Smell
Dogs and cats have a different sense of smell. In dogs, the sense of smell is particularly well developed and better than the sense of smell of cats. In fact, a dog has as many as 149 to 300 million olfactory receptors! A cat, on the other hand, has 45 to 80 million scent receptors, which is still much more compared to humans. We on average have a "barren" 5 million scent receptors.
So dogs take the crown in terms of their good snouts. Did you know that dogs can "specialize" their nose? In fact, you can train your dog to recognize a specific smell, so they create more receptors for this smell. This makes dogs very suitable as tracking and drug detection dogs!
Eyes
The eyes of dogs are more on the side of the head, giving them a wider field of vision. There are differences in this among dog breeds, however. In herding dogs, the eyes are fairly wide on the head in order to keep an eye on the flock. Whereas in hunting dogs, the eyes are more together, so they can keep a good eye on their prey. Cats and dogs can both see in the dark much better than humans. This is because they have a reflective structure; called; 'tapetum lucidum'. This is a kind of mirror in the eye, which lights up in the dark. In dogs this consists of 10 layers and in cats even up to 20 layers. This can be explained evolutionarily because cats hunt at night. So in terms of eyes, the cat is clearly the winner!
Taste
Compared to humans, the taste capabilities of dogs and cats are actually a bit sad. In fact, humans have an average of 9000 taste buds on the tongue. Dogs have an average of 1700 taste buds and cats 480 taste buds. One big difference is, dogs are better at distinguishing tastes such as bitter, sweet, sour and salty. In cats this is very little, to not developed.
Hearing
Dogs and cats, unlike humans, are able to move their ears in multiple directions because they both have strong muscles in the ears. This gift allows them to catch further and softer sounds well. Humans can hear sounds up to 20,000 Herz, while dogs can hear up to 40,000 Herz. Cats stand head and shoulders (and ears) above this! In fact, cats can hear up to 60,000 Herz of sounds. Dogs and cats are also better at hearing high-pitched sounds, and this is especially true of cats. For example, a cat may have heard the mouse squeaking in the attic long before you notice it!
Comments
0 comments
English 
Nederlands