I had a cat do the same thing to me - though I wasn't leaving the child to cry, I just had to get some free-arm time (as in, my arm was killing me!) Anyway, this cat would climb up on the cat furniture behind me and tap my shoulder as if to tell me to take care of my kitten!
And yeah, although my eldest got the harder treatment, the others never even got put in the crib/cot more than as a quick break and when my daughters came along, I didn't even get a new crib!
That's a great story; cats and dogs can be so smart!!
haha that's funny, with each kid we get a bit more lax ;) A bit like with soothers for first born are boiled if they fall on the ground, and by the time the next ones come, they're lucky if they get a quick wipe on a sleeve before passing it right back ;)