My Cat Does Not Purr- EVER

[beazelsmom]

Hello All,

 I have a 2 1/2 year old neutered male cat, who does not and has never purred.  

  Some back story, as I have no idea if this is behavioral or physical.  He was adopted as a three month old kitten from a bad home that he was in for a couple weeks, they had picked him up from a feral colony and decided they didn't want him after all.  He is a lovely black part Siamese, with a kinky tail and yellow and blue eyes.

  He is loving and has a huge personality and makes a range of sounds, which are very different from the meows of his brother and sister, in fact he is a bit of an oddball all around. .  He mews like a small kitten,  and chirps when he wants to be held up to see something, he loves to touch things that would normally be out of reach.  He has no idea why the other two cats scratch and gently rubs his paw pads on door frames to mimic their behavior. Since he does not scratch his claws get long fast, so he chews them off if I am slow to clip them, he likes them clipped and will bring them out and spread his toes when he sees the nail clippers.   When he is at play he spits and hisses, in a playful manner. So I know he can produce noise, just very different noise than our other two cats.  He also seems to think a hiss is a play sound and not a back off noise, which can cause trouble with his sister, who prefers him anywhere but near her.

He has never purred, when he is being lovey he makes a noise, but is is a breathy grunt sound no rumble.  The breathy grunt can be whisper quiet to quite loud, so I assume this is his "purr"?   

Mostly I am wondering if anyone has encountered this, and if it is behavioral, is he unhappy or depressed?  If its physical, should the vet know about it, could it cause other problems?

Thank you for reading.

 

[margd]

He sounds normal to me - cats vary tremendously in the noises they make.   He certainly doesn't sound unhappy or depressed but like a happy, playful cat secure in his home.  As for a physical explanation that might portend future problems - I'd ask the vet about that.  I suspect everything is fine.   This is just the way your little guy vocalizes.  He really sounds very sweet.

About purrs - many cats don't make any sound at all when they purr.  The only way I know when my Chula purrs is to actually touch her throat and feel the vibrations.  I've had other cats whose purrs could shoot me out of a deep sleep.  The breathy grunt sound without a rumble is a new one on me, but I suspect some of our members are quite familiar with the effect!  

BTW:  Welcome to TCS!  When you get a chance, why not post a little about your kitties (including photos) in the New Cats on the Block forum?  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/20/new-cats-on-the-block

 

[Primula]

Hello All,

 I have a 2 1/2 year old neutered male cat, who does not and has never purred.  

  Some back story, as I have no idea if this is behavioral or physical.  He was adopted as a three month old kitten from a bad home that he was in for a couple weeks, they had picked him up from a feral colony and decided they didn't want him after all.  

If his mother was feral & presumably birthed outside, she taught her kittens to be silent for fear of predators.

 

[floofnugget]

I'm no expert, but I did know friend's cats that rarely, if ever, purred. It seemed like an individual cat thing. They were perfectly healthy, and fine.

My cat, on the other hand, almost purrs constantly and I also get worried there's something wrong with her.

 

[DreamerRose]

I have a cat like Chula, who purrs so quietly that you usually can't hear her. You can feel her purring by touching her chest or throat. It sounds like you have a very unique cat.

 

[doreet]

FERAL CATS---my sis's kttens were ferall--when yrs. olddr, they eecaped out of house, ran away permanently. non-feral kttens and cats never ran away.---feral cats often never "tame" we found out--even with tender loving care.Were very surprised, cuz cat shelters try to get feral cats & kittens adopted, never told us this.---natch!!  they don't tell you a LOT OF THINGS..---like giving you cats with disase, fleas, all kinda problems. --sick cats. watch out!  never adopting feral or  "pre-owned" cats again! phoo!