News Briefs for the Week of September 23, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Cat's Purr May Speed Healing
While scientists recently discovered how cats purr, why still remains a mystery. However, the Fauna Communications Research Institute (FCRI) thinks they may have discovered the answer.
After recording the purrs of domestic house cats, as well as ocelots, cheetahs, servals, and pumas at the Cincinnati Zoo, the FCRI has found that feline purrs fall within the same sound frequencies as those that have been showing great promise in speeding bone injuries in human medicine-that is, between 20 to 50 Hz. The FCRI hypothesizes that the cat's purr is actually a mechanism that enables the cat to speed her own healing. Veterinarians have long noted that broken bones heal quickly in cats. And both veterinarians and cat owners have noticed that cats will purr when they are injured or in distress. And there's more: Every cat owner has noticed that kitty spends an awful lot of time sleeping-so, how then does she keep in shape? The FCRI theorizes that purring is also a way cats keep their bones and muscles in good condition while they rest.
While the FCRI's hypothesis is not definitively proven, they are continuing their research and recordings of cat purrs as medical science continues to discover therapeutic applications for acoustic waves in canine, equine, and human medicine. In the meantime, if you've got a headache, try leaning your head against your purring kitty -- it may work wonders.
- Pets May Prevent Allergies
Not only do pets give your child unconditional love and companionship, it's looking as if they may give her beneficial early exposure to bacteria that can protect her against common allergies later in life.
In a joint study done by the Medical College of Georgia, Wayne State University and the Henry Ford Health System, researchers found that children raised with pets were only a third as likely as children raised petless to develop allergic responses by the age of six or seven. According to Dennis R. Ownby, MD, the lead researcher and a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, it may be that early exposure to certain types of bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, that resides in the digestive tracts of cats and dogs could affect development of a child's immune system.
"If additional research supports this work, then it's worth looking at the question on a molecular basis. Is there something in these bacteria that we could separate out and give to children...in their first year of life that will produce this same effect?" Ownby asks.
What the researchers didn't address was exactly how the bacteria was passed to the children, but we suggest perhaps frequent face-licking may be the answer.
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