Cat Nose Prints as Unique as Human Fingerprints
Cat nose prints as unique as human fingerprints. Really? Did you know that? Yes, It’s true!
Take a close look at your cat’s nose. You will notice little bumps and ridges. (Dogs have this same unique trait and since their noses are bigger than cats’ it is easier to see on a dog.) The prints are exclusive to each animal and can be used for identification, just like your fingerprints can.
The method used at present for identifying our pets is through a microchip implant which can (and has) dislodged or malfunctioned, thus becoming useless.
But nose prints, like our fingerprints, will always be there. Maybe someday microchips will be replaced with nose scanners. Cats (and dogs) could be scanned when we adopt them and keep those scans on file for comparison if our pets should ever become lost or stolen.
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This would be less costly than the microchip, and less painful as well. As easy as getting fingerprints taken. Scanning noseprints would have quite an impact on the numbers of animals restored to their proper owners, particular after hurricanes and other cataclysmic disasters.
(I did some research to find out if any company has patented a nose print ID scanner but only came up with one that went out of business some years ago. If you discover any, perhaps you can let me know, and I will add it here.)
Cat nose prints as unique as human fingerprints
Here is another interesting fact or two about a cat’s nose that you may not know.
Did you know that a cat’s sense of smell is more than 14 times as sensitive as ours? Wow. Can you imagine walking around all day smelling 14 times better than you can now?
Cats also have a unique scent mechanism on the roof of their mouth, just behind their incisors, called a vomeronasal organ (VMO) or Jacobson’s organ. Scientists believe the VMO is used primarily for detecting pheromones. A cat parts her mouth slightly to open the ducts leading to the VMO and gently inhales, passing air and scent molecules over the VMO. This act is often accompanied by nose lifting, eye squinting and sometimes a flattening of the ears that make the cat look as if she is grimacing. This posture is called the “Flehmen response”, from the German flehmen, which means ‘to curl the upper lip.’ See also WIKI for more on this topic.
Cat nose prints is as unique as human fingerprints? They can be used for identification, just like our fingerprints. Share on X
Her own animal experience is vast, having raised and rescued Alpine Goats, Chickens, Turkeys, Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, Turtles, Raccoons, Cats, Dogs, and even an Opossum and Bearded Dragon.
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There are current patents for nose print pet identification systems, but no active business or registry. However, these guys have done well with facial recognition:
https://findingrover.com
Thanks for letting us know, Lu. What a great community service.
Love your post. It is a wonderful idea. I have recently been introduced to the horrors of the animal microchipping racket. I got a rescue kitty with some health problems and was obstructed, gaslighted and insulted when I asked questions about her microchip. They put an experimental (not approved for humans) chip in her and it looks like they are using our pets for animal testing. Lots of lies about microchips out there!
In the UK they have mandatory microchipping for dogs and are pushing it for cats. But nobody is publishing the statistics on cancer rates for chipped animals, even though it has been going on for a decade now. The only cancer adverse effects they track are for tumors attached to the chips. They must know what the rates of cancer are for chipped versus unchipped animals. I guess it does not support the big money narrative.
That is so interesting. And I will freely say that is the last place I have ever looked or noticed any difference in any of my cats. I’ll go look at Tawny right now. Thanks.
So, what’s the verdict, Mary?
That’s really cool! I had no idea each nose was so unique! Nature sure is overflowing with complexities and wonders way past our understanding.
Isn’t nature amazing? I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Another thing learned today. :P)
Wow, that’s awesome!!
I would go nuts smelling any better than I do now.
Hi Jeanne,
This is so amazing! I thank you for doing the research because it is sure better than putting a chip in. I know many cat-lovers that would love this post as much as I did and will share around the social sites.
Blessings,
-Donna
I learn something new today! Besides being cute and pink, these cat noses are unique too =)
Amazing Jeanne and when you look closely, you can see this 😉
Our Creator always have a good reason why he created all things unique. Those unique nose prints will eventually serve a good purpose like our fingerprints
Unbelievable that cats have this feature same as human, about their sense of smell its astonishing , so cats are so smart? i don’t have any pet like cat or horse but think i should.
I didn’t know about the nose prints but I did know about them smelling things when they had their mouths open. Having my sense of smell 14 times stronger would drive me crazy lol.
I love your blogs. You always have something of value to bring to the table. I never knew about the way your pets nose is like fingerprints. I always admired my animals and their cute little noses, and how they were shaped with the ridges on them. Interesting fact to know. Thanks for sharing!
This was such an interesting read. Thanks so much for sharing!
I will have to inspect the nose prints on our front picture window and see if I can find the culprit! I will catch that four legged perp. and pet him, and squeeze him, and love him… I bet it is the same little yellow mutt that rams his muzzle into my face to wake me up each day. Thanks Jeannie, that is a most interesting post, I never thought about it before. Jon