Fun Facts About A Cat’s Purr

You’ve probably been told that a cat’s purr is a display of happiness. While there is truth in that, it’s not the only reason that a cat will purr. The soft rumbling sound is used by cats for various reasons, including self healing – yes, really. 

Read our surprising fun facts about a cat’s purr:

• To Share Their Location – cats are born blind and deaf. At around 5 days old their ears will begin to unfold and their eyes open. It can take up to 10 weeks for a kitten to gain full use of their eyes. Before they can see or hear a kitten will purr to let their mother know where they are, and to attract attention at feeding time.
• To Manipulate Their Owner – a study conducted in 2009 found that cats can conceal a cry within their purr which can trigger a nurturing instinct in humans, similar to if a baby were to cry. For example, if a cat were purring to request food, the noises that they made were less pleasant and more urgent. This suggests that cats can manipulate their purrs to mean different things.
• To Self Soothe – the frequency range of a cat’s purr has been proven to be medically therapeutic. With purrs fluctuating between 20 and 140hz, they are a natural form of stress relief. Studies were conducted on cheetahs, ocelots, pumas, servals and domestic cats and found that all will purr when experiencing stress or pain.
• To Heal Themselves – probably the most shocking of these surprising facts. In the same way that a cat’s purr can help them to self soothe, it can actually help to heal them. Perhaps this is the origin of the cats having 9 lives theory! The purr frequency can reduce blood pressure, as well as lowering stress. An incredibly mind-blowing study even found that the frequency of a domestic cat’s purr corresponds to vibrational/electrical frequencies that are used in the treatment for bone growth/fractures, pain, muscle growth/strain, joint flexibility and wounds. 

A purring cat is usually trying to communicate their emotions and needs, it’s unlikely that we will ever be able to know exactly what it is that they are trying to say but we can make informed guesses based on the situation.

Unsurprisingly, there have been more studies conducted into understanding the behaviours of dogs than their feline counterparts. There may still be a lot to learn about domestic cats, but our knowledge of them is better for knowing these surprising purr facts. 

Which purr fact has shocked you the most?

Click Here to check out some fun facts about other pet animals!