How to learn to purr like a cat

One day Zoya came to me after naptime and gave me a toy – a white kitten with different eyes. One of its eyes was blue, and the other was green, just like my mother's. Since then, I carry this toy with me everywhere and don't part with it for a minute. I didn't even let Lyalka tie a red bow around my kitten's neck. Why does he need a red bow when he already looks great?

Why doesn't my cat purr? 4 tips to encourage purring

For most cat owners, purring is the sweetest sound. If your cat has suddenly stopped purring or has never purred, you may be looking for answers – and with good reason. Experts say that every cat expresses itself differently, but a sudden change in behavior is always a red flag.

Why isn't your cat purring? Turns out there's a lot more to know about cat purring than you thought.

Why do cats purr?

What is the meaning of a cat's purr? A cat's purr is not just an expression of happiness. Cats purr for a variety of reasons, and body language can help you understand the reason for purring.

1. kitten and cat mother cat communication

A mother cat purrs when communicating with her kittens. Before the kitten even opens her eyes, mom purrs to guide her to the milk. In response, the kittens let mom know when they are hungry or want to keep eating with their own purr.

2. Stress or anxiety

The sound of purring soothes more than just you and me. Purring releases endorphins in a cat's brain. These chemicals calm the cat when it is experiencing anxiety or fear. Nervous purring during a vet exam is so common among cats that there is a lot of research on how to stop a cat purring so doctors can hear its breathing and heartbeat.

Our Juliette was purring so loudly before the surgery that the doctor and I could hardly hear each other. Not to mention the fact that the doctor could not listen to the cat's heart.

Pain.

There is evidence that purring plays a role in the healing of bones and soft tissue. According to research, a cat's purr reproduces exactly the frequencies that are necessary for therapeutic healing effects. Purring is also thought to help strengthen muscles and bones, like people who lift weights. The endorphins released during purring also play a role in reducing feelings of pain. This may be one of the reasons why cats purr during labor.

4. Satisfaction

If you pet your cat and she purrs, you probably won't make the mistake of assuming she's content. She's telling you that she likes what you're doing and would like you to keep doing it.

Body language and context can help us better understand the reason for purring. If the cat is in a relaxed posture, such as lying on its side with its legs outstretched, the purr is most likely caused by satisfaction. If the cat presses its limbs against its body and has open, dilated eyes or a tense facial expression, this may indicate another type of purr, such as anxiety or pain.

When a cat purrs

Kittens are born blind and deaf, so they can only find their mother by the vibrations that occur during purring. This sound is automatically associated with the mother, with the pleasure of absorbing milk, with a sense of safety and security. In such an environment, anyone will purr with pleasure.

Kittens do not need to be told how to learn to purr – it is an innate skill. Sometimes it happens involuntarily, just from an overabundance of positive emotions:

Some pets purr for humans as a way to soothe them or to thank them for something. For example, if the owner is very nervous at the vet and the pet is not scared, the pet may start purring and rubbing its face against the person. This is his way of telling you that everything is okay and you shouldn't be so worried.

How does the purring happen?

For a long time cats purring remained a mystery to humans. And even now it is not fully understood.

Initially, scientists tried to find a separate organ responsible for issuing a vibrating sound. But they couldn't find anything suitable. Then they decided that the sound came from the stomach of cats! But they quickly dismissed this misconception.

The modern official version states that the purring sound appears due to the contraction and vibration of the muscles, which are located near the vocal cords. It is caused by the arrival of certain impulses from the animal's brain.

A number of systems are used to create such a unique sound:

The sound and vibrations originate between the base of the skull and the tongue, and then spread throughout the body.

Purring is therapeutic

Everyone also knows that kitties purr with pleasure when they are well – and their bellies are full, and calm, and warm, and their owner gently strokes their fur. But whiskers also turn on their drive in moments of trouble and pain – cats in labor, injured and even dying animals purr.

This fact, by the way, confirms the theory that feline purring is therapeutic. There is speculation that a purring cat produces a certain hormone that acts on the animal as a pain reliever and sedative. And some owners claim that their cat's purring helps them get rid of pain and malaise.

By the way, this continuous vibrating sound differs from the short purr – the same one that made Kuprin's Yu-Yu famous. Remember how she communicated with her owners? Her short "murrm" meant "follow me," "mrm" meant appreciation, "murum" meant "thirsty," and "murrum" meant reproach. These sounds are akin to meows and are used by cats to communicate.

Getting a tutor

But back to cat people who ask how a person can learn to purr like a cat. Unfortunately, no one will be able to repeat this marvelous purr from the first time – simply because of the different anatomy. And a cat will never willingly reveal its secret how to purr to a human. But you can go on the sly.

