Cats are often thought of as mysterious creatures, and with good reason. Anyone who has ever owned a cat knows that they are creatures of extraordinary senses. Their senses are incredibly powerful, and they have a way of seeing the world that is very different from our own. All of these senses together give cats a level of awareness that is far beyond what humans are capable of.  This means that they’re always one step ahead of us when it comes to detecting potential danger.

The Five Cat Senses

The five senses of a cat are sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.  Cats’ senses are so powerful that they often seem to have a sixth sense, perceiving things that we cannot. This is perhaps why cats are such successful hunters: they are able to detect their prey long before we would even know it was there. The next time you see your cat staring into the distance or sniffing the air, don’t be surprised: they may just be using their superpowers to hunt down their next meal.

Sense of Smell

The cat’s incredibly acute sense of smell allows them to track down its prey and find its way home. The cats’ sense of smell is so powerful that they can even detect pregnancy in humans. While the average human can detect around 10,000 different odours, cats can pick up on over 80,000 different scents. This is thanks to the fact that they have more olfactory receptors in their noses than we do.

In addition, cats also have a second set of smell-sensing organs in their mouths, known as the vomeronasal organ. We have all seen our cats smell something interesting with their mouths open.  This allows them to not only identify smells more effectively but also to communicate with other cats through scent.  The next time your cat sniffs your trouser leg as you walk in the door, they are picking up on a fascinating kaleidoscope of scents from the world outside.

Sense of Touch

Cats also have a sense of touch so acute that they can feel the slightest vibration in the ground.  Whiskers are one of a cat’s most important sensory tools. They are highly sensitive and help them navigate in the dark, gauge the width of openings, detect movement, and determine the location of prey, as well as wind direction. Cats’ whiskers’ should never be trimmed, and bowls should be wide enough to avoid the whiskers touching the sides, which cats dislike.

Sense of Hearing

A cat’s sense of hearing is much more powerful than that of a human. Cats can hear high-pitched sounds that humans can’t hear, making them sensitive to both predators and prey.  A cat can hear sounds that are up to four times softer and up to twice as high in frequency in comparison to a human. 

Cats also have an impressive ability to localize sound. This means that they can determine exactly where a sound is coming from, even if it’s very faint. So, if your cat is staring at a spot on the wall, there’s a good chance there’s a bug crawling around behind it.

This makes them very good hunters and allows them to survive in difficult environments.  It also comes in handy for things like listening for the sound of a can of cat food being opened or detecting the sound of another cat outside.

Sense of Sight

There are some significant differences between a cat’s eyesight and our own. For example, cats are much more sensitive to movement, meaning that they’re more likely to spot a bird or a mouse in the garden. On the other hand, they’re not so good at seeing fine details, which is why they often seem baffled by simple objects like a piece of string.

Cats can see in very low light levels, which makes them excellent hunters.  But in reality, their sense of sight is not as sharp as that of a human. For one thing, cats have a much narrower field of vision than we do and cannot focus on objects that are close to them. However, cats make up for these deficiencies with their excellent night vision. Additionally, cats have an extra set of eyelids that help to protect their eyes from harm.

Sense of Taste

Finally, cats have a strong sense of taste and can taste sweet, sour, bitter, and salty flavours.  This ensures that they always know when they’ve found something good to eat, that includes vegetables … or when there is a hidden worming tablet, and they should avoid it!

FAQs about Cat Senses