Does Your Cat Care About Wet Food Texture?

Healthy Cats |  March 3, 2025

Have you ever brought home a can of cat food and watched your cat refuse to eat it after a single bite? You may wonder if the smell or taste is to blame, but many cats actually have distinct food texture preferences. So even if you’ve chosen a palatable formula in a favorite protein, it still might not tempt a cat who doesn’t like the texture of, say, pate.

When thinking about a cat’s preference for food textures—or to them, mouthfeel—you want to think about a couple of things. First of all, what a cat finds “tasty” is influenced by a lot of different factors other than “taste.” Part of this is because cats have fewer taste buds than humans or dogs. So other factors—like temperature, smell or mouthfeel—become much more proportionally relevant to them when they’re trying to discern what they like and don’t like.

In addition to different physiology, cats are also heavily influenced by the foods they eat as kittens. When cats are kittens, they’re learning whether different foods are good or bad for them. Often, they’re taught by their moms, or they learn from exposure to different things. So, cats build up these food preferences or aversions. They remember from kittenhood some things that they deem as not good, which, in their minds, may also mean that it might be potentially dangerous. Even factors like the location of food within the household can impact whether a cat will eat it.

Thanks to some famous television commercials, some cats may have a reputation of being “finicky,” but their distinct food preferences are linked to the combination of proportionately fewer taste buds and this priming period in their early lives. Thus, they may remember when they were kittens and they ate a similar food and didn’t like it. So, the reason they don’t like a food may not be tied to taste at all.

Further complicating matters, there are so many different textures of cat food, it would be hard to compare them accurately. But Mud Bay has grouped them into three broad categories: Pate, Cuts and Morsels.

Pate is what you might call “meatloaf in a can.” It’s ground up and compressed, and comes in a variety of densities, which can depend on the coarseness of the grind. Generally, there is a uniform texture throughout the entire can of food.

Cuts are essentially shredded meat. The grain of the muscle or the flakes of fish can still be seen. When opening a can of chicken cuts cat food, it looks like shredded chicken that one might find at the rotisserie counter. For added moisture and consistency, it’s typically in a type of gravy.

Morsels are created from food that’s been cooked, processed and then cut. A good comparison would be gyro meat. When slicing meat for gyros, there’s a long skewer of seasoned, pre-formed meat, and the person making the gyro just slowly slices off bits from the larger piece. So, when a can of morsels is opened, one can see the diced or cubed meat, also in a gravy.

At Mud Bay, we know how important textures are to cats, so we add icons to the shelves to make it easy to choose foods based on texture or mouthfeel. There’s a little square icon on the shelves, and the bottom has a color-coded system that indicates whether the food is a pate, cut or morsel. Pate is light blue, cuts are in a salmon color, and morsels are a light green. There’s also the word pate, cuts or morsels on the lower part of the icon.

We also know that proteins are important, especially for animals that have food sensitivities. So, on the top of the icon, Mud Bay added a line that tells you the primary protein in that can. If your cat has food sensitivities, it’s important to know that we use the first protein listed on the label as the primary protein. Sometimes, a wet food might contain several different proteins. Cat owners who want to avoid a certain protein should still read the can’s label.

Of course, if you have any questions about cat food textures or mouthfeel and how it can impact a cat’s dietary preferences, please feel free to ask a Muddy—either in-store or online at Muddy Support.

🌞 🎆 🎉 Summer brings celebrations, late nights, travel and events that can leave your pets feeling uneasy.
🐈 🐕
Mud Bay is here to help, offering products that bring calm and comfort to your cat or dog when things get noisy.
🐈 🐕
We carry calming collars, tinctures, treats, and pheromones to help your pets handle everything summer brings—Shop Mud Bay in-store or online to find the right calmatives for your pets.
#mudbay #summer #keepcalm #healthypets #calming

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🌞 🎆 🎉 Summer brings celebrations, late nights, travel and events that can leave your pets feeling uneasy. 🐈 🐕 Mud Bay is here to help, offering products that bring calm and comfort to your cat or dog when things get noisy. 🐈 🐕 We carry calming collars, tinctures, treats, and pheromones to help your pets handle everything summer brings—Shop Mud Bay in-store or online to find the right calmatives for your pets. #mudbay #summer #keepcalm #healthypets #calming

Fluff & Tuff`s #IGIVEAFLUFF is Coming Soon!
🐾
Starting June 8th, National Best Friends Day, our friends at Fluff & Tuff are once again kicking off #IGiveAFluff to help put toys in the paws of shelter and rescue dogs who need them most.
🐾
And we want you to be a part of it, and it couldn`t be easier to participate!
Here`s how it works:
📸 Snap a photo of your dog with their favorite Fluff & Tuff toy.
📱 Share it on social media using #IGiveAFluff.
🐾 Fluff & Tuff donates a toy to a shelter or rescue dog.
🐾
Since 2015, with the support of pet parents like you and the generosity of Fluff & Tuff, over 22,000 toys have been donated to shelters and rescue dogs. Want to participate, but you need a Fluff & Tuff toy? Take a tip from Frank and stop by your local Mud Bay or visit us online. Click the link in our bio to learn more about #IGIVEAFLUFF

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Fluff & Tuff's #IGIVEAFLUFF is Coming Soon! 🐾 Starting June 8th, National Best Friends Day, our friends at Fluff & Tuff are once again kicking off #IGiveAFluff to help put toys in the paws of shelter and rescue dogs who need them most. 🐾 And we want you to be a part of it, and it couldn't be easier to participate! Here's how it works: 📸 Snap a photo of your dog with their favorite Fluff & Tuff toy. 📱 Share it on social media using #IGiveAFluff. 🐾 Fluff & Tuff donates a toy to a shelter or rescue dog. 🐾 Since 2015, with the support of pet parents like you and the generosity of Fluff & Tuff, over 22,000 toys have been donated to shelters and rescue dogs. Want to participate, but you need a Fluff & Tuff toy? Take a tip from Frank and stop by your local Mud Bay or visit us online. Click the link in our bio to learn more about #IGIVEAFLUFF

Summer is coming, so be like Goose 🐕 and stay cool 😎 ❄️ on every outing with the Swamp Cooler Harness from Ruffwear.
🧊
Whether she’s out on a trail or enjoying a long walk or run, this harness is built for warm-weather adventures, offering cooling comfort and secure control in one breathable design.
🌞
Shop in-store or online at Mud Bay.
#mudbay #adventures #pnw #dog #summeriscoming

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Summer is coming, so be like Goose 🐕 and stay cool 😎 ❄️ on every outing with the Swamp Cooler Harness from Ruffwear. 🧊 Whether she’s out on a trail or enjoying a long walk or run, this harness is built for warm-weather adventures, offering cooling comfort and secure control in one breathable design. 🌞 Shop in-store or online at Mud Bay. #mudbay #adventures #pnw #dog #summeriscoming

Mud Bay Memorial Day Hours ⏰
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Today, Monday, May 25, all Mud Bay locations will be open from 10 am to 6 pm.
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Delivery orders placed after 2 pm on Sunday will arrive on Tuesday. Store pickup and Instacart will still be available. 🐈 🐕 🚚
#mudbay #holidayhours #healthypets #mudbaydelivery #pets

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Mud Bay Memorial Day Hours ⏰ 🐈 🐕 Today, Monday, May 25, all Mud Bay locations will be open from 10 am to 6 pm. 🐈 🐕 Delivery orders placed after 2 pm on Sunday will arrive on Tuesday. Store pickup and Instacart will still be available. 🐈 🐕 🚚 #mudbay #holidayhours #healthypets #mudbaydelivery #pets