## 3 Results and Discussion
### Palatability Testing for Dry Food Applications
#### 3.2.2 Palatability of Dry Application to Dry Food  
The average daily consumption of the experimental and control rations ranged between 70 and 80 g of the total 220 g offered (Figure 5). Like with liquid applications, the consumption of kibbles with OE supplied by dry palatants and control diets were similar with average intake ratios of OE rations ranging from 0.47 to 0.56 (Figure 6). However, the decreasing trend noted in the day-to-day IR of the liquid applications was not observed with the dry applications (Figure 7). The OE inclusion started higher in the dry palatant trials based on the no-preference results between OE diets (15 to 150 ppm) and the control diet from the liquid palatant trials. Initially, 50 to 200 ppm OE was evaluated, with only the highest application (200 ppm OE) resulting in preference (\(p\) = 0.01), while no difference in palatability could be determined when comparing the lower applications to the control ration. With the preference for 200 ppm OE, testing with higher inclusions (400 to 600 ppm) was implemented to observe the continued effect on palatability. However, increasing OE inclusion above 200 ppm resulted in parity. The first choice of diets with 50 to 600 ppm ranged from 42 to 48%, which was close to a non-preference of 50% (Figure 4). Figure 5: Average daily consumption of rations with dry palatant application. Daily consumption of kibble offered to cats. Ratios included control and OE-spiked dry prototypes (day 1–2: 50 ppm, day 3–4: 100 ppm, day 5–6: 200 ppm, day 7–8: 400 ppm, day 9–10: 600 ppm) coated at 2% onto Sunshine® Mills, Inc. Evolve® Chicken & Rice. In total, 110 g of each ration (220 g total) was offered each day of testing. Data represent the mean grams consumed (\(n\) = 20 cats) \(\pm\) standard deviation. Figure 6: OE palatability from dry application to dry cat food. Average intake ratio of PhenoFarmTM Olive Extract (OE) on Sunshine® Mills, Inc. Evolve® Chicken & Rice from 2% application of dry prototypes blended with increasing levels of OE plated silica compared to dry control without OE. Data represent the mean IR (\(n\) = 20 cats) \(\pm\) standard deviation. An asterisk (*) denotes preference (\(p\) < 0.05; H\({}_{0}\) = 0.50 when analyzed by two-tailed \(t\)-test). It is important to note the differences in fat application (3.0% versus 6.4%) and kibble used (Diamond(r) versus Sunshine(r)) for the liquid and dry applications. The level of fat may impact the release of aroma compounds on the surface, and the kibble could have different taste profiles, which may interact with the OE differently. Different kibble types were used due to availability at the time of testing for the liquid and dry applications. A similarity observed throughout palatability testing was a higher first approach and choice on day 1 compared to day 2 for the OE ratings (Figures 4 and 8). In addition, within the liquid applications, a similar trend was noted for the IRs. While this could indicate an impact on longer-term palatability, the OE ratings were fed back-to-back with increasing concentration and continuously had higher choice of the OE ratios every other day. Another explanation may be a side bias within the panel of cats rather than a clear attraction to either diet. FC and FA were evaluated for each animal and noted if the animal selected a different ration, thus the same side for each test (Table A3). Within the 20-cat panel, 50% of the cats approached and 40% chose the same side for at least seven of the tests. Even so, while aroma can influence initial attraction to a diet, for \"continuous choice,\" other factors such as taste and texture have been considered stronger palatability drivers. While whole olives may contain bitter or potential throat-irritating compounds like oleocanthal, these were not detected in the extract in this study. Additionally, consumption did not decrease over the testing period and no negative clinical signs were noted by the animal care staff to suggest significant inclusion of potential irritants within OE-containing rations.