Cat owners manipulated by their pets

Researchers at Sussex University have collated scientific evidence to prove what cat owners have always suspected – that their Machiavellian pets are using emotional blackmail to gain the upper hand. Whereas dogs are less subtle in their persistence, clever cats have learned to use the gentle art of vocal power in order to keep their food dishes full.

The programme was initiated when its author, Dr. Karen McComb, noticed that her cat Pepo would wake her in the mornings with his insistent purring. This sound differed from his usual contented purr and would invariably force Dr. McComb out of bed to feed her black and white moggy.

After talking to other cat owners who had experienced similar behaviour in their pets – including Anna Taylor, the co-author of the report – Dr. McComb dubbed this particular feline sound a solicitation purr.

She stated: “When humans were played purrs recorded while cats were actively seeking food at equal volume to purrs recorded in non-solicitation contexts, even those with no experience of cats judged the ‘solicitation’ purrs to be more urgent and less pleasant.”

In Dr. McComb’s opinion, the fact that they choose to embed this prompt to their owners in a sound of contentment, rather than a more raucous meow, proves that cats are capable of subtle behaviour. However, feline fanatics who have more than one kitty might not be familiar with the solicitation purr; vocal competition from housemates means that loud meowing is more effective.

Unfortunately the experiment was not as straightforward as it might have been: having worked with a range of animals as diverse as elephants and lions, Dr. McComb was forced to admit that domestic cats were her most challenging subject so far.

As Mary Bly once said, “Dogs come when they’re called. Cats take a message and get back to you later.”

New post on at Thursday, 30 July, 2009, 8:05 am and is archived in Lifestyle. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.