Animal behaviorists explain why cats are so motivated by the “pspsps” sound
If you have a cat, chances are you’ve made some silly and potentially embarrassing noises just to get its attention. But of the 32 muscles in a cat’s ear devoted to directional hearing, there are clearly zero devoted to actually paying attention to humans.
In fact, sometimes it feels like all 32 muscles were designed to block out the sound of cat owners.
— Rufus T. Cat (@RufusTeeCat) June 18, 2018
Pet sounds
So, just what have you done to try to get your cat’s attention? Sure, you might call their name, but that’s just a suggestion.
Some of us whistle – or even bark – at our cats. We make up words. We beg for them to come. Frankly, they’ve put us in a situation where we really have to try everything just to see what works.
And the “best” part is that whistling may work for your cat for a week, but if it’s not immediately followed by something awesome – like a whole rotisserie chicken – they learn to ignore it pretty quickly.
But one sound that works for many cat owners – though not all – is the “pspsps” noise. In fact, most cats will at least look (disgustedly) in your general direction if you do it long enough.
The “science” of cats
Cats defy science. They hate every part of it. They don’t like it when we hypothesize about them, gather data, or even look at them wrong. And reaching a conclusion? Well, good luck.
But animal behaviorists have done their best. Still, we have no definitive answers to most of our questions, only guesses bordering on theories.
And that’s going to have to be ok because cats are happy to keep us in the dark.
So why “pspsps”?
What’s so special about that noise?
We know cats might come running when they hear food open, but pspsps doesn’t sound anything like opening a box of treats or even a can of wet food. So what does it sound like to cats?
Some have guessed that it may sound similar to noises they hear outside, such as the rustling of leaves, that could indicate something interesting nearby. Maybe it sounds like a bird flapping its wings.
It’s not a terribly convincing explanation, but it seems possible that it could rile up their predatory instinct and that’s why they come running so fast.
That could explain why they often walk away so fast as well when they realize nothing cool is happening.
When even PSPSPS doesn’t get the job done anymore. from r/memes
Others have guessed that it sounds like the hissing noise that mama cats make that kittens hear as a warning sound. But do you really think your cat trusts you to warn it about something? Or that it would come running to you for protection or information?
One of the more reasonable guesses is that it’s simply a noise that makes them curious (which explains why it works less and less as time goes by). But one thing is for sure – cats do follow their curiosity. They’re just usually disappointed when a giant human that wants to smother them is at the end of the mystery.
International investigation
Pspsps is a sound most commonly made by Americans to beckon their cats. Like many onomatopoetic sounds, the noise is different in other countries.
Romania is pretty similar, with pis-pis-pis. But out English-speaking friends ins Australia say kiss-kiss-kiss. In Germany, it’s miez-miez-miez.
So we largely have to go back to the drawing board unless all of these sounds sound like rustling leaves or hissing to an animal that has far better hearing than humans do.
The good news is that if your cat doesn’t come when you say pspsps, you can always use the excuse that maybe he just speaks German!
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Source: Cattitude Daily, Merck Vet Manual, Bored Panda