ISN’T it a wonder that we do not speak human language, yet we make such a remarkable bond with our human friends! I can’t always tell my human in words, but I always know when she is happy or sad, when she is feeling restless, or when she is in a mood to share her cream cake with me or not.

In the same way, she can tell when I am hungry or want to play with a certain toy or when I am sulking about something being denied to me like when I am not allowed to jump on the kitchen counter and they keep shoo-ing me away. She also knows where I like to be scratched best, my favourite food, and when I need extra love and assurance (like when the big black crow sits across the balcony and caws at me twisting his head from side to side, making mean eyes at me).

So for those of you who do not understand why we climb into your lap, tuck our paws under ourselves, or knead with our front paws and begin to purr. Well, we do this when all is well in our world. It is a pure feeling of contentment that we want to share with our human.

Our humans love us when we become soft purring bundles of fur, calm and peaceful; instead of being our more crazy selves scratching furniture, meowing loudly all over the place or running across tea trays or tables laden with fragile trinkets and lamps, creating a noise and havoc like an elephant just ran through the room.

A kitten can purr by the second day of his life to communicate with his mother, who also purrs back. It sounds like a rumble and feels like a vibration. All big cats purr too. As we mature, the meaning of the purr may vary. Sometimes it is to say that we are happy, while at other times we also purr to say we are frightened, and by purring we try to comfort ourselves just like humans sing or hum. We also purr to tell another cat that we are not in the mood to fight or bite and we could be friends.

So when your cat starts to snuggle to you and is purring away, or when you stroke it, comb or brush its fur and it responds by purring, you should know that your cat is smiling at you and you should smile back, greet it and return the reassurance and love that it is sharing with you by cuddling it, rubbing it down and telling it what a wonderful kitty it is.