Purrs and Questions

Cat Sonorgam   “The Purr”

Cats purr at a frequency of 25 to 150 vibrations per second. Amazing! Saying the word ‘vibration’ takes longer. You can see the pattern in the sonogram and sound waves of a slight breath, then the purr vibration, then another slight breath intake and then the purr vibration. Purring is a separate phenomena to breathing but the intensity alters when there is a breath intake when listening.

The purr is our cat’s sign of contentment. They purr when they are happy, nestled up to their person, resting in a sunny spot on the couch, when they are eating and sometimes cat’s purr when they are in pain. When cats purr, it has positive effects on humans, lowering blood pressure and diminishing stress for relaxation. 

I was curious if other animals purr to share this phenomenon with you. Stated in Wikipedia there are other animals that purr. “ Other animals that have been said to purr are rabbits, squirrels, guinea pigs, tapirs, ring-tailed lemurs, elephants, raccoons and gorillas while eating.”

However, scientists continue to research this phenomena indicating that cats remain the singular species that exercise this musical hum initiated for their own healing and comfort.

Cat Questions

Here, you can see the sound of a cat question-like phrase which is a very common vocalization. So do cats speak in questions? The lifting of the voice at the end of the vocalization shown by the strong spiral takes the tone into a questioning pitch. We know that high pitched vocalizations are more likely to get the attention of the feline or human family. The question-like pitch is much like our own phrasing when we ask for something. Cats and humans also share similar sounds when we are unhappy in a lower, more intense tone. 

 A question that is interesting to pose is “Do cats learn to imitate our inflections of speech?”

It would be interesting to observe how your cat responds to your questions, Try these phrases.

Do you want a treat?

Do you want to go out? 

Listen to the melodic-like response and see if you are in conversation with your cat. So when your cat seems to ask “Excuse me but do you speak cat?” You can answer by saying “Why yes I do!”

By Janet Marlow, M.A. Sound Behaviorist