What Are the Cat's Senses?

Cats are fantastic pets for many people. In fact, a 2007 study by the American Veterinary Medical Association reported that cats outnumber dogs as pets in the U.S. significantly with well over 81 million cats as opposed to about 72 million dogs coexisting with humans. Part of the appeal with cats is the mystique of their heightened senses, which humans might be just a little envious of.

  1. Touch

    • A cat's remarkable sense of touch helps guides it through the hunting process. Their whiskers are specialized hairs that help them navigate narrow passages and dark conditions. They have 24 whiskers on their muzzle, plus additional whiskers on their eyebrows, lips, chin and even the backs of their forelegs. The whiskers keep them in constant touch with the outer world, and they can control the direction of the whiskers and even detect changes in air currents.

    Sight

    • An old myth suggests that cats can see in the dark. While this is not exactly true, they do have exceptionally low light vision. Their eyes reflect light in the dark through special cells that capture all available light and amplify it for improved vision. They see best at only 2 to 3 feet from their faces, but they can detect motion much better than humans because there are a great number of rods in their retinas.

    Hearing

    • You may have noticed that a cat can turn its ears in different directions without any apparent effort. In fact, their ears can move approximately 180 degrees, which allows the cat to pinpoint sounds a few feet away within inches in just six one-hundredths of a second. However, they can also hear sounds at a distance four or five times greater than humans. Additionally, the cat's tendency to always land on its feet comes from the sophisticated balancing properties of its inner ear.

    Smell and Taste

    • In cats, smell and taste are closely related since both senses are perceived in the same area of the brain. Cats have only a fraction of the taste buds humans or dogs do, but their noses have over 200 million smell receptors and is likely their primary way of identifying things. Additionally, cats have a sensory apparatus called Jacobson's organ located in the mouth, which is why they will open their mouths slightly as they sniff the air.