It should be an easy question to answer. But cats being cats have made things difficult here, their complex biology leading to a fierce debate among scientists. For instance, it was previously theorised that purring was caused by blood surging through the inferior vena cava \u2013 a large vein linking to the right side of the heart.<\/p>\n
However, this so-called \u2018turbulent blood theory\u2019 has been swept into the litter tray, with research now suggesting the noise derives from a cat\u2019s larynx<\/a>. Essentially, felines can constrict the part of their larynx that touches their vocal cords, which causes vibrations with every inhale and exhale. As far as scientists now understand, we hear these vibrations as a purr.<\/p>\n Read more about cat behaviour:<\/strong><\/p>\n Currently, there\u2019s no definitive explanation to why cats purr.<\/p>\n Scientists have identified a certain neural oscillator (brainwaves, essentially) that activates the biological process behind purring, but it\u2019s not clear what triggers this. Or indeed, if there\u2019s more than one trigger: findings based on observational studies suggest cats can purr for several reasons.<\/p>\n For instance, one study conducted by the University of Sussex found that your cat can slightly vary their purrs depending on a certain need<\/a>. \u201cThis research indicated a marked difference in the acoustic quality of purrs emitted by cats when attempting to solicit food from their owners, compared to when they were generally relaxed or being petted,\u201d explains\u00a0Dr Lauren Finka<\/a>, feline welfare scientist at International Cat Care.<\/p>\n \u201cInterestingly, these \u2018food soliciting\u2019 purrs were also perceived as more urgent and less pleasant-sounding by humans. They were also noted to include high frequency voiced components similar to those produced by human infants when crying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInterestingly, the purrs indicating a cat was hungry actually shared aural signatures with the noises that hungry babies make when they\u2019re crying.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, as the study found, hungry cats looking to be fed by their owner contained an unusual high-frequency element (akin to a human baby cry) within their naturally low-pitched purr. With these \u2018solicited purrs\u2019, domestic cats are effectively tapping into our own nurturing instincts to give them attention. Their cries of \u2018feed me\u2019 are hidden in what may sound like a pleasant purr.<\/p>\n \u201cThe embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response \u2013 and solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing,\u201d study author Dr Karen McComb<\/a>\u00a0concluded.<\/p>\n In other words, your moggy is an evil genius. And don\u2019t pretend like you didn\u2019t suspect it before.<\/p>\n Experts have also theorised that your cat may actually be purring when they\u2019re injured or in distress \u2013 the complete opposite of happy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s thought that in certain contexts, cats might also purr in an attempt to self-soothe, potentially helping them to feel calmer or to relieve pain. Indeed, cats are observed purring in situations where they are likely to be experiencing stress or physical discomfort,\u201d says Finka.<\/p>\n \u201cIn these situations, it might also be that they\u2019re attempting to solicit help from us (as with the \u2018food solicitation\u2019 purr), although often their behaviour and body language in these contexts appear to suggest the cat would prefer to be left alone and not to be touched. Additionally, cats may also purr when humans aren\u2019t present. \u00a0Further research is therefore needed to help us better understand the various functions of purring in domestic cats.\u201d<\/p>\n Interestingly though, there is some evidence suggesting the purr prompts a healing effect in felines. One study published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal<\/em> indicated that the vibration of cat purrs (ranging from 20Hz up to 150Hz) could actually promote bone growth and heal soft tissue<\/a>.<\/p>\n These results have yet to be replicated on cats, but subsequent studies have examined the potential of low-intensity vibrations in healing mice wounds. Although the exact mechanism behind how the vibrations assist healing isn\u2019t understood, scientists noted it promoted the growth of crucial granulation tissue<\/a> \u2013 connective tissue and microscopic blood vessels \u2013 around injured areas.<\/p>\n Despite these findings, no large-scale trials have investigated the effect on humans \u2013 if you ever cut yourself, a doctor is unlikely to advise holding a purring kitty to your open wound.<\/p>\n About our expert<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Lauren Finka<\/a>, is a feline welfare scientist at International Cat Care and visiting fellow at Nottingham Trent Univeristy. Her research has been published in journals including PloS one<\/em> and the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery<\/em>.<\/p>\n Read more about the science of cats:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n To get your attention, your moggy’s purrs can mimic a human baby’s. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25412,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans.jpg",1200,570,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans-300x143.jpg",300,143,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans-768x365.jpg",768,365,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans-1024x486.jpg",800,380,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans.jpg",1200,570,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/how-cats-use-purring-to-manipulate-humans.jpg",1200,570,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"To get your attention, your moggy's purrs can mimic a human baby's.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why do cats purr?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
To communicate with others<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/cat-purr-8d85573.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C330"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>They\u2019re healing from an injury<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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