The belief that men do not listen to them. (No, this is not a run up to a crude pun)
It turns out that cats meow more and louder when trying to get the attention of men than when trying to get the attention of women.
I'm not particularly surprised.
As he lectured on animal behavior, Kaan Kerman, an instructor in the psychology department at Bilkent University in Turkey, noticed a pattern. Dog owners tend to confidently interpret their pets’ behavior, he said, “but cat owners are always puzzled.” Compared with dogs, cats have been studied less, partly because they prefer to stay at home.
“If you want to bring cats into the lab,” Dr. Kerman said, “good luck.”
When he and his colleagues asked cat owners for permission to film inside their homes, the response was enthusiastic. “As long as you give us some answers about our cats,” was a common reply. What that study found may not be as welcome among men who care for cats.
In a study published this month in the journal Ethology, the researchers reported that cats meow more frequently when greeting male caregivers. The team hypothesized that men “require more explicit vocalizations to notice and respond to the needs of their cats.” In other words, the researchers are suggesting that many cats have concluded that men don’t always listen, and adjusted their behavior accordingly.
I am sure that many women who have read this story have thought, "No shit, Sherlock."
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