You may have wondered what it would be like to see the world through your pet’s eyes. But what if you could smell the world through your pet’s nose? It’s a well-known fact that many animals have much keener senses of smell than we humans do. Although there’s still a lot we don’t know about their sniffers, we do know that cats’ and dogs’ senses of smell are pretty amazing!
Both dogs and cats have much better senses of smell than we have. But just how good is a cat’s sense of smell? How strong is a dog’s nose?
While humans only have about five million smell receptors in their noses, both dogs and cats can have over 200 million. While some dogs, such as bloodhounds, tend to have more smell receptors than cats, cats may be able to distinguish between similar scents better than most dogs can.
Dogs and cats can use their noses to detect scents that are imperceptible to us humans.
The following are some examples of smells our pets can pick up on that we’re usually unaware of:
Pheromones are hormone-like substances that are released by one animal but cause a response in another. Dogs and cats have a special structure in their nose called the vomeronasal organ that helps them detect pheromones, which are unnoticeable to humans. Pheromones can have all kinds of functions, like signaling an animal’s emotional state, attracting a mate and even helping newborn puppies and kittens identify their mothers. These powerful chemicals make up a large part of non-verbal communication for animals.
Research keeps finding ways that dogs and cats can use their sense of smell to uncover diseases in humans. For example, a dog’s powerful nose can pick up on the tiny chemical changes in a human’s scent caused by certain illnesses, such as cancers.
Dogs are often used in tracking, detection and search-and-rescue work because of their amazing noses. A dog’s nose is so sensitive that they can know which direction a person is walking just based on the lingering scent the person left behind. In fact, certain dogs can even have their sniffing testimony accepted as evidence in a court of law.
Both dogs and cats use scent to mark territories, and they can tell when other animals have been in the area.
Dogs and cats have such strong senses of smell that you should consider odors when finding ways to provide enrichment or decrease anxiety. A smell that’s barely perceptible to you may be overwhelming to your canine and feline housemates. On the other hand, a smell that you can’t even detect could bring them comfort.
