Purr

A purr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids, and two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species; and in the same animal.

The term purring has been used without precise definition in much scientific literature on the subject. It has been claimed without proper documentation that purring animals include viverrids (civet), mongoose, bears, badgers, and hyaenas, rabbits, squirrels, guinea pigs, tapirs, ring-tailed lemurs, elephants,raccoons and gorillas.

Mechanism

The mechanism by which cats purr is speculative. There is a unique "neural oscillator" in the cat’s brain of uncertain significance.

Vocal folds/laryngeal muscles

One hypothesis, backed by electromyographic studies, is that cats produce the purring noise by using the vocal folds and/or the muscles of the larynx to alternately dilate and constrict the glottis rapidly, causing air vibrations during inhalation and exhalation. Combined with the steady inhalation and exhalation of air as the cat breathes, a purring noise is produced with strong harmonics.

Purr (disambiguation)

A purr is a sound in cat communication.

Purr may also refer to:

See also

Pillow Pal

Pillow Pals were a line of plush toys made by Ty, Inc. during the 1990s. The toys were given their name because they were soft like a pillow, and were made with children in mind. Though many of them resembled certain Beanie Babies, those that did not share names with their Beanie Baby counterparts. Such Pillow Pals saw a decline in popularity in the late 1990s with the introduction of Beanie Buddies, which were also larger versions of various Beanie Babies. In January 1999, all Pillow Pals were redesigned, and their colors were changed. This line did not sell well, and was discontinued by Ty around the end of the year. Today, PillowPals LLC takes children's drawings and replicates them into 3D pillows.

At the time of the final retirement, Ty donated its remaining stock of pillow pals to the Ronald McDonald House to be distributed to sick children.

List of Pillow Pals

The following Pillow Pals were made during the 1990s:

After the 1999 redesign, the following Pillow Pals were made: