It’s the classic morning ritual. Your cat demands its kibble as if it hasn’t eaten for three days. Obediently, you head towards his bowl only to realize… that there are still kibbles in it. That doesn’t stop your pet from looking at you with undisguised contempt and complaining. Once refilled, the animal eats a little and leaves, leaving its bowl full. So why are they so annoying?
For a long time we blamed their whiskers, whose excessive sensitivity when they touched the edges of the bowl meant that they never finished their plate. Others simply pointed out the difficult nature of cats. But the truth lies elsewhere, more precisely in the noses of our little predators.
A team of Japanese researchers looked into the question by closely observing the habits of twelve cats in the laboratory. The idea was simple: to understand why these felines stop eating when their stomachs are not yet full and why they clamor when they still have some. The results show that satiety in cats is not just a matter of calories, but above all a matter of sensory fatigue. The more the cat is exposed to the same smell repeatedly during a meal, the more its desire to eat decreases drastically.
According to this study to appear in the journal Physiology & Behavior, the domestic cat is the victim of a phenomenon called olfactory habituation. In other words, the smell of your own food ends up numbing your senses. “The current study demonstrated that premature feeding cessation in domestic cats is closely associated with olfactory factors rather than physiological satiety alone”explain the authors in their report. It’s a bit like eating a huge plate of pasta and the first few bites were delicious, but by the tenth the taste seemed to fade and the craving disappeared.
Not better, but different
This mechanism would explain why our cats, whose olfactory sensors saturate very quickly, prefer to multiply small meals throughout the day rather than devouring a large portion at once, as a dog would do. To validate this thesis, the researchers introduced a new smell or a different food in the middle of a meal. Result? The cat’s appetite is soaring again, even though he had just eaten his usual kibble. Novelty acts like a real switch on their brain.
The experiment went even further by playing solely on scents. The scientists noticed that by simply changing the ambient odor around the bowl without changing the contents of the bowl, they could boost the cat’s food motivation. This proves that the feline is not necessarily looking for better in terms of nutrition, but simply different, to stimulate its senses. This is what we call dishabituation: the arrival of a new stimulus which awakens interest.
Sensory boost
It is this sensitivity that pushes your cat to ask you to add kibble even though the bowl is not empty. By shaking the bag or adding a fresh handful on top, you release new odor molecules that have not yet been neutralized by his brain. So it’s not that he’s asking for more quantity, he’s actually asking for an olfactory update of his dinner so that it becomes interesting to him again.
This discovery, relayed by the American online media Gizmodo, changes a lot of things for cat owners. If your pet feline seems to be ignoring his meals, there is no point in changing the brand of kibble every two days (which could also disrupt his transit). Sometimes all it takes is a little sensory boost to help him finish his portion.
Some experts suggest, for example, storing the kibble in airtight containers to retain all their aromatic power, or lightly heating the mash to release the flavors. The simple act of shaking the bowl to mix the kibbles on the bottom with those on top can sometimes be enough to fool your companion’s nose and convince him to return to the fight.
This research has real medical interest. For an aging or sick cat who is losing its appetite, the variety of odors becomes a major therapeutic tool. “These results demonstrate that odor-dependent habituation and dishabituation dynamically regulate food motivation in cats”conclude the researchers. By playing with aromatic garnishes (like a little tuna juice or brewer’s yeast), you can encourage a weakened animal to regain strength.
Conversely, for cats who have a little too much belly, routine can become an ally. Keeping exactly the same menu, without any variation in smell or texture, would limit excess gluttony linked to novelty. Either way, the next time your cat stops in the middle of his feast, don’t scold him: he’s just waiting for his nose to reset.
