Canine and Feline Sense of Smell
Posted on 2012-01-22 17:58:31
Both cats and dogs have a very sensitive sense of smell. Since they are predators, they need to have keen senses to hunt.
This has benefited humans in various ways. Dogs have been taught to smell drugs, illegally imported fruits and vegetables, and explosives for the government. Some dogs can pick out one human’s scent from others and find missing people. Dogs are able to sense when a person is about to have a seizure or, in the case of diabetics, when their blood sugar gets too low or too high. Some dogs have been trained to smell the specific odors of bladder tumors in the urine of people and some other forms of cancer. In France and Italy, they have trained dogs to hunt for truffles (although the French think that pigs make better truffle hunters) which can go for an exorbitant amount of money.
Cats, on the other hand, while they can be as sensitive to smells as dogs are, aren’t as helpful to us. Part of it is their smaller size in relation to a dog’s size. They just can’t “work” for us like dogs can. The other thing is the way they react to smells. A cat may react aggressively to smells or work to actively avoid the smell. I have had a number of cats who respond weirdly to people undergoing chemotherapy, even people that they have met in the past and been fine with. The interesting thing about a cat’s sense of smell is that without a sense of smell, they will starve themselves. A cat needs to smell food to be able to eat. Cats that have upper respiratory infections and are congested frequently need to be force fed until their congestion gets better. And if you think about how bland food tastes when you have a cold, you may understand that better.
This has benefited humans in various ways. Dogs have been taught to smell drugs, illegally imported fruits and vegetables, and explosives for the government. Some dogs can pick out one human’s scent from others and find missing people. Dogs are able to sense when a person is about to have a seizure or, in the case of diabetics, when their blood sugar gets too low or too high. Some dogs have been trained to smell the specific odors of bladder tumors in the urine of people and some other forms of cancer. In France and Italy, they have trained dogs to hunt for truffles (although the French think that pigs make better truffle hunters) which can go for an exorbitant amount of money.
Cats, on the other hand, while they can be as sensitive to smells as dogs are, aren’t as helpful to us. Part of it is their smaller size in relation to a dog’s size. They just can’t “work” for us like dogs can. The other thing is the way they react to smells. A cat may react aggressively to smells or work to actively avoid the smell. I have had a number of cats who respond weirdly to people undergoing chemotherapy, even people that they have met in the past and been fine with. The interesting thing about a cat’s sense of smell is that without a sense of smell, they will starve themselves. A cat needs to smell food to be able to eat. Cats that have upper respiratory infections and are congested frequently need to be force fed until their congestion gets better. And if you think about how bland food tastes when you have a cold, you may understand that better.
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