Recording the Healing Power of Cat Purr
Outside of Santa Barbara, musician and healer Sudama Mark Kennedy lived in Rattlesnake Canyon with his mystical cat Nunu. Nunu had a thunderous purr. Master sarod player Montino Bourbon said to Sudama “we need to record that purr.” Montino returned with his hi-tech recorder and Nunu responded to the enthusiasm with six minutes of mighty purr.
Montino Bourbon
Eleven years later, Sudama and I (producer and musician Joss Jaffe) brought the recording into the studio with the intention of making the Cat Purr composition. Remarkably, Nunu purred perfectly in B flat. Not a whisker out of tune.
Nunu: the cat who purrs in B flat.
The Power of the Purr
It turns out that the purring of the cat is a healing phenomenon. Lions, tigers, panthers, cheetahs and little cats too all purr in the range of 20-150 Hz. This remarkable resonance can heal bones, reduce stress, and assist in a healthier life for the cat.
Because a cat can be such an unpredictable creature, it has evolved a steady state vibration that keeps its entire body in optimum condition. For a cat, purring is an evolutionary “default setting” that allows healing rest between sudden bursts of activities such as pouncing on a mouse, leaping over a wall or climbing a tree. In contrast to these activities, the cat will sleep for hours and then eat. This range of cat behavior finds its balance in the vibratory field of purring!
Scientists recently discovered how a cat purrs. A sound wave is created between the cat’s free-floating hyoid bone (suspended below the skull like ours), its vocal cords, and its diaphragm. This sound wave arises naturally as it purrs. This is not only healing for the cat, but for others as well. As a result of purring, cats rarely have joint issues. Listening to cat purr can heal our joints as well. The purr has a healing effect on many of our conditions.
Good Vibes: The Healing Power of Cat Purr
A purring cat creates a meditative standing wave. The vibrating frequencies affect our body and mind. This calming sound relaxes us like the ringing of a Tibetan bowl or the ambient strings of a tamboura. Having a purring cat in your lap mysteriously opens your heart and brings you into a cozy loving resonance.
Healing Sounds of a Cat Purr
Petting a purring cat calms your nerves. The various frequencies affect us in different ways. The healing power of cat purr is seen in a variety of metabolic markers. Cat purr is beneficial for lowering your blood pressure, reducing your risk of heart attack (by as much as 40%), promoting the healing of infections and swelling, and is helpful for the repair of soft tissue in the case of ligament, tendons and muscle injuries. Even if you are allergic to cats, the recording of a cat purr can still offer these benefits.
Cat Music
Cat purr is musical. Currently there is a huge interest in medicinal music. In recent years, the rates of people looking for ambient, meditative and calming music has skyrocketed. The vibrations contained in a cat’s purring are a perfect addition to this widely popular art form.
How would one include cat purr in music? We asked ourselves that question and created a cat raga. With the cat purr acting as a drone, we tuned and performed along with Nunu’s frequency. In this case, Nunu the cat purred in B flat. The 44-minute version of the song can be heard here in this video released by Sudama and Joss’ record label Be Why Music. The instrumentation involved in Purrfection 44, including electric sarode (the ‘trode), flute, and tablas sounds mischievously like a cat.
Speaking of musical cats, the cheetah is remarkable in that it only purrs at specific frequencies: 25Hz, 50Hz, 100Hz, 125Hz & 150Hz. Amazingly this is a Major Chord. This is one cool kitty.
The Musical Purr of the Cheetah
Frequency & Musical Interval
25 Hz Fundamental (tonic)
50 Hz Octave
100 Hz Octave
125 Hz Major 3rd (just intonation)
150 Hz Major 5th (just intonation)
The Magical Cat
In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped for their meditative awesomeness. They were believed to be spiritual creatures, thought of as protectors and able to heal illness. They show up in the hieroglyphics as a mystical being in ancient Egyptian life. The deity Mut was also depicted as a cat and in the company of a cat. Throughout time and around the world, cats have been linked to magic. They are still linked to magic even today such as when a black cat crosses your path. Cats have long been symbols of independence, creativity, courage, self-confidence, relaxation and peace. This cat magic is available for you as well.
“A cat can make you feel well rested when you’re tired or turn a rage into a calm just by sitting on your lap. His very nearness is a healing song.” – Shannon Hale
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” – Jules Renard
“Holding this soft, small living creature in my lap this way, though, and seeing how it slept with complete trust in me, I felt a warm rush in my chest. I put my hand on the cat’s chest and felt his heart beating. The pulse was faint and fast, but his heart, like mine, was ticking off the time allotted to his small body with all the restless earnestness of my own.” – Haruki Murakami
Sudama Mark Kennedy
About Sudama Mark Kennedy
Sudama Mark Kennedy, whose father was once a hostage in Iran, grew up in many cultures as a diplomat’s son. A creative writing/poetry major at Princeton, Sudama discovered that his electromagnetic signature had a documentable effect on machines and living beings. As a result, he has helped thousands of people heal themselves in highly creative ways. A world music pioneer in the 90s, multi-instrumentalist Sudama transmits his celestial frequencies through “living word,”sound, heart songs, and kirtan.
Joss Jaffe is a Vocalist, Tabla player, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer. He has 4 albums of original music. His most recent album “Meditation Music” debuted at #3 on the Billboard New Age Chart on October 4th 2019. He has collaborated with Grammy Nominated Artists Jai Uttal, Silvia Nakkach and Dave Stringer as well as Grammy Award winning Reggae artist Mykal Rose of Black Uhuru.