Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Keeping common cats is extremely costly to the environment: pets consume enormous amounts of food and wood, which is used to make litter pellets. Cats also produce greenhouse gases—methane and carbon dioxide. Considering the colossal population of these pets (according to the All-Russian Pet Census, there are 49 million cats in Russia alone), the damage to the environment, while seemingly insignificant, becomes colossal. Modern advances in genetic engineering have made it possible to create a new breed—the Siberian Green Cat (Cattus viridis).
"Even in high school, I began thinking about how to make cats' stay in our homes more hygienic. Various approaches were considered, including switching to liquid nitrogen as a diet. While working at university, I realized the problem wasn't isolated, but global: creating a zero-waste cat breed would benefit both the environment and the economy. Thanks to 30 years of collaboration with specialists from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, success was achieved. Our cats differ in appearance only by their wetter noses, because the energy they generate needs to be expelled somehow," commented the project's initiator, Lyudmila Budneva, a senior lecturer at the NSU Humanities Institute.
"Nitrogen, the main element of the Earth's atmosphere, is widely used by living organisms. However, fixing atmospheric nitrogen is a very energy-intensive process, utilized only by certain microorganisms. Without their vital functions, however, other living organisms would only be able to utilize nitrogen in the form of preformed compounds. The task of converting the biochemistry of a highly organized animal to an environmentally friendly nitrogen diet seemed extremely challenging. We used the concept of a heat and power generator, placing it in special artificial organs located in the place of the kidneys. The generated electric current is used for nitrogen fixation in a specialized gland, and the resulting ammonium ions participate in biosynthesis carried out by symbiotic microorganisms in the cat's cecum. The end result is nitrogen, which is again excreted through respiration," commented Oleg Andreenkov, a graduate of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at NSU and a PhD candidate in biology. "The only drawback of the new breed is its constant purring, as we have not yet been able to make the process completely silent."
The economic benefit of owning a Siberian green cat can be estimated by reducing direct and indirect costs. Using approximately 10 liters of litter per month, the owner will save approximately 11,000 rubles per year, with the median cost of litter being 900 rubles per 10 liters. The cost of a litter box varies from 99 to 32,800 rubles, but the most reasonable estimate, given the income structure of the Russian population, is around 1,500 rubles. With the litter box depreciated over three years, this also adds up to an additional 500 rubles per year in savings. Finally, consider the cost of a bottle of cat detergent, which costs 1,500 rubles per year. Thus, in direct costs alone, the owner will save approximately 13,000 rubles per year per cat.
Now let's consider the indirect costs. Every cat owner is familiar with the stress of "does the house smell? What will guests/mother-in-law say, etc." Stress, as we know, leads to impulsive buying, eating, and possibly even drinking. According to Tochka Bank, most Russians impulsively spend between 1,000 and 15,000 rubles per month. For simplicity, let's assume that the cost of eating/drinking is already included, and we'll conservatively estimate the reduction in impulse purchases due to the reduced stress of 2,000 rubles per month. Cleaning up after the cat doesn't add joy either, and it also takes up time—let's say it's 15 minutes a day. 7.5 hours a month free from cleaning up after the cat—how much is that worth? The minimum threshold is the amount a Russian earns per hour. Minimal—because if someone isn't working (and could be), it means they value that non-working time more than their working time. According to Rosstat, the average hourly rate in our country is 382 rubles, which translates into savings of 2,865 rubles per month and 34,380 rubles per year.
One positive side effect of the Siberian Green cat's constant purring shouldn't be ignored. Purring is known to reduce the risk of heart attack by 30%, decrease stress levels, normalize blood pressure, promote calm, and even help heal fractures. Of course, the comprehensive health benefits, including economic ones, require extensive research, but consider that over 80% of Russians take dietary supplements for their physical health and well-being, spending approximately 1,500 rubles per month. A conservative estimate of reducing these costs by 200 rubles per month yields an additional 2,400 rubles per year. It's easy to calculate that the owner's benefit would be approximately 74,000 rubles per year. But that's not all. Along with the economic costs, the carbon footprint of owning a cat also decreases. It is currently estimated at 310 kg of CO2 equivalent per year. Most of it is generated during the production of meat-based feed, but even the most conservative estimate, that the filler and emissions themselves account for no more than 20% of the carbon footprint, yields a savings of 62 kg of CO2 equivalent per year. And for the domestic cat population in Russia (remember, there are about 49 million), this would amount to 3 million tons. Given the service life of a civilian aircraft of 40,000 hours, this carbon footprint would be left by 76 aircraft over their entire lifespan, said Elena Limanova, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, and specialist in environmental and natural resource economics, in her assessment of the work of Novosibirsk scientists.
No cats were harmed as a result of the experiments.
Let us recall that a year ago our scientists managed to discover a new species of bird – the pink crow.
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