SLY, MANIPULATIVE CREATURES

Finn knew this all along….

“Cats have a reputation for being sly, manipulative creatures, and it may be well earned, says Scientific American. A study at the University of Sussex found the domestic house cat has developed a special kind of purr, carefully tailored to persuade its owner to feed it. Less irritating than a loud miaow, which might simply get it ejected out of doors, but more urgent than a soft, deep, contented purr, the "solicitation purr" has an embedded, high-pitched element, with a peak similar to that of a baby's cry – perfect, in short, for provoking a nurturing – response in a soft-hearted human. This, at any rate, is the contention of Dr Karen McComb, a specialist in mammal vocal communication, who first noticed the solicitation purr in her own cat, Pepo, when he was hungry. Is she annoyed to find she has been cunningly manipulated by her pet over the years? "Pepo has been the inspiration for this whole study, so I'll forgive him," she says. 'Credit where credit's due."