If you follow this website and have read many of the posts included here, you have already done some reading about the healing power of cats. Many of us have had healing experiences with cats that might be anecdotal in nature, but now science will back up many of our beliefs
Cats Can Help Heart Health
This post will touch briefly on these “cat powers” and will add a final one that helps tie all the others together. So, what are these powers that scientists have discovered? First, and perhaps most important, owning a cat proves healthy for your heart.
![cat stretched across lap](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DKvpdeLUQAASDWP-e1690915006677.jpg)
A 10-year study carried out by researchers at the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota produced these findings. The study, based on a group of 4,435 Americans from the age of 30 to age 75, showed that those who did not have a cat had a 40% higher risk of heart attack.
The following year, a study in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology reported similar results, concluding that “acquisition of cats as domestic pets may represent a novel strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in high-risk cases.”
The Magical Purr Of Your Cat
In the Scientific American, as the cats purr while breathing in and out, they create a consistent pattern and frequency. This frequency is between 25 and 150 Hz., the exact range scientists use for vibrational healing therapies.
![Young boy loving black cat](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_4938-e1690915175666.jpg)
We know that this frequency can improve bone density, as well as providing a number of other healing effects. Though the purr does not provide a miracle healing method, the evidence points towards that sweet sound helping to improve bone quality and healing speed.
Therefore, if you happen to have a broken bone, please make sure to spend some time lying close to kitty or petting them, to get that purr amped up to full power.
Other Benefits From The Vibrational Healing Purr
The following list contains the many health benefits you might gain from that purr:
- Stroke your cat to reduce stress
- Ease the effects of some breathing disorders
- Lowers blood pressure
- Aids in reducing swelling, growing muscle, and bone repair
- Reduces heart disease
Petting Your Cat Helps Reduce Stress
![Grey cat petting spree](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Dd-gp8_VwAAqOoG-1024x538.jpg)
We would prove highly unusual humans if we did not succumb to stress now and then. We need to find ways to deal with our stress. Stroking your cat could prove the easiest and most natural method.
Try this: Have your cat close to you, and while petting kitty, listen to and feel the purr vibrations. Physical contact with kitty helps stimulate the brain to release oxytocin. This hormone’s function combats the stress hormone, cortisol.
What About Kitty’s Senses?
If you have read the articles on this website about the five senses kitty has, you know that these have extraordinary power. Here’s a brief summary:
- Hearing: Kitty’s hearing comes in at up to five times better than our own. They respond better to high-pitched sounds.
- Eyesight: Cats only need about 1/6 the light we do for clear vision, and they also have a much wider peripheral range of vision. They can see well at night because they require less light.
- Smell: Here’s a huge difference: While we have around 5 million nerve cells in our noses to help us pick up odors, cats have 200 million. Kitties also have something called the Jacobson’s organ at the roof of their mouths, which helps them smell and taste something.
- Taste: Here’s where we surpass the cat. He has only 475 taste buds, while we have 9,000. No wonder we can eat and enjoy so many more foods than kitty!
- Touch: The cat’s sense of touch is extremely sensitive. They have sensitive nerve receptors in their paws; their whiskers gauge the size of a space, and their skin under all that fur has its large share of sensitivity.
![poster showing healing power of cats](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/15-Comics-That-Purrfectly-Capture-Life-With-Cats-e1690914849676.jpg)
Do Cats Have A Sixth Sense?
You can find many well-publicized stories about cats having knowledge of something before we humans do. Do they know because of a sixth sense? Do they have some kind of supernatural ability that we do not possess? Or does something in a cat’s makeup explain these talents?
Can Cats Predict Earthquakes?
Very often in a severe catastrophe, cats and other animals show signs of stress and anxiety, and begin to flee home for higher ground. Why do cats or other animals behave in such a way? Very possibly, a cat can perceive the static changes that occur right before the quake.
Another theory stems from the fact that their paws are extremely sensitive, and they may feel the small vibrations occuring in the earth before a tremor of great magnitutde occurs. Others believe that they recognize such movement due to their finely developed hearing.
What About Natural Disasters?
