Expert: Jessica - 7/9/2010

Question
how does a cats eyesight and sense of smell work one time we moved over furniture outside because we were getting rid of it she kept stiffing our furniture and she did not want to go inside the house I had to pick her up and put her in, than she went eat and she refused to lay on the new furniure but she kept stiffing it than after two weeks  she's laying on it

Answer
Hi William,

Cats see about as well as we do, just very differently.  They don’t see the full spectrum of colors that we do, but they can perceive depth and detect movement far better than we can.  Their sense of smell, however, is certainly better than ours.  In fact, it’s about 14 times stronger.

The behavior related to your old furniture outside and your new furniture in the house was likely due to the cat’s sensitive sense of smell, and also the fact that cats dislike change.  Changes that seem small to us, such as new furniture or even just rearranging the furniture, are major life changes to cats.  

When your cat saw “her” furniture moved outdoors, she could not understand why her property was being moved into public territory.  As territorial creatures, to cats, their property is their world.  The furniture she’d always known was property that she had established as her own and was central to her life.  Whereas we humans are excited to throw out a worn out sofa and replace it with a fancy new one, it is extremely difficult for cats to abandon territory.  I’m sure you can see why she wanted to stay outside and protect her property.

As for refusing to accept the new furniture for a while, this was very likely related to the fresh-from-the-factory smell and potentially the unfamiliar texture.  Remember, a cat’s sense of smell is 14X more sensitive than ours.  It can take a couple of weeks for a new carpet or furniture to air out before a cat feels comfortable walking on it or sitting on it.  If it’s made of a different material, that can take some getting used to, as well.

Now that she’s used to the new furniture, she’ll form an attachment to this set, too.  Hopefully it won’t need to be replaced any time soon!

Best wishes!

Jessica