Human stress smell makes dogs (and cats?) more pessimistic

Whiff of human stress makes dogs more pessimistic

This is an interesting study. It’s about dogs but I believe that it could just as well be about dogs and cats. Or indeed many other companion animals. In earlier studies the researchers found that the smell of a stressed person can subconsciously affect the state of mind of people nearby (emotional contagion). This …

Read more

Is there any evidence that domestic cats can sense that their owner is pregnant?

Pregnant woman and her cat

While there is no definitive scientific evidence to support the claim that cats can sense early pregnancy in humans, many pet owners have reported changes in their cat’s behavior during pregnancy. These changes range from increased affection to protective behavior towards their pregnant owners. Cats have heightened senses, including a keen sense of smell …

Read more

This behavior unfairly gave the cat the false reputation of sneering at people

Flehmen response in a domestic cat

Until the internet really took hold and began to genuinely educate millions of cat owners about cat behaviour, there was a misconception about a strange aspect of feline behavior when every so often a cat would be seen to pause and adopt a curious sneering expression as if disgusted about something or that the …

Read more

Cats sniff your face at night to check that you are alive! I was the first to suggest this.

Cat sniffing their owner

Years ago, I suggested that at least some domestic cats sniff their owner’s face at night to check that they are still alive! Click this link to read that page. I wrote this at the time (about 6 years ago to the day): My firm impression is that cats sniff our face while we …

Read more

Can cats detect hypoglycaemia in their owner?

Can cats detect hypoglycemia in diabetic owners?

In summary, I think it is plausible that domestic cats can detect the levels of acetone in a diabetic person’s breath and measure that against their health and well-being. They can therefore potentially alert the diabetic person’s partner to problems. This is a discussion article. A story prompted me to write it. The Evening …

Read more

Does vinegar repel cats?

Does vinegar repel cats?

Is vinegar a successful domestic cat deterrent? I wanted to answer the question scientifically. I wanted some hard evidence discovered in a scientific study. I failed to find such a study and therefore I have to rely on what is called anecdotal evidence i.e. what people think. And when you research what people think …

Read more

Rue is a plant that may work as a cat deterrent when crushed

Rue as a cat deterrent

Rue (Ruta graveolens) is a herb that was referred to as a cat deterrent in the first century AD by the Roman author Pliny in his massive book Natural History. This deterrent has a very long and distinguished pedigree. Excuse the pun. Not only did the Roman author Pliny mention it those many years …

Read more

follow it link and logo