Flaherty and Checke (1982) reported that rats refrained from drinking less preferable saccharin solution if it was followed by more preferable sucrose solution. However, studies have sometimes reported absence of the anticipatory contract or an opposite conditioning effect of increase in intake of the first, less preferable food. The present study examined replicability of the anticipatory contrast effect under conditions in which cues other than the first saccharin solution could not be effective, by presenting the two solutions from identical nozzles from an identical position in a home cage. A 0.15% saccharin solution was given to both Experimental and Control groups and 32% sucrose solution was given only to the Experimental group after an inter-solution interval of 30 min (Experiment 1) or 5 min (Experiment 2). Any difference in intake of the first saccharin solution between the groups was not observed in the 30 min inter-solution interval. However, when the inter-solution interval was shortened to 5 min, the Experimental group showed more intake of the saccharin solution than the Control group did, suggesting development of preferential conditioning to the saccharin solution. Findings in the present and the previous studies suggest that both the anticipatory contrast and preference conditioning are involved in a setting for the anticipatory contrast, and several factors determine the relative dominance of the anticipatory contrast and the preferential conditioning.