How cats manipulate owners with purring
Crafty cats coax their owners into giving them extra food and attention by using a special purr, researchers have found.Scientists from the University of Sussex say manipulative cats use a "soliciting purr" which has a similar frequency to a human baby's cry.
It is thought that this higher-pitched sound triggers a subconscious sense of urgency in the owner, making them give the cat whatever it wants.
Dr Karen McComb said she was inspired to do the study by her own cat, Pepo, who has the knack of consistently waking her up in the mornings with insistent purring.
So it was either study how her cat purred to get food, or how her husband whinged to get a cup of tea.
In the test 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.
Dr McComb said: "Cats exhibit this behaviour in private with their owners, typically at anti-social times, such as first thing in the morning.
"They also tend to clam up or leave when strangers turn up. We had to train owners to use the equipment to record both the solicitation and non-solicitation purrs that we needed in their own homes."
Listen to the soliciting purr
LINKS
University of Sussex
Even those with no experience of cats judged the ‘solicitation’ purrs to be more urgent and less pleasant.
Dr McComb said: "Cats exhibit this behaviour in private with their owners, typically at anti-social times, such as first thing in the morning.
"They also tend to clam up or leave when strangers turn up. We had to train owners to use the equipment to record both the solicitation and non-solicitation purrs that we needed in their own homes."
Listen to the soliciting purr
LINKS
University of Sussex
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