Police Cats

How Police Cats Work. People often wonder if cats sniff out hidden drugs because they want to eat them, or because they’re addicted to drugs themselves. In fact, the cats have absolutely no interest in drugs. What they’re actually looking for is their favorite toy. Their training has led them to associate that toy with the smell of drugs.
The toy used most often is a catnip mouse. Police cats love to play a vigorous game of tug-of-war with their favorite mouse. To begin the training, the handler simply plays with the cat and the mouse, which has been carefully washed so that it has no scent of its own. Later, a little bag of marijuana is rolled up inside the mouse. After playing for a while, the cat starts to recognize the smell of marijuana as the smell of his favorite toy. The handler then hides the mouse, with the drugs, in various places. Whenever the cat sniffs out the drugs, he digs and scratches, trying to get at his toy. He soon comes to learn that if he sniffs out the smell of drugs, as soon as he finds them he’ll be rewarded with a game of tug-of-war.

Based on a HowStuffWorks article.

I’m sure there’s marijuana stashed away under that 17-50 mm standard zoom lens…