How Does a Cat Purr?
This remains an unanswered question. Although the sound of a cat’s purr is familiar to all, how the cat does it still remains a mystery. Scientists do know, however, that cats have two sets of vocal chords in their throat, one above the other. Each set produces different sounds. Many scientists believe that the lower vocal chord
There has been a lot of speculation on how purring occurs. According to some, a purr is created by the vibration of a cat’s vocal cords when it inhales and exhales. Others feel it is caused by soft palate vibrations. Some have wondered if cats have a set of false vocal cords within the larynx. Some researchers theorize it is a vibration caused by blood passing through the large veins in the cat’s chest cavity, amplified by the diaphragm, which passes up the windpipe and into the windpipe and into the sinus cavities of the skull. Electromyographic tests – they measure the level of electrical activity in muscles – seem to indicate it is caused by the activation of the muscles of the larnyx, and partial closure of the glottis (the opening of the larnyx).
Purring in cats consists of alternative impulses of sound, arising in the larynx. Each individual sound is caused by rapid variation of air pressure after left and right voice ligaments are separated. Larynx muscles are stimulated by nerve impulses coming from twenty to thirty times a second. With this, voice ligaments close up and air pressure rises. When this stimulation of muscle stops, voice ligaments move apart and make the released air to produce a sound. This sound is the purr that we hear from the cat. Purring is heard from a cat when the cat is injured, anxious, or just showing signs of contentment. A purr is first heard in a kitten who is suckling milk from his mother. Small cats are able to easily produce the purr, but so can some big cats. Lions, tigers, leopards, and cheetah are able to purr. Jaguars on the other hand aren’t able to purr due to the difference in how the nerves stimulate the larynx. Whoever the big cats that are able to purr can only produce it during exhal
