Do cats growl?

[galt]

When I gave my 4-month old kitty a piece of chicken, she bit on to it, and then I pulled the remaining piece away so she could chew. Then, she emitted this funny sound that seemed like a growl! Do cats growl? It really sounded like it! She has done it a few times since that piece of chicken, always with food. Does anyone else's cat make that noise?
Also, she makes a quiet, funny little chirrupping sound, like a squirrel or raccoon, when she is racing around playfully. It's cute.

 

[arlyn]

Yup, they growl, and at that age, you mess with their dinner and they're likely to hiss and spit, and possibly swat at you too

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Oh yes, they definitely growl! I brought Oliver home to my parents' house a few times, which is the permanent home of my black lab, Cuddles... Oliver had to stay in my room due to my mom's allergies, but Cuddles would come upstairs with the intention of playing with the kitty... as soon as Oliver heard her collar jingling as she ran up the steps, he would dart under my bed so just his nose and eyes peeked out and would growl and growl (actually rarely hissing) at my pup... I think her size and loudness scares

him, and I'm sure he had bad dog experiences as a stray

 

[galt]

That's so funny! I did not know that cats growl.
Yes, it is probably best to leave kitty alone with her food, Arlyn. Heh heh.
That is interesting, buzbyjlc10, that Oliver would growl rather than hiss at Cuddles! You don't think of cats growling; it's always the dog that growls, and cat that hisses! Or so I thought!

 

[cjandbilly]

They sure do growl. Even my Annie growls, and she's deaf! She growls the most! It's hilarious, especially since she's 5 months old... like her growl is gonna do something!

 

[scamperfarms]

oh yes..Dutchy is a professional growler.

 

[musicteacher]

When Alex was a baby he would growl at Cleo while they ate. (I was a novice cat owner at the time and didn't know that it was better to feed them apart.) I would put food bowls down for both of them at the same time, and Alex would growl and chew at the same time. It was pretty comical to see a seven week old kitten trying to be tough and growl while chewing his food at the same time.

 

[helddown]

Definetely. My Josephine growled at everything under the sun for weeks after we rescued her. Sounds like someone mowing the grass outside!

 

[charcoal]

Most definitely!!

 

[jennyr]

Dushka growls at once if she is displeased - if one of the others disturbs her or comes too close, if I try to take something she has caught away from her, or sometimes just when she is lying in my arms and I move too much! Ellie never growls but Persil is beginning to.

 

[yasmine]

Yasmine growled when another cat walked up outside the door...and it sounded so crazy...i jumped up so fast...it nuts b/c i have never in my life heard a growl like that...i thought it was an alien! lol

 

[purity]

One of my dads cats does this a lot too. If he's eating and the other cat is nearby he'll growl whilst eating, and if you give him a bit of chicken he'll growl at it, pounce on it, and run away with it in his mouth still growling at it

Used to have a female cat that growled if you annoyed her too much, I was only young when she was around so as a kid we used to play with her whether she wanted to or not

 

[cjandbilly]

Annie normally growls when she's gettin after something... like a towel, or a toy that just won't come.

 

[eilcon]

The first time I heard Katie growl was when she was about a year old and I brought Willy home. It was a sound like nothing I'd ever heard before!

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Originally Posted by Galt

That is interesting, buzbyjlc10, that Oliver would growl rather than hiss at Cuddles! You don't think of cats growling; it's always the dog that growls, and cat that hisses! Or so I thought!

Yeah, I guess Oliver thinks his growl is more intimidating than his hiss.... it's funny though because a hiss is more upsetting to Cuddles than a growl - even if a human imitates a cat hiss, it drives her crazy!

 

[bogeyandbetty]

My little betty shocked me so much when she growled at the vets, I didn't know a 9 week old kitty could be so fierce!Lol She does it with food now, but she purrs when she growls, it kinda defeats the purpose!

 

[halfpint]

Oh yes and very loudley sometimes

 

[enigma]

My female growls alot, and at our other poor kitties at our house, she thinks she owns everything.

 

[momof6mews]

I have 3 cats that growl. When somebody comes in and touches Diva's pink boa...she growls so loud! Its soooo funny! I have never seen them growl over food. Just toys LOL.

 

[salem cat]

My little Caroline is so funny! When she finds a hair tie on the floor, she'll run around with it growling like it's a prize kill! The other cats just look at her and wonder....