Why do cats purr?

Last week our 9-month-old discovered Mitzi, his Nana and Grandpa's cat. Poor Mitzi. 

When we lived at their house, our big boy was 18 months old and spent a good part of each day holding onto the cat's tail and getting pulled around the kitchen floor, and another good part of the day crying over his scratches. I never understood why the cat didn't scarper when he saw those little hands reaching for his fluff. I guess curiosity got the better of both of them.

Consoling the cat after his baby encounter, I got thinking about purring. I had heard one of the reasons cats purr is to heal themselves, but like a lot of the Whys on this blog, I couldn't be sure.

Purr to cure

It turns out there are a few reasons why cats purr, and yes, healing does appear to be one of them. Research has shown that certain frequencies of sound can improve bone density and muscle strength - and a cat's purr falls within these frequencies. Since cats spend so much of their time sleeping and resting, it's possible that purring helps to prevent the kinds of osteopathic problems experienced by humans who are unable to move around freely. It could also be the reason why cats are so hardy - the fact behind the myth that cats have nine lives.

As well as using purring to express their contentment, cats also purr when they are under stress, like at the vets or when in labour. This might be a coping mechanism as well as a way to help with healing.

Ommmm

If you have ever practiced Yoga, you will have heard or even performed a few oms. Ommmmmm... There is something quite soothing about omming, no matter how silly you might feel when you're doing it. I have been known to use oms to soothe my babies to sleep. It works, especially when you've dealing with one of those over-tired screechy cries.

Perhaps purring works in a similar way. It turns out that the purr of a cat can also soothe and heal their human slaves - I mean masters. And cat owners are 40% less likely to have a heart attack than those without feline friends.

Seems like good enough reasons to own a cat. But is it cruel to bring a cat into a house with two small boys?

I'm thinking we'll wait until the little one is old enough to listen to reason. That will happen, right?

Here's a link to a video about Smokey, the cat with the loudest known purr in the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akcALE_R7-o