Cats Sense of Smell
Cats have approximately 19 million nerve endings in their nose that makes them especially sensitive to smell.
While not having nearly as many as some breeds of dogs these nerve endings in the membranes of the nose are considerably more than the 5 million or so nerves that humans have.
This sense of smell helps the cat to determine whether food is suitable for eating as the nitrogen given off by the chemicals of rancid food is picked up by their highly developed sense of smell, stopping them from eating the food.
This is also one of the reasons why it can be quite difficult sometimes to give your cat pills or tablets.
Due to their highly developed sense of smell they are aware of anything that has been added to their food and if they think it is something that they shouldn't be eating they will leave that food entirely and the tablets that you've attempted to hide in it.
This applies to various different medications, herbal or otherwise, and the fact that we can't smell or taste anything doesn't mean that the cat is unaware of a foreign substance.
Often it is a lot easier to give the cat an injection of meditation rather than trying to get it to swallow a pill or tablet.
If there is no alternative but to give it a pill, then you will need to tip its head back and get the pill as far back in it's throat as possible then stroke it under the chin to help it swallow the pill.
If you don't do this they will often hold it in the mouth until they have been released then spit it out.
If you do need to give your cat medication by pills then follow it around for a short while after you think they have had the pill, because they can hold it in their mouth for a while, until they believe you are not looking before spitting it out resulting in them not getting the required meditation.
Read More: Understanding Your Cat’s 5 Senses
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