including the cry within the purr could make the sound "less harmonic and thus more difficult to habituate to
As an audio guy, I'd lean towards this explanation. The presence of audible distortion (disharmony) tends to increase the subjective volume of a sound relative to an undistorted version of the same sound, so that makes for a double whammy on the annoying aspect.
My sister has numerous cats. If somebody wants to pay me, I will gladly follow them around with microphones for a few weeks and write up a study to confirm the results of this one.
That's a really clear explanation. I'll bet you'd do a better job...but yes, the little beasts are excellent at creating very irritating sounds.
Fortunately for them, they also have a talent for nice soothing noises like chrps and purrs--otherwise, they'd probably never have ingratiated themselves into our lives.
I picked this story up from an unrelated twitter earlier today & it made me laugh. Yes, we've all known it's true, but we didn't know exactly how, except it had something to do with fluff cuteness and absolute assurance that they are owed service.
Heh, I could have told them this without the study. My cats have had me trained for years! I have learned which vocalizations mean "get out of bed and feed me NOW" or "I'd really like one of those catnip treats please" (this one Sam accompanies by sitting up on his back legs and begging like a dog..works almost every time).
Mop has a very tiny little mew, and since she mostly eats dry cat food, used to not have a commanding voice. But she's taken to licking the gravy from the outside cat's food, and now she has a "want canned food" voice that I hear only if I pop the top on one of those cans.
But she really controls me in the morning by lightly touching me with just a little bit of claw until I'm awake. I'd prefer the meow.
I read this too but I was baffled. With four cats, I should know what they're on about, but purr mixed with high-pitched cry? Huh?! somebody must be hearing things, or using an instrument to capture a sound that my ears can't detect. A purr is a purr in my cat world... some louder than others, but never, ever unpleasant to hear! then again, my cats have dry food always available so maybe they don't have to mix cries with their purrs.
With my cats, it's sort of like a throaty chirp starts and ends the meow. Rrrrowdrrrrh. But not all cats make the same sounds, I think. Mine's a dry food eater, too, but she makes that sound when she wants a treat.
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As an audio guy, I'd lean towards this explanation. The presence of audible distortion (disharmony) tends to increase the subjective volume of a sound relative to an undistorted version of the same sound, so that makes for a double whammy on the annoying aspect.
My sister has numerous cats. If somebody wants to pay me, I will gladly follow them around with microphones for a few weeks and write up a study to confirm the results of this one.
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Fortunately for them, they also have a talent for nice soothing noises like chrps and purrs--otherwise, they'd probably never have ingratiated themselves into our lives.
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I have learned which vocalizations mean "get out of bed and feed me NOW" or "I'd really like one of those catnip treats please" (this one Sam accompanies by sitting up on his back legs and begging like a dog..works almost every time).
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But she really controls me in the morning by lightly touching me with just a little bit of claw until I'm awake. I'd prefer the meow.
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