Capital Berg

Keeps People Up-To-Date

Friday, January 22, 2021
Log in
  • United States
  • Business
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • About CapitalBerg
    • Analysts & Contributors
    • Advertising
    • Contact US
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use

Pages

  • About CapitalBerg
  • Advertising
  • Analysts & Contributors
  • Contact US
  • Investor Relations
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • SEC Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her June 29, 2018
  • Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest June 28, 2018
  • “Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend June 27, 2018
  • Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant June 26, 2018
  • Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend June 26, 2018
  • Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago June 25, 2018
  • Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards June 25, 2018

Mind Control: Cat Pee Controls Mouse Behavior

July 6, 2015 By Cliff Jenkins Scott

Mind Control Cat Pee

It’s a well known fact that cats are quite good at manipulating people. They meow loudly, jump on the bed and start biting your feet, and you get up, go to the kitchen and feed the fury feline. They do something they’re not supposed to, then look at you with those big eyes, curved whiskers and pointy ears, and you forgive them pretty much instantly.

But a new paper, presented earlier this year, in Prague, at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB), has revealed that cats are not bad at manipulating mice either. Although their mind games are a little less adorable when applied to mice, they are every bit as effective.

It turns out that cats can control the way a mouse behaves by simply exposing them to their urine. They can’t order him around like you’d imagine if this was the plot of a cartoon, however the chemicals in the cat’s urine will forever change the way the tiny rodent reacts to felines everywhere.

The research has shown that when very young mice are exposed to cat pee, they will most likely not avoid cats late in their life. This is because of a chemical found in the cat’s urine, which essentially teaches young mice that a cat’s scent is nothing worth avoiding.

Experts from the AN Severtov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (Moscow) are not only responsible for this finding, but they’ve previously also written a paper on how the very same compound, known as “felinine”, is responsible for causing pregnant mice to have abortions, as a defense mechanism.

Dr Vera Voznessenskaya from the AN Severtov Institute of Ecology and Evolution gave a statement explaining that mice go through a physiological response when they presented with the felinine compound. There are certain neurons in the mouse’s brain designed to pick up on the scent, and this causes the mouse’s level of stress hormones to increase.

She went on to inform that this connection has existed for thousands of years in the relationship between cats and mice. What’s new about it is the human knowledge of it.

For their study, Dr Voznessenskaya and her team took mice that were no older than one month and exposed them to the mind controlling chemical for two (2) whole weeks.

The results showed that putting baby mice in contact with felinine at such a critical period of time in their development affects them profoundly. When the subjects were tested for reactions later in life, the researchers noticed that the mice were very unlikely to run away from the scent of the compound. The working theory is that the mice experience positive reinforcement when exposed to the chemical compound while they are still being fed milk.

Dr Voznessenskaya explained that the consequences aren’t necessarily what you might expect. She said that “Their physical sensitivity [to the chemical] was actually much higher. More of their receptors detect the compound and they produce higher levels of stress hormone”.

However, in spite of all of this, the mice exposed to the chemical early on in life don’t have the habit of avoiding the scent of cat pee, nor do they have the habit of showing signs of fear to their arch nemesis.

What happens is that the mice feel the response internally on a higher level, but show less of it on the outside, as Dr Voznessenskaya shared that “You get a higher response, but less behavior”.

But this is not necessarily a disadvantage. The researcher explained that mice can’t leave their habitat because they need to stay close to humans in order to find food, but cats also have a habit of staying close to humans.

Image Source: dailymail.co.uk

  • About the Author

About Cliff Jenkins Scott

Cliff likes to describe himself as made for the hard road. Freelancing is taking off across the world. And yet, valuable opportunities are hard to find he thinks, particularly when it comes to writing. After graduating with an MA degree in Communication as a major and Technology and Writing as minors, Cliff decided to give his own website hosting creative writing a boost and engage in an overwhelming number of projects, all of them focused on writing. He didn’t look for a quick burnout, but his eagerness to learn as much as possible as rapidly as possible kept him going.

Filed Under: Science

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 44 other subscribers

Recent Articles

sleep

Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her

June 29, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

police lights

Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest

June 28, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

gavel

“Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend

June 27, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Woods

Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant

June 26, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

patrol cruiser

Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend

June 26, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

stop sign

Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago

June 25, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

Butter knives

Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards

June 25, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

XXXTentacion mugshot

Florida Authorities Arrested Suspect in Connection with Shooting of XXXTentacion

June 22, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

sunset over beach

Dallas Mother Accused of Beating Four-Year-Old and Dumping Body Into the Water

June 21, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

chicken Alfredo

Ohio Man Sentenced for Trying to Seduce Teenage Boy with Naked Pictures and Chicken Alfredo

June 20, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

bedroom

South Carolina Teen and Mates End Up In Slammer for Raping a Teenage Girl

June 19, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

cyberstalkin

California Man Arrested for Stalking Ex-Girlfriend, Hacking Her Online Accounts

June 19, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

hammer

Naked Patient Sneaks out of Emergency Room to Bash Homeowner’s Head with Hammer

June 18, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

screwdriver

Middle School Student Attacks Teacher During Class with Screwdriver

June 18, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • Stephen Hawking watching a screen while sitting in his chair

    Stephen Hawking’s Family Sends His Final Message to Space

    Jun 15, 2018
  • super earth exoplanet half in shadow

    Is Gravity the Force Keeping Aliens from Visiting Earth? European Scientists Say So (Study)

    May 8, 2018
  • starbust stars and galaxies in the universe

    Thousands of Early Galaxies Revealed by Map of Old Universe (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • statue of a neanderthal half shadowed

    Scientists Found a Possible Explanation for the Neanderthals’ Big Noses (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • the planet venus

    Could the Clouds of Venus Be Holding Forms of Life?

    Apr 5, 2018
  • NASA and Parker Solar Probe Study

    NASA Ready to Send the Parker Solar Probe on its First Mission

    Mar 7, 2018
  • stars and galaxies in the universe

    Scientists Measure the Expansion Rate of the Universe, Challenge Physics?

    Feb 26, 2018
  • sunspots on the sun in close up

    Is the Sun Going to Get Dimmer and Cooler in the Next Decades? (Study)

    Feb 12, 2018
  • Two mummified brothers

    Egyptian Tale of Two Mummified Brothers Takes Unexpected Turn

    Jan 18, 2018
  • Futuristic robot holding its arms spread

    A New Type of Revolutionary Robotic Muscles Is Strong, Flexible, and Cheap (Study)

    Jan 7, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Deals
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • United States
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalberg.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.