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Scientists Explain Feline Purring

Posted by timothy on from the so-if-we-could-get-babies-to-purr? dept.

Manuka writes: "The Daily Telegraph has an article that tells us that scientists have discovered that purring in cats is actually a self-healing mechanism that strengthens their bones and lends weight to the extraordinary resilience of felines. Tigers lack this mechanism for some reason. They are also exploring the possibilities of replicating this mechanism in humans with 'sound treatment,' to help treat bone disorders." This article does not address how cats purr, though, and that seems like just as burning a question, nor does it explain how those low-freq sounds actually do achieve the benefits attributed to them.

2 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. The degree of utter BS on the web is astounding. by catseye_95051 · · Score: 4

    This IS a joke, right???

    Its not just Tigers, it sall great Cats that don't purr. Ist the construction of the voice box. Great Cats can growl but not purr, small cats can purr but not truely growl. in afct, this is the DEFINITION of Great Cat and small cat.

    Hard to take any supposed 'resarcher" seriously who didn't even know the bilogical definitiosn of his subject material.

    This belongs on Whitley's World, not Slashdot.

    (If you are INTO new-age total BS psuedo-science you might want to try www.whitleysworld.com)

  2. I liked this quote by HiNote · · Score: 4

    One recent study, published in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, found that out of 132 cats that fell an average of 5.5 storeys, 90 per cent survived, including one that fell 45 storeys.

    I like cats and all, but I found the mental picture I formed while reading this quite funny: Men dressed in white lab coats conducting an official study by throwing cats out windows to see if they'd survive, with another man with a clipboard and white lab coat standing on the ground tallying the results.