I use PSP to crop, clean up photos, and do artwork to photos. I split the channels to look for evidence and found several blocky sections on the splits as evidence of editing. I used a photo of Mr. Spunky as comparison and saw no such "blocks of pixels" on his photo. This could also have been a low-density photo, but that would not account for obvious editing "blocks" that do not blend in well with the surrounding areas. The person when copying and pasting used rectangles instead of free-form areas. I can post some of my findings at photobucket if you are interested.

Daisy's whiskers are also messed up in the photo. The bad leg appears to continue under her front leg and extend. It also appears to have been edited out at that point. It looks like dirt on the blanket.

As far as the purring:
Find below many interesting articles on why cats purr. I like the Wikipedia article best and have heard one of the newer theories recently on a science program. One theory is that the low frequencies of purring may be beneficial on a cellular level (like kitty meditation or yoga) for physical healing. (I swear that cats are aliens or at least a superior species.) It works on us, too. (Which might be one way to get us to help a distressed cat.)

My favorite reason and one I know I have observed is that the cat is communicating to us that he/she wants or need our attention or help. Logically this would support why an injured cat purrs. My cats have purred to me several times for the last 20 years upon entering a room. Most of the time it has been to get my attention. One particular time, RB Maggie woke me at 4 AM because she was hungry by purring in my face. She wouldn't quit. I got up to check out of frustration and discovered the food bowl was empty. Fill food bowl; get back to sleep.

Perhaps the purr is like "Aloha", a multi-purpose greeting with interpretation dependent upon context.

Anne

Purring links

pet-tips at pets.ca

cats at about.com

wikipedia article -interesting