SIGNS YOUR CAT IS IN LOVE WITH THEIR FOOD

Shake the bag. Crack the can. Peel the package. And suddenly — your cat appears, meowing and swirling between your feet as you scramble to get their meal ready. We all recognise when our cats are telling us they’re hungry and excited for mealtime. But did you know there are a few more subtle signs your cat may be displaying that indicates they’re not just enjoying their food… they’re absolutely loving it?

A CAT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

If you share your home with a cat, then you already know — every cat is unique, and has its own food preferences. Some may devour their food with enthusiasm one day, but the next, they turn their nose up like it’s the most offensive thing they’ve ever encountered. Others may refuse to eat anything except that one elusive brand that always seems to be out-of-stock whenever you need it. Understanding the food preferences of cats is something that still baffles researchers to this day.

Both neophilia, the tendency to seek out and enjoy new foods, and neophobia, the avoidance of unfamiliar foods, are common for cats to display. Being the curious creatures that they are, cats are naturally more neophilic, but neophobia tends to increase with age. Cats are extremely sensitive to aversion; one bad food experience may influence a cat to become more cautious towards trying something new. 

Some cats, however, exhibit metaphilia, the preference for change from a familiar food, often referred to as the “monotony effect.” In other words, cats will happily eat the same food for a while, then suddenly crave a change.

WHAT INFLUENCES A CAT’S PREFERENCES?

A cat's early experiences play a huge role. Their mother’s diet during pregnancy along with their food exposures during kittenhood start to shape your cat’s initial food preferences. After that, other factors – including age, sex, breed, health status, body condition, food competition, and seasonality — influence your cat's evolving relationship with food. 

But you also play a large part in shaping your cat’s food preferences. Cat parents that provide a variety of foods are more likely to have cats with neophilic tendencies, as they’ll learn to actively seek out new foods. On the flip side, cats fed a limited diet may become neophobic, developing a strong attachment to a single type of food or flavour. 

Interestingly, cat parents' own preferences and personality influence their perception of their cat’s food preferences. We’re drawn to pet foods that appeal to our senses — preferring milder smells, attractive packaging, and reassuring marketing claims. Research shows that when cat parents have a positive perception of a pet food, they’re more likely to believe their cat will enjoy it too.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT LOVES THEIR FOOD 

Now that we understand just how complex a cat’s relationship with food can be, it’s our job as devoted cat parents to decode their signals. Researchers have been hard at work uncovering behavioural indicators that can help reveal a cat’s food preference.

Some of the signs your cat loves their food may seem obvious, like excited meowing and eager eating. But others are surprisingly subtle and might be something new to watch out for, like protruding their tongue, half-closing their eyes, sitting while eating, or heading straight to the litter box after a meal.

Based on current research, here are some key behaviours to watch for before, during, and after mealtime that may help you interpret how your cat really feels about their meal.

UNLOCKING THE SIGNS YOUR CAT LOVES KATKIN

You may have noticed that several behaviours listed above were marked as “unclear.” That’s because research around these behaviours has been conflicting — they’ve been inconsistently classified as positive or negative among different studies or different types of food. But here’s where we come in: none of these studies have been conducted on cats eating a fresh diet. That means we have a huge opportunity to uncover which of these more subtle behavioural cues signals a true love for fresh food. 

In-Home Palatability Panels

At KatKin, we rely on feedback from real cat parents through our in-home palatability tests. Cat parents selected for our tasting panel receive new or updated KatKin products alongside their usual recipe. By following a structured feeding test, they help us assess their cat’s response — not just whether they eat it, but how they approach and interact with their meal. These panels not only help us make recipe upgrades, but they also help our research team learn more about cat behaviour and palatability. 

In late 2024, we updated our palatability survey to capture these feeding behaviours before, during, and after the meal. By tracking these behaviours alongside other palatability measures, we can start to uncover what some of the unclear behavioural cues mean for a fresh diet — and our data scientists are already starting to see fascinating trends. Early results suggest that when cats flick their ears or tails while waiting for their meal, it may actually be a sign of excitement — these behaviours have been positively linked to a greater food intake and a more enthusiastic approach. On the other hand, behaviours like prolonged sniffing or investigating the food before eating, as well as licking or sniffing the bowl, may indicate lower palatability, as they’ve been negatively correlated with food consumption and approach. But we need more data to truly decode what these ambiguous signals mean for cats on a fresh diet.

Diet Transition Study

If you haven’t heard, we recently launched our first-ever diet transition study — an ambitious study to help us understand how diet impacts cat health, behaviour, and quality of life. In this study, eligible cats are randomly assigned to either our fresh chicken recipe or a conventional diet (a combination of chicken-based dry and wet food) for 12 weeks. Throughout the study, we’re tracking a range of health and behavioural outcomes — including, of course, these palatability behaviours!

By comparing feline feeding behaviours across fresh, dry, and wet diets, we’ll unlock even more insights into what these signals really mean. And ultimately, we’ll be one step closer to understanding how to give cats the food they love — while keeping them healthier and happier for life.