What are cat pheromones and what do they do?
By Zazie Todd, Ph.D.
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What are pheromones?
Pheromones are chemical signals, technically called semiochemical because they have meaning. Cats produce various pheromones and leave them as chemical signals that they or other cats will notice. One you’ve probably heard of is the synthetic pheromone in Feliway Classic which is used to help cats feel at home.
Pheromones are a type of volatile organic molecule and cats respond to them innately. In other words, cats don’t need to learn what they are; they were born with the answer. Pheromones are used to leave a message, which may be intended for another cat, but cats also sniff their own pheromones. Sometimes the recipient of the message is present, like when cats rub against each other, but sometimes they are not and they receive the message when they meet them later.
How Cats Detect Pheromones
Cats detect pheromones using the vomeronasal organ (VNO). The VNO is made up of two fluid-filled sacs located in the hard palate at the top of the mouth. Molecules can do this in two ways. Molecules present in the nose can dissolve in nasal mucus and enter the VNO via the nasopalatine canal. Alternatively, the molecules are licked or inhaled into the mouth where they dissolve in saliva. Molecules travel to the VNO through two openings behind the front teeth. Molecules can be pushed out and into the VNO, which can take cats a little time to process. The VNO connects to a part of the brain called the amygdala.
It is possible that the olfactory system can also detect pheromones (Tirindelli et al 2009). We know this happens in mice, so it’s probably the same for cats.
Cats detect pheromones using what is called the Flehmen response. It looks like a grimace and involves raising the head, pulling the lips back, and placing the tongue toward the front of the mouth. This is the same in all cats and can last thirty seconds or more. During the Flehmen response, pheromones enter the ducts and also help move the pheromones to the VNO.
Kittens begin to show the Flehmen response at 5 weeks of age and it is fully developed by 7 weeks of age.
How Cats Make Pheromones
Cats produce pheromones in glands throughout the body, including between the head and ears, on the sides of the lips, under the chin and in the cheeks. Cats also have glands in the pads of their paws as well as in the anal and urogenital region. Female cats have glands around their teats that produce a calming pheromone for the mother feline.
Pheromones can be deposited in the environment or on other cats via face rubbing, tail curling, urine spraying, thinning (leaving droppings uncovered), scratching, and exposure glands around the teats.
The social role of feline pheromones
Cats will rub their faces against objects in the environment (including furniture and walls), as well as against each other and humans. A team of scientists led by Patrick Pageat discovered five different chemical moieties in pheromones deposited by facial rubbing, called F1, F2, F3, etc. Although we don’t yet know what they all do, one of them (F2) is associated with sexual behavior. Another, F3, is territorial and used to mark objects and places that the cat uses often; the synthetic version of this is found in Feliway Classic. F4 is important for social relationships within groups of cats: cats that get along will rub against each other (called allo-frottage) and allo-rub also in the same places. It is therefore believed to create a “group scent”.
Tail curling is also thought to maintain “group scent” and therefore social cohesion.
Your the cat probably likes to rub its head against you Also. It’s a nice greeting and a sign that they include you in their social group. Scientists also discovered that cats prefer us to pet them around the head and face where they produce pheromones (Ellis et al 2014). (But remember to always give your cat a choice to be petted or not).
Marking Cats’ Territory
Pheromones also have territorial uses. Head rubbing, slimming, and urine spraying all have this function. The deposited pheromones are still there when the cat is not there and are supposed to give information about when the cat was there, its health, sexual status, etc. There are several hypotheses about how this works.
Urine spray leaves visual and olfactory signals. The location of the spray is probably chosen carefully. In feral cats (F silvestris), it has been suggested to choose a particular plant to spray, common juniper, because the chemical properties of the plant amplify the pheromones.
Middening – leaving feces in a conspicuous place – can also make the pheromones accessible to other cats. Barn cats will bury their feces in their own area, but leave it exposed when away from the barn. Research shows that cats can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar cat feces, spend more time sniffing unfamiliar cat feces, and become accustomed to the smell of unfamiliar cat feces (Nakabayashi et al 2012).
Scratching is also thought to have a territorial purpose. In one experiment, cats scratched a post significantly more when it had been treated with Feliscratch, a synthetic version of the pheromones found in footpads, compared to a placebo (Cozzi et al 2013). Its presence therefore seems to encourage cats to scratch their claws. Since Feliscratch also contains catnip, it is unclear which substance (or combination) is responsible for this effect (Zhang and McGlone 2020).
Some pheromones are linked to sexual behavior. In sexually intact cats, males are more likely to exhibit Flehmen’s behavior after sniffing the urine or bodies of intact female cats. The pussy doesn’t do it as much.
Evidence that pheromones are linked to social behavior comes from a study that found a link between WNV inflammation and aggression towards other cats (Asproni et al 2016). They performed autopsies on 20 cats. Cats that had inflammation of the sensory epithelium in VNO were more likely to be aggressive toward other cats, but there was no association with inflammation of the non-sensory epithelium. Neither was linked to aggression towards humans. This ties in with the idea that pheromones are specific to feline-feline communication.
Pheromone therapy for cats
There are several synthetic pheromones available: a synthetic F3 pheromone, present in Feliway Classic and some other brands; a synthetic feline calming pheromone found in Feliway Multicat (also known as Amis Feliway); a synthetic feline interdigital semiochemical available under the name FeliScratch. More recently, Feliway Optimum contains a new synthetic complex that aims to combine pheromones and work in more situations.
Veterinarians can use an F3 analog to help cats feel less stressed by installing a diffuser in the exam room and spraying towels used to cover cat carriers (Taylor et al 2022). Cat guardians may also be encouraged to spray towels or bedding in the carrier with a pheromone spray 15 minutes before going to the vet.
Overall, the evidence for using synthetic pheromones to address behavioral problems is mixed, and many studies have not used appropriate designs, making it difficult to evaluate results (Vitale, 2018) . A randomized study of Feliway Multicat using a placebo control group found that it helped resolve interchat aggression in households with more than one cat (DePorter et al 2018). Another randomized placebo study found that a synthetic version of the F3 pheromone can reduce stress in cats when temporarily in a carrier (Shu and Gu 2022). However, more research into feline pheromones is needed.
Synthetic pheromones should be used as part of an overall behavioral plan and not alone. There appears to be individual variation in how cats respond, and it is also suggested that using catnip might help F3 pheromones work better (although, again, more research is required).
If you use a synthetic pheromone, think carefully about where to put it in the house. It should be in a room where the cat spends a lot of time and close to where it rests. If you have multiple cats, you may need this in order to place them where different cats spend time. You can use catnip, toys or food placed nearby to encourage the cat to approach the area and detect the pheromone.
Don’t forget to think about other ways to help your cat too, such as improving resource allocation at home, spending more time playing (especially playing with a wand toy), giving your cat food puzzle toysmaking sure your cat has hiding places, train your catand find other ways to reduce stress.
If your cat has a behavioral problem, consult your veterinarian in case a medical problem is causing or contributing to his behavior.
Respecting the cat’s sense of smell is one of the five pillars of a healthy feline environment. You can learn more about your cat’s nose and VNO and how to consider their incredible sense of smell in what your cat’s nose knows.
If you like this article, check out my book Purring: the science of making your cat happy. Modern cat the magazine calls it “the essential guide to improving your cat’s life.” It will be in paperback on June 6, and the hardback version is available now.