Heh, I knew a cat that would go through a pan of unseasoned cauliflower if you weren’t careful. Maybe every cat is born knowing something they have no clear way of understanding, like how tasteless things are food or how to move in four dimensions or what electronics are.
More seriously, the article I linked to suggests cats can taste things we can’t, so that’s a possibility.
On a related note, the OVA adaptation of Starship Troopers from the 80s (Uchuu no Senshi) is worth checking out, too.