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Cats that need to show more affection towards you have to be put on a fat diet, according to veterinarians at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, together with animal behavior experts from Hills Pet Nutrition in Topeka, Kan.

Having studied 58 fat cats with 25 percent more body weight than recommended, they observed the change in behaviour through one of three eight-week diets that comprised "high fiber, low carb/high protein and a control diet made to maintain adult cat weight", according to Cat Channel.

It was observed in a month that the cats would find it difficult to go on diets, and pester human owners to increase their food intake. The cats would be "begging, meowing, and pacing" about 16 and 45 minutes before their meals, and would be chasing the humans all the time, according to Telegraph.

In spite of the struggle, after eight weeks, cats seemed to show more affection.

"When compared with their behaviour before food restriction, the cats were significantly more likely to have increased purring, sitting in the owner's lap, resting, and using the litter after their meal at either four, eight weeks, or both," wrote Emily Levine, lead researcher, according to Daily Mail.

While 76 percent of the cats reduced weight, especially due to the high fiber diet, two cats seemed to have got aggressive due to the diet.

The study was published in The Journal of Veterinary Behaviour: Clinical Applications and Research.