When I was younger the trait I love most about cats is when they purr. It makes me so sleepy and warm when my cats come to lay by me and purr. I know that my cats do it because they are happy or they are sleepy. But how do they do it? What makes them purr besides being satisfied? When I try to purr back to them I run out of breath. How do they accomplish purring without running out of breath? What else causes them to purr besides being happy? The purring that makes me melt inside and want to squeeze them to death for being so cute. ( not literally squeezing to death... ha ha..)
" This morning I woke up to Hunter purring in my lap. I love it when he does that, because it's like he is telling me he loves me. And he is thanking me for all the food I've given him. He's so adorable! :)" Field notes 10/7/2014.
Picture of Hunter Sleeping from 10/26/2014
Picture of Douglas purring and rolling around from 10/26/2014
While reading this article I found some interesting information on purring. Purring can cause vibrations at a rate of twenty-five to one hundred and fifty vibrations per sec. ( whoa that's cool! ) Relatives of cats can also purr. For example a Civet, a small nocturnal creature found in Africa and southeast Asia. A Genet, a cat like mammal with short legs, spotted fur, is found in Africa, southwestern Europe, and Arabia. ( I've never heard of either of these cats until reading this article. Guess the cat family is bigger than I thought.) The Mongoose, Hyena ( Isn't the hyena also related to the dog family?), Guinea pig, Raccoon, Mt. Lion, and Bobcat can purr as well. However these small cats are unable to roar, because they do not fight for territory. In the article these smaller cats are referred to as "loners."( Not true they have us! ha ha ). Other big cats such as lions and tigers are unable to purr due to fighting prey in the wild, and fighting over territory. Instead these large cats are capable of roaring to help them in the wild
. Cats also purr when in pain, in labor, ill, or injured. Experts theorize that purring is built in physical therapy for cats. What I like most about the article is that purring is referred to as calm and peaceful. Which is why cats do a better job at lowering blood pressure, giving relaxation, and giving positive reinforcement.
Wow! I didn't know cats purr when they are in pain or when they are in labor. I guess it is a way of taking pain medication without actually taking them. Which I feel is safer than taking medication anyways. Their body's being able to heal its self is awesome. Gosh how wonderful it would be if we could too. Maybe that's why they purr for us because they can sense our pain the same way dogs can. How great is that, your cat can help you get better without you even knowing it.( So maybe cats aren't as bad as some may think.) ;)
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I always questioned why a cat purrs! Thank you for the information it was very interesting!!
ReplyDeleteYou have great information. I like the way you took interest in the cats purring it's amazing! Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat research, I learned something new today. You really showed something fascinating about cats.
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