Objective: To evaluate the voluntary acceptance of 10 commercially available compounding flavors in cats.
Animals: 46 healthy cats between 1 and 12 years of age.
Procedures: Each cat underwent a 14-day study period consisting of a 4-day acclimation period followed by a 10-day trial period in which each cat was randomly offered 10 different compounding flavors. Owners completed a presurvey along with a daily observation logbook. Kits, including residual amounts of flavors, were returned and weighed to determine residual weight and calculate the amount ingested.
Results: Overall, cats did not voluntarily accept most of the compounding flavors; 58.8% (124/211) and 84.5% (267/311) of offered samples of oil-based and water-based compounding flavors, respectively, were rejected or minimally accepted. Cats were significantly (P < .001) more likely to accept oil-based flavors, compared to water-based flavors. The sweet water-based flavors were least accepted, compared to water-based control and water-based savory flavors (P = .040 and P < .001, respectively). Owner-perceived acceptance was moderately correlated with residual flavor weights (Kendall tau [τ] = -0.466; P < .001). Owners were not able to accurately predict which flavors their cats would accept.
Clinical relevance: Cats should be offered oil-based compounding flavorings when available, whereas water-based sweet flavorings should be avoided. Owner perception of acceptance is a valid metric to assess flavor acceptance, which can be used in future studies evaluating flavor acceptance. Owners may not accurately predict their cats' flavor preferences, limiting their ability to guide optimal flavor selection.