Research overview: sour taste and water responses in cats

In addition to bitter and savory tastes, cats detect sour and may have specialized responses to water, rounding out their taste capabilities. This overview surveys feline sour taste, which signals acidity and can influence food acceptance, and discusses reports of water-responsive taste cells in cats and some other carnivores. Sour detection helps animals assess the ripeness, spoilage, or chemistry of food. The survey relates these taste qualities to the overall profile of feline taste, which retains bitter, sour, savory, and salt perception while lacking sweet. It discusses how these tastes contribute to the evaluation of food and drink. Understanding sour and water taste fills out the picture of what cats can perceive on the tongue. It shows that, apart from the notable absence of sweet, the feline taste system covers the qualities relevant to a carnivore, allowing cats to assess the safety and suitability of what they consume.