1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio Pay brain 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Boglebaum. Here, humans have tolerated the haughty demeanor 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: of cats for at least ten thousand years, in large 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: part because our furry feline friends are so good at 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: keeping vermin like mice under control. But research published in 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: the journal Frontiers and Ecology and Evolution shows that cats, 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: while quite good at slaying small birds and mice, may 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: have very little impact on rat populations. A team of 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: researchers made like a modern pied piper, microchipping and monitoring 10 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: about sixty rats living in a Brooklyn, New York, recycling center. 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: The team manipulated the rat population by unleashing various rat 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: pheromones to see how those chemicals would affect the rats behaviors. 13 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: These experiments had an unintended side effect, though, as feral cats, 14 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: probably attracted by the smell of potential prey, slinked into 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: the building. At first, the researchers, apparently unfamiliar with the 16 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: futility of hurting cats, tried and failed to evict the 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: unwanted feelines. Then they decided to capitalize on this unintended 18 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: invasion by including the five cats in the study to 19 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: see what effect they had on the rats. With hundreds 20 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: of video clips as evidence, scientists logged just twenty stocking attempts, 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: three kill attempts, and only two successful kills by the 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: cats during the seventy nine day experiment. Most of the 23 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: time the cats ignored the rats. That kill rate is 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,639 Speaker 1: pretty low. However, the researchers did note that for every 25 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: additional cat sighting, a rat was one point one nine 26 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: times more likely to seek shelter. The researchers concluded that 27 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: this might be the reason people have thought that cats 28 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: are good at controlling a rat population. Lead researcher Michael 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: Parsons said in a press statement, but people see you 30 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: were rats and assume it's because the cats have killed them, 31 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: whereas it's actually due to the rats changing their behavior. 32 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: So why were the cats not more aggressive hunters? Probably 33 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: because feral cats instinctively understand that one unlucky bite from 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 1: a hefty twelve ounce rat that's about a third of 35 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: a kilo could lead to a life altering or life 36 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: ending injury. Indeed, other research has shown that cats are 37 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: much more likely to kill birds and small rodents like mice, 38 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: which typically weigh about an ounce or thirty Grahams and 39 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: won't put up as much of a fight. Paper co 40 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: author Michael A. Jute said in the same press statement, 41 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: we are not saying that cats will not predate city rats, 42 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: only that conditions must be right for it to happen. 43 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: The cat must be hungry, have no alternative, less risky 44 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: food source, and usually needs the element of surprise. And 45 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: to that end, researchers suggest replicating this experiment in some 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: other place with less food of ailable than a waste 47 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: management facility in New York City. Unrelated to this research, 48 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: a program called Blue Collar Cats was launched in Washington, 49 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: d C. Wherein unadoptable feral cats are released into rat 50 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: infested neighborhoods upon request to help control rodent populations. Although 51 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: some questioned the wisdom of doing this, the president of 52 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: the Humane Resource Alliance, the group behind the program, pointed 53 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 1: out in a Washington Post letter that the cats were 54 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: quote meant to deter rodents, not solve the city's rodent problem. 55 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: It seems likely that the cats are keeping the rats 56 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: on the move. Today's episode was written by Nathan Chandler 57 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Klang. For more on this and 58 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: lots of other curious topics. Visit how stuffworks dot com. 59 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio or more podcasts 60 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: to my heart radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 61 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.