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Grab a can opener and a spoon…

Grab a can opener and a spoon…

Cat food is yummy...to cats.…because Brock University in Ontario proudly announced that they’ve successfully refined a methodology “to allow for a human taste panel to profile the flavour and texture of a range of cat food products (CFP) and their component parts. ”

Mmm mmm good. I wonder what “successfully” means here?

You’ll be relieved to know that they’re a thorough bunch up at Brock University, too: they’ve included both “meat chunk (MC)” and “gravy gel (GG)” constituents in the testing.

The statement I find most bemusing is the following:

Ultimately, this may facilitate more economical and efficient methods for optimizing cat food flavour and texture and predicting the effects of composition and processing changes on cat feeding behaviour.

Molly's extreme close-up on my deskHmm. I can’t say that my reaction to the prospect of consuming my favorite felines’ food seems to be very “predictive” of their “feeding behavior.” Take Molly for instance, our feisty, affectionate old Siamese who spends 95% of her day sleeping in a basket on my desk. Even as a vegetarian, I’m first to admit that some cat foods (excuse me, CFPs) look almost edible, even…appetizing. Those are Molly’s least favorite offerings. But give our old girl a dish of food she’s buried under her blanket and slept on for two days, allowing it to form a mysterious crust, and she will dig right in with all the gusto a 5-pound cat can muster.*

Then again, this new methodology is all about taste-testing, not sight. So, who’s to say that us humans wouldn’t find crusty, nasty, scary-looking cat food varieties absolutely scrumptious (and accurately predictive of Molly’s feeding behavior)?

Um, I’ll say it. 🙂

MollyAll kidding aside, I’m always grateful to see researchers spending time and resources to make the world better for cats. If this new methodology leads to more healthful cat food, better understanding of kitty preferences, or even just a more enjoyable cuisine for our beloved species, I’m all for it.

But, for now, I’ll leave the taste-testing to the pros. Like Molly.

*Not to worry: we don’t regularly allow Molly or any of our cats to eat old, crusty food! But, on the rare occasion that Molly’s buried an old dish of wet food and discovered her “treasure” a day later, she’s been absolutely elated and eaten as much of the old, nasty-looking stuff as she can before we catch her to take it away.

5 thoughts on “Grab a can opener and a spoon…

  1. Most excellent article, and yet another reminder as to who’s in control. 🙂 Wait a second…is that Dibbles I hear meowing “with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow”? Pardon me, I’m off to get him some wet food…

  2. Angela, you just have to think of it as this: To the world, that is just one cat but to that cat you are the world. We can’t help all of them but by helping one cat at a time we are making a huge difference in it’s life. To that end I appreciate not just Tabby’s Place but all of the no-kill shelters in the country. Assembly line murder shoud never be an option.

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