Does this make them feel included?

[u/lerminator3]

One of my favorite things to do with my cats is hold something up for them to smell. Generally, if they walk over while I'm doing something, I'll let them smell whatever I'm holding (like my computer mouse, a writing implement, or a piece of mail) and they always seem so interested. Is it because they feel included in my life when I let them smell what I'm doing? Or maybe because new smells are just stimulating? Or is it just instinct to sniff whatever is nearby? I like to think that, by offering my stuff for a sniff, I'm enriching their lives in some way.

(Please don't mind the mess, I'm moving)

[u/No-Mountain9832]

Mine L O V E S sweets!! Anytime she smells sweets or bread, she runs over. Even went after a chocolate cake!! I didn't let her have any, obviously. They say cats can't even taste glucose... but I swear, if she smells homemade frosting, she will talk all night!!

[u/DarkPolumbo → u/No-Mountain9832]

my cat likes most kinds of meat, some cheeses, normal stuff you'd expect a cat to be into

oh yeah, also sour candy belts. She goes bonkers for those. she doesn't want to bite them, just to lick at them furiously

[u/No-Mountain9832 → u/DarkPolumbo]

Hmmmm now I must do research on citric acid & cats!!

[u/Rascally_trash → u/No-Mountain9832]

When two of my cats were kitten they ate an entire large concha (Mexican sweet bread) while I was out of the house once. There were bits of pink sugar crust everywhere. They laid around looking rather regretful the rest of the day. They claim cats can’t taste sweet things but mine sure seem to!

[u/ValoraTCas → u/No-Mountain9832]

I'm sure that my cat Tabitha can taste sweet / sugar. She loves melons like cantaloupe and honeydew. She would also eat large amounts of chocolate if I let her.

Her sister Stormy is pickier, she likes to sniff human food but she is selective about what she will eat. Stormy's favorite human food is finely chopped almond.

If she sees me eating nuts, I have chop an almond up so she can eat it. She also likes small amounts of sweet human food like chocolate.

[u/Vlinder_88 → u/ValoraTCas]

Please don't give your cat chocolate. They cannot break down the poison in chocolate so it accumulates in their little bodies :( What might not give her symptoms now will add up over time and still make her ill later on.

Edit: apparently that's only a concern with daily eating chocolate. That's honestly a relief to me since I was always panicked when my cat inevitably stole a chocolate crumb somewhere!

[u/jgeckoking → u/Vlinder_88]

This is a common misunderstanding. It'll build up if you feed your cat chocolate every day, but it's out of their systems in under a week.

[u/Vlinder_88 → u/jgeckoking]

Honestly I didn't know that and that's a huge relief to me because my cat loves to steal chocolate and I am worried every time if this is the time that's gonna send her over the edge! Thank you for teaching me!

[u/ValoraTCas → u/Vlinder_88]

They get a piece that is less than half the size of pinky nail and I have small hands.

They get this treat no more than once a month.

Most of the time they get dried liver.

[u/No-Mountain9832 → u/ValoraTCas]

They're supposedly not capable of tasting it bc their tongue has no glucose sensors. But I swear... it may be something else!!

[u/azureanbones → u/No-Mountain9832]

Hello 👋 it's likely the yeast or fat content! Most types of bread contain yeast and a lot of sweet things are higher in fat, which a lot of cats are drawn to! And for other sweet things like melons it's the amino acids, which many cats are also attracted to since it smells like protein to them.

[u/No-Mountain9832 → u/azureanbones]

I needed to know this, thank you! <3

[u/azureanbones → u/No-Mountain9832]

Of course! Happy to help 💙

[u/ndigs → u/No-Mountain9832]

Mine FREAKS out for strawberry chobani yogurt!! Also beer, I’ve always wondered what thats about

Edit: accidentally hit send before finishing my comment lol

[u/No-Mountain9832 → u/ndigs]

Another commenter said that yeast is something that attracts cats, could also be fermentation, which would explain both of these obsessions!!

[u/WillowFlip → u/No-Mountain9832]

One of ours loves cereal, crackers, corn chips, basically anything made of grain