How hungry cats get the food bowl filled

updated 6:16 p.m. ET July 13, 2009

A cat's purr normally says, "I'm happy." But a new study suggests some purrs send cat owners a much different message: "Feed me!"

Researchers found that purrs of hungry cats included a higher-pitched sound, somewhat like a cry or meow. They played recordings of these purrs from 10 cats to 50 human volunteers. Even people who'd never owned a cat found them to be more urgent and less pleasant than contented purrs from the same animals.

These food-seeking purrs may exploit the way humans naturally respond to a baby's cry, the researchers suggest. Not all cats use this strategy, but some apparently learn to turn it on when they see it's effective in getting a human to feed them, Karen McComb of the University of Sussex in England said in a statement.

She and co-authors present their work in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology.

MORE FROM PETS

Pets Section Front

Want to own more than 3 cats? Get a license He’s the presidential pooches’ right-hand man In Taiwan, hotel for dogs isn’t just a movie Marine bends rules to save dog found in Iraq Hail, Otto! Near 21, he’s now world’s oldest dog Andre the dog gets some fancy new limbs   Painting pooch is dog-gone good Dogs funnier than cats? Video show says yes   Facebook reunites dog with owner after 10 years   Shark nearly bites another in half Pets Section Front   Add Pets headlines to your news reader: