How Do Cats’ and Dogs’ Sense of Smell Compare to That of a Human?
Cats’ and dogs’ senses of smell are much greater than that of human beings. In fact, a cat’s sense of smell is estimated to be 14 times stronger than the average human’s, and a dog’s sense of smell is thought to range from 1,000 to 1 million times more powerful than a human’s. Olfactory receptors are proteins that are located within the nose and are responsible for helping the brain process odors. The average human nose contains 5 million olfactory receptors, and cats’ noses have as many as 80 million. Dogs’ noses are thought to contain as many as 300 million olfactory receptors.
More about cats and dogs:
- The average lifespan of a cat is about 14 years, while the average dog lives 11 years.
- Domestic cats have been found to be able to travel at speeds of 30 miles per hour (48.28 km/h), and the fastest dogs clock in at about 40 miles per hour (64.37 km/h).
- Dogs’ senses of smell are so strong that they have been found to smell the chemical changes that occur during the earliest stages of cancer in humans.
