Article by Elizabeth Peru (www.deltawaves.com.au/feline/feline.html)

I have always been fascinated by the cat's purr. Why do these beautiful creatures purr? Is it pure contentment? Does it make them feel good? Is it excitement? There must be a deeper reason! Why? Why? Why?

This constant pondering and self-questioning lead me in the direction to have personal insights that perhaps the cat's purr is actually a powerful healing instrument?

Perhaps the cat's vibrational resonance is nature's almost purr-fect sonic tool to bring about growth and stability to all living creatures and even the equilibrium of the universe?

The research:
What I had written about in my article was backed up by actual scientific research! (see link below for this article)
Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler who is a research scientist and specialist in Bio-Accoustics (the study of animal sounds and how they relateto the animal's behavior) had sourced evidence and conducted her own research into the cat's purr being used for healing.
Elizabeth recorded the sound vibrations of 47 different felines including domestic cats, pumas, and cheetahs and discovered that the dominant frequency range of a cat's purr was 25-50 Hertz.

Purring mends the physical:
Elizabeth's discoveries then tied in with the research conducted 2 years prior by Dr. Clinton Rubin who found that exposure to vibrations between the ranges of 20-140 hertz is therapeutic for bone growth, fracture healing, pain relief, swelling reduction, wound healing, muscle growth, mobility of joints and repair of tendons and ligaments.

Interestingly all of the domestic cats Elizabeth tested fell into the 25-50 Hertz range with some cats having a range that tested upto 140 Hertz. So, our domestic felines are just as powerful at sound healing as their bigger wild cousins.
To learn more about Elzabeth Von Muggenthaler's work, visit her website: www.animalvoice.com

Cat survival rates:
It is also well known in the veterinary profession that cats survive operations at a higher rate than dogs do. They also recover far more quickly from operations and rarely suffer bone diseases from natural causes, compared to high instances of arthritis in dogs. Cats also rarely suffer from strains or torn ligaments.

Cats heal themselves with sound. So much like a cat heals itself at the cellular level with the vibration or "deep resonance" created by its purr thus; these sound waves are also passed through us.
I call it the "Sonic Sweep" when a cat chooses to clean up your immediate energetic space with a deep purr. Cat will immediately sense when there is an imbalance of energy and adjust their vibrations accordingly to lift sonic disturbances to a higher level. The cat keeps itself clean and bright via these vibrations and transmutes all energy bodies (including) us in its vicinity to be vibrating at a like speed. Thus, our heart rate is immediately lowered when we allow ourselves to be close to and absorb the vibrations of a cat's purr.

Why does sound healing work?:
Purr Healing works because everything in the universe emits a specific sound or tone. Science has proven that even when we get down to the sub-atomic level there is nothing there but a sound created by the movement of particles. Objects that appear solid (like rocks) are really just denser vibrations of energy, emitting very low rates of sound. Objects which appear lighter (like cats) are emitting higher vibrations of sound. So sound waves move through us because we are not solid objects at all. All living things are fluid moving particles of energy (yes that's us) very aware of all sonic influences which eminate through and from them.

The article continues with What cats can teach us, and Cats vs Dog healing: The difference (see above link if interested).
The link on the author's site to her 2007 article " Our Feline Sound Healers" does not work, but can be viewed here: http://www.cosmiclighthouse.com/dec07/columns/animal_column