So why do cats purr?/Cats have almost mastered language, and they only speak to humans
So why do cats purr?
http://www.grunge.com/30608/cats-purr-10-feline-facts/s/so-why-do-cats-purr/ Page 12
We're sorry. We said there would be no dark facts anymore, but we lied. This here might be the darkest of them all, and we apologize in advance.
First, the happy. Even the most marginal of cat people know that cats purr when they're happy. They make the noise by some sort of respiratory magic that happens in their diaphragm and larynx, and just how they do it remains one of the best mysteries of modern science. (It's one that we think we need a grant to be able to study in-depth.) It turns out that the idea of purring at happiness might be a bit of a misunderstanding, and they're actually asking us to keep petting them or keep providing a comfortable lap for them to sleep on. It's more like a polite and dignified request.
Now, the not-so-happy. Cats also purr when they're injured or scared, and researchers think that it has something to do with the healing power of the purr. You absolutely read that right. Cats purr at a frequency of 26 hertz (for most domestic cats), and that just happens to be the same frequency that's been found to promote healing in bone and other body tissues. Crazy, right? But that's the deal, and when cats are injured, they're likely trying to help themselves heal or comfort themselves by the reverberation of their own purr. It's why cats will often curl up with an injured cat (or non-cat) and purr. They're trying to help.
And now, the even worse part. Since cats purr to comfort themselves, it's also something that dying cats have been observed doing. They do it to console themselves and maybe, just maybe, to console you a little bit. Go on, wipe away that tear. That's what we need to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cats have almost mastered language, and they only speak to humans
http://www.grunge.com/30608/cats-purr-10-feline-facts/s/cats-have-almost-mastered-language-and-they-only-speak-to-humans/ Page 3
We know you talk to your cat, and we know she talks back. (You don't? You're a heathen or a liar.) It turns out that language is another way cats display the brilliance they all know they possess, and we take for granted. Cats have a whole bunch of ways to communicate with us, and it's up to humans to pay enough attention to facial and body cues, like "crazy face" and "STFU ears," to be able to understand what they're saying.
They've also developed a super-top-secret language that they use only to communicate with humans: meowing. Cats that live together don't usually meow or talk to each other, and studies of feral cat colonies find that cats in only-feline company are pretty silent. It's only humans that they meow to and, if you pay any attention to your cat at all, you can probably tell what they're saying. Things like, "Put those opposable thumbs to good use and open the cat food now, Human!" sound pretty different from something that means, "Please sit and give me cuddles, and I will allow you to bask in my sleepy, adorable glory."
In 2003, Cornell University researchers tested whether or not we could understand our cats or if we were taking environmental cues to figure out what they're saying, and they had people listen to recordings of cats and try to tell what it was they were saying. They could, but only when the sounds were coming from their own cat. That implies that we shouldn't worry too much, because there's not some universal cat-language that they're teaching us. They are, however, each teaching us their own commands, which might be even more worrying? That's strictly a skill that's been developed by domestic cats, and we tend to interpret wild cats as sounding just angry, no matter what they're saying. The moral of the story is: your cat has learned how to sweet-talk you to get what he wants.
http://www.grunge.com/30608/cats-purr-10-feline-facts/s/so-why-do-cats-purr/ Page 12
We're sorry. We said there would be no dark facts anymore, but we lied. This here might be the darkest of them all, and we apologize in advance.
First, the happy. Even the most marginal of cat people know that cats purr when they're happy. They make the noise by some sort of respiratory magic that happens in their diaphragm and larynx, and just how they do it remains one of the best mysteries of modern science. (It's one that we think we need a grant to be able to study in-depth.) It turns out that the idea of purring at happiness might be a bit of a misunderstanding, and they're actually asking us to keep petting them or keep providing a comfortable lap for them to sleep on. It's more like a polite and dignified request.
Now, the not-so-happy. Cats also purr when they're injured or scared, and researchers think that it has something to do with the healing power of the purr. You absolutely read that right. Cats purr at a frequency of 26 hertz (for most domestic cats), and that just happens to be the same frequency that's been found to promote healing in bone and other body tissues. Crazy, right? But that's the deal, and when cats are injured, they're likely trying to help themselves heal or comfort themselves by the reverberation of their own purr. It's why cats will often curl up with an injured cat (or non-cat) and purr. They're trying to help.
And now, the even worse part. Since cats purr to comfort themselves, it's also something that dying cats have been observed doing. They do it to console themselves and maybe, just maybe, to console you a little bit. Go on, wipe away that tear. That's what we need to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cats have almost mastered language, and they only speak to humans
http://www.grunge.com/30608/cats-purr-10-feline-facts/s/cats-have-almost-mastered-language-and-they-only-speak-to-humans/ Page 3
We know you talk to your cat, and we know she talks back. (You don't? You're a heathen or a liar.) It turns out that language is another way cats display the brilliance they all know they possess, and we take for granted. Cats have a whole bunch of ways to communicate with us, and it's up to humans to pay enough attention to facial and body cues, like "crazy face" and "STFU ears," to be able to understand what they're saying.
They've also developed a super-top-secret language that they use only to communicate with humans: meowing. Cats that live together don't usually meow or talk to each other, and studies of feral cat colonies find that cats in only-feline company are pretty silent. It's only humans that they meow to and, if you pay any attention to your cat at all, you can probably tell what they're saying. Things like, "Put those opposable thumbs to good use and open the cat food now, Human!" sound pretty different from something that means, "Please sit and give me cuddles, and I will allow you to bask in my sleepy, adorable glory."
In 2003, Cornell University researchers tested whether or not we could understand our cats or if we were taking environmental cues to figure out what they're saying, and they had people listen to recordings of cats and try to tell what it was they were saying. They could, but only when the sounds were coming from their own cat. That implies that we shouldn't worry too much, because there's not some universal cat-language that they're teaching us. They are, however, each teaching us their own commands, which might be even more worrying? That's strictly a skill that's been developed by domestic cats, and we tend to interpret wild cats as sounding just angry, no matter what they're saying. The moral of the story is: your cat has learned how to sweet-talk you to get what he wants.