Cauxin is a peptidase that is excreted in large amounts in cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

 urine

Urine

Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...

. Cauxine has been shown to hydrolyze

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

 3-methylbutanol-cysteinylglycine (3-MBCG) in the urine into felinine

Felinine

Felinine, also known as -2-amino-3-propanoic acid, is a chemical compound found in cat urine and a precursor of the putative cat pheromone 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol ....

 which then slowly degrades into the putative cat pheromone

Cat pheromone

Cat pheromones are pheromones that are used by cats and other felids for cat communication.- Feline facial pheromone :Feline facial pheromone is a hypothetical pheromone used by cats to mark places, objects, and persons as familiar by rubbing their face on surfaces...

 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol

3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol

3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol, abbreviated as MMB, is a thiol and an alcohol. MMB is a degradation product of felinine in cat urine and is a putative cat pheromone....

 (MMB).
Cauxin protein from feline urine was reported in 2008 to act as a nucleator for struvite

Struvite

Struvite is a phosphate mineral with formula: NH4MgPO4·6H2O. Struvite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system as white to yellowish or brownish-white pyramidal crystals or in platey mica-like forms. It is a soft mineral with Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 and has a low specific gravity of 1.7...

 crystals, in an in vivo

In vivo

In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...

 system containing magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate ions. Thus, this protein may act as one cause for feline urinary stones.

Chemistry

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Felinine	MMB