2M2B Research with Cats

The following research work was completed in collaboration with Perrigo Animal Health

Novel environment and social interactions

McGlone, J. J., Garcia, A., Thompson, W. G., & Pirner, G. M. (2018). Maternal-Neonatal Pheromone/Interomone Added to Cat Litter Improves Litter Box Use and Reduces Aggression in Pair-Housed Cats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2018.1446341

Cats were exposed to a novel environment, where they were pair-housed with an unfamiliar cat. Under this condition, cats were evaluated in study 1 for their preferences of the two litter boxes contain litter with vehicle (i.e., control) or litter mixed with pheromones (i.e., 2M2B, 3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol [MMB] and the mix of the two); Study 2 assessed the effects of the litter box containing the 2M2B on cat behavior, especially regression when compared to the control litter.

Results: Cats preferred to eliminate in litter containing 2M2B and other treatments tested did not change litter box use compared to control. Cats experiencing control litter displayed more aggression during the first 6 hours (Figure 1) and spent more time using the litter box 12 hours and 18 hours (Figure 2) after pairing compared with cats experiencing litter with 2M2B.

Conclusion: 2M2B may act as interomone in cats; 2M2B-infused cat litter may prevent initial occurrences of aggression in cats housed together and may improve cat welfare in multicat households.

Sound stress with simulated thunderstorm (TH) and fireworks (FW)

Cats were exposed to simulated TH and FW for 15 minutes, and their physiological and behavioral responses were recorded 15 minutes before, during and after the sound simulation. Different forms of 2M2B, spray, ointment and diffuser were evaluated for their effects on the cat response to both TH and FW in three separate studies with total six experiments. Each study followed a crossover design where cats received both control and one of the three treatments at different time points.

Results: data from individual studies did not show significant changes in behavior and physiology in cats caused by 2M2B. However, analysis of data pooled from the three studies, six experiments showed that 2M2B effectively reduced (P=0.02) the pulse rate and tended to increase locomotion in cats during the recording period.

Conclusion: 2M2B may improve cat welfare when exposed to sound stress.

Stress with transportation

The effects of 2M2B on the behavior and physiology of cats during transport are less dramatic and more research is needed.