Cat Purrs Harness Holistic Healing Powers

cat healing benefits — Big thanks to pawesomecats for the image!

Don’t underestimate your little fuzz-ball. Your cat may be more than a somewhat less comedic version of Garfield – could it actually be healing you?

Back in Ancient Egypt, cats were worshiped and even played a pretty significant part in arts and culture. They were by no means the ordinary, little things we’ve come to know them as today. They had a much higher status in earlier civilizations.

But why?

If you look at a cat now, you’d probably assume that the most interesting thing that can come out of it is an exciting battle with a ball of yarn. But no, cats have recently been researched as being far more useful than we ever thought. Turns out they may actually have a place in medicine.

What Exactly Do They Do?

Not much – well, at least on their end. No kitty doctors here. Most of the research done on the therapeutic effects of cats comes back to one of the least peculiar behaviors in their repertoire – the purr.

Wait, so cat purrs can heal?

It may not be the craziest concept. A number of cat owners report pet behavior to somewhat align with this idea.

They note that often times when they’re feeling ill, their cats will come cuddle up with them in different ways. They may sit by your head when you have a headache, or nuzzle up by your body when you’re having cramps or stomach pains. In any case, they’ll happily purr away at the affected areas to stimulate your body’s natural healing processes.

Does It Really Work?

According to recent research, it turns out there is a correlation between the frequency of cat purrs and the time it takes for broken bones to heal! Results suggest that for three different cat species, purrs exhibited between 25-50hz are optimal when it comes to stimulating bone healing.

In the study that presented these results, 82% of patients suffering from chronic or acute pain actually experienced a relief in their symptoms after exposure to purrs between 50-150Hz.

So hey, people say dogs are a man’s best friend – maybe we aren’t giving enough credit to the little, seemingly uncaring fur-balls that roll around in their own sense of self worth!

Other frequencies of cat purrs have also been shown to have a positive effect on people or cats suffering from dyspnoea. This pulmonary condition makes it harder to breathe, and is often common in cases of asthma, pneumonia, and congestive heart failure.

Now, this research doesn’t necessarily point to the idea that cat purrs can cure just about anything – but it’s amazing when you think about how effective the purrs are when it comes to fighting certain conditions. Do you think it’s possible to harness the positive effects of cat purrs to make them a standard part of modern medicine?

The best part is, this isn’t even the end of the story!

Many cat owners also report that their children develop a better sense of self esteem and social skills after regularly interacting with cats. Other research is pointing in the direction that cat owners tend to also be at a lower risk of developing heart disease. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see where this research goes!