The title reads, “Scientists Really Want You to Send Them Your Cat’s Poop.” What? A team of researchers is trying to make your cat just a little less inscrutable — by studying its poop. The science project is called Kittybiome.
Source: Science of US, March 24, 2017.
Kittybiome researchers are “applying the techniques refined in humans to understand more about the cats and dogs with whom many of us share our lives.” And the more microbiome samples they gather, the more complete picture they can build of the relationship between what a cat does and what lives inside its body.
INSIGHTS: Interested cat owners fill out a survey about their cat’s environment, health and behavior. They then send for a sampling kit, take a scoop out of the litter box and return the sample. They later receive a detailed analysis of the different bacterial strains living inside their pet.