Garfield by Jim Davis for January 13, 2016

I reckon dogs always smell stuff to make sure if it’s edible.

1. Is it edible?If not:2. Can I mate with it?If not: 3. Should I chase it away?

Scooby doo can give you a better answer.

From considerable experience living with cats, they’re always smelling stuff too. Maybe not quite on the dog level, but a lot.

Garfield, they smell stuff to see what other dogs have been there besides them. It’s the canine equivalent of Facebook and Twitter!

All the above comments are right on why dogs smell everything. Their nose is about as important to them as sight and hearing – more so in some cases.

Cats pick up scents, and then whils tongue bathing, they relive those memories. That is how they imprint. That is why you handle a kitten, put butter on its paws, and it thinks that it belongs with you.Have you ever watched a cat tongueing itself? They take a couple of licks, then they stop, think about it, and then a couple more. Short term memory reinforcement.

“Dear Ask A Cat, Why are you guys so lazy and disloyal?”

xxx

ANSWER: Because they can.

If you had a nose like a dog and could detect and interpret the thousands of scents that we cannot, then you’d sniff everything too.