Cat Food Taste Testing

Nick Zamora eating cat food at Thanksgiving. photo copyright neekatnite

For Marks and Spencer Cat Food Taste Testing is best carried out by a human. One of their senior food technologists, tests M&S cat food and checks for taste, texture and look (M&S don't employ cats, yet). M&S have brought out an organic cat food range. As the quality of food improves, for humans, the spin off is that cat and dog food improves afterwards. Some cat food is simply lovely to look at and smells great to me.

In fact on occasions, when I have got cat food on my fingers I have instinctively licked it off! I'd forgotten that it was cat food. I'd done my own Cat Food Taste Testing. But and this is a big but, are we qualified to judge a cat's food?

After all wild cats (and domestic cats are still essentially wild cats) love the look, taste and texture of a barely dead rodent. How can an M&S Chicken and Vegetable Terrine (yes, for cat) match that or get anywhere near that in terms of texture and taste?

Are we turning our cats into human beings in terms of their preference for food? One day in 10,000 years cats will eat at table with us using a specially adapted knife and fork. In one million years time the knife and fork won't need adapting.

In domesticating the cat (or in the cat domesticating himself), the wild cat began to live like a human. In the USA cats are kept indoors full-time. This forces cats to live on human terms, forsaking the natural urges of the wild. I don't like this as it is unnatural. Is the taste testing of cat food one more step in the humanization of the domestic cat? We are trying to turn the cat into a companion animal that wholly meets our requirements. In other words, we are modifying the animal so that she fits in better.

Declawing is one example. A lot of people like domestic cats but just want to change them a bit. It's a bit like a human relationship. People sometimes try and change their partner's ways and routines to fit in better with theirs - it never works - it can't. But with a cat we can impose a change.

So with declawing, we want that new sofa and that cat, so we're going to have to declaw the cat. What about not buying the sofa? What about having cats test taste M&S cat food. Why aren't M&S supplying ground down frozen rat? You wouldn't need a human taste tester for that (financial saving) and the cats would/should love it.

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