A Nerdy Dissertation on Purring (part two)

Still with me? Why, you must be a fellow nerd! I’m sure you all remember where you were when you first found out about the latest discovery on the mechanics of cat purring. The feline vocalization community was all aflutter over a study released at the end of October 2023. Herbst and his partners examined larynx tissue from deceased pets whose bodies had been generously donated for scientific research (a moment of silence here, please).

They discovered two pieces of information (spoiler alert: more questions than answers). One of those items is that the larynx of the domestic cat can function independently, much like a musical instrument. By passing breath-like (warm, humidified) air through the structure, scientists were able to manufacture an authentic purr. This totally contradicts the previous dogma, which states that cat purring is micromanaged by nerves. These eight larynxes had no nerves, and yet they purred! A vigorous spat would probably have ensued within the Community if not for Herbst conceding at the end of the paper that, perhaps, somehow, both of these mechanisms can coexist. Maybe they rotate to keep a continuous sound going. As you will note, purring cats do not stop to breathe.

Now, any classical music aficionado knows that small instruments produce high-pitched sounds. If the larynx can function as a musical instrument, how is that tuba noise coming out of a piccolo, with zero intervention by the brain? That’s the second piece of information, although it really does not help to simplify things. Cats have a soft, heavy blob of tissue that seems to act in slowing down the vibration of the vocal cord, thus bringing the pitch down into the rumble zone. Lions have something similar, and the research community theorizes that is how they can roar at the volume of a jet engine during takeoff (true!) without damaging their throats, even briefly.

How can we know all this “stuff” and still essentially understand nothing? Where does all this wrap up? I’ll tell you: someday, someone is definitely going to ask you how cats purr. That person is going to be an animal lover somewhere between the ages of 3 and 9 years, because this is the demographic most deeply invested in how everyday things work. That person will look innocently up into your eyes, fully confident that you can explain this simple process because you are an intelligent, tall adult, and you have always had the answers before. You could begin with, “Well, that’s complicated…” and then refer them to this article. Or you could open up the web page of one Robert Eklund, which catalogues no less than 106 of his scientific works on cat sounds, as well as those produced by opera singers, dolphins, and Swedish cattle callers. (Bigger nerd than me? For sure. This has to be the guy everyone else squabbles over at the Community cocktail parties.)

...Or you can do what I might recommend instead, and just explain how that noise is the sound their soul makes when they want to share it with a friend.

Dr M.S. Regan