The cat does not merely experience contentment, he exudes it. You cannot be in the presence of a contented cat and not have some of that contentment rub off on you. Which surely is a good part of the reason we love cats so.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (b. 1941) American author

The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey Into the Feline Heart, ch. 3 (2002)
    (Source)