Questions

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on November 4^th 2023.

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I started my ‘questions’ project. I have decided that the only way to do it is to set aside a particular time each week, to make it part of my routine but as something pleasurable, not as a chore. Sunday morning is that time, armed with the first cup of tea of the day, looking things up on the phone and scribbling notes in bed. Every now and then I will exclaim to Michael ‘I never knew that!’ or ‘You’ll never believe this.’ It has become something I look forward to and during the week I am always on the look out for possible questions, jotting them down before I forget them.

Sometimes a question will come to mind where I think I already know the answer, or at least part of it, and it would be so easy to discard it and move on to another topic. The question I am going to share with you this week is one of those and, while it turned out I did know part of the answer, it was the part I didn’t know that was the more fascinating.

The question – why do cats purr?

Why did I ask this particular question?

We inherited a cat when we bought Le Shack, almost feral in those early days, but she has become more mellow with each passing year. When we are not here, which is most of the time, Spot moves down the valley to her second home for food, but this is still her patch. Our friends Sue and Ev came to pick some plums over the summer and she was here, curled up in the outside sink, one of her favourite places, which is where she was the first time I ever saw her. Now that we are back and she has company she is ecstatic, following us around, jumping on our laps the minute we sit down anywhere (and that includes the outside loo unless you can deflect her in time) and purring noisily. I can even hear her through the door when I am in bed and I know she will be sat on the mat outside, nose almost touching the door itself, purring away for all she is worth.

We all know the answer to this question, even those of us who are not cat-lovers – they purr because they are happy, pleased or content.

This is true in part but it would be more accurate to say that cats purr as a form of communication in a much wider sense. They are born blind and deaf and begin purring a few days after birth, to let their mothers know where they are and to attract attention at feeding time. Purring continues into adulthood but it isn’t a given that all cats will purr and some are more vocal than others. They will purr when they are injured, or after a stressful event and vets have noticed that cats will even purr as they are dying and being put to sleep, something that would make a difficult time for the owner even worse I imagine.

Purring in these types of situation has a completely different function. Research has suggested that purring is a soothing mechanism, in much the same way as a child might suck his or her thumb. It goes even further and suggests that the vibrations caused in producing the sound can self-heal, helping to mend broken bones, repair wounds and torn tendons, easing pain and swelling and it could explain why cats can survive high falls and have fewer complications after surgery than dogs. It sounds far-fetched to suggest that a healthy purr contributes to a cat’s nine lives but the idea mirrors established frequencies used in theraputic healing for humans. Bone responds to 25 -50Hz and soft tissues to 100Hz. Cat purring ranges from a frequency of 20 -150Hz so they seem to have it covered.

We don’t need to turn to research to know that humans find a cat’s purr to be soothing. Stroking a cat while it purrs on your lap is something many of us find calming, a feline form of stress relief, but we can’t really say why. The website for Whiskas cat food has all sorts of interesting cat information on it and, rather beautifully, described purring as a feline lullaby, one that soothed the soul of both the singer and the listener.

So now when Spot jumps on my lap and purrs while I stroke her silky fur I like to think that we are both benefiting, a mutually soothing and calming interlude. Satisfaction guaranteed. And it also goes to prove that it is worth asking a question even if you think you know the answer.

Take care and see you soon.

MJ