Cat pheromone
vertebrate pheromone
A cat pheromone is a chemical molecule, or compound, that is used by cats and other felids for communication. These pheromones are produced and detected specifically by the body systems of cats and evoke certain behavioural responses.
Cat pheromones are commonly released through the action of scent rubbing. As such, one of the main proposed functions of pheromone release is to allow the cat to familiarize itself with its surroundings and other individuals, both in the newborn and adult stages of life.
Specific cat pheromones that have been chemically identified include the feline facial pheromones F1-F5, the feline appeasing pheromone, and MMB in urine, most of which are associated with distinct feline behaviours. Some of these chemical makeups have been synthetically reproduced and may be used by cat owners or veterinary professionals looking to change problematic or stress-induced behaviours.
Production and detection
The mechanism of chemical communication for felines involves chemical stimuli being secreted or excreted through the urine, faeces, saliva, or glands, with the stimuli being detected through vomeronasal or olfactory systems. There are several scent glands located on felines that deposit pheromones when a cat rubs against an object. This includes the cheek and perioral gland areas, which consist of several structures that secrete pheromones around the chin, cheeks, and lips. Other scent glands for secreting the pheromones include the temporal glands on the sides of the forehead, the circumoral gland around the lips, sebaceous glands, perianal area, head, fingers, and toes.
“Cat pheromone” enters the record as vertebrate pheromone. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what pheromone and vertebrate can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cat pheromone” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.