How does my cat stop purring?

My cat, a British Shorthair, purred a lot as a kitten. As he grew older he purred less and less. Now, at one and a half, he rarely purrs. What might be the problem? How do I get him to purr again? Thanks for suggestions.

I don't know, but my adult purrs ALL the time when happy (which is most of the time, she even purrs when getting a bath! )

There isn't really a problem-- purring frequency isn't related to general contentment with life. Kittens purr more often because they do it with mommie cats when nursing and grooming, with each other to play, etc.

It's sort of a kitteny thing that gets rarer in general. Sometimes it's even bad... a lot of cats purr when they're in extreme pain.

If you really want to get him to purr, wait til he snuggles up to you and is calm and give him lots of petting and you might get one. Other than that... you'll have as much luck trying to get him to bark.

Seb hasnt purred in years, he is 11 yrs now. Daphne, the kitten, purrs like a little motorboat though. I figure she may outgrow it at some point.

This might not be the case if he used to purr loudly, but maybe he's just purring very quietly? I used to think Mosi didn't purr until I rested my head on his body one day and heard him - I never hear him otherwise. Sometimes I can only feel the vibrations and there's virtually no sound.

I say rub his sides really well till he purrs, then make 3 wishes !

Radar purred really loud when he was a little kitten, you could hear it from another room! Now you have to put a hand on his side or bend close to just hear his quiet purring. When he opens his mouth to lick you can hear his purring coming out of his mouth though!

Kitten purring can be extremely loud. I agree that it could be that he still purrs, just not as loud.

Gizmo was a little motor boat when he was a kitten but at 1 years old now he hardly purrs at all. Sometimes when he's kneading his blanket I think I can hear him purr a little bit but it's really, really low. I mean I have to put my ear right up next to his head to hear it and even then I'm not entirely sure if he's purring.

He seems happy though so I don't really worry about it.

~Shauna

I'm so glad I saw this! I have been worrying because my boys don't seem to purr. Now and then I can lay my head on their bodies and hear it.

It scared me because I thought they might not feel well and THAT was the reason.

I'm a paranoid mama.

One of my cats does purr, but you can barely hear it! It drives me nuts because I love the sound of his purr! haha just listen maybe you don't hear it very well!

Originally Posted by kittyluver27

One of my cats does purr, but you can barely hear it! It drives me nuts because I love the sound of his purr! haha just listen maybe you don't hear it very well!

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I can hear when I put my head to his body and listen carefully.

I guess that explains why I say Zoey still purrs like a kitten, you just look at her and she will purr. my other mostly purr when you snuggle them and for some reason Nuit only purrs when she is in the bathroom and can jump on the toilet seat and sink (also the only she really likes me petting her at all!)

Originally Posted by batgirl2good

I can hear when I put my head to his body and listen carefully.

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Yeah that's the only way I'm able to hear his purr. His purr is soo pretty and I really wish he would purr louder! haha