Cats Taste Nothing Sweet. The Tas1r2 Gene Went Dead 83 Million Years Ago. Cats cannot taste sweetness because a broken gene wiped out their sugar receptors 83 million years ago. This article explains the Tas1r2 pseudogene and why obligate carnivores ignore sugar.
Why Cats Can't Taste Sweetness: The Broken Gene Behind a Carnivore's Palate Cats can't taste sweetness at all — not because they're picky, but because a broken gene wiped out their sugar receptors entirely. Here's the surprising biology behind it.
