Japan team discovers why cats leave meals unfinished

The Iwate University team said that it had confirmed that cats' appetites wane once they get used to the smell of their food, while a whiff of a new scent encouraged them to eat again.

In its study, the team, led by Masao Miyazaki, a professor at the university, conducted a 10-minute feeding period and then a 10-minute interval, after a 16-hour period in which the cats were not given food.

This cycle was repeated six times.

Through the study, conducted between January 2023 and February 2026 and covering 12 healthy mixed-breed cats aged 3-15 years, the team studied how much cats ate in line with differences in food and scent.

The team found that cats ate less and less as the study progressed when given the same food each time, with many cats leaving their meals unfinished.

When cats were given different types of food, the team observed improvements in the cats' waning appetites.

The introduction of the scent of a different type of food brought back their appetites, even though the cats were eating the same food throughout the experiment, the team said.

The team's study, published in the international science journal Physiology & Behavior, underlined that cats' appetites may have declined when they became used to the smell of their food or were simply full, and recovered when they are exposed to new stimulation.

The team believes that this odor-driven mechanism is a reason why cats tend to eat small and frequent meals.

"We hope our study helps sick cats that struggle to eat to increase both their appetites and food intake by adding a new scent to their meals," Miyazaki said.