January “nose’ all about noses! Interesting facts about cats' noses.

January “nose’ all about noses!  Interesting facts about cats' noses.

Welcome to 2026 and this wintry cold weather here in Syracuse.  It has been a snowy season thus far but it hasn’t stopped us Central New Yorkers from traveling. The holiday season at Rock The Cat Spa was busy as expected and it’s fun to see kitties greet old friends and reunite. The nose bump and butt sniffing is real and I decided to delve more into why cats do this and found some interesting info about a cat's nose. 

Uniquely you- “ Nose leather’ as it is called, is an extremely unique part of a cat and similar to a snowflake. No two are like and just as one of a kind as a fingerprint. I dream of ‘noseprinting’ a cat but doubt they would let me! Just as unique, the nostrils help sense wind direction and bring scents in easier. The ‘leather” is officially called rhinarium for interesting fact of the day. 


It makes sense but the nose is the same as the color of the cat's fur. Sometimes, there are freckles and spots but it usually matches the fur color just perfectly.  Er, I mean, purrfectly! The nose leather can change color with age and vary with the breed. 

That’s a lot of power in there with 200 million, yes million, scent receptors inside their little button noses. Just for comparison, us mere mortals only have around 5 million. No wonder your kitty is always sniffing you once you get home and checking you out. Can you say super duper uber sensitive? It's one reason to be careful with essential oils, candles or strong smells at home. If the odor is bothering you, imagine how your cat must feel. Even scented cat litter can be too much and they will find a new place to go potty so be careful when buying litter. 

It’s a multi-tasking tool!  The cute little nose does more than smell scents as it can sense trouble, food, other cats and animals and they say hello to each other via the bump, aka bumping noses. This wouldn’t work too well with humans so let’s leave it to the kitties. 

Less flavor, more smell. Since there are millions of scent receptors doing the job up in the nose, it’s a trade off with less taste buds. My dad always used our cats as the official best by sniffer and if the cat put her nose up to the food, he wouldn’t eat it. If the cat ate it or licked it, he said it was good.  It’s not how I would test my food but he swore by the cat's nose. Also, just like in humans, when a kitty is sick and stuffy nose, you will see them eating less. If they can’t smell their food, the appetite will disappear. 

In the mood? When female cats go into heat, a male cat can smell her scent from a mile away. I had a college student tell me that his female cat was in heat and the apartment next door mentioned that the male cat was marking the wall and trying to get to her. This is yet another great reason to spay and neuter your kitties! 

Truth or not?  I was always told that a healthy cat had a wet nose and dry meant ill or sick. It’s not that simple.  The nose can adjust to heat and humidity and go from wet to dry several times a day. Sometimes they just lick their nose and they make it wet. 
They’re born this way and kittens can smell their mom very early on, even before 2 weeks old. The sense of smell assists them with finding mom, siblings and their assigned nipple to nurse at.  It always warms my heart when you see a kitten go up and start nudging their way up their mom right where they belong and nurse.  It’s sort of an assigned seating pattern! 

What’s with the face?  Yes, you know the face. That funny cat face.  You see your cat sniffing something and they’re staying there a bit longer than usual then suddenly, they lift their head and look at you with their mouth fully open! This is called, “ Flehman Response” and it means a lot of things to your cat.   From trying to figure out a new smell to seizing up their territory or another cat territory, recognizing a cat, new odors or new food, this response always gets a good laugh.  Cats are built with “ Jacobsen’s Organ” at the top of their mouth full of nerves that go right to their brain. There the odor or scent gets analyzed into what exactly they just smelled.  Is it food or a new cat or an old cat friend?  They figure it out and we get a good laugh. 

Well, hello there is what I see at Rock The Cat Spa when cats arrive. Nose booping is their way of saying hello and reuniting with each other. When I approach a new cat or one that I haven’t seen in a while, I offer my index finger bent and let them slowly smell and recognize me.  I can usually see the, “ oh, its you!” look on their face and then the tail goes up in a friendly gesture. Sometimes, the nose bump also is a request for their treat or lunch time. 

Your cat’s nose is a little leatherman in many ways so understanding that is very multi purpose and faceted can help you better understand some reasons cats do what they do!  

Photo: Banjo saying hi and nose bumping me one morning!  That pink nose!