, olfaction, taste, facial nerve, meal patterns, aversion, neophobia

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 18262
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/18262
PURE UUID: 53c3d855-51b9-470c-baea-b77c346a73fc

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Mar 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:03

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Contributors

Author: John W.S. Bradshaw
Author: Deborah Goodwin
Author: Véronique Legrand-Defrétin
Author: Helen M.R. Nott

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