Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I found Diva and Tater on Craigslist. They were 9 weeks old at the time, and they were healthy and happy. I brought them into a household with one 4-month-old rescue female kitten from a vet’s office. It was instant adoration! They thought of Gracie as “Mom.” They “nursed” on Gracie, who was a fixed female by then, and she seemed to love it. Both of the kittens purred and purred, loud and clear, whenever they were near Gracie. But when they weren’t near Gracie, I never heard them purr. Ever. Even when they’re being loved on or being fed, they never made a peep. I tried putting my ear to their throats when they were “smiling” — nothing! They are now 10 months old and they’ve long since stopped trying to nurse, so I never get to hear that soothing, calming purr I get from Gracie. I’ve had cats all my life, and I’ve never had one that didn’t purr. Have you ever run into this weird quirk before? Will they always be this way?
~ Charlene
Cats don't always purr when they're delighted. Sometimes they just "smile" and snuggle.
Siouxsie: Good question, Charlene. As a long-time cat caretaker, I’m sure you know about the whys and wherefores of purring, but we’ll explain it briefly for our readers who may not .
Thomas: Purring is an instinct. Kittens are born knowing how to purr, and they do so while nursing. The mother cat purrs right back at them.
Dahlia: Purring is not only a measure of contentment, but it functions as a relaxation tool. Cats can purr when they’re in pain, and sometimes even when they’re dying, because the sound of the purr seems to release endorphins — natural painkillers.
Siouxsie: In any case, because kittens instinctively purr when they’re nursing, it’s not surprising that Diva and Tater would have purred loudly as they were nursing on their big sister, Gracie. Not only was the behavior hard-wired, but it probably soothed them while they were making the transition to their new environment.
Thomas: There are all kinds of purrs, and a wide variation in the loudness of those purrs. Some cats literally have “motors,” which you can hear from feet away, while some purr so quietly as to be inaudible to humans.
Dahlia: Sometimes the only way you can tell a cat is purring is to hold your finger over his throat to see if there’s a vibration.
Siouxsie: Also, just because a cat doesn’t purr, that doesn’t mean he’s unhappy or doesn’t love you. It just means that he doesn’t relate to you in the same way he relates to a mother cat. I’m sitting in Mama’s lap right now and I’m happy as can be — but I’m not purring.
Thomas: If Diva and Tater show you affection in other ways, then they certainly love you and enjoy your company. A “smile” is just as much a gesture of contentment as a purr.
Dahlia: There are times I don’t purr, even when I’m happy and relaxed in Mama’s arms. It’s not because I don’t love her; it’s just that sometimes I want to meditate in blissful silence!
Siouxsie: We don’t know the answer to your question about whether or not they will ever purr audibly.
Thomas: But don’t be surprised if one day when you’re really sick or you’ve hurt yourself badly, they snuggle up next to you and start purring.
Dahlia: A cat’s purr has been measured at a sound frequency of 25 to 150 hertz — a frequency range which has been shown to stimulate bone growth and healing.
Thomas: So, one day you might find yourself the beneficiary of some “purr therapy.”
Dahlia: Even if Diva and Tater never do utter an audible purr, rest assured that if the rest of their behavior says they’re happy, they love you and enjoy your company!
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Is the purr frequency why people’s moods change around their cats if said person is sad or outright depressed?
I have two cats, Boo and Sasha, who are brother and sister. You can Boo’s purr from across the room, while Sasha’s can only be felt, not heard. I think it varies greatly from cat to cat.
I have a calico momma and two of her offspring,both over 5 years old.None of these cats, to my knowledge, has ever purred, although they are all lap cats and very affectionate. Could it be the breed?
2 wonderful, beautiful tabbies, 1 male, 1 female…..he–4 yrs. old & purrs only when happy and/or in a good mood………..she–3-1/2 yrs. old has yet to purr EVER in her short but much-loved life. No problem! We know they have the ability to purr and when they decide to share that with us, we’re here for them with open laps and happy hearts!
My brother and sister cats that I adopted at 11 weeks, a little over a year ago, do not “audibly” purr. I can feel vibrations in his throat, and she likes to nurse my nighgown near my breast and make a purr/chroltle type sound that you can barely hear, otherwise she doesn’t “sound” like she ever purrs.
My 9 yr old male cat, purrs loudly. However, my 8 yr old female, does purr, but you can only tell, when you feel her throat. I know she loves me, even without the audible purring. She follows me everywhere, and is always on my lap when I sit. I think purring varies from cat, to cat.
I’m having the same issue (problem?) I have a 1 year old Persian kitten. I got him at 3 months. He was very well socialized thanks to a fantastic breeder and came to me very happy and purring like crazy!! He let me hold him and he’d suck on my sleeves a lot and purr while doing so. I figured that was his way of nursing. But in the last 4-6 months, he rarely lets me hold him and almost never purrs. We have a single cat household and he seems very happy in all other regards. We spoil him to death and love him very much. He follows me around ALWAYS. He talks to me (lol) etc… I’ve had 2 other cats in my life and they purred constantly and loved being held. It makes me sad that I can’t hold Spooky for more than about 30 seconds before he starts wiggling to escape. When he was younger, I could hold him for 20 minutes or so at a time, at least once a day.
Is it always going to be this way? :(
Our cat has a mostly inaudible purr, which worried us greatly when we got her from the shelter since we thought we were doing something wrong. But we found out that she actually purrs a good deal and you can feel it when you gently put your finger on her voice box. We think that perhaps her voicebox isn’t properly developed because she also cannot miau, but has kept her little kitten “meep”. She is now nicknamed Meeps or, to her friends, The Meepster. She can certainly meep in all sorts of ways and we have long conversations together. Since she seems to be a happy and very affectionate cat, we never bothered to have it checked. In short, just because your cat doesn’t purr audibly, it doesn’t mean he isn’t happy!
Hi, I have a kitten I rescued at 3 weeks old. He’s been here for 3 weeks now, so he’s 6 weeks old. He was very sick and skinny. I nursed him back to health and he’s much better now and seems to like it here with my 70lb pit bull mix how 14 yrs old.
But he had never ever purrs https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7d9a996b5552808f240e3a587d1d3c0e7db231533de7c3e900059fd8862273f8.jpg . Makes me think he doesn’t like it here, it must be better then the construction site in Harlem.