If you love curling up with your cat, science is on your side.
Is there a more relaxing sound than your cat, curled up and cozy, purring away on your lap? If you agree, the science is on your side. Research has proven that the vibrations of a purring cat can be beneficial to their owner’s wellbeing in several different ways.
Credit: Gemma Busquets / Buy a poster version here
Sound advice
Dr. Thompson, director of the Center for Neuroacoustic Research, San Diego, has been exploring neuroacoustics and the therapeutic application of sound. Sound is crucial to the human experience and sounds can create an emotional response — the sound of the ocean can be relaxing, but the sound of cars honking in a traffic jam can be extremely stressful.
A cat’s purr vibrates within the range of 20-140 Hz, which can have many therapeutic benefits including lowering stress levels. That vibration can decrease the symptoms of dyspnea, also known as difficult or labored breathing. You can also reduce your cat’s dyspnea by stroking it — a win win situation!
Physical health benefits, too
Some of this may seem obvious. Sitting down and stroking a cat is of course a relaxing pastime. But a cat’s purr is beneficial on an even deeper level. The aforementioned vibration frequency can aid in joint and tendon repair, and with healing wounds. According to some anecdotal reports, putting a cat on your belly can reduce the symptoms of PMS.
The application of sound for healing has been a treatment used in different cultures throughout history. The first known people to use sound healing were the Aborigines in Australia. They used a didgeridoo — a long, man-made instrument in which a person blows air in to produce low vibrations.
So, as if you needed any excuses for a snuggle with your cat, now you have a legitimate, scientific reason to cozy up.
The 20 most popular cat names
The website Kittycatter recently compiled their list of the top 100 cat names in America. In order to do this they looked at names on the Cat Fanciers Association, which keeps the world’s largest registry of pedigreed cats, Nationwide Pet Insurance’s policyholder database, and FindCatNames.com’s list of the most frequently favorited names. Below you can find the top 20.
2. Bella
3. Simba
5. Luna
6. Max
7. Lucy
8. Lily
9. Nala
10. Sophie
11. Milo
12. Rocky
13. Coco
14. Charlie
15. Smokey
16. Mia
17. Jack
18. Angel
19. Tigger
20. Oreo
Notably lacking from the list were the more humorous, or should we say punny cat names. But never fear, Feline Living produced its own list of cat names for the self-proclaimed comedians among us.
Some gems from this list included the pop cultural icons, Cat Stevens, Cindy Clawford, and Pawdry Hepburn, the artists, Pitcatso, and Shakespurr, and the charmingly architectural, Frank Lloyd Bite, (amusing and terrifying at once.)