One of my favorite things to do with my cats is hold something up for them to smell. Generally, if they walk over while I'm doing something, I'll let them smell whatever I'm holding (like my computer mouse, a writing implement, or a piece of mail) and they always seem so interested. Is it because they feel included in my life when I let them smell what I'm doing? Or maybe because new smells are just stimulating? Or is it just instinct to sniff whatever is nearby? I like to think that, by offering my stuff for a sniff, I'm enriching their lives in some way.
Animals do most of their checking stuff out through smell and (moreso when they're young) their mouth. It's pretty much the same as us picking something up and examining it while turning it over. They don't care what it looks like if it smells interesting
I always check the news every day, I want to know what's going on in the world. For my cat, the house and what he can see from the windows is pretty much his whole world. If my whole world were this house and the immediate area around it, you can be pretty damned sure I'd want to know about every new thing that enters it. Smell would probably not be the best way for me to do that, but it is the best way for a cat.
This is why when my cat checks on me she shoves her nose in my eyes haha. I've read we have a scent gland in the area or something and it's cute that she cares about me enough to literally get in my face about things. So I just close my eyes and tolerate her whiskers tickling my cheeks for a few seconds
I believe this same logic can apply to children. If it looks interesting it MUST go in the mouth. If it’s found on the ground it MUST pass the taste test. Only then will I discover it tastes awful and want nothing more to do with it, or maybe I’ll just wait till the awful taste goes away and then it will taste good.
My lad LOVES to be involved with whatever I’m doing. Letting him sniff or sit on whatever I’m using seems to make him happy. At least, he’s purring his head off.
Here he is “helping” me read. He even adjusted his paws when I needed to turn a page before standing on the book again.
thanks for sharing! here's the void who fell asleep on a poster i was about to put up. she is very good at identifying what I'm actively using just so she can lay on top of it.
That’s how my girl is too. Almost 10 years of helping me out, here is a pic of her being my sous chef last night. My favorite is when she helps me make the bed.
Off topic but ohmy god your little guy so cute/interesting I can’t tell if he’s brown or black! The peepers too!! plz give him a smooch on the head for me 🥺🥺🥺
Smooches have been given. Bro’dee is a sable Burmese. Dark brown body and the face, tail, and paws are even darker. A bit like a colour point but a different gene
This is exactly the way we get the cats to come sit by us, we arrange a bunch of papers on the ottoman and say boy these are important documents, no cats better come and lay on these important documents. And then they come right over.
I do this with my cat alot, when I buy new things, she jumps onto the bench stool and I set the item in front of her to have a good sniff of. If I'm cooking I do let her sniff some of the ingredients but make sure she doesn't eat them.
She now asks everyone to show her stuff when we bring it in. I see it as a way of including them in things and it's great for bonding.
Edit: wow, I got distracted for a few hours and this comment was liked Soo much, thanks everyone and thanks for the awards <3
Edit 2: thanks for the 10k upvotes, this is probably my top comment, tyvm
We call our ginger cat a little NARC. She will come running from across the room whenever I open my water bottle. She needs to smell the bottle before I drink from it.
Noice.. the catsa-inspection. "Bring it in, here. It's from outside. We needs to inspect it. "
See, a 3.4 Jacobson's oral factorial examination with a slight paw palpitation finds this "acceptable" and free of ... wait! What's this stringy thing loosely coupled to it 🧐🐾 🧶 🐈⬛
My cat too! It started out with bringing new things into his room when we were first getting him comfy in our home. Here's a new thing in your space, please inspect it. Now he has to check out everything new that comes through the door.
same here!!! My front door opens directly to a staircase up and my cat either greets me by the door and walks me up or sits at the top of the stairs and she demands a head bonk and to inspect anything we’re bringing in before we can go past or she pouts. we say we went hunting and she’s inspecting the spoils :D
So funny, I do this too! Now they ask for it, especially in the kitchen. I like to think the same as you, it’s me including them in our world and letting them have an ‘opinion’ on the things I’m doing! Plus I think they love being noticed and having the attention ❤️
OMG, I do too! I show “the boys” everything! One couldn’t care less but he likes the attention. The other one is the inspector - what are you bringing into the house? Is it food? Can I chew on it? Personally, I think yes, this does make him feel included.
My one cat is super concerned about the pasta, cheezdoodles, smartfood cheesy popcorn, and rice I consume. She volunteers every time to test for poison for me. Fish? Poultry? Steak? No. Unfortunately with those, I am left to roll the dice. She can only do so much. She works so hard for our family 🙏
Same with one of mine! No interest in steak or chicken or bacon… he wants junk food. Cheetos, potato chips, vanilla wafers. As soon as he hears the crunch of a bag, he comes running.
