Recently, I've started trying to change my cats' diet, mainly to try to wean Sam off the sugary food he likes best. I didn't realise quite how much sugar he was having until I found that his 3 favourite foods, which are all from the Purina Gourmet range (Perle, Gold Double Delicacies and A La Carte), specify on the ingredients list that they contain added sugar.

Yesterday, Milly managed to steal his breakfast of Gourmet Gold, so my OH replaced it with a whole tin of Hi Life Tuna Imperial (which doesn't specify sugar, but does contain tapioca). That lasted him until tea time, when they all had Animonda Carny, which is one of the new foods we're introducing. Sam picked at his - he enjoyed it last time he had it - and moped round looking sorry for himself for the rest of the day.

I gave him his usual Gourmet Perle for supper, he ate half of it in one go, which is practically unheard of, and 10 minutes later started going completely "loopy". He was racing round and chasing things like a kitten, and we had a hard job getting him to settle when we went to bed.

I know humans can experience "sugar rush" and "sugar slump" (I noticed it most markedly myself last pancake day, when I had pancakes with sugar and lemon instead of dinner), but I'm wondering if cats get the same, and that's what happened to Sam yesterday.

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Proud Mummy to:

Sam (born June 1999, found August 1999)
Milly (born May 1999, adopted September 1999)
Eva (born 2010, adopted us August 2011)

Hello, @lulubel!

Sugar has not been determined to be toxic to cats, but the risks are there, as it may lead to obesity and diabetes.

I have found a few years ago an interesting fact about how cats percieve sugar, and here is an explanation:
"Cats both large and small harbor a genetic mutation that renders the sugar detectors on their taste buds inoperative." (see also the link for the source of my findings: Cats' Sweet Tooth Long Gone).

I’d rather believe that our cats could sometimes steal our sweets not because they “like” sugar, but because there are other odours and tastes that they enjoy (such as milk-based ingredients).

Sugar is a source of “empty” energy for everybody, meaning it only provides the organism with energy, but it contains no nutritive element (no fibres, vitamins, minerals). Yes, cats can become more playful and restless because of sugar, just like humans.