Will your cat be able to choose you from the lineup?
New research suggests they can…but it may not be the way you expect.
Previous research has only discovered that 54% of cats I was able to recognize humans just by my face.
So how does your cat know that it is you?
Studying sniff
new Research published today PLOS 1 It suggests that your cat can recognize you by your smell. This feat has not been studied previously and may reveal another layer of depth within the bond between cat and human.
Cats often get bad rap for loneliness or not caring about people in life, but more and more research finds it the exact opposite. We know that cats learn now name We give them them and their guardians form their own Communication Styleand most cats choose human social interactions over food. dog I’m fighting against it.
And now, thanks to this latest research, we know that cats can identify people by smell. Cat Social Group.
This study examined the ability of 30 cats to distinguish parents and unknown people based solely on the basis of scents by Yutaro Miyairi and colleagues of Tokyo University of Agriculture.
Cats in this study were presented with plastic tubes containing swab samples from under the armpits, behind their ears, between the cat’s guardian or human toes they had never met before. As a control, the cat was also given an empty plastic tube.
result?
The cats in this study smelled the scent of unknown people longer than the scent of Guardians and empty tubes.
The shorter sniffing times suggest that when cats came across the smell of Guardian, they quickly recognized it and moved. However, when they came to swabs from unknown people, the cats used their excellent sense of smell to gather information about the scent and sniff them for longer.
A similar pattern has been observed previously kitten Sniff the smell of an unknown female cat for longer than her mother’s smell, Adult cat Sniff unfamiliar cat poop for longer than cats within social groups.
The results of this new study may indicate that we are also in the social circle of cats.
Brain and nose
This study found that cats tend to smell familiar scents in their left nostrils, but unknown scents are sniffed more frequently using the right. However, after the cat sniffed for a while, when the cat became familiar with the scent, they switched their nostrils from right to left.
This may sound like a strange discovery, but it is also an observed pattern dog. the current the study This nostril preference suggests that CAT uses the right brain hemisphere to process and classify new information, but suggests that the left hemisphere takes over when a regular response is established.
Why the scent?
Cats rely on scents to gather information about the world around them, Communication.
Scent exchange (through rubbing from cheek to cheek and grooming) is used as a way to recognize the same cat Social Circlesmaintain Group unityand identify unfamiliar cats and other animals that could pose a threat. I avoided it.
The familiar scent is also comfort It reduces stress and anxiety for cats and creates a sense of security within their environment.
When you come back from your holiday, if you notice your cat is far away and you behave like a total stranger, it may be because you smell it. Try showering using regular household products and wearing regular household clothing. The familiar scent helps you and your cat settle quickly into your old dynamics.
And if your cat spends a lot of time sniffing someone else, that’s not because they like them. It’s probably because your scent is familiar and requires less work. It may be something even better than new and interesting. Help your cat feel at home.
Julia HenningPhD in Cat Behavior, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide
This article has been republished conversation Under the Creative Commons license. Please read Original article.
