I usually eat my sauteed mushrooms (oh how I love them!) with a steak, which both Madison and Abigail flip out over.  They follow me around like two kids with their hands out for candy.  I always assumed their attraction was to the steak, but after reading the article in NPR about cats and mushrooms, I am wondering if maybe it is actually the mushrooms.

According to the article, your mushroom craving kitty cat is attracted to the unami in the mushroom which signals protein.  The article also solved my big question about Madison (my male cat) and Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream.  He loves it as much as I do, and literally runs to the freezer when he hears me open the door to get the box out.  I know though, that scientists have found kitty cats cannot taste sweets, so why crave ice cream?  I mean what is the point?  Isn’t that like drinking flat soda, decaf coffee or eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without the peanut butter?  Like, what’s the point?  Apparently, it is this unami flavor of amino acids in protein that is putting the skip in kitty’s step for mushrooms and ice cream.  Go figure!

Next time you see your cat running for sweets (like ice cream or cake) and mushrooms, remember;  they cannot taste the sweet flavor and they are mostly meat-loving creatures.  It is the unami they are after.   Cats cannot digest carbohydrates, so watch out for the sweet consumption.  It’s really not good for them!  Veterinarians also warn that mushrooms are not good for your kitty cat either and wild mushrooms (which cats are attracted to) are poisonous to cats.

To read more about this article, click here.

Some other articles and videos you might like include:

Turtles and their Awesomeness

The Perks of becoming a Veterinarian

Interesting Polar Bear Facts

What is a Sloth

Hi, my name is Lisa Illman and KrittersthatTwitter.com is my Blog.  My cat babies are Madison and Abigail.   They inspired me to invent an outdoor kitty cat enclosure product line called the Kritter Kondo as well as develop a social media network specific to pets and animals.  I love my kitties, animals, social media and Pilates.  These are the topics you are likely to read about when you stop by.   Leave a comment, we love them and will write back!