Did You Know Why Cats Purr?

Purring is a unique characteristic of cats, which has always fascinated us in a particular way. This is a rather curious behavior in felines, as the sound they emit is accompanied by a vibration. This particularity is known to everyone, both to people who own a cat and to those who do not yet have one.

Cat lovers have surely wondered at least once what purring came from and why they exist. Cats usually do them when you pet them, thus making the owner guess that they are happy and that he likes to be stroked.

However, purring is still an enigma for most people: how does it happen? When do they do it? Why do they do it? Within the category of felines, cats are the only ones to possess this characteristic.

The origin of everything

Purring occurs already during the lactation phase : when the cat is breastfeeding, both she and the puppy purr. The mother produces this sound to communicate her position to her kittens, as well as being a strategy for calming her babies while nursing. Cats continue to purr even in adulthood to express different emotions to their owners.

According to experts, these felines purr when satisfied, happy, or when they are experiencing pleasure. However, purring does not only occur in positive situations, but also when cats are frightened or in a state of anxiety.

This can happen in case they feel threatened by another animal, and in this way they try to calm it through vibrations. It is also a way to ask for help in situations where they feel threatened.

Those who have a cat at home will know the wonderful sensation of seeing their feline position itself on its belly and start purring. In this way our four-legged friend shows us his happiness and we will know that he feels safe.

The different theories

In most cases , cats purr when they feel comfortable. The purr demonstrates the dependence that the kitten has towards the mother at an early age, an addiction that in adulthood will be directed towards the master.

Although it is not known for sure where this characteristic sound comes from in cats, there are several theories regarding how it is produced. One of these establishes that the purr is due to the fact that the cat has, in addition to the vocal cords (with which it can emit various sounds), also vestibular folds, sometimes called “false vocal cords”. These folds allow certain vibrations to arise, the purr, when the air enters the lungs and is then released.

This is only one of the theories concerning the origin of the purr; another idea is that they originate from a contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the cat’s larynx.

These theories are certainly fascinating, even if we do not yet know the exact cause of these vibrations. What is certain is that we all love it when our cat approaches us purring.

It is just a matter of observing

Usually this typical sound in the cat is accompanied by some signals of the body, such as the position of the tail, which is usually rubbed on the owner. These bodily signals serve at the same time to indicate to the owner that the cat wants something, for example food, or when he wants to play etc.

Purrs can be classified differently based on pitch, duration and intensity. In fact, cats tend to make different sounds based on what they are doing, what they hear or what they want to achieve. Meows are very different from purring sounds, which express pleasure or comfort.

The purr of some cats is heard loud and clear, while others are barely audible. There are also cats that spend most of the day purring.

All in all, this charming attitude of our cat friends will always continue to intrigue us and draw our attention.