'What cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food which they take for granted but for his or her entertainment value.'

Geoffrey Household 'Rogue Male'

The Secret

'Oh...

I didn't know you were there.

I have just come from a secret place

Where I have had a secret thought

The secret thought

Was beautiful.

The secret place somewhere

Where you will never find it.

Sometimes I can't even find it

Myself.

I wish I could tell you

My secret thought

It was so beautiful

Or where I thought of it

But then it wouldn't be a secret anymore

For you'd know.

From 'Honourable Cat ' by Paul Gallico

Why Do Cats Purr ?

Cats purr for a multiple of reasons.

Kittens are born blind and deaf and start purring when only days old. Because of this the purring serves as a homing device. The kittens can feel their mother purring and it enables them to find her and encourages them to nurse.

We have always thought of purring cats as happy cats but cats also purr when they are under stress such as during a visit to a vet. When I took my cat to one a few years ago the vet could hardly hear her heart or lungs because she purred so loudly. Eventually she took her over to the tap and switched it on to try and calm her down. For reasons not known cats often stop purring whilst listening to running water. They also purr when they are in pain. Female cats can purr when giving birth, possibly in an attempt to calm themselves.

Research has shown that cats are trying to heal themselves when they purr. It may help to clear congestion, heal broken bones and other injuries and perhaps reduce pain.

A recent study by Dr Karen McComb a specialist in mammal vocal communication at Sussex University concludes that a certain type of purring has a high frequency element that makes humans want to respond to a cats needs.

Purring can also serve as a means of communication between adult cats. If a cat is approached by another cat it might purr to signal that it wants to be friends, it can also purr when it is playing.


There is still much to learn about why cats purr and research is still ongoing.

I recently came across this bizarre story in ‘londonist.’

Mrs Laursen and her husband moved into a new flat in London with their six domestic cats.

Strange to say whenever the cats were being fed a mysterious roar would echo around the apartment flowing down the corridor in which the cats were eating.

For a year it provided a bizarre form of entertainment whenever vistors arrived at the flat.

The obvious question that sprung to mind was had a big cat escaped from a zoo or was it some kind of supernatural phenomenon?

The couple eventually moved on. They were never plagued by the sound again.

londonist
The Saturday Strangeness (Disembodied Roar Article117) dated August 8th 2009.
Available at http://londonist.com/