It has been known for a long time that cats use to know and communicate with other cats. However, it has not been investigated to whether this sense has been used to distinguish people.
Within the scope of the research, three different plastic tubes were presented to 30 cats: one of the owners of the armpit, behind the ear and the toes, the other was the smell of a foreign person of the same sex, and the third odorless.
Cats smelled the tube with the smell of foreign people longer than others. Researchers evaluate this finding as an indication that cats can distinguish familiar and unknown people through odor.
Does he know his owner, he’s just noticing the stranger?
Hidehiko Uchiyama, the editor -in -chief of the study, stressed that the results are inadequate to conclude that cats can recognize individuals, although they are promising.
“In the study, only familiar and unknown odors were used. Comparative behavior tests are needed with the reactions of cats to the smell of more than one person.”
Smelling may be triggering marking behavior
The cats frequently rubbed their faces to the tubes after sniffing. This behavior is often used in cats to leave their own odors. According to the researchers, it suggests that smell can be a reconnaissance behavior before marking.
Cautious comments from experts
Serenella D’ingeo of Bari University in Italy, who did not participate in the study but conducts research on cat behavior, said that even though cats confirmed that they react to familiar and foreign scents differently, their emotional state is unknown. “Was they comfortable when they smell, or was we tense? We don’t know that.”
He also pointed out that the fact that the samples were presented by the owners could cause their smell in the environment to be found more intense and cats may show more interest in foreign odors.
Conclusion: Smell, a way to get to know people for cats
Researchers say that the findings show that cats use the sense of smell in recognizing people. However, more work is needed to show certain whether cats recognize the owner specifically.
