Why Can't Cats Taste Sweet Things? Cats and humans differ anatomically in the number and type of taste buds they have. Most sources consider humans to have five or six taste bud types: sour, bitter, salty, umami (meatiness), and sweet (plus possibly fat). In total, we have about 9,000 taste buds. On the other hand, cats only have about 500 taste buds and lack the protein to appreciate sweets. It appears that they can taste all the other things that we can. The only difference is that sweet things taste different for them.