2 ms·

I'm on the side of "vocal tic"; the non-purring cats are intentionally trying not to purr, while purring itself is just relaxed or tired breathing. Sort of like

I'm on the side of "vocal tic"; the non-purring cats are intentionally trying not to purr, while purring itself is just relaxed or tired breathing. Sort of like vocal fry in humans.

saghm 4y ago
That's definitely consistent with one of my cats! (Not that it's inconsistent with the other; she's just a better example of this). She's basically constantly purring while awake unless she's making some other sound, and a lot of the time the other sounds she makes seems like they're almost unintentional; she chirps loudly when jumping (almost like a grunt of effort, a habit I've seen in plenty of other cats as well), or if she's running towards something with interest (e.g. running over to hop on the bed when she wants to cuddle) in a way that almost makes it seem like she's just exhaling hard and not bothering to put in the effort to avoid making a sound while doing so. Sometimes if a sound out in the hallway of the apartment surprises her, she'll jump off of wherever she's currently laying down (usually my desk or a couch) and let out this low, rumbly growl that I could totally believe is just a fight-or-flight reaction (she always chooses "fight"; if something falls off a table or something and makes a loud sound, she always runs _towards_ it as if she's expecting some sort of threat she has to defend us against). The only sound she makes that I'm fairly positive is intention is when she meows sweetly in a plea for pity, which only happens when I'm bringing her wet food bowl over to her dining spot, when she's in her cat carrier on the way to the vet and wants to be let out, or when I'm holding her still so we can trim her claws. Her meows are so different from her regular "chirping" sound that it's hard not to conclude that they're mostly just a way to try to guilt us rather than an actual sign of distress; she's quite effective at the "mimic a human baby sound to elicit sympathy" trick.

I'm on the side of "vocal tic"; the non-purring cats are intentionally trying not to purr, while purring itself is just relaxed or tired breathing. Sort of like vocal fry in humans.

saghm 4y ago

That's definitely consistent with one of my cats! (Not that it's inconsistent with the other; she's just a better example of this). She's basically constantly purring while awake unless she's making some other sound, and a lot of the time the other sounds she makes seems like they're almost unintentional; she chirps loudly when jumping (almost like a grunt of effort, a habit I've seen in plenty of other cats as well), or if she's running towards something with interest (e.g. running over to hop on the bed when she wants to cuddle) in a way that almost makes it seem like she's just exhaling hard and not bothering to put in the effort to avoid making a sound while doing so. Sometimes if a sound out in the hallway of the apartment surprises her, she'll jump off of wherever she's currently laying down (usually my desk or a couch) and let out this low, rumbly growl that I could totally believe is just a fight-or-flight reaction (she always chooses "fight"; if something falls off a table or something and makes a loud sound, she always runs _towards_ it as if she's expecting some sort of threat she has to defend us against). The only sound she makes that I'm fairly positive is intention is when she meows sweetly in a plea for pity, which only happens when I'm bringing her wet food bowl over to her dining spot, when she's in her cat carrier on the way to the vet and wants to be let out, or when I'm holding her still so we can trim her claws. Her meows are so different from her regular "chirping" sound that it's hard not to conclude that they're mostly just a way to try to guilt us rather than an actual sign of distress; she's quite effective at the "mimic a human baby sound to elicit sympathy" trick.