Curling up with your cat as she purrs is a comfort to all pet owners. It’s a sign she’s happy, content and feeling settled on your lap, enjoying lots of fuss and attention – or is it?
We all know that cats express their feelings by purring, in the same way that when we’re happy we smile and dogs wag their tails. Purring cats aren’t always happy cats though, and there’s lots of mystery around why they purr and how they make this mystical sound.
Previous scientific research has shown that cats don’t just purr when they’re happy but also when they’re distressed or afraid. Purring is a defence mechanism and a way to keep calm in stressful situations. You’ll often hear your cat purring at the vets as she’s being examined, but be careful not to mistake this as a happy sound! It’s more likely that your cat will be purring to calm herself down rather than enjoying the examination.
En hunnkatt maler under fødselen for å lindre ubehag, og fortsetter å male etter at kattungene er født for å lede dem til kroppen og jurene. Siden kattunger blir født blinde og døve, er vibrasjonene fra moren livsviktig for at de skal overleve, og etter bare to dager kan de begynne å kommunisere med moren og søsknene ved å male selv.
Since kittens are born blind and deaf, the vibrations from their mother are crucial to their survival and at just two days old, they can start communicating with their mum and littermates by purring back.
"There’s even an old veterinary saying still repeated today: If you put a cat and a bunch of broken bones in the same room, the bones will heal."
Research has show that muscles in your cat produce a sound that is responsible for moving the vocal cords - and as your cat breathes in and out, air hits the vibrating muscles. This is what makes the cat purring sound and as signals in your cat’s brain create the whole purring movement, scientists think that the purr is more of a muscular twitch rather than a vocal communication.
How does cat purring help humans?
It’s a known fact that owning cats relieve stress, not just because they’re cute to look at and are soft to cuddle but because of the positive effects their purrs have on us.
Cat owners have 40% less risk of a heart attack than non-cat owners and lower blood pressure after interacting with cats and hearing their soft purrs. Most interestingly however, is what’s known as ‘healing by association.’ This is the ability to calm, soothe and sympathetically heal illnesses in people just by being nearby, and many people have said they can ease their migraines just by lying down with their purring cat next to them.
Purina Editorial Team
