Zorro does purr, silently

I've always thought my cat, Zorro, didn't purr. I can remember him purring twice, for maybe 5-10 seconds, when he was young. Haven't heard a purr since. Lately though, I've noticed he is vibrating like a cell phone set on vibrate. If my fingernails touch his teeth, I can feel the vibration. I can also feel the vibration, when I brush him on the throat, with the back of my fingers. Also, if I stop on his shoulder blades, when I'm petting him, I can feel the vibrations. Absolutely no sound though.

Zorro is my first and last cat, so I am not very experienced. Is this common? It's very satisfying, to know he must be content. Don't know what I would do, if Zorro wasn't in my life.

oldgrandpajack

Its not common as far as I know, and I have had a cat pretty much constantly as long as I can remember. I have had one cat who did that and it started rather oddly. I was petting the cat and it was purring very loudly when suddenly, the only way I can describe it is she made a shudder and then sounded "broken". Her purr sounded "backwards" is about the only way I can describe it. Next time she purred it was very very quiet but you could still feel it.

Sounds like your cat is happy. Very Low Frequency purr.

Another one is when they silent meow at you. They make the meow but no noise.

Cheers

I had a cat that was *almost* silent when she purred: if I put my ear very close to her mouth, I could just barely hear her purr when she breathed out.

But like your cat, she vibrated; especially in her throat and chest area.

She was a real sweetheart. She *always* came when I called her.

Sadly, she's been gone since 1999, after a long (16yr.) happy life.

I hope your kitty is with you for at least that long!

It's not "the common" type purr, but it's not really rare either.

My previous cat, Rom, had a very quiet purr that you'd usually only hear or feel when he'd curl up next to your head. Otherwise you had to touch him to recognize he was purring. My present cat, Kiwi, fills the whole room with the sound of her purr.

Leon purrs that way too. I pick him up for a hug and I can feel the vibration in my chest. I feel that he is sending me healing vibrations to tune my heart to the universe.. I don't know if his purr is silent to others, or if it's my lack of hearing; I saw an add on TV for that "silent" 15khz ringtone "that not everyone can hear" and then they played a sample tone -- I had to turn the TV way up and repeat it five times but finally I heard a kind of rustling noise.. is that what it sounds like to younger people?

Leon's meows that I can hear are often so expressive and indicative of his mood -- he's got a quiet plaintive whisper of meow when he wants my attention (like he's doing now) ..which can turn to a harsh demanding snarl if I ignore him for a long time (startingto get there ) ..just like he's yelling at me -- get going with that bowl action NOW!! it's funny . but I do it, right away.

We've got one of each model. :laughing: Our big male shorthair, "Buckeye" purrs so loud you have to turn the TV up. His dainty little sister, though she's a longhair and not at all related, is just like Zorro, you can't hear a thing, but she vibrates like all get out. Kinda cool, I like that she's discrete about such things, she's my little sweety.

My big male orange tabby (17 lbs) purrs both ways for me and gives me and my dog (English Setter/Brittany mix) the silent meow. I could never understand the silent meow since I know that he can be very loud when he wants. He suprises me with how social and happy he is with my dog since the dog he grew up with passed last December. He has had the "new" dog as a family/pack/pride member since April. I was very nervous about his reaction to bringing a 2 year old rescue dog into his house. The dog was great about it because the cat was already a part of the house. In the end, we all won here at my house.

OGJ,

Like Empath says, not common, but nothing to worry about. Zorro seems from your postings to be a happy cat, and it must be good to know that he is really purring even if you can't hear it. Did you ever find a way to stop him from attacking your oxygen line? Good to see an OGJ thread, BTW. How are you?

I love cats dearly, in general, and of course, my own very much. My wife and I serve as staff to three cats, and are (according to them) not entirely unsatisfactory. LOL! I believe a cats purring does indeed send out healing positive vibrations. Nothing in the world better than putting your ear against the side of a purring happy cat. Nothing much in the world better than cats, actually. It seems to me they are a lot smarter than humans are.

My eyes started itching just reading about all these cats!

There's something really special and comforting about having a cat tell you that it's completely happy and content with you. It's a nonverbal hug that jumps the communciations gap between species. Purrrrrrrrrgle.

Gramps, I've had cats all my life. Love 'em. We had three cats before we had our first kid. When he was born, we were down to two cats. When our second kid was born, we were down to one cat. :laughing: Now we have two kids, one cat and one dog.

I've had quiet purrers and loud purrers. Doesn't mean a thing if one's a quiet purrer except that it's happy and content. And from all the stories you've told me, Zorro is captain of your ship.

