How Your Cat's Purr Can Literally Help Heal You

Here’s a scientific discovery that won’t surprise cat owners in the slightest. Your cat’s purr has a real therapeutic effect, and it can even help heal you.

Cats purr for a variety of reasons. Most often, they purr out of contentment and happiness — this is the most obvious reason, easy to observe in any cat who’s happily curled up on the lap of their favorite person. But cats also purr when they are injured, frightened or hungry.

Nobody knows exactly why cats purr when they do. But given that they do so in stressful situations, it’s likely that the purring has a calming and healing effect. According to Wired, some veterinarians have even observed cats lying alongside other injured cats and purring.

It’s called “purr therapy.” (Awesome)

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It seems that the healing power of purring could also extend to humans. Purring is relaxing for humans — it calms our nerves and lowers blood pressure.

Purring may even have literal, physical healing benefits. Domestic cats purr at a frequency of 26 Hz, which is within a range that promotes tissue regeneration. In humans, vibrations at this frequency can help soft tissues like muscles and tendons, and they can also heal bones and keep them strong.

All this isn’t quite as woo-woo as it sounds. Some scientists believe that cats purr to stimulate their bones so they don’t become weak while they lay around all day waiting to hunt. Similarly, vibrating plates have even been proposed to help maintain astronauts’ bone density in space.