Conference misery::feline_v1

    Are you sure he doesn't purr, or is it just that you can't
    hear him?   Matzah's purr is inaudible, but if you feel his
    throat, you can feel the little engine running.
    
    Donna

    Cin,
    
    Maybe it has to do with the breeds in his background, you know what
    I mean, just what was brought in to introduce the shorthair gene.
    Our Persians weren't great purrers but they have improved in
    competition with our Himmys.  We have one Himmy female who doesn't
    purr loud or often.  The rest of the crew sound like a locomotive
    warm up yard.
    
    Since kittens are always exploring, and have so much to learn about
    the world, maybe he just hasn't had the time to sit and tell you
    how neat he thinks you are.
    
    Frank

    He really doesn't purr!!!   No little vibes or nothin'!  :-(
    
    His mom and dad are both little purr machines, along with the other
    cats.  In fact, his mom purrs so loud, the vet had a hard time hearing
    her heart beat when I brought them in last month for their yearly
    check ups.  
    
    Tiger chats and talks and makes other "hunting type" noises, especially
    when he's playing with his mouse, his mom does that too!!!  I really
    don't think he's an unhappy kitty, except maybe because there's
    nobody his size to play with.  Think being the only kitten in the
    litter could have anything to do with the lack of purr???  I've
    never had a single kitten litter before.
    
    cin
    

    Call a Ford dealer and have them fix the starter motor... after
    all they do have a lifetime warrantee...
    
    My only single kitten litter was a non-purrer.  We managed to get
    her purring finally, I think by holding her on our chest and humming,
    a lot.  She did finally start purring...
    
    I still have a cat that doesn't purr unless he is intensely unhappy
    (like at the vet).
    
    Dave

    Tunny is a large cat that meows alot, but purrs little.  Actually,
    her purr is very soft and often we can only tell she is purring
    by feeling her stomach vibrate, not her chin,...and she has a big
    stomach!
    
    jan
    

	Sebastian isn't much of a purrer either.  The only time I have
	ever heard his purr reach hearing level was when he was on his
	way to the vet.  He had a urine infection and was quite scared
	and in pain at the time.  Boy did he purr loudly!  It was hard
	to believe it was the same cat.  He kept as close to me as 
	possible the whole bumpy ride in my truck!  
	Most of the time he is real affectionate, but you have to "feel"
	his purr on his belly!

	-Kathi    

I thought cats tend to purr when happy, not scared.  I'm surprised to
hear about the counts of cats purring at the vet.  Perhaps the cat
was actually feeling GOOD, not bad, when purring at vets ?

I find it fascinating that we've heard of TWO non-purring kittens,
both only children.  So quite possibly there's a correlation.

Since very young animals (including humans) are so influencable,
I'm sure an only child kitten would have a totally different
personality than one in a litter of many.  So lack of purring is probably
only one of quite a few differences you'll notice when comparing
single kittens with ones from multiple-kitten litters.

Our grown son cat and his mom are both loud purrers, as well as paw
kneaders.

I've heard claim elsewhere in this file that cats only purr as nursing
kittens or around humans, but never alone and never with fellow adult
cats.  I find this hard to believe.  Any other people have info ?

For instance, our grown son and mom sometimes lick each other's neck
simultaneously.  (I love to watch this), and I bet they purr while
they do that.  I would!

/Eric

    I've read some theories about when and why cats purr. From my own
    experience, if they purr at all they'll purr when contented, and
    some will purr when scared. 
    
    Chiun, our big cuddly Balinese-type, has lost some of his purr volume
    since having a couple of run-ins with cars, but he purrs semi-audibly
    when being petted, when sleeping, and when being talked to fondly
    across the room. ("What a *handsome* boy!", etc.) He doesn't purr
    when being examined by the vet, but when he was recuperating from
    his accidents he would purr - groggily - when I petted him. 
    
    Abigail, our long-haired, stump-tailed black and white, purrs loudly
    when petted (she rolls on the floor and waves her feet in the air,
    rubs, writhes, the whole nine yards); she also purrs loudly when
    at the vet's, but I can detect a different note to it when it's
    a "fear purr" rather than a happy one. It doesn't seem to matter
    whether she's being poked, petted, or just held on that strange
    table in that strange place - she purrs in a desperate sort of way.
    
    One of the theories that seems to make sense is that purring is
    a kind of kitten sonar, used to let the mom-cat know that all the
    little ones are attached and feeding. Because it is used in such
    a warm, comfortable situation, purring - like paw-kneading - becomes
    associated with comfort, and grown cats will purr when cozy. They
    *may* purr when upset as a means of either consoling themselves,
    like "whistling past a graveyard," or perhaps as a way of asking
    Mom for help...
    
    -b

    There are many reasons why cats purr.
    
    Happiness/contentment is the best known.
    
    Trying to "play up" to another cat is another (just as a politician
    will glad-hand you).
    
    Relief from stress is another (mamma cats during labor often purr
    between each kitten they deliver).
    
    Some may purr when nervous.
    
    Cats are cats.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

    I don't know about cats only purring around humans: cougars purr.
    
    Our kittens always learned to purr at the mothers' breasts.  Mothers
    were usually purring too, when the kittens would nurse.