The purring therapy​

While the purr does generally represent contentment for cats, it can also express nervousness, fear, stress and even pain sometimes. It’s likely that purring has communication, appeasement, and healing properties.

It’s thought that the vibrations from the activity are physically rejuvenating – a way for cats to ‘heal’ themselves after stress so we could well benefit from the same treatment.

The frequency of those vibrations – which range from 20Hz up to 150Hz –is thought to promote bone growth, as bones harden in response to the pressure. Other frequencies may do something similar to tissue. Bone responds to 25-50Hz and skin and soft tissues to around 100Hz according to researchers.

The purr may not just be of benefit to the cats themselves. Those same frequencies cats purr at might also be doing good to us as well.

In 1950, American scientists had noticed that for a similar lesion, a broken bone healed three time faster in a cat than in any other animal.

Physiotherapists started to use purr-like  vibrations to fasten bone repair.

Petting a cat has long been seen as a form of stress relief – cat ownership could apparently cut the risk of stroke or heart disease by one-third.

Indeed, purring is anti-stress, it regulates the blood pressure, boosts the immune defenses, and helps heal psychological trauma.