It is well known that our pets love affection and display unwavering loyalty. What has recently been discovered, however, is that they can also hold irrefutable evidence in the context of a criminal investigation.
Researchers from Flinders University in Australia took a close interest in the cats that inhabit many Australian households — not to study their habits or charming quirks, but for a much more forensic reason. These experts in criminalistics, genetics and forensic medecine sought to determine to what extent these animals could act as receptacles for human DNA and potentially transfer it onto other surfaces.
A single contact is enough to cause transfer
To test this hypothesis, the scientists conducted a study on twenty cats from fifteen households, collecting samples from four different areas: the fur on the head, back and right side of the body, and the skin located on the left flank of the animals.
A significant amount of DNA was recovered, mostly from the cats’ fur and, to a lesser extent, from their skin. Unsurprisingly, most of this genetic material belonged to the cats’ owners. More surprisingly, however, DNA from individuals outside the household was also detected in 47% of the samples—particularly from cats that regularly roamed their neighborhood. This demonstrates that feline fur readily captures human DNA, not only through petting but also via brief, incidental contact. Moreover, the study showed that DNA transfer can also occur in the opposite direction—from the cat to another person or to an object—simply by tapping or scratching the animal’s fur with a bare or gloved hand. In both cases, the recovered traces proved sufficient to identify an individual.
The cat: a silent but relevant witness
For forensic investigators, the findings of this study open up new perspectives in the way a crime scene is approached. From now on, an animal present at the scene can be considered as potential evidence if it is suspected to have come into contact with the perpetrator of a crime. Since their fur acts as a true reservoir of DNA, collecting samples from the areas identified by the researchers could make it possible to identify offenders—or, conversely, to rule out certain suspects.
It should be noted that this ability to capture human DNA is not unique to cats. Dogs, which are also common household companions across the world, have proven to be excellent collectors of genetic material as well.
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