First of all, in order to learn how to purr, you should get a personal mustached tutor, if you do not have one yet. Have you got one? Now do everything to make him happy: buy the best food, a house, a "sport corner", toys, scratching and scratching post with catnip, a wheel for running, a couple of beautiful carriers for traveling to different distances and proclaim him the master of the universe.

How to Learn to Purr

"How to Learn to Purr" is another story that was born spontaneously and completely out of the blue. I hope you like it.

After naptime, Kolka always tells Lyalka and me about his mother. Kolka praises her in every way: she's rich and beautiful, she has a car, and she's going to buy him a lot of toys. Lyalka and I listen in silence to all these tales, and then, when Kolka runs off to play with the other boys, we laugh softly. Kolka loves to pour out! Lyalka does not believe a word he says, because she saw his mother – she is not beautiful and certainly not rich. Walks around in an old ragged dress, her hair thin, all freckled, brings him candy sometimes. Kolka always shares candy with us, he's not greedy. But he eats the last one and sits sad. And then he starts praising his mother again and dreaming about how she would take him away from here.

Actually, it's not so bad here, it's just the rules. Eat this, do that, don't run, behave normally. What do you mean, act normal? I don't get it. I don't even remember how I got here. But I also want my mother to take me away from here. Lyalya laughs at me, says that I do not have no mother. And I pull her plait and call her a fool. I have a mother! I don't know how I got here, but I remember my mommy.

Yes, I remember her well. She had a long long fluffy tail, a luxurious mustache, a beautiful white fur, a pink nose and different colored eyes – one blue, one green. People called my mom Mashka for some reason, and they were always saying "kitty-kitty" when they wanted to talk to her. In general, people in the yard where my mom and I lived in the basement were kind and helpful. They constantly gave my mom sausages or a piece of meat. And she quickly grabbed them and brought them to me.

My mother was a hunter, though, and didn't need a handout. Catch a couple of mice for me, my favorite son? No question about it! I well remember what mouse meat tasted like – it was sweet and slightly sour. No cutlets in our canteen can compare with mouse meat, believe me! And if someone went down to the basement and poured milk for my mother, it was a feast for the whole world! At such moments I would hide in a dark corner, so no one would see me. And my mother would come out to those who poured milk in the bowl, rubbing against their legs and purring. People were smiling, stroking her and saying, "Oh yes Mashka, oh yes she's beautiful!

😻The cat's healing purr: truth or fiction. What the experiment showed

For decades, scientists, interested in the phenomenon of cat purring, have conducted experiments. Their goal – to find out how purring affects the human body.

As a result, they got a stunning result: cats not only talk through the purr. It is a powerful tool that helps to restore strength, increase the body's resistance to disease, heal wounds, and even improve bone splicing.

It turns out that cats produce sounds that range from 25 to 150 hertz.

These vibrations increase bone density, alleviate and relieve painful sensations. This is how some medical devices work.

Scientists have concluded that cats have this superpower to heal themselves, and the extra bit of their energy goes to the owners to whom they are attached.

The following study, conducted by scientists from the University of Minnesota, astounded everyone. They proved that living with a cat protects the person from the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 30%.

The experiment involved more than 4,000 people between the ages of 30 and 75. More than half kept cats, while others did not.

Over the 10-year experiment, subjects from the larger "cat" half were one-third less likely to have cardiovascular disease than those who didn't have cats.

Getting a tutor.

But back to cat people who ask how a person can learn to purr like a cat. Unfortunately, no one will be able to repeat this marvelous purr from the first time – simply because of the different anatomy. And a cat will never willingly reveal its secret how to purr to a human. But you can go on the sly.

First of all, in order to learn how to purr, you should get a personal mustached tutor, if you do not have one yet. Have you got one? Now do everything to make him happy: buy the best food, a house, a "sport corner", toys, scratching and scratching post with catnip, a wheel for running, a pair of beautiful carriers for travel to different distances, and proclaim him the master of the universe.

Learning to purr

Seriously, surround the cat with love and, in a moment of rest, lie down next to it and pet it gently. As soon as the cat starts purring, one should try to tune into the cat's frequency, breathing only through the nose, and try to make a sound as similar to a purr as possible. Don't get upset if at first you only manage to make a grunting sound. Over time, a persistent student will definitely succeed.

Hearing a man purring, the cat will certainly become even more affectionate to him. Well, in the company of their own kind you can always make a splash! But you will be able to make everybody laugh, but hardly able to heal. This secret knowledge is hardly transmitted along with the skill purr.

So good luck in learning! And remember: all cats purr with the same frequency – 25 cycles per minute, and no other way. And finally, a poem!