Scientists discover a hidden “ID card” in cat urine
Scientists have identified 13 branched-chain fatty acids in cat urine that act as a unique, durable chemical signature for individual cats. These 'calling cards' allow cats to identify one another even after long periods, providing new insights into feline communication.
Why it matters
Understanding how animals use chemical signals for long-term identification advances the field of animal behavior and chemical ecology.
Cats rely heavily on scent to learn about one another, often gathering information from urine and other odor marks left behind in their surroundings. These chemical traces can continue communicating long after the animal that produced them has moved on.
That creates a puzzle. Many odor molecules evaporate, break down, or change with time. If a scent is constantly evolving, how can another animal still determine who originally left it?
Researchers from Japan, Germany, and Spain, led by Iwate University, may have found part of the answer in domestic cats. Their experiments point to a group of unusual fatty acids that could serve as a lasting chemical signature in cat urine.
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