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Is There Healing Power in a Cat’s Purr?

Source: Wikimedia Commons and keagiles

Dogs bark and cats purr.

New research indicates that there is something about cat’s purring that stimulates healing in both the cat and humans too. Are cat friendly recovery room in our future?

To understand the hidden power of something as simple as a cat’s purr, here is what recent research has discovered.

Why Do Cats Purr?

Cat expert Professor Leslie A. Lyons, Ph.D., explains “that most cat species produce a ‘purr-like’ vocalization which people generally view as a form of communication or as an expression of pleasure. Cats purr as a result of being stroked or fed or when they are nursing kittens.” Dr. Lyons is principal investigator in the Feline Genetics Laboratory is part of the Department of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery in the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

But, she adds, “cats also purr when they are stressed or severely injured; when they are recovering from an illness or injury; and while giving birth or while they are dying.”

It seems that cats’ purrs, in addition to soothing the people around them, also enable cats to heal themselves.

The Best Healing Frequencies

Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, president-acoustics at the Fauna Communications Research Institute in North Carolina looked further “into why a cat would waste energy purring in its last moments of life.”

She explained, “For the purr to exist in different cat species over time, geographical isolation etc. there would likely have to be something very important (survival mechanism) about the purr. There also would have to be a very good reason for energy expenditure (in this case creation of the purr), when one is physically stressed or ill. The vibration of the cat’s diaphragm, which with the larynx, creates the purr, requires energy. If an animal is injured they would not use this energy unless it was beneficial to their survival. If purring is a healing mechanism, it may just help them to recover faster, and perhaps could even save their life.”

“Because cats have adapted to conserve energy by means of long periods of rest and sleep, it is possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without using a lot of energy.”

“Scientists have demonstrated that cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz,” according to the article

Lyons says that these are frequencies that promote healing. She notes that domestic cats and wild cats alike produce strong frequencies at “exactly 25 Hertz and 50 Hertz. These two low frequencies are associated with the promotion of bone growth and fracture healing.”

Bone Growth, Fracture Healing and Pain Relief

Recent “research on frequencies that promote bone growth, fracture healing, pain relief ad relief of breathlessness and inflammation, show that frequencies between 20 Hertz and 150 Hertz are healing frequencies. All cat species have purr frequencies between 20 Hertz and 150 Hertz with the exception of the cheetah.” The cheetah purrs at 25, 50, 100, 125 and 150 Hertz. “This corresponds exactly with the best healing frequencies.”

Lyons notes that the purring of a cat lowers stress — petting a purring cat has a calming effect. It decreases the symptoms of dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing) in cats and humans. It also lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease. Cat owners have 40% less risk of having a heart attack.

The healing power of cat purrs is believed to help with infections, swelling and pain, muscle growth and repair, tendon repair and joint mobility.

Be good to that purring kitty in your home. She may be on to something.

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33 thoughts on “Is There Healing Power in a Cat’s Purr?

    1. There is a bone stimulator to help with bone growth. I often wonder if was developed based on the studies of a cat’s purr.

      I also noticed as a home-care nurse that the joint replacement patients that had cats were more attentive to the patient. They would often be laying very close or in their laps. Many of the cats were usually not the cuddly type.

      1. I found that to be true. One of my cats positioned himself right on my hip replacement. I was aware of the healing frequencies and appreciated it!

    2. I am selling a book on Poshmark that replicates 5 purr sounds with details about the 5 categories for healing. Look for Yorkie Girl Boss or search word Purr.

    3. When I was sick with pneumonia this past winter, it was so bad, I was getting my final wishes in order. All three of my cats watched over me/laid on my bed with me throughout the day, but one of them in particular never left my side (quite literally)…for weeks. She was my little nurse. Though I wasn’t sure sometimes (at that time) if it was helpful or detrimental, when I was having a particularly rough time breathing, she would climb up on my chest and lie there and purr. I knew their purring (frequencies) had healing properties, but I thought it was mostly for their bones and our blood pressure. I had no idea it could actually help our breathing. My sweet little nurse may have actually saved my life. ❤️

  1. There is never any mention of how long the kitty needs to lay on the area per day to be therapeutic. Minutes? An hour?

