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Cat lovers, this one’s for you! Your four-legged fury friend’s purr: you know the sound. It’s the low vibration that welcomes you home, thanks you for food and begs for another kitty scratch behind the ears. It’s comforting and relaxing. And while you’d never wish the loving sound away, you wonder … why does my cat purr all the time? Today, we answer this purrtinent question with help from WebMD.
Contrary to what you may already be thinking, “My kitty is happy!” is not always the right answer. In fact, cats purr for multiple reasons, including contentment, but also when they feel frightened or threatened.
Kelly Morgan, DVM, clinical instructor at the Chicago Center for Veterinary, told WebMD to think of a purr as a smile.
“People will smile when they’re nervous, when they want something, and when they’re happy, so perhaps the purr can also be an appeasing gesture,” Morgan said.
In recent years, studies have shown that cats might also purr as a survival or communication technique.
Bioacoustics researcher Elizabeth von Muggenthaler of the Fauna Communications Research Institute in North Carolina, according to WebMD, has proposed that felines gain evolutionary healing advantages from the purr. When a cat purrs, its laryngeal muscles twitch at the rate of 25 to 150 vibrations per second (Hz), the same frequency used in humans to help wounds heal more quickly. Experts theorize that this frequency might offer a kind of built-in physical therapy.
If your cat isn’t purring to heal, it might be purring to tell you that it’s time for food! When Karen McComb, PhD, started wondering why her cat’s purr could be annoying at times, she decided to do some research. She found that cats sometimes add a meow-sound to their purr to get a human’s attention.
According to WebMD, “McComb's team suggests that cats may have learned how to tap into a mammalian response for nurturing offspring by embedding a cry within a call that’s normally associated with contentment.”
But no matter what the reason – hunger, healing or feeling – that steady vibration, will always be the purrfect way your cat shows its affection.
Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why?" questions? Catch up on all of the past "Whys" on Pinterest or on the blog!
