Purring
There is an old folk tale about how cats got their purr. Once a princess had to spin 10,000 skeins of linen thread in thirty days or her true love would die. She asked three cats to help her. By working day and night, the job was finished on time and the princess united with her love. The reward to the cats was their purr, an imitation of the spinning wheel's whirring sound.
Cats usually purr when they are contented with life and feel safe. However, some cats often purr when they are frightened or badly hurt. Newborn kittens use their mothers purring as a kind of homing beacon so they could find her if they stray from the nest. The kittend learn to purr by imitating her.
A biomedical research team at Tulane University discovered that the cat's purr doesn't come from the voice box and diaphragm, as previously thought, but from the muscles around this voice box. The purring, which sounds like a rolled R, only comes from the mouth and nose of the cat although it vibrates through the chest. Almost all wild cats can only purr when they inhale, but domestic cats can purr when they inhale and exhale.
People think that cats purr only when they are contented. However, the purr is also used during other situations to let you know the cat wishes your company or your help. A sick cat will sometimes purr to let the owner know it needs help. Mother cats purr to let their kittens know its time to eat. Cats often purr when they lie beside the owner who is not feeling well. Sometimes cats will purr to themselves when they are left alone.
©1999
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