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Cat Meows Have Evolved Because of Humans
GuyMannDude writes: "ABCNews.com has a story on research being done at Cornell University's Psychology of Voice and Sound Laboratory on cat meows. The scientists believe that over generations, cats have learned how to meow in different ways specifically in order to hook into human perception tendencies and get what they want."
One moment, Tiger needs something.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
Dogs think, "You feed me. You must be god."
Cats think, "You feed me. I must be god."
We feed and take care of cats despite the fact that they do absolutely nothing for us. Do they have some kind of psychic mind control over us?
It is believed by many that Egyptian culture was delivered to humanity by a race of alien beings. At just about the same time, Egyptians began worshipping cats. Coincidince?
Even though they are supposedly mammals, cats have those weird slitty eyes. No other mammal has eyes like that. Are they really of this earth?
The Discovery Channel should do one of their pseudo-science specials on this subject. I'm sure it has just as much credence as any of the other goofball theories they've broadcast 'documentaries' on.
Serving your airship needs since 1995.
Are they basing this on survival of the fittest? Cats that don't meow well die? I don't think so. Cats learn what sounds get a response, and use them. Kittens learn from their parents, who learned from their parents. . . This is learned behaviour, not evolution.
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
Because there's no "it's catty, meow." category.
How it is it news that a pussy can manipulate people?
Our society has become so dominated by the evolutionary theories that whenever something changes over time, it doesn't change, but evolves, as if it were a change in the make-up of a cat's genetic code.
I think it's much more plausible that humans have adjusted their opinion of what an 'urgent' meow and a 'contented' meow are, rather than the cats adjusting to our 'language'. We observe a contented cat and the associated meow and we learn to recognize the difference. Which do you think is more likely? Cats have evolved a language to speak to humans, or humans have learned to recognize cats' language?
Comparisons to feral cats in zoos, let alone the wild makes no sense. It might make more sense to raise a feral cat in one's house from kittenhood and see if it made the same language adjustments. I very much doubt that the language is herditary.
---- Just another spud server.
Cat thought of the day -
A meow might get her attention, but she'll really notice if you crap on her sweater.
Funny, I tend to meow differently to get the attention of cats.
(weird, but true)
My cat had a way of mimicing my speech in a limited scope. If I would walk into a room and say "hi" she would respond with a very short "mmw" but if I sait "hello" (two sylables) she would respond with two of her own "mmw meow". I wonder if other cat owners had seen similar things...
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
I've noticed several times how a cat will adapt to be more and more attention grabbing as time goes on, and how her housemates will learn particularly effective behavior quite rapidly.
IP is just rude.
Is there any torture so subl
I always thought they were saying "Me Now." :-)
Prevent email address forgery. Publish SPF records for y
I'm not sure where I heard this tidbit exactly; I think it was a video documentary about cats. Anyway, it seems that cats by themselves do not meow to each other or to animals other than humans -- it's something that they only do with us.
It's not only a parental thing handed down the line either -- we have one cat that was separated at birth from her mother, and she is very good at indicating when she wants affection, a trip outside, or food. As to her emotional needs beyond that short list, I'm afraid I'm not evolved enough to pick those up. The other cat, being a glutton, only asks for food whenever possible, though she does trill a lot.
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Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
"I think cats have evolved to become better at managing and manipulating people."
That's why catbert is the human resources director, not dogbert
Kilroy was here!
Analog SciFi once printed a poem called Pavlov's Cat. I wish I could remember it as a poem, but the gist is that while Pavlov is training his dogs, Pavlov's cat repeatedly rubs up against his leg, meows, and walks to the door until Pavlov finally lets him outside. By the end of the poem, Pavlov's dogs are salivating at the sound of a bell and Pavlov is automatically letting his cat out when it meows.
Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.
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