Can cats control when they purr?

Our purrs loudly when she seems happy but does she have to actively choose to purr or does it happen on automatically, like when a human smiles?

I’d guess that its involuntary.

When they’re hot, it’s like the radiator fan on a car. 😀

I don’t think so.

I reckon ours gets annoyed with his purring, when he’s pretending to be in a bad mood, if we stroke him he’ll start purring and seem annoyed that it spoiled his ploy.

I think it’s involuntary too….

I reckon ours gets annoyed with his purring, when he’s pretending to be in a bad mood, if we stroke him he’ll start purring and seem annoyed that it spoiled his ploy.

This is brilliant 🙂

My cat purrs and swishes her tail at the same time. Not sure what that is about.

My cat purrs and swishes her tail at the same time. Not sure what that is about.

The swishing of the tail denotes “indecision” and the purring is to convey friendliness. Cats will purr even when they are unhappy, such as when they are in pain.

My cat purrs and swishes her tail at the same time. Not sure what that is about

Perhaps the action of the purr has caused a breaking of the wind and she’s wafting to dispell it

I think cats can control it, it’s vibration of a vein or artery in their neck near their airway IIRC?

Years ago, we had a ginger cat at home. When he was about 10 months old, her got run over outside our house. We found him bleeding and unable to stand. He was purring…

He was virtually blinded in the accident (giant pupils all the time and bumping into stuff) Lived 15 more years like that and still managed to catch mice in the early days

I think it’s a voluntary response. They do it to try and hide whatever their current evil intentions are.

They do it completely randomly I reckon. Just to keep you on your toes. Your cats reading this thread, you know? And laughing/purring/mocking you. While possibly plotting your death

i believe cats dont purr because they are happy nessecarily. Read ages ago that they do it even when pissed off sometimes. Mine certainly did.

Our old Tom used to purr just before it launched at you with all its teeth and claws, then after savaging you, would carry on purring as if nothing had happened!

Cat you cannot label them, they are what they are!

Allegedly cats have no special physical attributes that allow them to purr they all do it even big cats.

My understanding is that it is sign of submission in that they are either contented/relaxed or that they need help and are willing to let you help

A swishing tail means anxiety.

claw marks on the back of your hands means you’ve tried to move them from their favourite spot in the sun while they were asleep.

The swishing of the tail denotes “indecision” and the purring is to convey friendliness. Cats will purr even when they are unhappy, such as when they are in pain.

^this^

Mine purrs so loudly the vet can’t listen to her heart/breathing at the checkups. So he runs the tap in the surgery, and she stops, so they must have some control over it…

Allegedly cats have no special physical attributes that allow them to purr they all do it even big cats.

Big cats don’t purr, by definition. Big cats roar instead.

(Except cheetahs, sneaky buggers)

Here’s a cougar purring for you Cougar

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W461djpQl2s[/video]

And an adult one in case you think it’s only cougar cubs

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5LDbqOJNtM[/video]

Isn’t it something to do with when they are feeding from their mother?
The vibration triggers a response or something?

That would be what they’re doing when they’re marking time. Allegedly the treading action is what stimulates milk because cats don’t have lips like we do.

Another allegation is that they don’t grow up mentally they always think of themselves as kittens. Just bigger kittens.

The purring is just a carrier signal. Underneath that is the actual communication that only cats can hear because it operates in the evil spectrum.

Purr, purr… “All is well, the dog is locked in the hall and I’ve shat in the big one’s tie drawer”

Other cats can hear it 14 miles away.

Here’s a cougar purring for you Cougar

Cougars aren’t big cats.

As already said cats also purr when injured, so purring certainly isn’t a sign of ‘happiness’. A ‘submissiveness’ signal sounds about right.

Cougars aren’t big cats.

Well I wouldn’t have classed them as such but since you classed cheetahs (which can weigh less) as big cats, then I thought it was reasonable to do so.

(Although many claim that big cats such as tigers and lions can purr, depending on your definition of purring – as they can only do it whilst the exhaling not also when inhaling, as smaller cats do)

Cougars aren’t big cats

Well they’re not exactly small are they?

…unless of course you are referring to the “other” type of cougar. I believe that these cougars purr also.

Well I wouldn’t have classed them as such but since you classed cheetahs (which can weigh less) as big cats, then I thought it was reasonable to do so.

Yeah, cheetahs aren’t either, I was misremembering.

I had my first cat when I was 18. Hitherto I knew nothing about them. When my little Zero started purring I was convinced he was going to explode. I’d never heard of purring. I stood back about the same distance firefighters give hot acetalyne cylinders!

He didn’t explode. He was just appy.

claw marks on the back of your hands means you’ve tried to move them from their favourite spot in the sun while they were asleep.

Back in the 70s, when your neighbourhood was your extended family and children left the house and could ‘play out’, my toddler age brother came home with multiple cuts and scratches on his back, butt and legs. He didn’t really have an explanation for it and my parents were frantic with worry that he was been bullied or abused in some way.

A few days later they saw him playing out again – and watched him approach a cat, pick it up by its tail, swing it over his shoulder and ‘take it for walk’

Our cat has a peculiar fascination for my wife, she gets up on her lap then crawls up her chest purring and kneading with her claws then sits dribbling and staring fixedly into my wife’s eyes. Very odd behaviour; we don’t know what she used to do in her old life before she became a stray. More worryingly when she gets on people’s laps she often turns away, arches her back, lifts her tail and “presents” her bum like cats do when they are being mated. It’s not nice having a smelly cat’s bum shoved in your face.

Our cat does a weird brief half purr/half meow (I think of it as a cat “mmyeahhh, like that!!”) if you start stroking her when she’s not expecting it. If you then take your hand away as long as you wait an appropriate length of time (eg. 10 seconds) if you put your hand back she’ll do it again. If you’re too hasty (eg. 5 seconds) she won’t do it. It’s uncanny – that almost does seem like it’s involuntary, like she has to wait an unspecified amount of time before she’s reset her systems to do it again.

Think I may be thinking about this too much 😉

Cats purr to make their staff fell worthwhile…..

gets up on her lap then crawls up her chest purring and kneading with her claws then sits dribbling and staring fixedly into my wife’s eyes

Our cat does that to me too. I think it’s because I’m usually the one asleep on teh sfa, so somewhere soft & warm to sleep (woken up many a time to find the furry lump asleep on my chest). I think the climbing up & staring is his way of saying ‘I want to go to sleep. why are you not asleep so I can sleep on you?’

My cat purrs and nibbles my ears while I’m asleep. He loves eating ear plugs and can extract them from my ear with his teeth whilst I’m lying there without biting me – very skilled little boy. Costs me a fortune in ear plugs mind….