Nature & Environment
Mice Exposed to Cat Urine are Less Likely to Escape Being Eaten
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jul 05, 2015 08:29 PM EDT
It turns out that mice that are exposed to cat urine may actually be less likely to escape from cats. Scientists have discovered that mice that are exposed early in life do not avoid the same odor and therefore don't escape from their feline predators.
"Because the young mice (less than 2 weeks-old) are being fed milk while being exposed to the odor, they experience positive reinforcement," said Vera Voznessenskaya, one of the researchers, in a news release. "So they don't escape the cats when exposed to cat odor later on."
The researchers actually identified the molecule in the urine responsible for these effects. This particular molecule is known as L-Felinine. Interestingly, while the mic don't escape this odor later in life, they still experience hormonal changes throughout their life.
"We already knew that odor affects reproduction in mice: in fact, this molecule (L-Felinine) is capable of blocking pregnancy in females and reducing the size of the litter," said Voznessenskaya. "Early exposure to cat odor changes behavioral reactions to, but not physiological (hormonal) responses in the mice, which remain elevated. In fact, mice that had experienced the odor showed stress response (elevated corticosterone) to cat odors the same way as controls."
The findings were presented at the Society for Experimental Biology 2015 conference.
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First Posted: Jul 05, 2015 08:29 PM EDT
It turns out that mice that are exposed to cat urine may actually be less likely to escape from cats. Scientists have discovered that mice that are exposed early in life do not avoid the same odor and therefore don't escape from their feline predators.
"Because the young mice (less than 2 weeks-old) are being fed milk while being exposed to the odor, they experience positive reinforcement," said Vera Voznessenskaya, one of the researchers, in a news release. "So they don't escape the cats when exposed to cat odor later on."
The researchers actually identified the molecule in the urine responsible for these effects. This particular molecule is known as L-Felinine. Interestingly, while the mic don't escape this odor later in life, they still experience hormonal changes throughout their life.
"We already knew that odor affects reproduction in mice: in fact, this molecule (L-Felinine) is capable of blocking pregnancy in females and reducing the size of the litter," said Voznessenskaya. "Early exposure to cat odor changes behavioral reactions to, but not physiological (hormonal) responses in the mice, which remain elevated. In fact, mice that had experienced the odor showed stress response (elevated corticosterone) to cat odors the same way as controls."
The findings were presented at the Society for Experimental Biology 2015 conference.
Related Stories
Rodents Evolve to Nightmarish Proportions on Islands
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone