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Purr

February 16, 2024

For other uses, see Purr (disambiguation).

A purr or whirr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids, including both larger, outdoor cats and the domestic cat (Felis catus), as well as two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same animal. In smaller and domestic cats it is known as a purr, while in larger felids, such as the panther, it is called a whirr.[citation needed]

A domestic cat purring
A different domestic cat purring
Different cats can sound somewhat different when purring.
Purring and meowing
Domestic cat purring mixed with pronounced meowing
Guinea pig producing purring-like sound
This sound is made when a guinea pig is content, examples of this include when it is being petted or held, when groomed, investigating a new place, or given food. It is neither continuous nor does it correspond to respiration, and thus is not a true purr.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Although true purring is exclusive to felids and viverrids,[1] other animals such as raccoons produce vocalizations that sound similar to true purring. Animals that produce purr-like sounds include mongooses, kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, badgers, rabbits and guinea pigs.[citation needed]

Animals purr for a variety of reasons, including to express happiness or fear, and as a defense mechanism. It has also been shown that cats purr to manage pain and soothe themselves.[2] Purring is a soft buzzing sound, similar to a rolled 'r' with a fundamental frequency of around 25 Hz.[3] This sound occurs with noticeable vibrations on the surface of the body, varies in a rhythmic pattern during breathing and occurs continuously during inhalation and exhalation. The intensity and length of the purr can also vary depending on the level of arousal of the animal.[3]

Mechanism edit

The mechanism by which cats purr is an object of speculation, with different hypotheses proposed. An early idea was that purring is a hemodynamic process where sound is produced as the blood runs through the thorax.[4]

There is a unique "neural oscillator" in the cat's brain of uncertain significance.[5] Although the mechanism has not yet been fully explained, recent studies have inferred it could be the result of oscillatory mechanisms in the central nervous system.[6]  Studies have also shown that purring can be caused through electrically stimulating the infundibular region of the cat's brain, suggesting central control.[7]

Vocal folds/laryngeal muscles edit

One hypothesis, backed by electromyographic studies, is that cats produce the purring noise by using the vocal folds or the muscles of the larynx to alternately dilate and constrict the glottis rapidly, causing air vibrations during inhalation and exhalation.[8] Combined with the steady inhalation and exhalation of air as the cat breathes, a purring noise is produced with strong harmonics.[9]

Degree of hyoid ossification edit

No cat can both purr and roar. The subdivision of the Felidae into "purring cats" (Felinae) on one hand and "roaring cats" (Pantherinae) on the other goes back to Owen[10] and was definitively introduced by Pocock,[11] based on whether the hyoid bone of the larynx is incompletely ("roarers") or completely ("purrers") ossified. However, Weissengruber et al. argued that the ability of a cat species to purr is not affected by the anatomy of its hyoid.[12]

The "roaring cats" (lion, Panthera leo; tiger, P. tigris; jaguar, P. onca; leopard, P. pardus) have an incompletely ossified hyoid, which, according to this hypothesis, enables them to roar but not to purr. However, the snow leopard (Uncia uncia, or P. uncia), as the fifth felid species with an incompletely ossified hyoid, purrs.[13]

All remaining species of the family Felidae ("purring cats") have a completely ossified hyoid, which enables them to purr but not to roar. Based on a technical acoustic definition of roaring, the presence of this vocalization type depends on specific characteristics of the vocal folds and an elongated vocal tract, which is rendered possible by an incompletely ossified hyoid.

Frequency, amplitude, and respiratory variation edit

  • Domestic cats purr at a frequency of 20 to 30 vibrations per second.[2]
  • Eklund, Peters & Duthie, comparing purring in a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and a domestic cat (Felis catus) found that the cheetah purred with an average frequency of 20.87 Hz (egressive phases) and 18.32 Hz (ingressive phases), while the much smaller domestic cat purred with an average frequency of 21.98 Hz (egressive phases) and 23.24 Hz (ingressive phases).[14]
  • Schötz & Eklund studied purring in four domestic cats and found that the fundamental frequency varied between 20.94 and 27.21 Hz for egressive phases and between 23.0 and 26.09 Hz for ingressive phases. Schötz & Eklund also observed considerable variation between the four cats as regards relative amplitude, duration and frequency between egressive and ingressive phases, but that this variation occurred within the same general range.[15]
  • In a follow-up study of purring in four adult cheetahs, Eklund, Peters, Weise & Munro found that egressive phases were longer than ingressive phases in all four cheetahs. Likewise, ingressive phases had a lower frequency than egressive phases in all four cheetahs. Mean frequency were between 19.3 Hz and 20.5 Hz in ingressive phases, and between 21.9 Hz and 23.4 Hz in egressive phases. Moreover, the amplitude was louder in the egressive phases in four cheetahs.[16]
  • Eklund & Peters compared purring in adult, subadult and juvenile cheetahs and reported that while there was considerable variation across most of the parameters analyzed (amplitude, phase duration, cycles per phase and fundamental frequency) – mainly attributable to degree of relaxation/agitation in the animals resting or playing– previously reported observations that ingressive phases tend to be lower in frequency were largely confirmed. There were no major differences in these parameters as a function of age.[17]

Purpose edit

In domestic cats, many signals that occur when interacting with humans seem to originate from when the animal was dependent on the mother. Cats have been observed to purr for most of their lifespan, starting from when they were young and suckling from their mother.[18] Purring may be a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens. Post-nursing cats often purr as a sign of contentment when being petted, becoming relaxed or eating. Some purring may be a signal to another animal that the purring cat does not pose a threat.

Cats have been shown to have different types of purrs depending on situations. For example, purring appears to be a way for cats to signal their caretakers for food. This purring has a high-frequency component not present in other purrs. These are called solicitation purrs (when the cat is seeking a result) and non-solicitation purrs, and the two are distinguishable to humans. In a study, 50 humans were subjected to playbacks of purrs recorded in solicitation and non-solicitation situations at the same amplitude. Humans regularly judged the solicitation purrs as less pleasant and more urgent than the non-solicitation purrs.[18] This variety of purring seems to be found more frequently in cats in a one-to-one relationship with a caretaker. Similarities have been drawn between an infant's cry and the isolation cry of domestic cats. The high-frequency aspect of the purr may subtly exploit humans' sensitivity to these cries. Using sensory biases in communication between species provides cats with a productive means of improving the care that they receive.[18]

Cats often purr when distressed or in pain, such as during the three stages of labor. In the first stage, the uterus begins to contract, the cervix relaxes, the water breaks and the cat begins to purr, which is hypothesized to be a self-relaxation technique. This purring may trigger a cat's brain to release a hormone that helps it relax and acts as a painkiller.[19]

There is also some evidence that the frequency at which cats purr can help promote bone density and hasten healing.[20]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Peters, G. (2002). "Purring and similar vocalizations in mammals". Mammal Review. 32 (4): 245–271. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.2002.00113.x. ISSN 1365-2907.
  2. ^ a b "What Makes A Cat Purr". purina.com.au. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b Sissom, Dawn E. Frazer; Rice, D. A.; Peters, G. (1991). "How cats purr". Journal of Zoology. 223 (1): 67–78. Bibcode:1991Natur.349Q.460.. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04749.x. ISSN 1469-7998. S2CID 32350871.
  4. ^ Schötz, Susanne; van de Weijer, Joost; Eklund, Robert (29 August 2019). "Melody matters: An acoustic study of domestic cat meows in six contexts and four mental states". doi:10.7287/peerj.preprints.27926v1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Why and how do cats purr?". Library of Congress. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  6. ^ Remmers, J. E.; Gautier, H. (1 December 1972). "Neural and mechanical mechanisms of feline purring". Respiration Physiology. 16 (3): 351–361. doi:10.1016/0034-5687(72)90064-3. ISSN 0034-5687. PMID 4644061.
  7. ^ Gibbs, E. L.; Gibbs, F. A. (1936). "A purring center in the cat's brain". Journal of Comparative Neurology. 64 (2): 209–211. doi:10.1002/cne.900640203. ISSN 1096-9861. S2CID 84375344.
  8. ^ K.M. Dyce, W.O. Sack and C.J.G. Wensing in Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy 3rd Ed. 2002, Saunders, Philadelphia; p156
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
  10. ^ Owen, Richard (1834). "On the Anatomy of the Cheetah, Felis jubata, Schreb". The Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 1 (2): 129–136. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1835.tb00611.x.
  11. ^ Pocock, R.I. (1916). "On the hyoidean apparatus of the lion (F. leo) and related species of Felidæ". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 18 (104): 222–229. doi:10.1080/00222931608693839.
  12. ^ Weissengruber, G. E.; Forstenpointner, G.; Peters, G.; Kubber-Heiss, A.; Fitch, W. T. (2002). "Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (Panthera leo), jaguar (Panthera onca), tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and domestic cat (Felis silvestris f. catus)". Journal of Anatomy. 201 (3): 195–209. doi:10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x. PMC 1570911. PMID 12363272.
  13. ^ Hemmer, Helmut (1972). "Uncia uncia". Mammalian Species (20): 1–5. doi:10.2307/3503882. JSTOR 3503882.
  14. ^ Eklund, Robert, Gustav Peters & Elizabeth D. Duthie. 2010. An acoustic analysis of purring in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and in the domestic cat (Felis catus), Proceedings of Fonetik 2010, 2–4 June 2010, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, pp. 17–22.
  15. ^ Schötz, Susanne & Robert Eklund. 2011. A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in four cats. Proceedings of Fonetik 2011, 8–10 June 2011, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 9–12.
  16. ^ Eklund, Robert, Gustav Peters, Florian Weise & Stuart Munro. 2012. A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in four cheetahs, Proceedings of Fonetik 2012, 30 May–1 June 2012, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden, pp. 41–44.
  17. ^ Eklund, Robert & Gustav Peters. 2013. A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in juvenile, subadult and adult cheetahs. In: Robert Eklund (ed.), Proceedings of Fonetik 2013, the XXVIth Swedish Phonetics Conference, Studies in Language and Culture, no. 21, ISBN 978-91-7519-582-7, ISBN 978-91-7519-579-7, ISSN 1403-2570, pp. 25–28.
  18. ^ a b c McComb, Karen; Taylor, Anna M.; Wilson, Christian; Charlton, Benjamin D. (14 July 2009). "The cry embedded within the purr". Current Biology. 19 (13): R507–R508. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.033. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 19602409. S2CID 10972076.
  19. ^ "Birth Difficulties Symptoms - Cats | petMD". www.petmd.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  20. ^ Lyons, Leslie A. (3 April 2006). "Why do cats purr?". Scientific American. from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2022.

Further reading edit

  • Peters, G. (2002). "Purring and similar vocalizations in mammals". Mammal Review. 32 (4): 245–271. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.2002.00113.x.
  • Stogdale L, Delack JB. Feline purring. Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian 1985; 7: 551–553.
  • Reprinted in: Voith VL, Borchelt PL (eds). Readings in Companion Animal Behavior. Trenton: Veterinary Learning Systems, 1996; 269–270.

External links edit

 
Look up purr in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Why do cats purr? Why do Cheshire cats grin?
  • Robert Eklund's Purring Page

February 16, 2024
purr, other, uses, disambiguation, purr, whirr, tonal, fluttering, sound, made, some, species, felids, including, both, larger, outdoor, cats, domestic, felis, catus, well, species, genets, varies, loudness, tone, among, species, same, animal, smaller, domesti. For other uses see Purr disambiguation A purr or whirr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids including both larger outdoor cats and the domestic cat Felis catus as well as two species of genets It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same animal In smaller and domestic cats it is known as a purr while in larger felids such as the panther it is called a whirr citation needed A domestic cat purring source source A different domestic cat purring source source Different cats can sound somewhat different when purring Purring and meowing source source Domestic cat purring mixed with pronounced meowingGuinea pig producing purring like sound source source This sound is made when a guinea pig is content examples of this include when it is being petted or held when groomed investigating a new place or given food It is neither continuous nor does it correspond to respiration and thus is not a true purr Problems playing these files See media help Although true purring is exclusive to felids and viverrids 1 other animals such as raccoons produce vocalizations that sound similar to true purring Animals that produce purr like sounds include mongooses kangaroos wallabies wallaroos badgers rabbits and guinea pigs citation needed Animals purr for a variety of reasons including to express happiness or fear and as a defense mechanism It has also been shown that cats purr to manage pain and soothe themselves 2 Purring is a soft buzzing sound similar to a rolled r with a fundamental frequency of around 25 Hz 3 This sound occurs with noticeable vibrations on the surface of the body varies in a rhythmic pattern during breathing and occurs continuously during inhalation and exhalation The intensity and length of the purr can also vary depending on the level of arousal of the animal 3 Contents 1 Mechanism 1 1 Vocal folds laryngeal muscles 1 2 Degree of hyoid ossification 2 Frequency amplitude and respiratory variation 3 Purpose 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksMechanism editThe mechanism by which cats purr is an object of speculation with different hypotheses proposed An early idea was that purring is a hemodynamic process where sound is produced as the blood runs through the thorax 4 There is a unique neural oscillator in the cat s brain of uncertain significance 5 Although the mechanism has not yet been fully explained recent studies have inferred it could be the result of oscillatory mechanisms in the central nervous system 6 Studies have also shown that purring can be caused through electrically stimulating the infundibular region of the cat s brain suggesting central control 7 Vocal folds laryngeal muscles edit One hypothesis backed by electromyographic studies is that cats produce the purring noise by using the vocal folds or the muscles of the larynx to alternately dilate and constrict the glottis rapidly causing air vibrations during inhalation and exhalation 8 Combined with the steady inhalation and exhalation of air as the cat breathes a purring noise is produced with strong harmonics 9 Degree of hyoid ossification edit No cat can both purr and roar The subdivision of the Felidae into purring cats Felinae on one hand and roaring cats Pantherinae on the other goes back to Owen 10 and was definitively introduced by Pocock 11 based on whether the hyoid bone of the larynx is incompletely roarers or completely purrers ossified However Weissengruber et al argued that the ability of a cat species to purr is not affected by the anatomy of its hyoid 12 The roaring cats lion