Miaow! Feed me now, dammit!
Posted by MelSkunk (Melissa Drake) on Thu 23 May 2002 - 12:43
You know it, I know it, cats love to exploit gulible humans. Now researchers are theorizing that our modern moggies are the best sounding decendents of miaowing wild cats.
Humans respond most to pleasant miaows as opposed to horrible yowls and reward nice sounding felines with food and preferential treatment. Some scientists think this has lead to supercats, vocally best prepared to mooch food and shelter. Others think cats are just damn good at learning what to do to get free chow from us and learn their miaows independantly.
About the author
MelSkunk (Melissa Drake) — read stories — contact (login required)a student and Skunk from Toronto, ON, interested in writting, art, classic cars and animals
Comments
That sure doesn't explain siamese.
I think cats have evolved to take advantage of us as much as possible, meows and otherwise. I like to call my cat Radar the pinnacle of feline evolution because the force of his cuteness is such that you must tend to his every whim, despite his disability. :)
I do find it terribly disturbing that a scientist would make a statement such as "The idea that a female would go up to a male in a back alley somewhere and say, 'could I hear your miaow to see if the kittens you father will be appealing to people', couldn't happen. Cats don't have that level of communication," disturbing and dissapointing. NO natural selection happens that way! If the theory were correct, then cats with nice meows would be fed more often, be larger and fitter than their froggy-throated competitors, and have better chances with mating and raising kittens.
I think cats just learn to communicate with various sounds that is far short of a true language, but sure gets the point across.
I think the scientist's statement is probably correct as far as the cat's perceived choice of a mate goes, but it fails to take into account the human selection factor. Cats with cute miaows are more likely to be chosen as pets and therefore are more likely to survive to adulthood to be able to produce kittens with cute miaows.
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