Cats 'exploit' humans by purring - says research...

[demoleft]

...and it needed no research - they could have just asked me!
i'm exploited by my cat since years - and it does so smartly that it makes me even feel thankful!

"Cat owners may have suspected as much, but it seems our feline friends have found a way to manipulate us humans.

Researchers at the University of Sussex have discovered that cats use a "soliciting purr" to overpower their owners and garner attention and food.

Unlike regular purring, this sound incorporates a "cry", with a similar frequency to a human baby's."

BBC, here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8147566.stm

[woo me with science]

1. "to overpower their owners"....

:rofl:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I know that purr very well.

It has this little high-pitched, whiny overtone that you probably wouldn't notice unless you were specifically listening for it, but apparently it triggers some subliminal response in hoomins that requires them to feed their feline overlord NOW.

It does work.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. That would be the adorable a "prrrrt"chirp. My kittehs like to use that a lot, but

more as a hello. They even throw their heads up and back at the same time, so it's like "S'up mom?" :P

Sometimes they and I will have a long prrrt conversation, especially when the boy cat wants me to get out of bed in the middle of the night to make a drip in the tub for him. (I hate when I forget to do it when I brush my teeth. x( )

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. It's not the "prrrrt" trill. There's an actual purr with a weird overtone.

Listen to the video at the BBC article. "Prrrrt" is something different. The Command Purr is like a regular purr, but faster, more intense and with this little whine in it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. My speakers don't work. :^( I will try to get to another computer and see

if my tigers make this one or not.

Edit: Yes, Pickles does this in the middle of the night. It's her "Wake up, Momma. I wuvs you, now gimme your pillow!" purr. Then she plonks over on my face and proceeds to suffocate me. She doesn't do it for feeding, though. That is a whiny meow which can get very sassy, to the point that she wrinkles up her nose and everything. LOL

Pretzel has such a quiet meow and purr that I haven't noticed him doing it. (You have to put your head on him to hear his purr.)

[anneboleyn]

8. This is so true. My husband and I laughed in recognition when we read this -- our little old man is

a master at the control of humans. He has been ruling us with an iron fist (paw) for a decade.

[applegrove]

6. I forget where I read this but someone once said that a cat mimics a human

baby by purring and thus bonds with a human while a dog mimics a human teenager in love.

I thought it was really cute. And true.

[murielm99]

7. My daughter sent me this article earlier today.

She said, "No wonder Claudia always gets her way!"

I recognize that purr.

[omega minimo]

9. Cats exploit humans by not letting on they know how clueless most are.