Prayers for Benny...

[Breheart]

Got a hold of his owner. Apparently, her patio door blew open and he decided to jump off their 4th floor balcony while she was out. He broke his jaw and has some contusions to his lungs but is fine otherwise. I am relieved. Poor Benny will have his jaw set but hopefully will make a full recovery. He was walking around a purring after the incident. Leave it to a Savannah to try to be superman.

Sounds like he knew exactly what to do to comfort his mom, with the purring Glad to hear the injuries were not as bad as expected, I hope for a quick recovery!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Very glad he'll be okay... he and Babbage make quite the superhero kitten pair :-(

Does the jaw require surgery? How bad is that... it sounds terrible to me :-(

 

[Dantes]

Sounds like he knew exactly what to do to comfort his mom, with the purring Glad to hear the injuries were not as bad as expected, I hope for a quick recovery!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-cats-purr

"Scientists have demonstrated that cats produce the purr through intermittent signaling of the laryngeal and diaphragmatic muscles. Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.

This association between the frequencies of cats' purrs and improved healing of bones and muscles may provide help for some humans. Bone density loss and muscle atrophy is a serious concern for astronauts during extended periods at zero gravity. Their musculo-skeletal systems do not experience the normal stresses of physical activity, including routine standing or sitting, which requires strength for posture control.

Because cats have adapted to conserve energy via long periods of rest and sleep, it is possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy. The durability of the cat has facilitated the notion that cats have "nine lives" and a common veterinary legend holds that cats are able to reassemble their bones when placed in the same room with all their parts. Purring may provide a basis for this feline mythology. The domestication and breeding of fancy cats occurred relatively recently compared to other pets and domesticated species, thus cats do not display as many muscle and bone abnormalities as their more strongly selected carnivore relative, the domestic dog. Perhaps cats' purring helps alleviate the dysplasia or osteoporotic conditions that are more common in their canid cousins. Although it is tempting to state that cats purr because they are happy, it is more plausible that cat purring is a means of communication and a potential source of self-healing."

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Cute quote! May explain why my Babbage's broken paw is healing so fast because he has an amazing purr that he uses frequently during day or night

 

[Dantes]

I also stumbled upon this...check out the cats at the top lol I'm not sure of its credibility (compared to scientific american) but it sounds pretty interesting: http://www.animalvoice.com/catpurrP.htm

 

[Wyldthingz]

Awww, I feel like he's a little extended family member. So glad he's doing better.

He's Superman, you have Batman.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Interesting at the very least... I do like that it had plentiful real references, and also admitted the limitations of the work in terms of proving the purr hypothesis, how to find a cat that doesn't purr for example which is needed to show that purring does do good. But if I break a limb, it seems I need to get one of my cats to lay across it and purr! LOL!

 

[Wyldthingz]

That is an interesting article. I don't know. I assumed it is a self-comforting mechanism like sucking ones thumb or sucking a blanket which my daughter does when she doesn't feel well.

 

[Dantes]

He's Superman, you have Batman.

Awww! The superheroes! I hope Robin is doing well too!

 

[Dantes]

Interesting at the very least... I do like that it had plentiful real references, and also admitted the limitations of the work in terms of proving the purr hypothesis, how to find a cat that doesn't purr for example which is needed to show that purring does do good. But if I break a limb, it seems I need to get one of my cats to lay across it and purr! LOL!

I've been doing some research into voices lately (I used to study music) and it was interesting that they all seem to purr at similar frequencies or multiples of the same frequency. And that's regardless of what type of cat...big or small.

I have a paper cut on my thumb...time to do some research.