Why do cats and dogs have a wet and cold nose
It is believed that a healthy dog and cat's nose should be wet and cold. A dry and hot nose can be a sign that the pet is unwell. This rule doesn't always work, but let's start in order. Why are the noses of our pets arranged this way, and not otherwise, and when is a dry nose the norm?
Despite the prevailing opinion about noses, veterinarians advise to leave this part of the animal's body alone and not to diagnose it. Much more accurately, her appetite, appearance and behavior will tell about the well-being of a cat or dog. If the animal does not eat well, does not want to play, looks depressed and sluggish, then in these cases it is definitely worth worrying. The noses are arranged in such a way that it is difficult to determine something by them.
On hot days, a dry nose may indicate that the animal does not have enough water. After sleeping, cats and dogs have noses that are also dry and sometimes hot. In winter, when the heating is in full swing in the apartment, the nose may well dry out and there is nothing wrong with that. The main thing is to make sure that your pet always has access to clean drinking water.
In cats and dogs, the tip of the nose is called a rhinarium. The nose has many small glands that secrete mucus. This is necessary in order to better distinguish odors. Molecules of different volatile substances, falling on the mucus-covered rhinarium, move at different speeds. This helps the animal to analyze them more accurately with olfactory receptors.
And more recently, science has found another reason for a cold and wet nose. Due to the fact that the temperature of the rhinarium is five degrees lower than the environment, it works as a thermal imager. The noses of dogs and cats can detect not only the smell, but also the heat coming from other creatures and objects.
A wet nose helps to determine the direction of the wind. For a pet, this is not too important, but this feature helped the wild ancestors of cats and dogs. The predator easily determined from which side the wind brought the smell of a victim or a dangerous large animal, which itself is not averse to profit from someone.