Panthera leo tiger P tigris jaguar P onca leopard P pardus have an incompletely ossified hyoid which according to this hypothesis enables them to roar but not to purr However the snow leopard Uncia uncia or P uncia as the fifth felid species with an incompletely ossified hyoid purrs 13 All remaining species of the family Felidae purring cats have a completely ossified hyoid which enables them to purr but not to roar Based on a technical acoustic definition of roaring the presence of this vocalization type depends on specific characteristics of the vocal folds and an elongated vocal tract which is rendered possible by an incompletely ossified hyoid Frequency amplitude and respiratory variation editDomestic cats purr at a frequency of 20 to 30 vibrations per second 2 Eklund Peters amp Duthie comparing purring in a cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and a domestic cat Felis catus found that the cheetah purred with an average frequency of 20 87 Hz egressive phases and 18 32 Hz ingressive phases while the much smaller domestic cat purred with an average frequency of 21 98 Hz egressive phases and 23 24 Hz ingressive phases 14 Schotz amp Eklund studied purring in four domestic cats and found that the fundamental frequency varied between 20 94 and 27 21 Hz for egressive phases and between 23 0 and 26 09 Hz for ingressive phases Schotz amp Eklund also observed considerable variation between the four cats as regards relative amplitude duration and frequency between egressive and ingressive phases but that this variation occurred within the same general range 15 In a follow up study of purring in four adult cheetahs Eklund Peters Weise amp Munro found that egressive phases were longer than ingressive phases in all four cheetahs Likewise ingressive phases had a lower frequency than egressive phases in all four cheetahs Mean frequency were between 19 3 Hz and 20 5 Hz in ingressive phases and between 21 9 Hz and 23 4 Hz in egressive phases Moreover the amplitude was louder in the egressive phases in four cheetahs 16 Eklund amp Peters compared purring in adult subadult and juvenile cheetahs and reported that while there was considerable variation across most of the parameters analyzed amplitude phase duration cycles per phase and fundamental frequency mainly attributable to degree of relaxation agitation in the animals resting or playing previously reported observations that ingressive phases tend to be lower in frequency were largely confirmed There were no major differences in these parameters as a function of age 17 Purpose editIn domestic cats many signals that occur when interacting with humans seem to originate from when the animal was dependent on the mother Cats have been observed to purr for most of their lifespan starting from when they were young and suckling from their mother 18 Purring may be a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens Post nursing cats often purr as a sign of contentment when being petted becoming relaxed or eating Some purring may be a signal to another animal that the purring cat does not pose a threat Cats have been shown to have different types of purrs depending on situations For example purring appears to be a way for cats to signal their caretakers for food This purring has a high frequency component not present in other purrs These are called solicitation purrs when the cat is seeking a result and non solicitation purrs and the two are distinguishable to humans In a study 50 humans were subjected to playbacks of purrs recorded in solicitation and non solicitation situations at the same amplitude Humans regularly judged the solicitation purrs as less pleasant and more urgent than the non solicitation purrs 18 This variety of purring seems to be found more frequently in cats in a one to one relationship with a caretaker Similarities have been drawn between an infant s cry and the isolation cry of domestic cats The high frequency aspect of the purr may subtly exploit humans sensitivity to these cries Using sensory biases in communication between species provides cats with a productive means of improving the care that they receive 18 Cats often purr when distressed or in pain such as during the three stages of labor In the first stage the uterus begins to contract the cervix relaxes the water breaks and the cat begins to purr which is hypothesized to be a self relaxation technique This purring may trigger a cat s brain to release a