Smelly organic compounds from male cats are actually made not by the animals, but by bacteria living in their anal sacs, according to new research reported in the journal PLoS ONE. Yamaguchi et al examined the fermentation hypothesis by characterizing volatile organic compounds and bacteria isolated from anal sac secretions of a male Bengal cat. Image credit: Gidon Pico. Cats and many other mammals (dogs, bears, pandas, skunks and hyenas) use secretions...
