Editing Cat (section)

=== Communication ===
{{Main|Cat communication}}
{{Listen image
| main_image = Domestic Cat Face Shot.jpg
| main_image_caption = Vocalizing domestic cat
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| filename = Meow domestic cat.ogg
| title              = A meow
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Domestic cats use many [[Animal communication|vocalizations]] for communication, including [[purr]]ing, [[Trill consonant|trilling]], hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing.<ref name=Moelk1944>{{Cite journal |title=Vocalizing in the House-cat; A Phonetic and Functional Study |last=Moelk |first=M. |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |year=1944 |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=184–205 |doi=10.2307/1416947 |jstor=1416947}}</ref> Their [[Cat body language|body language]], including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms; a raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicate hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's [[social hierarchy]], with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cafazzo |first1=S. |last2=Natoli |first2=E. |title=The Social Function of Tail Up in the Domestic Cat (''Felis silvestris catus'') |journal=Behavioural Processes |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=60–66 |year=2009 |pmid=18930121 |doi=10.1016/j.beproc.2008.09.008 |s2cid=19883549}}</ref> Feral cats are generally silent.<ref name="Jensen">{{Cite book |last=Jensen |first=P. |title=The Ethology of Domestic Animals |series="Modular Text" series |publisher=[[Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International]] |location=Wallingford, England |date=2009 |isbn=9781845935368}}</ref>{{rp|208}} Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by [[social grooming]], which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.<ref name="Crowell-davis2004" />

[[Purring]] may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and [[Breastfeeding|nursing]] kittens, who are thought to use it as a care-soliciting signal.<ref name="bradshaw2012"/> Post-nursing cats also often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed,<ref name="BruelKjaer">{{cite web |first1=E. |last1=von Muggenthaler |first2=B. |last2=Wright |url=http://www.bksv.com/catspurr |title=Solving the Cat's Purr Mystery Using Accelerometers |work=BKSV |publisher=[[Brüel & Kjær]] |access-date=11 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722131617/http://www.bksv.com/catspurr |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="IsnareCom">{{cite web |url= http://www.isnare.com/?aid=195293&ca=Pets |title=The Cat's Remarkable Purr |work=ISnare |access-date=6 August 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110713063142/http://www.isnare.com/?aid=195293&ca=Pets |archive-date=13 July 2011}}</ref> or eating. Although purring is popularly interpreted as indicative of pleasure, it has been recorded in a wide variety of circumstances, most of which involve physical contact between the cat and another, presumably trusted individual.<ref name="bradshaw2012"/> Some cats have been observed to purr continuously when chronically ill or in apparent pain.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beaver |first1=Bonnie V. G. |title=Feline behavior : a guide for veterinarians |date=2003 |publisher=Saunders |location=St. Louis, Missouri |isbn=9780721694986 |edition=2nd}}</ref>

The exact mechanism by which cats purr has long been elusive, but it has been proposed that purring is generated via a series of sudden build-ups and releases of pressure as the [[glottis]] is opened and closed, which causes the [[vocal folds]] to separate forcefully. The [[Larynx|laryngeal muscles]] in control of the glottis are thought to be driven by a [[neural oscillation|neural oscillator]] which generates a cycle of contraction and release every 30–40 [[millisecond]]s (giving a frequency of 33 to 25&nbsp;Hz).<ref name="bradshaw2012">{{cite book |last=Bradshaw |first=John W. S. |title=The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat |date=2012 |publisher=CABI |location=Wallingford |isbn=9781780641201 |pages=71–72 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CMQdnrR0xEsC |access-date=6 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Remmers |first1=J. E. |last2=Gautier |first2=H. |title=Neural and mechanical mechanisms of feline purring |journal=Respiration Physiology |year=1972 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=351–361 |doi=10.1016/0034-5687(72)90064-3 |pmid=4644061}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Frazer Sissom |first1=D. E. |last2=Rice |first2=D. A. |last3=Peters |first3=G. |title=How cats purr |journal=Journal of Zoology |year=1991 |volume=223 |issue=1 |pages=67–78 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04749.x |s2cid=32350871}}</ref>

Domestic cats observed in rescue facilities have 276 morphologically distinct [[facial expression]]s based on 26 facial movements; each facial expression corresponds to different social functions that are probably influenced by domestication.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=L. |last2=Florkiewicz |first2=B. N. |year=2023 |title=Feline Faces: Unraveling the Social Function of Domestic Cat Facial Signals |journal=Behavioural Processes |volume=213 |page=104959 |doi=10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104959|pmid=37858844 |s2cid=264176390}}</ref> Facial expressions have helped researchers detect pain in cats. The feline [[grimace scale]]'s five criteria—ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whisker change, and head position—indicated the presence of acute pain in cats.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Evangelista |first1=M. C. |last2=Watanabe |first2=R. |last3=Leung |first3=V. S. Y. |last4=Monteiro |first4=B. P. |last5=O'Toole |first5=E. |last6=Pang |first6=D. S. J. |last7=Steagall |first7=P. V. |year=2019 |title=Facial expressions of pain in cats: the development and validation of a Feline Grimace Scale |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=19128 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-55693-8 |pmc=6911058 |pmid=31836868|bibcode=2019NatSR...919128E}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monteiro |first1=B. P |last2=Lee |first2=N. H.Y. |last3=Steagall |first3=P. V. |year=2023 |title=Can cat caregivers reliably assess acute pain in cats using the Feline Grimace Scale? A large bilingual global survey |journal=Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=1098612X221145499 |doi=10.1177/1098612X221145499 |pmid=36649089|pmc=10812049 }}</ref>