Why can't I smell an area a cat has just marked with with his paws?

[yinkaafrica]

And what scent is it: sweet, sour, salty, bitter?

[ET Awful]

1. Because your sense of smell isn't as acute as a kitty

Were you a cat, you'd be able to smell it.

[yinkaafrica]

2. But why?

Some claim that cats can barely tell sweet water from tap water.
So they must have fewer "sweet" taste buds than others.
What is the flavor of this scent?
I guess I am looking for an exact scientific explanation.

[ET Awful]

4. Animals don't perceive scent and taste in the same way we do.

I've heard it described that they perceive scent in much the same way we perceive color, in a myriad of different shades and intensities.

Using an analogy like that, imagine the scent the cat is placing with it's paws as being in the infrared spectrum of human smellability :). The scent may be intense to a cat, but is inperceptible to a human.

[yinkaafrica]

8. oh

[Shakespeare]

6. It's not a flavor - it's pheromones

And those are something that we humans have little to no capacity to smell (or at least be aware that we're smelling).

[yinkaafrica]

9. Does it involve the Jacob's Organ (or whatever that is called)?

fascinating, Mr. Spock

[Shakespeare]

11. Jacobson's gland - I'm not sure. n/t

[Bertha Venation]

12. yes, Jacobsen's Organ, that's part of it

You can always tell when the cat's using that organ. It's when he's been sniffing something for a second or two, then he lifts his head and his jaw is hanging open. Funniest cat pose on earth.

:hi: yinkaafrica

[yinkaafrica]

15. The big bite!

I love when cats do that.

Hi there :)

[miss_kitty]

23. and the pose is called

the 'flehmen' reaction or 'flehming'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomer_bone

[Bertha Venation]

25. learn something new every day!

even an old cat hand like me. :bounce:

[yinkaafrica]

3. That is a mighty handsome cat on your post

[ET Awful]

5. Thanks, that's my first cat, Quinn

normally my sig has pictures of both him and my other little kitten Althea.

[yinkaafrica]

7. He looks like a cream colored boy

Are his boots white?

[ET Awful]

10. He's pretty much all cream colored with a bit of an orange tint to his

stripes and a few spots of white here and there.

Go to http://gallery.etawful.com for color pics :)

[yinkaafrica]

17. The fluff is the stuff!

I'll bet you love the stuffin' out of those cats.
People who are not owned by cats could never understand.

[ET Awful]

18. They make great foot warmers, especially Althea

when she burrows up under the blankets on the bed and curls up by my feet to sleep :)

Quinn is more of a loner, but VERY vocal when he wants something.

[yinkaafrica]

20. The kitty sweat lodge

It is amazing how much warmth a cat can generate
under the covers.

[ET Awful]

22. Hehehe, yup, if you could harness it, you could make space

heaters and electric blankets obsolete :)

ON EDIT: WELCOME TO DU! :hi:

I almost forgot to welcome you :)

[n2mark]

13. You will recognize the smell, believe me!

The smell will appear within a few days, not immediately. It will be a smell you will not forget, believe me.

[Shakespeare]

16. I think you're talking about spraying, which is different.

Two different types of marking. Cats have scent glands at their temples and paws that mark things with a scent we humans can't smell. They also mark by spraying with urine, which, unfortunately, we CAN smell.

[yinkaafrica]

19. Didn't you ever wonder what that would smell like if you could smell it?

I know I am beating a dead horse but something about this has always
driven me crazy. I've lived in homes with twelve cats who all
marked the same chair, continuously. Wouldn't you think that eventually enough pherome would build up to create a scent.
Perhaps something like buttered popcorn or skunk smell :)

[Shakespeare]

21. Nope. Mostly grateful I CAN'T smell it. n/t

[n2mark]

28. There is a definite smell

in cat pee and spaying.

[Shakespeare]

29. Um, yep....that's what I said.

:shrug:

[Joe Power]

14. Because...

...of that foul-smelling litter box! :shrug:

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Because you're not a kitty!

Welcome to DU, yinkaafrica! It's great to have you with us!:hi:

[yinkaafrica]

26. Is there a way I can become a kitty, then

:)

[Rhiannon12866]

27. I can't think of any possible way, LOL!

But what you're talking about are pheromones, which cats use to mark things to communicate with other cats or to remind themselves. I believe it's the pheromones in their feet that communicate danger. And I know that it's the ones from their cheeks, when they rub against something or someone, that is reassuring to them, like saying "you're mine." Feliway, the product that is sold to eliminate spraying in cats or to calm a frightened kitty, is an artificial version of the pheromone in their cheeks. I used this when I first brought home my terrified rescued cat.:-)