Thanks to kitty’s acute senses, he can sense the phenomena that occur before a natural disaster. Changes in atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind direction and earth movements represent some factors that your feline can percieve.
So, what do you think? Can science explain the cat’s perception, or does kitty have a sixth sense?
How Are Cats At Predicting Illness?
![cat in doctor's outfit](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-doctor-is-in.jpg)
A cat has the ability to detect the presence of certain diseases in a human body. Cats have predicted cancer by insistently pinpointing a certain area of the body. They can also sense a sudden seizure from diabetes or epilepsy, They can perceive changes through smell.
Testimonials from owners whose lives have been saved by the actions of their cat will heap great commendations on kitty for this lifesaving ability.
Are You Protected By A Medicine Cat?
Read here for a story about a cat who definitely had a feeling for healing. The story comes from a book written by David Greene, called Your Incredible Cat: Understanding the Secret Powers of Your Pet.
![Tiger kitten giving massage to white kitten](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/kitten-massage-therapy-e1690915097762.png)
In this story, a stray cat, Miguel, would slip through the window in the room of a 10-year-old girl, Maria, who lay comatose in her bedroom. One night, the mother found Miguel curled on the little girl’s bed, his head close to the little girl’s wrist. The cat patiently licked the child’s thumb.
The girl’s fingers twitched slightly under the soft caress, becoming the first movement the child’s mother had seen since the accident. The mother, Fransesca, and her husband encouraged the visits, so every night the cat came in and curled next to Maria, licking her fingers.
Only eight days after the cat’s first visit, Maria awoke, coming out of the 7-month coma and speaking to her parents. Can you guess how the parents felt about that cat?
Can A Cat Predict Death?
![Poster of oscar the cat](https://theliteratecat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/25553490337_183384b490.jpg)
Have you heard of Oscar? He lived for many years as resident kitty at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island. While there, he predicted the deaths of dozens of residents in the nursing home, as reported by Dr. David Dosa.
Oscar knew his job. When a patient neared death, the cat entered the room, curled up on the bed, and began his vigil. Thus the cat provided comfort and companionship at a time when his patients needed him most.
His caregivers and the family members knew that the time had come to say goodbye. Oscar gave his gift as a way to honor the dying person, showing a tender mercy.
Be Sure To Honor Your Cat
Has your cat ever helped you heal from an illness or de-stress from an uncomfortable situation? Do you find the time you spend with your cats joyful and relaxing? Have you shown your cat through your love that you feel he’s special?
Your cat deserves to know you care. After all, once he’s bonded with you, he will give you back so much more than you might imagine. Let him know that he is very special.
References I used for this post: iheartcats.com/the-healing-power-of-cats/ upgradeyourcat.com/the-power-of-cats-spiritual-energetic-and-healing/ cats.com/cats-healing-powers petful.com/behaviors/how-cats-heal-us/ animalwised.com/7-things-that-cats-can-predict-2482.html
Thank you so much for this comforting and uplifting post!
A while ago, my husband and I conducted a very scantily designed experiment to see if holding a kitten on one’s lap while measuring blood pressure would reduce blood pressure reading. It did! And then we tried seeing if looking at a picture of a kitten would do the same thing, and, yes, it did. Unfortunately, we were just messing around and I can’t find the notes from that study. He didn’t take it all that seriously, but I honestly think we had shown how cats can normalize blood pressure.
I am sorry I haven’t left comments recently–I’ve had a busy, productive summer promoting COSMIC CATS & FANTASTIC FURBALLS (https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Cats-Fantastic-Furballs-Fantasy/dp/1680572792/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18XH7RX6IRGJ8&keywords=Turzillo+cosmic+cats&qid=1691069566&sprefix=turzillo+cosmic+cats%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1)
I find your study very interesting, as I’ve recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure. It’s not too bad, but they are having me monitor it every day. Perhaps Mocha can help bring it down.
What a lovely and touching article. Thanks for sharing it with us. Yes, cats are miraculous in every way and add so much to each of our lives.
So glad you liked the article, Elaine. Cats can do some pretty amazing things, as we cat parents know. And, yes, they add so much to our lives.