How do cats contribute to biomedical research?

• A. They are primarily used to study digestive enzymes.
• B. They have well-developed hearing systems and can be trained to respond to auditory cues.
• C. They are used only as pet models for welfare studies.
• D. They are the primary model for genetic engineering of vaccines.

Answer: (B)

Cats contribute to biomedical research primarily through their highly developed hearing and their ability to be trained to respond to auditory cues. This combination makes them valuable for studying hearing, auditory perception, and related neural processing. Because cats can discriminate sounds, localize sources, and detect a wide range of frequencies—often beyond human sensitivity—researchers can design psychophysical experiments to measure detection thresholds, pitch discrimination, and temporal aspects of sound processing. The trained responses to auditory cues provide reliable behavioral readouts that complement physiological data, aiding development of auditory prosthetics and therapies.

The other options don’t fit as well. While digestive enzymes are a physiological area, cats aren’t primarily used to study them in biomedical research. Cats are not limited to pet welfare studies; their use extends to broader research questions, including hearing and sensory neuroscience. And they are not the main model for genetic engineering of vaccines—that role is filled more by organisms like mice and other systems used for vaccine development.