Purring is the most common sound cats make. Yet we know less about it than meowing, chirping, chattering, hissing, and growling. Yes, cats purr when they're content. When yours is curled up in the ...

So, while purring often signals happiness, it can also tell us that a cat needs extra care and attention. The Mechanics of Purring The sound of a purr comes from vibrations in a cat’s throat.

Purring is a language barrier we have yet to surmount. Which, in some ways, is so, so cat. Humans have spent generations breeding dogs to emote in very people-esque ways , using their soulful eyes ...

We associate purring with a happy, contented cat, but studies have shown that cats purr for any number of reasons. Mama cats typically purr when nursing, for example, perhaps to reassure their ...

Cats purr their entire lives, beginning when they are kittens. Science has not yet fully understood why they purr in every circumstance, but biologists, veterinarians, and animal scientists have ...

These purr-like sounds have yet to be acoustically analyzed to see if they’re true purrs or not. Read More About Cats: A version of this story originally ran in 2012; it has been updated for 2025.

Why some cats purr more than others finally decoded. Mixed-breed and rescued cats tend to meow more. Vishwam Sankaran. Friday 30 May 2025 06:38 BST. Comments. Related: Sleeping cat purring.

Bella earned the world record for the loudest purr by a living domestic cat, with a purr that measured 54.59 decibels on Aug. 30, 2023. The record for the loudest purr by a domestic cat ever is ...

Bella now holds the record for loudest purr in a living cat, but she still falls short of the all-time record. That was set in 2011, when Smokey of Northampton, England, showed off a 67.8-decibel ...