Nose Patterns May Help Identify Pets

Nose patterns in dogs are studied as a biometric way to distinguish individual animals, and research supports their individuality and stability. But the claim that this applies to dogs and not cats is outdated: studies of cats also describe individual papillary patterns and their potential for identification. For both species, this does not mean nose prints are a universally used or reliable replacement for a microchip. The illustration is AI-generated.