Newest Home-Staging Trend: 'Placement Pets'

The fluffy orange cat (the one who sank the congressman's ship) was thrust unwittingly into the public eye by the sheer coincidence that she (he?) happened to be sleeping on the windowsill when the listing photos for now-former Rep. Anthony Weiner's Forest Hills

apartment were snapped and then again in those other incriminating photos Weiner thought worthy of sharing online with strangers.

But what was the poor kitty (right) doing there in the first place, besides napping?

Truth is, placement pets, as they are known in the advertising world, are increasingly showing up in home listing photos, trying to convey a subliminal message to would-be buyers. Golden Retrievers bouncing in the yard say "family home"; bloodhounds on the hearth rug shout out "hunting lodge"; Boxers with choke collars in the industrial city loft say "singles come hither," and teacup breeds poised on the master-bed suggest that Paris Hilton might outbid you on this property if you don't hurry.