Animal Tales – October 2019

I know some humans

are allergic to cats,

but are any cats

allergic to humans?

— MIKEY, 10, NJ

Which animal has the stinkiest

farts?—JIMMY,8, WI

There are plentyofcreatureswhoproducesmelly

flatulence(gas),butnobodypassesstinkiergasthansea

lions!Whatmakestheirfartssmellsobad?Theirdiet:

Sea lions eat a variety of fish and squid species, which

are foods with very distinct odors. After the fish and

squids are digestedthrougha sealion’s stomach

and blown out theotherend,thesmellis

extremely powerful!

Just like people, pets can experience allergic
symptoms — and unfortunately, humans are
sometimes the cause! Cats experience these
symptoms when their immune systems begin
to recognize certain everyday substances,
or allergens, as dangerous. Although these
allergies are rarely life-threatening, certain
allergens, like human hair or dander, will leave
pets in discomfort and distress. Thankfully, a
vet can easily treat your pet’s “human allergy”
with allergy shots or oral drops.
IMAGENAVI/GETTY; SHUTTERSTOCK (2); LUPLUPME/GETTY; KRISTNU/SHUTTERSTOCK; ISTOCK/GETTY; METTE SIG/SHUTTERSTOCK; ELOKU/SHUTTERSTOCK

Wondering about the

wild and wonderful

animal kingdom?

You’ve come to the

right place!

Why do dogs have

a

great sense of smell?

— NOÉMI, 7, WA

Before dogs were domesticated (became

indoorpets),they

relied on their sense of smell to detect

dangerinthewild.

Even though most dogs do not live out in the wild now,

their sense of smell continued to get better and better as

they evolved. Their strong sniffing abilities have become

part of their genetic makeup! Dogs possess up to 300

million olfactory (smell) receptors in their noses. Humans, by

comparison, only have 6 million. The part of a dog’s brain that

is devoted to analyzing smells is also 40 times greater than

ours. Even the mucus that keeps a dog’s nose wet helps to

pick up scent particles — get a whiff of that!