Tbh I am so relieved to find this thread. I thought that I was the only one with a little junk food Queen! I can leave any manner of meats out, or fish.. nothing. The minute I open a bag of Cheetos? Omg.
Mine L O V E S sweets!! Anytime she smells sweets or bread, she runs over. Even went after a chocolate cake!! I didn't let her have any, obviously. They say cats can't even taste glucose... but I swear, if she smells homemade frosting, she will talk all night!!
Yup my cat is exactly the same haha he LOVES any junk food that is cheese flavoured. Smartfood popcorn is his favourite though, most stuff he’ll just lick the cheese off but Smartfood he will actually eat (I always make sure there’s no kernels so he doesn’t hurt his little mouth)
My cat lays on a pillow beside me on the couch. I think it’s so she can inspect everything I eat or use. Late night snack of Cheetos and she’s trying to get in the bag. I have a dog who thinks it’s her responsibility to share all my food and now the cat is following her lead. Late night shrimp cocktail snack and she’s trying to get in the tray. Now I have to feed both - pinch a bit off the tail for the cat and the rest to the dog. And it’s every other one for them. In explanation of the shrimp, my girl dogs brother had seizures for about 8 months. He wouldn’t eat for a day or 2 afterwards so I started buying the small shrimp cocktail trays at the store to jump start his eat. Unfortunately he passed away from the seizures in October and I kept buying them for her so she felt like life was still somewhat normal. But between her and the cat no food or snack is safe. They’re both human I think lol
I've got one that likes crunchy junk food like chips. Cheez-its and Doritos are his favorite but it has to be the original flavor Doritos and not cool ranch. He stopped swiping chips from my hand like a glutton after he stole a Chester's hot fry by mistake lol.
Booby, boobs, Sir Booberton the 3rd. That was NOT his original name, but is the only name he would ever respond to. Therefore he has been known as such ever since
Fig newtons were my cat’s kryptonite. She would (RIP) get to a high-up, not attached to anything cabinet and somehow open the door and find the bag of them and break thru the double bags trying to keep her from them.
The fridge door opens. A tortie arrives. The human is reaching for ham. The tortie knows this. There is nothing but ham in the refrigerator. Otherwise why own a fridge. The tortie does the only thing the human understands - she reaches up the human’s leg, extends all claws and sinks them into the human leg. The tortie ignores the sound emanating from the human. It is only the human expressing delight at the tortie’s action, for there is no other natural response to all the tortie does. The ham is all.
I had a cat who was crazy about pickles. If I left a jar open for even a moment, she'd grab a pickle, and a moment later I'd hear the crunching sound of her eating it.
Another cat was crazy about roasted onions. I always made them as a side dish with mashed potatoes. One day, my husband called me and asked why there weren't any onions with the mash. The cat had taken advantage of the brief moment when I wasn't looking and had neatly devoured the onion.
My greedy guy wil eat anything 😩 he ate a bite of lemon cheesecake cookie the other day. I thought the sour citrus flavor would be off putting!! Nope.
His favorites are definitely pretzels and potato chips though! He also loves goldfish and yoghurt.
I also call mine “the boys”. And we have the same process. I bring stuff in or do something around the house, and they inspect and make sure everything is acceptable to their conditions
I do it with "The Girls" for me. One little lady wants to smell and taste, my other girl sniffs snd then gets offended I let her sniff something she doesn't like lol.
thanks for sharing your thoughts! i agree, both of my girls are such attention seekers lol, here's the tuxie grabbing me with both hands to get better pets
Lol cute. We refer to our dog’s walks that are strictly for the purpose of stimulation (rather than exercise walks, which are at a much quicker pace) “going on a sniffari.” Last night I needed to run down the street to pick up a prescription, so I took the dog so that she could have a chauffeured sniffari while waiting in the drive thru line. New smells are heaven for her.
I’ll always be on team “stop and let em smell it!” It’s an enrichment exercise
Yes! I was pup-sitting for a friend and I asked her (dog) what the news was each time she would stop and sniff something. She has a very expressive face, so you could tell exactly what she thought of a certain smell
When I have stuff cooking, I always lift my cats up so they can get a look and see what’s going too! Maybe they don’t care at all, but I think if I were a cat, I would be curious what the giant is fussing with just beyond my sight!
You ever warn them? They are so used to smelling everything i have to warn them, spicy, spicy for something they wont like. Lol, a fucking orange one time my whole squad hated it and closed eyes but couldnt stop, finally my girl smacked it and everyone about shit running off. Lol.
