Things I Like - Sciences

The housecat – innocent, laid-back family pet or master manipulator? Anyone currently allowed to share living space with said pet will know the answer to that one.

Growing up, my family always had a dog. Dogs are easy to understand – they either want to eat, play or go outside. They let you know about these needs by looking at you with sweet doggy eyes and wagging their tail. If this doesn’t work, barking may occur. The communication is fairly simple and there’s not much manipulation involved – dogs love you no matter what your response.

Cats are a completely different story. Not only are you never quite sure what they want (other than being fed, their needs are a complete mystery), you never know what they think about you. What might appear to be affection - curling up in your lap, purring - might actually be ‘training’. As in, "you feed me every day so I’ll allow you to stroke me now". A recent study puts some weight behind the theory:

Anyone who has ever had cats knows how difficult it can be to get them to do anything they don't already want to do. But it seems that the house cats themselves have had distinctly less trouble getting humans to do their bidding, according to a report published in the July 14th issue of Current Biology.

The rather crafty felines motivate people to fill their food dishes by sending something of a mixed signal: an urgent cry or meowing sound embedded within an otherwise pleasant purr. The result is a call that humans generally find annoyingly difficult to ignore.
~ Science Daily

We know that meow at the White House. While Sam saves his vocal efforts for crying in the car, Max has mastered the annoying meow that cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, we haven't figured out what she wants when she makes it - the training continues.