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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 07/22/2009 : 07:51:03
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.... or at least those of us who tolerate Felis domesticus know it. All too well.
If you've ever wondered who's in control, you or your cat, a new study points to the obvious. It's your cat.
Household cats exercise this control with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow, according to the findings.
This meow is actually a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry. While people usually think of cat purring as a sign of happiness, some cats make this purr-cry sound when they want to be fed. The study showed that humans find these mixed calls annoying and difficult to ignore.
"The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response," said Karen McComb of the University of Sussex. "Solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing, which is likely to get cats ejected from the bedroom."
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Every word of this, and the balance of the article, is entirely true. Indeed, I even have conversations with my cat, an animal so old that the next time the Antiques Road Show is in the area, I'm taking her to it.
Anyhow, the dialogue, usually taking place in the kitchen, goes something like this:
Cat: I want
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Me: Go 'way, cat.
Cat: I want, I waaaant.
Me: Shut up, cat.
Cat: want,want,want!
Me: Outta the way, cat!
Cat: Gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie!
Me: GODAMMIT CAT, IF YOU DON'T FUCKING GET THE HELL OUT FROM UNDER MY FEET, I'M GONNA KICK YOUR HAIRY, USELESS, LITTLE ASS CLEAR OVER TO THE FIREHOUSE!!
Cat: I WAAAANNNNTTT!!!
And so forth. this can go on for quite a while, but in the end, I wind up giving the wretched beast a bit of greasy tribute just to shut her up.
Ah science, we are so far ahead of you!
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 08:35:53 [Permalink]
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| I have to agree with this. I am in the process of retraining my cat so he doesn't wake me up at 3 am in the morning. Two weeks in and the biggest improvement is me not reacting to his meow by feeding him (at 3 am). |
You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 10:59:57 [Permalink]
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When we take a cat into our lives, we invite a little dictator. Cats definitely train us, hijacking our instinctual response to babies' cries for their own benefit. Our only hope is that the cat becomes too lazy to spend all day oppressing us with its demands.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 12:46:18 [Permalink]
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| Cats are Satan's Little Helpers. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 07/22/2009 : 13:48:05 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by pleco
Cats are Satan's Little Helpers.
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Think so, do you? You should ask Satan's cat for her opinion.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 15:35:50 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
Originally posted by pleco
Cats are Satan's Little Helpers.
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Think so, do you? You should ask Satan's cat for her opinion.
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Satan is much too intelligent to put up with a cat. Only people are that stupid.
The ancient Egyptians fell under the cat's evil spell early on, but eventually, they got it. They still venerated them, but in the end, acted appropriately:
Removal of organs
Body is stuffed with sand or packing material
Feline is placed in a sitting position
Body is wrapped tightly
Faces and designs are painted on wrappings with black ink
No chemicals, only natural dehydration
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 09:24:45 [Permalink]
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| We have two cats. There not bad for cats (I wanted a dog). One purr meows ALLLLLL the time but it's not a purr cry...just a gentle purr with a soft meow....really cute actually. The other just meow/cries.....no purr. |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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Something we already knew....