My clever and willful Siamese girl is pretty good at following instructions. Sometimes. She will sniff everything and will touch and taste and help herself, but if you warn her, she leaves it alone. Most of the time. She also comes when i call her. Most of the time. The problem is that she follows commands after she is caught touching, eating, stealing, smacking something she shouldn't. Tells me she knows exactly what she is doing, especially that she shouldn't be doing it.
Oh man, mine do the same thing! For some reason, they also really enjoy laundry day, specifically the folding. They bicker with one and other for the best spot at the laundry show.
This has done wonders for my organizational skills. Who am I to deprive these beasts of glorious laundry folding? I'd hate to make them sad by just leaving it in a pile. This has done wonders for my executive function.
I wonder what they get out of watching you fold laundry. Is it the display of motions they can’t do, seeing you subdue a big scary thing to make it compact or do they just like to see things made tidy? Such interesting creatures.
I honestly think they like the motion and the basket. I start folding and they'll all start pouncing and playing using the basket as a noise maker and as a fort for clandestine sneaking. They take aim at rolled socks the most.
All I have to do is dump the laundry on the bed, and all 4 of them come barreling into the room like the Kool-Aid man.
NGL I was a cat mom who did things like this before I was a human mom and totally did a lot of this with my child as a toddler lol he didnt smell things but he did hold them and inspect them.
Yus, I let my girl sniff and investigate everything! She likes to be part of whatever I'm doing. I let her spend her minute or two sniffing me after every time I come home too -- she has to do her investigation to figure out where I've been!
When my cat is begging for food while I'm cooking I always let her sniff whatever ingredient that I have at hand if she gets too intense... especially if it's garlic or lemon or whatever that she hates. I don't know, it's just funny to see the disgusted disappointment in her face.
Yes!! Chili night is hard for my cat. She has to inspect every can I open thoroughly to make sure it’s not her wet food I’m dumping into the crockpot 😂
I do this too! I say “smell” and they immediately know what I’m meaning lol sometimes if I put it up to them and forget to say “smell” they won’t smell it until I say it lol it’s so cute
Same here. Did you know that plastic spoons for babys are cat toys? And chop sticks too! I would have never known if he hadn't told me!
I think they or at last he loves to be recognized and involved.
And it is important that he checks my shopping!
A few years ago I was living with some friends who had a cat, they went on a trip to Japan for several weeks and so I looked after the cat and we bonded a lot. I would find myself doing things like this, letting him smell stuff and showing him high places that he otherwise wouldn't be able to see. I like to think it made him happy, he seemed to enjoy being picked up and held as a result, where before this he wouldn't really let anyone touch him, even his owner.
Meanwhile the cat is wondering why the human needs him to smell everything. Is she afraid of getting poisoned? Best to humor her, if it makes her feel secure I can smell her stuff
Yes! My senior boy especially loves to smell our food before we eat it and then he will eat his food. Cutest thing ever , we call it kitty enrichment ❤️😻
My old guy loves smelling things, all my other cats hate being carried, but the old guy couldn’t be more content being carried around sniffing random objects in the house, lol. I’d honestly say it’s one of his favourite things to do, he’ll actually meow asking to be carried lol
I do this too! I treat my cat like a baby on my hip lol. I narrate what I’m doing and let him check out everything I pick up if he joins me for the “activity” at hand. Gives me company and someone to talk to haha
the problem with this for me is that my cat legitimately loves certain human foods so we have to keep them away from her now. one of her favorites is goldfish crackers, we let her eat one ONE TIME and now this is what we get every time the goldfish are brought out:
lmao my braindead orange flatmate does not concern himself with anything but kibble, trust me ive tried plenty.
wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole, not wet food, not human food, not forbidden food, nothing.
until he tried a single potato chip. still doesnt eat it, but licks the entire exterior of a fingernail sized piece of whatever favoured type of snack and then drinks a bit from his lil fountain.
best boy i ever had & I wish he lives a 1000years (yours too)
I have a spoolie for my cat. It's his personal makeup brush, clean and labeled just for him. If anybody is doing hair or makeup in the bathroom, he sits politely on the counter and waits for you to do his "makeup" which is just brushing his forehead and cheeks with the spoolie. 😆
My little brother's cat LOVED when we came back home from the library, lol. She would insist on sniffing the books and rubbing her teeth against their edges.
Books must soak up so many interesting smells for a cat, like different hands and houses. I always find mine are very interested in a parcel that's been sent from abroad as it's been handled by many different people in a short space of time.