hormone that helps it relax and acts as a painkiller 19 There is also some evidence that the frequency at which cats purr can help promote bone density and hasten healing 20 See also editCat communication KneadingReferences edit Peters G 2002 Purring and similar vocalizations in mammals Mammal Review 32 4 245 271 doi 10 1046 j 1365 2907 2002 00113 x ISSN 1365 2907 a b What Makes A Cat Purr purina com au Retrieved 18 November 2019 a b Sissom Dawn E Frazer Rice D A Peters G 1991 How cats purr Journal of Zoology 223 1 67 78 Bibcode 1991Natur 349Q 460 doi 10 1111 j 1469 7998 1991 tb04749 x ISSN 1469 7998 S2CID 32350871 Schotz Susanne van de Weijer Joost Eklund Robert 29 August 2019 Melody matters An acoustic study of domestic cat meows in six contexts and four mental states doi 10 7287 peerj preprints 27926v1 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Why and how do cats purr Library of Congress Retrieved 10 April 2011 Remmers J E Gautier H 1 December 1972 Neural and mechanical mechanisms of feline purring Respiration Physiology 16 3 351 361 doi 10 1016 0034 5687 72 90064 3 ISSN 0034 5687 PMID 4644061 Gibbs E L Gibbs F A 1936 A purring center in the cat s brain Journal of Comparative Neurology 64 2 209 211 doi 10 1002 cne 900640203 ISSN 1096 9861 S2CID 84375344 K M Dyce W O Sack and C J G Wensing in Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy 3rd Ed 2002 Saunders Philadelphia p156 How A Puma Purrs Archived from the original on 22 January 2013 Owen Richard 1834 On the Anatomy of the Cheetah Felis jubata Schreb The Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 1 2 129 136 doi 10 1111 j 1096 3642 1835 tb00611 x Pocock R I 1916 On the hyoidean apparatus of the lion F leo and related species of Felidae Annals and Magazine of Natural History 18 104 222 229 doi 10 1080 00222931608693839 Weissengruber G E Forstenpointner G Peters G Kubber Heiss A Fitch W T 2002 Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion Panthera leo jaguar Panthera onca tiger Panthera tigris cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and domestic cat Felis silvestris f catus Journal of Anatomy 201 3 195 209 doi 10 1046 j 1469 7580 2002 00088 x PMC 1570911 PMID 12363272 Hemmer Helmut 1972 Uncia uncia Mammalian Species 20 1 5 doi 10 2307 3503882 JSTOR 3503882 Eklund Robert Gustav Peters amp Elizabeth D Duthie 2010 An acoustic analysis of purring in the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and in the domestic cat Felis catus Proceedings of Fonetik 2010 2 4 June 2010 Lund University Lund Sweden pp 17 22 Schotz Susanne amp Robert Eklund 2011 A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in four cats Proceedings of Fonetik 2011 8 10 June 2011 Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm Sweden pp 9 12 Eklund Robert Gustav Peters Florian Weise amp Stuart Munro 2012 A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in four cheetahs Proceedings of Fonetik 2012 30 May 1 June 2012 Gothenburg University Gothenburg Sweden pp 41 44 Eklund Robert amp Gustav Peters 2013 A comparative acoustic analysis of purring in juvenile subadult and adult cheetahs In Robert Eklund ed Proceedings of Fonetik 2013 the XXVIth Swedish Phonetics Conference Studies in Language and Culture no 21 ISBN 978 91 7519 582 7 ISBN 978 91 7519 579 7 ISSN 1403 2570 pp 25 28 a b c McComb Karen Taylor Anna M Wilson Christian Charlton Benjamin D 14 July 2009 The cry embedded within the purr Current Biology 19 13 R507 R508 doi 10 1016 j cub 2009 05 033 ISSN 0960 9822 PMID 19602409 S2CID 10972076 Birth Difficulties Symptoms Cats petMD www petmd com Retrieved 18 November 2019 Lyons Leslie A 3 April 2006 Why do cats purr Scientific American Archived from the original on 30 May 2023 Retrieved 30 September 2022 Further reading editPeters G 2002 Purring and similar vocalizations in mammals Mammal Review 32 4 245 271 doi 10 1046 j 1365 2907 2002 00113 x Stogdale L Delack JB Feline purring Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian 1985 7 551 553 Reprinted in Voith VL Borchelt PL eds Readings in Companion Animal Behavior Trenton Veterinary Learning Systems 1996 269 270 External links edit nbsp Look up purr in Wiktionary the free dictionary Why do cats purr Why do Cheshire cats grin Robert Eklund s Purring Page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Purr amp oldid 1197454654, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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