Language Classes, 12/20

[game-of-you.livejournal.com]

Written on the blackboard:

LAST CLASS -- Please hand in your final projects

There is a basket on Dream's desk to collect the papers; next to it sits another basket, full of red-and-green wrapped Christmas chocolates. Dream, now free of the plague of balloons, leans against the blackboard with his arms folded. He manages a smile for each student as they hand in their papers.

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Re: Cat, 12/20

[swerval_zero]

The Piteous Mew: A Case Study

There are many ways in which the common house cat, Felinus cattus, alters its mannerisms in order to make its wishes known to humans. These methods of communication are not regularly used while the cat is in communication with its fellow cats, and illustrate the cat’s grasp of human emotions and behaviors, as well as its ability to manipulate these to suit its own needs.

One of the most common mannerisms cats use in communication with humans is the ‘Piteous Mew.’ Typically used to express the cat’s needs to its human, in the Piteous Mew the cat looks up at the human and mews. Piteously, as the name of the gesture implies. This is notable, because other cats do not respond to the Piteous Mew. Cats do not have any impression of what it is to be ‘pitiful’ and feel only disdain for those who truly qualify for this status. However, they are not above pretending to be pitiful if it suits their needs.

The Piteous Mew is clearly meant as a method of manipulating the human by making them feel sorry for their four-footed master, so the human will fill the cat’s water or food dish, open a door for the cat, or perform some other mundane task the cat cannot fulfill for itself. It is a classic example of cats’ altering their behaviors to manipulate humans.

((Inspired by my own cat.))