Why do cats purr?
Cats are clever creatures and a study by Dr Karen McComb, at the Centre for Mammal Vocal Communication Research at the University of Sussex, demonstrates just how clever they can be.
Within their purrs, cats embed hidden frequencies that cause their owners to respond, secretly manipulating their owners into providing food. McComb’s research team monitored feline behavior and recorded their purrs for analysis and they discovered that when cats are after food, they embed a hidden signal within their purrs that to the conscious mind of most people does not seem to be much different from other purrs but hidden within is a high-pitched sound that causes the human to respond more positively to their request. Essentially, our feline companions are training us to behave appropriately when they wish it.
Yes, it’s a sort of Feline Neurolinguistic Programming or FNLP if you will (embedded commands is a technique for subtle persuasion within NLP).
Previous research compared certain cat cries to those of human infants and found that humans tend to respond more quickly to certain frequencies emitted by their cat masters . . . yes, you read that right. Sure, you may think you’ve been training your pet cat but your cat has been training you as well.
No, there is no indication that there is a nefarious cat conspiracy in this but it is clear that cats do learn the behavior, see it works, and continue to reinforce its use so if you prefer to believe your cats aren’t consciously manipulating you, feel free to live under that illusion.
Listen to some of the research purrs at http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/cmvcr/Domestic%20cats.html while the BBC report includes a video sample at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8147566.stm.
See http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/?id=1210 and http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/14/2625281.htm and http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/07/cats_manipulate_their_owners_with_a_cry_embedded_in_a_purr.php and http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jul/13/cats-purr-food-research for more.
Of course, it’s also worth noting that cat purrs have beneficial effects as well. In fact, a number of studies have shown that the sound of cats purring can have a very beneficial healing effect upon humans, both in terms of emotional stress-reduction as well as calming and in terms of actual promotion of physical healing and that’s a very good thing indeed (which leads one to think that perhaps it’s no wonder why so many people have developed positive relationships with our feline companions, even deifying them in some cultures). See http://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/why-cats-purr for more on that and other purring effects.
Happy purring,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com
Note: The photo used for this essay was taken as I was inundated with a horde of kitty treat seeking cats at the Cat Manor Restaurant in Taipei which I love as they’ve got some really awesome Maine Coon cats (certainly one of my all time favorite breeds and if someone were thinking of gifting me one for my birthday next month, please imagine a cat meow drilling that suggestion even further into your subconscious to the point of becoming an overwhelming compulsion). If you’re in Taiwan and love cats, they are located very near the Chishan MRT Station Exit 2 at No. 3, Lane 164, Fu Hua Road, Shilin, Taipei, and have a webpage at http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/genki3336/.
If you enjoy 貓餐廳 Cat Restaurants, be sure to check out the group on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7646595830 for more.
