Not So Sweet

Sweet treats may tickle your taste buds, but they won't tempt your cat's tummy.

A cat's sense of taste differs from other mammals in one important way -- cats have a genetic mutation that makes the sweet detectors on their tongues nonfunctional. When cats in a study were presented with sugar-laced water and plain water, they showed no preference for either. This mutation likely helped cats evolve toward all-meat diets.