Manipulative kitty-cats

It’s a bit of a stretch but an interesting theory nonetheless: house cats simultaneously produce a meow and a purr in order to get their owners to feed them. According to the authors of a new study in Current Biology, a straight meow would annoy the owner and result in the banishment of the cat altogether, while just a purr signifies contentment, which would not succeed in getting any food. Instead, embedding the cry for help within a contented purr is the most effective way to get fed. Like I said, a bit of a stretch, but I wouldn’t necessarily put it past the creative arm of evolution.

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