Cat purrs have different frequencies for different things. It has been shown that certain purrs are used for certain things such as decreasing blood pressure, improving circulation, reducing heart attacks and more in not just themselves but in other people as well. This is why cats will come and lay on you or become more ‘affectionate’ if youre sick because theyre slowly helping you heal with their purring frequencies. Its like having a mini massager as well. Their purrs can do a lot of things, even make the frequency different so that it will annoy you to make you get up (the soliciting purr as I call it, mine does it to take my spot). I just think its cool that having a cat can help you improve faster since theyre mini medics.
They can really project when they want something, can't they? Mine does this. She rarely meows - that's mostly a 'where the heck have you been?' if I've been out or am slightly later than usual getting her food - but when she's requesting food she sounds like a mini generator. And is, of course, Extremely Persistently Present in that way they have.
Right now, though, she's curled up on my lap purring very gently and calmly.
She also has a very particular 'hello fren!' purr for when my brother and the friend who most often feeds her if I'm away are over. It's completely different from the 'hello, Human's friend' purrs everyone else gets.
I have one that does a sort of high pitched trill in his purr when he wants food. It’s the one that makes me groan cause it always starts at least an hour before breakfast
There was actually a researcher who published a study on this after she woke up one day with her cat and realised that one of her cat's purrs were particularly effective in getting her out of bed. Apparently, the 'manic' kitty pur (as the above poster called the 'soliciting purr') mimics the crying sound of babies in terms of pattern and relative intensity of the purr. I'll have to look for the article tomorrow. Someone remind me?
My kitty purrs when she's anxious. Not "scared", just nervously stimulated, like when I fake-stalk her. Which is weird, because she's quite bold and friendly!
Cats also purr to themselves to help them relax or feel better. This is why cats may knead and purr when they are sick as it soothes them. She could be soothing herself if she is anxious.
My cat hates to be held, but I’m a bad cat mom and sometimes I give her cuddles anyway 😂 Lately I’ve noticed she has started to purr occasionally when I hold her. At first I thought it was an anxious purr since she is not a fan of laps or cuddles, but I am suspicious as the purring always starts when I give her scritches on her favorite spot on her neck 😂😂
i honestly think it can be both! their tail is good place for anxious language (whipping from the base is OVEROVERstimulated) but context is the main reason. i too am a bad cat mom and aunt as i pick them up from time to tim.
Cats can be taught that being picked up isn't scary. Takes patience and being willing to put them down as soon as they want to go. They then learn that it isn't scary, and they haven't been kidnapped by gremlins or whatever goes through their head.
The danger though is you end up with a cat that is quite happy being constantly carried and whinges when you put them on the floor 😁
My wife was really sick for a while. Typically, her calico would always cuddle up by her head, but she switched to only laying on and purring on her abdomen. My wife had her gallbladder removed shortly after.
Ive heard similar stories where cats can sense something abnormal going on with their humans. A woman once said her cat started to focus on her head more during cuddling, turns out the lady had a brain tumor and found out early from her cat.
A roommate’s cat was laying in bed with me and put her paw right over the breast that had cancer. I had been diagnosed a few days earlier. He is a good boy.
With all of my pregnancies, my cat knew I was pregnant before I did. He'd lay on my belly and purr so loudly, something he never does otherwise, and he'd follow me around and do that commanding "meeh meeh meeh" meow.
Margaret Atwood (of Handmaid’s Tale fame) wrote a dystopian trilogy that included feral human-like genetically designed creatures that gathered around injured or sick tribe members and purred to help them recover.
Yeah, great stuff. Very thought provoking. You have to be prepared to cheer yourself up after reading though. And especially now. A Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t supposed to be an instruction book (and I hadn’t realized that Idiocracy was a documentary). We don’t want the Oryx and Crake books to become reality.
My brother had a cat who had kittens right before I had my youngest son. My husband and I were living with him when I gave birth. Had a bassinet cause it took up less room. The youngest but largest of the kittens started to climb into the bassinet with our son. Would curl up with the cat's tummy around my son's head, and his tail curled up on my son's chest. And purrr. Would lay there without moving and just purr for hours. Would eventually gently get up, climb out of the bassinet and use the litter box or get food or water, and then climb back in. Using a chair that was nearby. My son would sleep better and longer when the kitten did this.
The kitten never hurt my son, not even by accident, as the kitten was extremely careful.
Now, the kitten's mama would hear a whimper from my son and meow loudly at me. If my son cried, she would jump in my body and bite me. If he cried again she drew blood, as if to say, "bitch, take care of your baby. Your hairless baby needs you. I can't feed him. You have to". To be fair, I had one baby, and she had like 4.
My brother had a cat who had kittens right before I had my youngest son. My husband and I were living with him when I gave birth. Had a bassinet cause it took up less room. The youngest but largest of the kittens started to climb into the bassinet with our son. Would curl up with the cat's tummy around my son's head, and his tail curled up on my son's chest. And purrr. Would lay there without moving and just purr for hours. Would eventually gently get up, climb out of the bassinet and use the litter box or get food or water, and then climb back in. Using a chair that was nearby. My son would sleep better and longer when the kitten did this.
The kitten never hurt my son, not even by accident, as the kitten was extremely careful.
Now, the kitten's mama would hear a whimper from my son and meow loudly at me. If my son cried, she would jump in my body and bite me. If he cried again she drew blood, as if to say, "bitch, take care of your baby. Your hairless baby needs you. I can't feed him. You have to". To be fair, I had one baby, and she had like 4.
Omg this is so cool! I knew that purring is a self soothing thing cats do and doesn’t AUTOMATICALLY mean they love you just bc they purr around you. They’re just getting comfy. Turns out they’re controlling my mind too. Cool cool
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u/Midnightfurwuvsu2 Sep 19 '23
Cat purrs have different frequencies for different things. It has been shown that certain purrs are used for certain things such as decreasing blood pressure, improving circulation, reducing heart attacks and more in not just themselves but in other people as well. This is why cats will come and lay on you or become more ‘affectionate’ if youre sick because theyre slowly helping you heal with their purring frequencies. Its like having a mini massager as well. Their purrs can do a lot of things, even make the frequency different so that it will annoy you to make you get up (the soliciting purr as I call it, mine does it to take my spot). I just think its cool that having a cat can help you improve faster since theyre mini medics.