5.24.2012

Thoughts on Thursday

The purring question.....

Experts have been debating for years the reason behind a cat's purr.  Are they feeling contented, and friendly, are they hurt, are they self-soothing or just plain happy to be a cat?  I certainly have not discovered an answer but instead pose another question....how many of us cat mums and dads out there purr to our kitties?  I admit it, I purr for the boys when we are cuddling so they know I'm feeling the same as they are.  I also murp, chirp and coo and basically imitate any sound that they make.

Did you hear a cat down there?
Your accent is improving mum!
Talk to me mummy I'm listening....
Mum purred me to sleep :-)

I'm not entirely sure what I'm saying to them but the response always seems to be positive :-)

23 comments:

Sparkle said...

When my human tries to talk Cat, she invariably sounds really dumb.

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

I tend to listen to anything a human says if they give me tuna...

MTVA said...

Oh, I do that, too! I'm not so sure if I've got the purring right, but I can chirp, meow and squawk right along with my boys!
That is so sweet that you purred Jimmy to sleep. After reading such sad news at the Cat Blogosphere this morning, your lovely post finally brought some comforting to me, and I thank you.

Marg said...

That is so cute. I will have to pay attention to what I am saying to all these cats. I don't think I can purr though. Great post. I will have to go practice. Take care.

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

Good intentions and love are never for nothing!

PURRS!
The Chans

My Mind's Eye said...

Ahhhhhhhh this is so sweet.

Yes I do imitate all the sounds Madi makes to me. She looks at me with loving approval and each sound gets even louder!! Our first cat, Milky-Way, was a mancat of few words. Madi has more than made up for his lack of vocabulary.

Hugs and have a great A-day
Madi and Mom

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Oh YES my mom too try to talk Cat !
She doesn´t do it very well , but she is at least trying :)

Brian's Home Blog said...

Fortunately my Dad is somewhat fluent in feline, but he doesn't purr very well!

LP said...

When LP talks cat we laugh and laugh and laugh 'cause her accent iis terrible! Srsly. But she is very good at translating our language and needs , since she is a translator by trade!
You are lucky to have such a linguistically capable Mama :)

the critters in The Cottage xo

Random Felines said...

mom doesn't try to purr to us - but we have heard her hum some when feeding the babies. She always gets a good laugh when the tinies first start to purr....

Samantha & Mom said...

Mom talks to us all the time and most of the time she is pretty good at it!! But some days we have no clue what she is saying~~
Hugs & kisses,
Clemmie

Marilia said...

You´re so sweet!!!!

Seville at Nerissa's Life said...

I purr because I can... purrs

Rene said...

I've never purred to our gang but I certainly talk to them all the time!

A Tonk's Tail said...

FaRADaY: oh yeah, Mommy does that ALL the time.

Maxwell: really? I wouldn't know since I can't hear. Oh but I feel her voice rumbling when she kisses my ears....

Allie: Oh yes, Max, she does. It's soooooo embarrassing. At least she doesn't do it in PUBLIC though. *sigh*

Hannah and Lucy said...

Hannah and Lucy just wish I'd give their ears a rest sometimes - I talk to them all day!
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

CCL Wendy said...

I believe purring is uniFURSally calming. My sister said she read that cats purr as the same vibration as healing take place.

Now that makes a lot of sense since we always purr for those who are sick.

There must be a whole lot of good vibes at your house with six of you purring!

The Island Cats said...

Y'know, our mom tries to talk "cat" to us. She still needs lots of practice!

Clooney said...

That is such a sweet post, it warmed our hearts on a day of sadness. Great pictures of all the boys...especially the handsome Young Master Archie...kitty kisses to him from his girl.

John Bellen said...

I'm terrible at purring. Fortunately, my cats always know when I'm speaking well of them...

Mama Bear said...

Strangely enough, I do that for my deaf kitties. I purr right into the side of Spike's neck and on the top of Sadie's head, with my nose buried right into their fur. I hope that the vibrations and warm breath tell them that I love them!

Kathy said...

When ever I meet a cat, I love to say "purrr" to them in a whisper! They get so curious and are attracted to me. Then I start with "brown", 'cause some kitties don't meow, they say brown instead! Maybe it's a dialect thing! :)
I'm sure either one always put them at ease, we're all trying to communicate on the same level!

The boys always look so content, so you must be whispering sweet ideas to them!

Annuk said...

Such a sweet post!!!
Hehehe I talk kitty talk to my Zoe and ALL kitties I meet all the time too!!! :)))