Domestic Cat Urine Odor as Rodent Management Strategy in Crop Fields
In Tanzania, Africa, researchers are seriously looking into the possibility of using the urine of female domestic cats to deter rodents from crop fields instead of using the usual chemical which is zinc phosphate.
Obviously cat's urine is perfectly safe on and in the ground while chemicals almost invariably cause some sort of environmental damage and often damage wildlife and in this case the chemical used can kill livestock such as chickens.
The chemical is a blunt instrument to try and deter rodents while the urine of female domestic cats is a highly precise, well targeted deterrent.
Apparently, female domestic cat urine is more effective than a male's.
I don't know how practical it is to use cat's pee on fields! It may be impractical but I doubt it. It may be impractical to collect it and then transported to fields. Scientists might be able to artificially create it using chemicals although I doubt whether it would be as effective because there's nothing quite like cat's urine. It has a very long life because it is used to mark territory as we know and therefore it can withstand weather etc.
I also don't know whether there is any prospect that this process might be utilised in the West. Is anybody doing any research on this in America or Europe? I've no idea at present. I would doubt it.
Is it impossible for people to recycle cat litter the same way that we recycle glass bottles and tin cans? Might it be possible for local authorities to collect cat litter and then use that either "as is" or processed for spreading onto crop fields? I am dreaming crazily, no doubt ;)
Anything to improve the environment must be welcome and to put cat urine to good use is a great way to promote the image of the domestic cat in the eyes of people who are ambivalent about the domestic cat or indeed hate the cat.
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