How the cat nose knows what it’s smelling

[skb]

Barbara,
I thought you'd love this.

Scientists have found the secret to felines' finesse at sniffing out food, friends and foes.

A complex collection of tightly coiled bony airway structures gets the credit, according to the first detailed analysis of the domestic cat's nasal airway.

The researchers created a 3D computer model of the cat nose and simulated how an inhalation of air containing common cat food odors would flow through the coiled structures. They found that the air separates into two flow streams, one that is cleansed and humidified and another delivering the odorant quickly and efficiently to the system responsible for smelling – the olfactory region.

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[bigskygal]

Wow thanks!! I like it before even reading it! Will do after I get the cats fed and then myself...

[bigskygal]

That was really interesting! I know my cats do a lot of sniffing each other to see if friend or foe. There are a couple of strays that visit occasionally and boy do the regulars let them know this is NOT their home!

I laughed out loud watching the video at the top of the page when the cat came up to the bowl of food, sniffed it and then tried to bury it just like they do with their poo! "I ain't eating that $hit!!" it might as well of said!   

Thanks for sharing!