    1. Hi there. I came upon this article because I actually just experienced a little while ago today that my cat’s purring actually shut down my full-blown migraine within about 5-10 minutes of her lying next near my head. Both adorable and interesting is she knew that I was in pain and came up to me and lied down there on her own like, “I’ll fix it!” That’s not to say that such a short dosage of purring is all that’s needed for anyone else, but as far as a migraine goes, it can be just minutes.

        1. I broke my femur three months ago. I came to stay with a friend to help me out and her scaredy cat is on me all the time live a magnet when I sleep. I guess she knows what she is doing. She also likes when I play cats purring on youtube.

  2. I have one cat. He rescues me many times through his loving contact. He enjoys human contact & his motor runs loudly!

  3. Eleven years ago at age 78 my left hip was scheduled for total replacement. I was using a cane. I adopted a black, short haired American cat from the SPCA. From day one, the cat would climb onto my bed, sit by my left hip and then drape her upper over body over my hip. After one month I stopped using the cane. Two months more and almost no pain. I cancelled the surgery, and today have no hip pain. This routine goes on every night. It starts with Inky walking up and down my body, sometimes twice. I call it a Cat Scan.

    1. I love the cat scan. That was very cute. One of my nursing school instructors told the story of orthopedic wings in hospitals would sometimes have resident cats. Someone had observed that good, lap sitter cats and good purring cats on the ward helped accelerate healing of bones. This instructor was in the Cadet Nurse Corps. in World War II. She had many stories of strange medical practices in the old days. I will never forget her. She was quite a character.

      1. Hi Jessie, I am quite intrigued by your nursing instructor’s report of having cats on the orthopedic ward to help heal bones. Do you remember her name and how I might get in touch with her?

  4. This is wonderful information! Today I was having chest pains, and my cat insisted on laying on my chest. Within a few minutes my pain was gone. Love my cat so much!

  5. Your site has given me a lot of handy advice,
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    You’ve provided myself a number of pointers to aid me in the foreseeable future.

  6. I have osteoarthritis and bunions on both feet. (I had bunion surgery on the left foot years ago, but bunions, unfortunately, sometimes return!) I have a cat who sleeps in her own little bed for about half the night. Around 2 or 3 AM, she often prowls over the bed where I’m sleeping and snuggles in close to me somewhere. She LIKES to plop down right on my FEET. I usually discourage this by moving and trying to get her to settle closer to my chest area because the weight on my feet or ankles feels uncomfortable. My feet normally give me pain quite often during the day. Maybe I need to suck it up and allow my kitty to snooze on my feet and ankles during the night!

    1. It’s called “anecdotal evidence”. I am a researcher. Most research in medications is this type.

  7. If it works for them, why not continue it? I’m an energy healer, and I have used a practice somewhat like Reiki to help reduce or eliminate pain in friends and family for four decades. I one cracked a rib, then repeated the fracture twice more over the next 15 years. Lots of pain over six weeks the first two times. You know what they day about this injury, “It only hurts when you breathe.”

    I used my energy healing procedure the third time and it completely cured the fracture in 5 weeks with much less pain day to day. I admit these results are anecdotal, but since they are my first person accounts, I find them very convincing. I have taken many falls since then, including a full length face plant onto a concrete sidewalk and falls a the roller rink, and the rib never gave me a second’s worth of pain.

  8. After my knee replacements, my two cats sandwiched my leg between them and did this for several weeks both times.

    1. Jeannine,
      thank you for asking! We’re trying to get it published on Amazon and it’s taking a little longer than expected.
      I’ll send you an email when it’s up. Thank you so much for asking. Robin

  9. In February 2023 my mother died. As soon as this happened, my cat began cuddling me differently, really close up on my chest so he could purr into my ear. His purr was louder and deeper than usual. I thought he was doing this because of the bereavement. But a month later, I was diagnosed with gynae cancer. It was caught really early and surgery was enough to clear it. My cat continued to give me ‘cuddle and purr therapy’ about four times a day for 10 to 15 minutes each time throughout my recovery.

  10. I do believe that cat purrs are calming and stuff, but I don’t believe it helps bones grow. I’m naturally suspicious of anything with the phrase healing frequencies in it.

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