Just how wild is your tabby? Is your Bengal as ferocious as the tiger? What are your Persian’s relatives like?
The San Diego Zoo web site has those answers and more.
Roar or purr?—One feature that separates small cats from large is their throat structure, which gives the cat the ability to roar and purr. The group of small cats cannot roar like the big cats do, because the bones in their throats are hardened and close together and can only produce smaller vibrations. Instead, they mew, scream, and growl. Anyone with a house cat knows that small cats can purr nonstop whether they are breathing in or out, but big cats can’t purr continuously. They can only purr when they breathe out. The purr is interrupted when the cat breathes in. As a result, some big cats make a noise keepers refer to as a “chuffle.”
Visit their Animal Bytes: Small Cat web site for more information.
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