Researchers Decode 13 Cat Urine Fatty Acids That Let Felines Identify Each Other
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 20
Researchers Decode 13 Cat Urine Fatty Acids That Let Felines Identify Each Other
3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 20
Summary
A Current Biology study found cats recognize one another through branched-chain fatty acids in urine, which form individual chemical fingerprints rather than a generic scent.
Cats' flehmen response weakened with repeated exposure to the same urine but rose when a new cat's sample appeared, showing the signal is tied to identity and familiarity.
High-performance liquid chromatography isolated the active urine fraction, and cats consistently reacted to the portion containing a handful of those fatty acids.
The fatty-acid profiles stayed stable for at least 1 day, and researchers traced them to lipid droplets in the kidney's renal cortex—structures known for more than a century but previously unexplained.
Similar droplets and fatty acids also appear in lions and tigers, suggesting the system evolved across felines and may help future work on chronic kidney disease.