Re: How does my cat know I'm coming home????
Both cats and dogs can identify sounds that are specific to your vehicle. While they may also show interest in similar vehicles, they often know their owner's specific vehicle by some very subtle sound that it makes, which is different than any other car.
With dogs, the sense that amazes me the most, is their ability to detect scents. I once watched a "bomb dog" identify a very small amount of gunpowder, which was put into a short piece of pipe that had end caps. The caps were screwed down tightly and, as far as I know, there was no residue at all on the outside. The handlers placed the "bomb" under a seat in the cabin of a Gulfstream business jet, which we were letting the bomb squad use for training. When brought aboard the aircraft, the dog sniffed each seat casually, until he got to the one with the pipe. He immediately recognised it, sat down, and looked up at his handler. No barking, no apparent excitement - he just sat, indicating that he had found what he was supposed to find.
Smart critters, those dogs and cats!
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