科学家发现，猫咪嗅闻陌生人气味的时间长于主人的气味，这表明它们仅凭气味就能区分熟人与陌生人。
图片来源：Pexels
原作 Patrick Pester
翻译 科研圈bot
一项新研究表明，猫仅需嗅闻几下人类腋窝和脚趾气味，就能辨别它们熟悉的对象与陌生人。
家猫（Felis catus）通过气味来交流与捕猎，这种感知能力对我们的猫科朋友至关重要。最新研究发现，科研职员首次通过实验，验证了猫咪能否通过体味分辨不同人类。这项研究 5 月 28 日发表于《公共科学图书馆-综合》（PLOS One）。
研究职员发现，与主人的气味相比，猫咪嗅闻从陌生人处擦拭收罗的气味所用时间更长，这表明宠物能识别熟悉的人类，并会投入更多精力去了解来自陌生人的陌生气味。
"当猫咪嗅到主人的气味时，它们会迅速识别并离开，这种较短的嗅探时间表明它们已经确认了熟悉气味，"未到场该研究的澳大利亚阿德莱德大学（University of Adelaide）猫科动物行为博士研究生茱莉亚·亨宁（Julia Henning）在《对话》（The Conversation）撰文指出，"但当它们面对陌生人提供的气味拭子时，猫咪会延长嗅探时间，利用其敏锐的嗅觉网络更多关于陌生气味的信息。"
此前研究已证实，猫咪能识别主人的声音，并能区分熟悉与陌生的人类面孔——不外在这方面它们不如狗类善于。猫咪还能察觉主人的感情变化，此中一些感情可通过体味识别。然而在最新研究出炉前，科学家尚不清楚猫咪仅凭嗅觉识别不同人类的能力有多强。
在这项新研究中，研究职员向猫被试们展示了三个塑料管：它们分别装有主人气味、陌生人气味，还有一个无人类气味的对照管。气味样本是通过擦拭人类受试者腋下、耳后和脚趾间的皮肤获得的。
研究发现，猫嗅闻陌生气味的时间长于主人（或对照组），这与先前关于猫嗅觉行为的研究结果一致。例如断奶后的幼猫嗅闻陌生母猫气味的时间长于亲生母亲，这表明嗅闻时长与熟悉度之间存在关联。
除了嗅闻时间更长外，研究职员还发现，猫咪在闻到陌生气味时通常会先用右鼻孔嗅探，随后换成左鼻孔。研究表明，这种鼻孔偏好分析猫科动物在处理不同任务时会使用不同脑区，科学家在狗、鱼类和其他一些动物身上也发现了类似现象。
这项最新研究结果表明，猫至少能区分熟悉和陌生的人类，但研究职员尚不清楚它们是否能分辨本身熟悉的不同个体。
"这项研究中使用的气味刺激仅来自熟悉和陌生的人，"该研究的合著者、日本东京农业大学的教授内山秀彦（Hidehiko Uchiyama）在接受 BBC 采访时表示，"将来还需要进行让猫接触多个熟悉者气味刺激的行为实验，如许我们或许可以或许找到猫在闻到主人气味时才会表现出的特定行为模式。"
https://www.livescience.com/animals/domestic-cats/cats-recognize-familiar-bo-and-can-spot-strangers-from-the-stink-of-their-armpits-and-toes
论文信息 【标题】Behavioral responses of domestic cats to human odor
【作者】Yutaro Miyairi, Yuichi Kimura, Koji Masuda, Hidehiko Uchiyama
【期刊】PLOS One
【时间】May 28, 2025
【DOI】https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324016
【摘要】People all around the world live with cats and cats engage in many social behaviors toward their owners. Olfaction is one of the most important sensory abilities in cats, yet its role in recognizing humans remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the role and characteristics of olfaction in the discrimination of known or unknown humans by cats using ethological methods. Whether cats exhibit a lateralization of nostril use in response to a variety of olfactory stimuli, exposure experience, inter alia, was investigated. Cats were simultaneously presented with three odor stimuli: that of a known person (owner), an unknown person, and a blank control. Responses to the cat 2 scale (Feline Five) and the cat–owner relationship scale (CORS) were collected from cat owners through questionnaires. It was observed that cats spent a substantially longer time sniffing the odor of an unknown person than that of a known person, indicating the use of their sense of smell to distinguish between heterospecific (human) individuals. While responding to odor stimuli from unknown humans, the cats displayed marked lateralization in the use of one nostril or another. An association was observed between the first odor the cat sniffed among known, unknown, and blanks and the personality score. A strong correlation was found between the number of repetitive sniffing odors and personality scores in male cats. No association was evident between the cat’s behavior and the cat–owner relationship score. Rubbing of their faces against an object immediately after sniffing it was observed and thus a possible relationship between the olfactory exploration and subsequent rubbing (odor-marking) behavior in cats is postulated. However, this relationship warrants further investigation along with the theory of whether cats are able to recognize a specific person from olfactory cues.
【链接】https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324016
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来源：https://view.inews.qq.com/k/20250612A04JE700
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