Nature & Environment
Cats Prefer Their Eyes Over Their Nose When Finding Food
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Feb 27, 2015 08:30 AM EST
Cats have a keen sense of smell along with keen eyesight. But which sense wins out when it comes to hunting for food? Scientists have discovered for the first time which of these two senses cats prefer under test conditions.
The researchers placed a group of six cats in a maze, which had "decision" points. The cats had to choose which avenue they took based on their preference for using images or smell. They were simultaneously presented with two squares of paper, each containing a different visual and odor cue. One combination of stimuli indicated they would receive a treat while the other led to no reward.
Once the cats learned the rules of the game, the researchers separated the cats to investigate whether the felines were using their eyes or nose to solve the task. In the end, four out of the six cats picked the visual cue over the odor cue. Only one cat preferred to use its nose, and the last cat seemed to show no preference.
"Up until now we really thought that the sense of smell would dominate how cats view their world, but we are now reconsidering this and also the implications of how we manage them," said Evy Mayes, one of the researchers, in a news release. "I was also particularly surprised by the speed at which the cats learned how to solve the task, which is very encouraging for future cat behavior studies."
That said, the sample size was relatively small. This means that further investigation is required to infer a general preference for cats. So far, though, it seems that felines prefer eyes over nose.
"We live in a complex world and use all of our senses to make sense of it," said Daniel Mills, one of the researchers. "This is the first time we have asked cats how they operate rather than assumed this from what we know about their senses."
The findings are published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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First Posted: Feb 27, 2015 08:30 AM EST
Cats have a keen sense of smell along with keen eyesight. But which sense wins out when it comes to hunting for food? Scientists have discovered for the first time which of these two senses cats prefer under test conditions.
The researchers placed a group of six cats in a maze, which had "decision" points. The cats had to choose which avenue they took based on their preference for using images or smell. They were simultaneously presented with two squares of paper, each containing a different visual and odor cue. One combination of stimuli indicated they would receive a treat while the other led to no reward.
Once the cats learned the rules of the game, the researchers separated the cats to investigate whether the felines were using their eyes or nose to solve the task. In the end, four out of the six cats picked the visual cue over the odor cue. Only one cat preferred to use its nose, and the last cat seemed to show no preference.
"Up until now we really thought that the sense of smell would dominate how cats view their world, but we are now reconsidering this and also the implications of how we manage them," said Evy Mayes, one of the researchers, in a news release. "I was also particularly surprised by the speed at which the cats learned how to solve the task, which is very encouraging for future cat behavior studies."
That said, the sample size was relatively small. This means that further investigation is required to infer a general preference for cats. So far, though, it seems that felines prefer eyes over nose.
"We live in a complex world and use all of our senses to make sense of it," said Daniel Mills, one of the researchers. "This is the first time we have asked cats how they operate rather than assumed this from what we know about their senses."
The findings are published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone