If you live with a cat, surely you have heard it purr at some time. Purring is one of the feline sounds that arouses the most curiosity in us. It is a hypnotic and comforting sound that is usually associated with your moments of pleasure. However, although purring has a lot to do with your state of well-being, it also has other meanings. Knowing what it consists of and why our cat emits it will make us get to know him much better, we will know how to meet his needs and improve our relationship.
The purr is a rhythmic sound that cats can make with their mouths closed and that is accompanied by a vibration that is easy to appreciate if you rest your fingers on the lower part of the cat’s neck. It is a low frequency sound (between 25-30 hertz), much lower than a cat’s voice, and cannot be heard in the distance. In fact, in some cases, the cat purrs so quietly that we can only realize it thanks to the vibration of its neck.
And where does it come from? For many years, there have been different theories about how cats purr. Some of them pointed to the origin in the vocal cords, others in the soft palate or in the blood vessels. However, it seems that it depends on the same structure that produces the rest of the feline vocalizations, since it is the result of the contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the larynx while the air goes to and from the lungs.
You should know that all cats can purr. In fact, the purr is heard for the first time in kittens that are a few days old; and, together with the trill, it is one of the vocalizations that the cat uses the most to communicate with them. When the kittens have just been born, the mother purrs before and during nursing. In addition, since they are born blind and deaf, the vibration of the purr guides them towards it. Later, when they grow up, it is the kittens that purr the most, either before eating, to demand their care or to tell their mother that everything is fine. Also, when a female cat interacts with her kittens, the low intensity of the purring also makes them communicate without attracting the attention of any predator.
Cats can purr continuously while breathing in and out, for a few seconds or several minutes while making other sounds. There are cats that are great purrs and others that barely make this sound, but purring is not related to the age or size of the cat. Of course, each cat purrs in its own way and these differences between them tend to be stable over time.
A recent study on feline vocalizations beyond meows has compared the sounds emitted by cats at two different times: a pleasant situation, such as receiving a treat, and a potentially unpleasant situation, such as a car ride. The result was that purring was registered exclusively in the emotionally positive situation.
However, cats may also purr during times of stress, such as when they are sick, in pain, or during a visit to the vet. In the latter case, the purring can even hinder the auscultation of the pussycat.
If you are a cat parent, you must be prepared to capture, at some point in your life, the purrs of your cat. You know: purring can have a calming effect on the cat itself, convey how much they are enjoying pleasant physical interaction or their readiness for physical contact with others, as well as request care and food. However, the exact meaning of the purr is still unclear and much remains to be discovered about one of the most captivating and mysterious cat vocalizations.
*Sources used to make this article:
https://www.ultima-affinity.com/es/es/gato/por-que-ronronean-los-gatos
