Does a purring cat mean a happy cat?

[BigToque]

My cat purrs all the time when you show it attention, even when I play fight with him and he seems like he's pissed off and is actually attacking me pretty viciously.

I've always associated purring with being happy, but I wonder if it can mean other things as well.

Thoughts?

 

[Shadowknight]

I've read that cats will purr when they're happy, mad, or feeding milk to their kittens.

 

[Quasmo]

Yes it's happy, when it attacks you viciously, it is still being friendly. It's having fun. Mine doesn't stop purring. Damn cat wakes me up by head butting me, and cleaning my beard.

 

[Xyo II]

Originally posted by: Quasmo
Yes it's happy, when it attacks you viciously, it is still being friendly. It's having fun. Mine doesn't stop purring. Damn cat wakes me up by head butting me, and cleaning my beard.

Oh man Garfield flashbacks.

 

[Vic]

Cats can purr whenever they feel any strong emotion, even fear. I pretty sure the OP's cat is just happy and playing though. Stop when it wants to stop just to be sure.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Also note that it is unique to domesticated cats. Feral cats generally won't purr, because there is little to no reward for purring in the wild. At least that's my understanding. I don't have one, but I like them.

 

[Chaotic42]

Yes, unless it swallowed your cell phone. In that case, you have a voice mail.

 

[sixone]

Mostly, it means they're happy. But cats will also purr when they're in a lot of pain. Body language, FTW!!

 

[Dumac]

Likw others stated, domestic cats often purr when feeling any overwhelming emotion, whether it be joy, fear, or anger.

In this case, I would think your cat was just happy to play

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Yes, unless it swallowed your cell phone. In that case, you have a voice mail.

ROFL.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Also note that it is unique to domesticated cats. Feral cats generally won't purr, because there is little to no reward for purring in the wild. At least that's my understanding. I don't have one, but I like them.

I have one at present and have had numerous over the years.

They do purr.

In fact... where the b/f works, there is a colony of like 20+ feral cats in the shop, 5 of them are in the garage. They all purr.

the feral i have here... she purred on the day she came in the back door, borderline death from illness and starvation. She has been with me for quite some time now, but she is like a roulette wheel. she can be purring away, in ectasy from being petted.. then WHAM she will just attack and sink her teeth in down to the gums. Never know when it is coming or what sets it off... it is funny, really.

But anyway... yes, feral cats do purr.

 

[Andyb23]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Also note that it is unique to domesticated cats. Feral cats generally won't purr, because there is little to no reward for purring in the wild. At least that's my understanding. I don't have one, but I like them.

I have one at present and have had numerous over the years.

They do purr.

In fact... where the b/f works, there is a colony of like 20+ feral cats in the shop, 5 of them are in the garage. They all purr.

the feral i have here... she purred on the day she came in the back door, borderline death from illness and starvation. She has been with me for quite some time now, but she is like a roulette wheel. she can be purring away, in ectasy from being petted.. then WHAM she will just attack and sink her teeth in down to the gums. Never know when it is coming or what sets it off... it is funny, really.

But anyway... yes, feral cats do purr.

Do you live in South Jersey or North Jersey?

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Andyb23

Originally posted by: KarenMarie

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Also note that it is unique to domesticated cats. Feral cats generally won't purr, because there is little to no reward for purring in the wild. At least that's my understanding. I don't have one, but I like them.

I have one at present and have had numerous over the years.

They do purr.

In fact... where the b/f works, there is a colony of like 20+ feral cats in the shop, 5 of them are in the garage. They all purr.

the feral i have here... she purred on the day she came in the back door, borderline death from illness and starvation. She has been with me for quite some time now, but she is like a roulette wheel. she can be purring away, in ectasy from being petted.. then WHAM she will just attack and sink her teeth in down to the gums. Never know when it is coming or what sets it off... it is funny, really.

But anyway... yes, feral cats do purr.

Do you live in South Jersey or North Jersey?

less than 2 miles from Giant Stadium.
Northern, NJ.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Also note that it is unique to domesticated cats. Feral cats generally won't purr, because there is little to no reward for purring in the wild. At least that's my understanding. I don't have one, but I like them.

No, all feral cats purr, up to as big as cheetahs (cats bigger that that use the same vocal organ in order to roar).

 

[Insane3D]

Generally, yes. When they are purring, they are happy, or expressing contentment. However, they do also purr in time of danger and high stress from what I've read...

Edit:

[/quote] Humans seem to be fascinated by animals who can do things that we cannot. For example, HowStuffWorks has answers to questions about camel humps, Hawk vision, night vision, fish gills and so on.

And so it is with cats purring. We cannot purr, so we are interested in how cats can do it. It turns out that domestic cats, some wild cats like pumas and mountain lions (in general, any big cat that cannot roar) and even raccoons are all able to purr. Humans happen to smile and laugh when they are happy, and dogs wag their tails. So it is not unusual for an animal to have a physical reaction to happiness. Cats show happiness by purring. They may also purr when startled or upset.

It turns out that cats have special wiring! The wiring travels from the brain to the muscles in the voice box, and this wiring is able to vibrate the muscles so that they act as a valve for air flowing past the voice box. The muscles work both during inhalation and exhalation, which creates the impression that cats can purr continuously. The air passes through the valve, which opens and closes rapidly to create the purring sound. [/quote]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question394.htm

 

[Feldenak]

One of my wife's cats only stops purring when he's sleeping. He just walks around purring all the damn time.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Feldenak
One of my wife's cats only stops purring when he's sleeping. He just walks around purring all the damn time.

He's happy all the time!

 

[imported_Devine]

When they pur they are using their mind control to brainwash you into thinking that they are better than dogs so that they will have superior numbers to overwhelm the dogs in their final epic showdown. The cats biggest enemy is Bob Barker and his vendetta against them. All I gotta say is they had something to do with him retiring, they got to him somehow I just know it.

 

[lyssword]

Originally posted by: Devine
When they pur they are using their mind control to brainwash you into thinking that they are better than dogs so that they will have superior numbers to overwhelm the dogs in their final epic showdown. The cats biggest enemy is Bob Barker and his vendetta against them. All I gotta say is they had something to do with him retiring, they got to him somehow I just know it.

 

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Yes, unless it swallowed your cell phone. In that case, you have a voice mail.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: Feldenak
One of my wife's cats only stops purring when he's sleeping. He just walks around purring all the damn time.

It's probably tied into how your drug stash is always smaller than you last remember seeing it

 

[jkersenbr]

I've always understood purring to generally be a sign of contentment.

I was also told by a veterinarian one time that how fast a cat begins to purr when petted is a sign of how "good" (or friendly the cat is). I've had cats in the past that you could pick up and pet for 20 minutes before they'd purr -- like they were grumpy. The cat I have right now starts purring in about 3 seconds. She's a great cat

(BTW, feral cats do purr. My cat was just a wild barn cat that we "rescued" and turned into a house cat. She purred from day one.)

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
I've read that cats will purr when they're happy, mad, or feeding milk to their kittens.

Yeah, if I had a bunch of little mouths suckling on my teats I'd purr too. :shocked:

 

[40Hands]

My cat will purr when she's kind of pissed off that someone picked her up. It doesn't help her get put down...

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Yes, unless it swallowed your cell phone. In that case, you have a voice mail.