- Even if the sense of smell of cats is not as developed as that of dogs – still more than that of humans – and not very useful for their predatory activity, cats use them a lot when they are eating. Indeed, just like us, a lack of smell causes a lack of taste, and a cat suffering from coryza, for instance, will refuse to eat.
- A cat’s sense of smell also plays an important role in its social relationships. Cats leave olfactory markings in their environment. Our poor noses can easily detect some of the strongest, such as the urinary markings of the males. Others, like the sebaceous markings left when cats rub their heads against objects or their owners, are real messages that are completely imperceptible to us.
- Cats also have another olfactory organ, called the Jacobson organ, which they use more particularly during the period of sexual activity: when a female is on heats, the male inhales her odors, purses his lips and cranes his neck in a posture called flehmen.
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