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I would argue that nursing human babies make a purring sound as they drink milk from their mother’s breast. That sound evokes a sense of attachment and bonding

I would argue that nursing human babies make a purring sound as they drink milk from their mother’s breast. That sound evokes a sense of attachment and bonding. Many times the qualities that we find endearing in pets (for example big eyes) are those that remind us of human babies. My guess would be that humans (maybe subconsciously) preferred cats that could make purring noises and thus being able to purr conferred a selective advantage to cats.

JadeNB 4y ago
> My guess would be that humans (maybe subconsciously) preferred cats that could make purring noises and thus being able to purr conferred a selective advantage to cats. Of course it's all speculative, but I wouldn't even expect it to be subconscious; if you show me an adorable but silent animal, and another cute animal that can express its affection by making some sort of pleasant sound, I'm going to be more drawn to the one that makes a sound.
- kranke155 4y ago
  Purring is an adaptive trait. Unnatural selection.
  - garou 4y ago
    Do you have any studies that prove this statement? I can raise the hypothesis here that, the cat being a small animal, it is also prey and the development of low frequency communication between mother and kittens can be quite beneficial in hostile environments. Of course, I can't claim this to be true.
    - katbyte 4y ago
      Wild non house cats like cougars and lynx that have not been domesticated pure just the same.
      - kranke155 4y ago
        I was making a joke
    - kranke155 4y ago
      No I was just joking.
rowanG077 4y ago
How do you explain the big cats doing it. There hardly is a selection pressure like that in those.
katbyte 4y ago
Bigger wild cats like cougars and lynx that have not been domesticated pure just the same.
- pvaldes 4y ago
  And tigers snort to say hello, it seems a similar pool of low sounds had evolved in all he family to express happiness and a non-agressive stance
devinmcafee 4y ago
This sounds reasonable but mountain lions and many other types of non-domesticated cats still purr (https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/park-programs-events/more-explore/how-puma-purrs https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/park-programs-event...). You might be right that domesticated cats have evolved behavioral traits to purr more than their undomesticated counterparts, but I doubt the trait itself is linked to domestication since it still exists in the wild.

JadeNB 4y ago

> My guess would be that humans (maybe subconsciously) preferred cats that could make purring noises and thus being able to purr conferred a selective advantage to cats. Of course it's all speculative, but I wouldn't even expect it to be subconscious; if you show me an adorable but silent animal, and another cute animal that can express its affection by making some sort of pleasant sound, I'm going to be more drawn to the one that makes a sound.

kranke155 4y ago
Purring is an adaptive trait. Unnatural selection.
- garou 4y ago
  Do you have any studies that prove this statement? I can raise the hypothesis here that, the cat being a small animal, it is also prey and the development of low frequency communication between mother and kittens can be quite beneficial in hostile environments. Of course, I can't claim this to be true.
  - katbyte 4y ago
    Wild non house cats like cougars and lynx that have not been domesticated pure just the same.
    - kranke155 4y ago
      I was making a joke
  - kranke155 4y ago
    No I was just joking.

rowanG077 4y ago

How do you explain the big cats doing it. There hardly is a selection pressure like that in those.

katbyte 4y ago

Bigger wild cats like cougars and lynx that have not been domesticated pure just the same.

pvaldes 4y ago
And tigers snort to say hello, it seems a similar pool of low sounds had evolved in all he family to express happiness and a non-agressive stance

devinmcafee 4y ago

This sounds reasonable but mountain lions and many other types of non-domesticated cats still purr (https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/park-programs-events/more-explore/how-puma-purrs https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/park-programs-event...). You might be right that domesticated cats have evolved behavioral traits to purr more than their undomesticated counterparts, but I doubt the trait itself is linked to domestication since it still exists in the wild.