Both dogs and cats have unique senses that help them in everyday life - from hunting to recognizing their owner. But who scores better when it comes to smelling, hearing, seeing and tasting? Find out in this article who is the big winner in the battle dog versus cat.
Smell
Dogs and cats have a different sense of smell. In dogs, this is exceptionally well developed: they have between the 149 and 300 million odor receptors! Cats have 45 to 80 million of them, which is still impressive compared to humans, who on average have only 5 million scent receptors.
So dogs take the cake when it comes to their noses. Did you know that dogs can even "specialize" their sense of smell? With training, they can learn to recognize a specific scent and create more receptors for that scent. This makes them perfect as tracking or drug dogs.
Eyes
Dogs' eyes are more on the side of their heads, giving them a wider field of vision. In herding dogs, the eyes are wide apart to keep a close eye on the herd, while hunting dogs have eyes that are closer together to keep their prey in focus.
Both dogs and cats can see better in the dark than humans thanks to a reflective structure in the eye, the tapetum lucidum. This "mirror" causes their eyes to light up in the dark. Dogs have 10 layers of this tissue, cats even up to 20! Evolutionarily logical - cats hunt at night. So in terms of vision in the dark, the cat clearly wins.
Taste
Compared to humans, dogs and cats are not gourmets. Humans have an average of 9,000 taste buds, dogs about 1,700 and cats only 480. Dogs can better distinguish flavors such as sweet, bitter, sour and salty, while cats hardly have a sweet palate. That explains why your cat is never interested in pie - but a piece of meat, that goes in!
Hearing
Both dogs and cats can rotate their ears thanks to strong muscles, allowing them to better locate sounds. Humans hear up to about 20,000 hertz, dogs up to 40,000 hertz and cats even up to 60,000 hertz! So cats hear higher tones than dogs as well as humans. A mouse in the attic? The cat has heard it long before you notice anything.
Conclusion
The final score? Dogs win with their super nose, but cats take the crown when it comes to sight and hearing. In the end, they complement each other perfectly - no wonder so many people can't choose between a dog or a cat. Whether you choose a pet sitter who loves dogs or one who cares for cats, at Petbnb you will always find the right match.
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