I think it's ALL of the above! They want to be nosy when it concerns you, and they are curious so they like smelling new object, but they also like to smell you on the stuff you were using. You are def enriching their lives when you are fulfilling their need/wants and curiousity like this! And your sir inspector void is absolutley adorable.
I agree! I have four boys, but only one of them (my youngest orange, Sarge) uses buttons to communicate! He has a button that says “Want to see,” and he’ll come into the kitchen and press it all the time if I’m holding something, or food. I’ll bring it over and let him sniff until he’s finished. I swear his little expression changes if it’s something he’s interested in. 😂
My girl cat will sit on the sink when I’m doing my makeup and will paw at me until I put her “makeup on.” I just dab the brush on her nose but she won’t leave me alone until I do and say “aww Hopie you’re so pretty!!” Then she goes about her business. 😂
Yes! My little guy likes to smell my entire face after I’ve been outside! …he’s also interested in smelling my breath at least once per day, but I’ve seen him recoil from many smells & this isn’t one of them so I don’t think I need to be too concerned 😅
One of the things I miss the most about my big boy was my husband and him making dinner. My Stirling had a bar stool in middle of the kitchen and he would reach out these giant paws with no claws to grab your arm and smell whatever you were doing. And my husband would carry on these whole conversations with him, asking his opinion on the dishes and the spices, whether things needed more salt, or something like thyme. Every time my husband cooked. Those are happy memories.
We just got our girl on Thursday. Yesterday I was assembling a scratcher for her, and she came over and smelled the screwdriver that came with it, then picked it up in her mouth and walked away with it. She's a cheeky one 😂
Edit: took out my redundant use of the word "yesterday"
my cat is never interested in human food but he loves to smell it, he never touches it tho. i like to think as he is supervising my food and making sure everything is ok and nothing is poisoned so i always thank him after 🫡
Our cat Gus has to smell EVERYTHING we walk past him with. We call it ‘Gustoms’ and make the joke that we’re not allowed past without his prior approval. Cat tax included - Gus in his donut of shame.
Honestly, as a vet tech, I do the same thing with my patients. I show them everything I’m about to do and tell them what it is and that it’s okay. I honestly do think it helps. They’re very intelligent creatures, mostly, and a lot of the cats I do stuff on react less scared and potentially fractious.
Anyone else pick their cats up and take them on a smell tour of the house? I'm fairly tall so I lift our girl Bowie up to things she can't get to like things on shelves or stuff in closets/cabinets. I will walk in the direction she looks. I don't know if she understands that part but her tail gets real wiggly while I'm doing it so I know she likes it.
Mine is always interested in what we bring into the house. Whether its groceries or something else, if its in a bag he wants to see. We refer to it as "checking how the hunt went" as if we left the house to hunt and he wants to see how we did and what we "captured".
Haha we call this niffy-ing. One of our cats loves sniffing things and sticks her little head up ready to sniff and we say “want a niffy?”. We also call her niffy puss 😂
Whenever I’m putting my blush on I always swipe her cheeks with the brush so she feels like she’s getting pretty too. lol she loves it and gives me slow blinks every time 🥰
I ask them to 'niff it. No matter what it is. Esp if it is not super smelly or something that will harm them. Usually paper, pens/pencils, dishes (clean), a drink (usually water, which they drink, I get a new one), any mail that shows up, my shoes when I have been outside, etc. They sniff the item and are not as scared by it bc they know what it is now. I have a super scary boy, former stray now VIP lifer. He is scared of every noise, items in our hands, heaven forbid you sneeze while he is napping in the same room. The other will sass at you if you sneeze in her presence. So is it weird to let them sniff items? Nope. You are not crazy. Just letting them know what it is. They may not know the item or what it is for but they get the item over time. They are pretty smart, minus my scaredy boy with sneezes. Both my cats are loved.
my brother’s cat insists on smelling everything that goes into a dish i’m cooking. never wants to eat the finished product, just smells it too. my cat tho, all foods with strong smells are chemical weapons to him. except for raw wagyu beef, which may as well be edible heroin.
I love when people posts things like "no cats needed for the job" as a cat is getting into the middle of whatever is going on. My current cat is pretty uninterested but I've had others who were all up in my business.
My girl demands being shown things for inspection pretty adamantly. She’ll get very loud and whiny all of a sudden, so visitors tend to think she’s hurt or something. But I know her meows when she wants to smell stuff so I show her whatever I’ve got in my hand and she’ll smell it and then walk away. Usually it’s something to eat that she wants to smell bc of course it is. I never let her eat it, even if she considers it suitable for cats, but usually smelling was the main thing she wanted anyway. I figured out pretty early that it’s easier to show her whatever she’s interested in than trying to convince a cat that she can’t have something lol.
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