A research program on PBS revealed that when a cat vocalizes a soft high pitched 'mew', it is letting you know it is in good spirits with you. If it sounds like a 'meow' with a low pitched 'ow', then it's annoyed with you or something is wrong.

Cats are such amazing animals. Their affection is genuine.

One thing I've observed, and not found much coverage on, is that when I meet a new cat, or a familiar old one, they stare at you. I stare right back, but slowly close my eyes and keep them closed for a few seconds. When I open them, I notice the cats usually return the behavior, and afterwards seem more relaxed. It's like if this is a visual communication that I'm no threat to you, and acknowledge you. Saying a HELLO.
Later the owners are surprised how quickly their cats take to me after I do this.

Has anyone noticed a similar behavior?

WNG said:

One thing I've observed, and not found much coverage on, is that when I meet a new cat, or a familiar old one, they stare at you. I stare right back, but slowly close my eyes and keep them closed for a few seconds. When I open them, I notice the cats usually return the behavior, and afterwards seem more relaxed. It's like if this is a visual communication that I'm no threat to you, and acknowledge you. Saying a HELLO.
Later the owners are surprised how quickly their cats take to me after I do this.

Has anyone noticed a similar behavior?

Click to expand...

Yes! I've noticed this behavior in cats, squirrels, geese (I experienced a silent "conversation" with a goose last summer) as well as other animals.
Eye contact is an important communications tool.

When you stare at an animal, it's perveived as a possible threat as the animal assumes that you're staring in order to size it up for an attack. Think about how a cat opens it's eyes wide and fixes it's gaze upon it's prey immediately prior to pouncing on it. When you slowly close your eyes and hold them shut for a moment, that communicates a relaxed stance to the animal and it knows that you're not planning to pounce on it.

try blinking. three blinks; eyes shut for two or three seconds at a time, then a quick open/close, then closed for a couple seconds, then once more. it means "I love you" in catblink language.
sometimes the cat will do it back to you.

I'll do the "blink" with my cat, too. Also, I'll give him a forehead "bump" with my forehead, like cats do, followed by a couple strokes up the forehead with my chin. He seems to just melt. I think it reminds him of Momma washing his face.

Geoff

WNG said:

A research program on PBS revealed that when a cat vocalizes a soft high pitched 'mew', it is letting you know it is in good spirits with you. If it sounds like a 'meow' with a low pitched 'ow', then it's annoyed with you or something is wrong.

Cats are such amazing animals. Their affection is genuine.

One thing I've observed, and not found much coverage on, is that when I meet a new cat, or a familiar old one, they stare at you. I stare right back, but slowly close my eyes and keep them closed for a few seconds. When I open them, I notice the cats usually return the behavior, and afterwards seem more relaxed. It's like if this is a visual communication that I'm no threat to you, and acknowledge you. Saying a HELLO.
Later the owners are surprised how quickly their cats take to me after I do this.

Has anyone noticed a similar behavior?

Click to expand...

Yes. Absolutely. It is even documented in a couple of my books. One is called "The Natural Cat" by Frazier--out now in a 2nd edition called "The New Natural Cat". She calls it "smiling". You can watch cats do it with each other. Closing your eyes while you are in claws reach, in harms way, sends a mesage of love and trust. I do it often with my cats.

Funny how some people are definitely "dog" people. They visit and treat my cats like dogs. Petting them the way one would pet a dog, speaking to them the way one might speak to a dog. And my cats are like "Say what? Who the heck are you? Mind your own business!" and look decidedly unimpressed with the person. And I'm like "You might want to be careful there. That might just get you scratched." And sometimes the person gets even more stupidly playful with a hand or arm. And gets scratched. And just laughs it off.

I don't know why it's such a hard concept for some people to grasp. Why I don't want my cats getting used to seeing a hand as a play thing. Why cats stand on their dignity and will play on THEIR OWN TERMS, if and when they decide you pass muster.

Funny too, I also just found out that some organizations concerned with voting and polling and such actually use pet information. If you own cats, you are most likely a democrat. Funny, huh?

It's so great, to see that I'm not the only one so attached to their cat.

My cat intiated the butting of forheads, when he was young. I do it, but have found Zorro prefers to initiate head butting.

We also blink eyes at each other. It's the best way to get Zorro to come close and lay down with me.

Zorro also chuffs, when he is content. Just now, Zorro layed down next to me, and started chuffing everytime he exhaled. I had initiated it, by singing to him first. He loves to pet me too, with his tail.

I am guilty, of treating Zorro like a dog, sometimes. It's playtime for us. He'll lay on his back, paws out and open (very impressive), ready to bat me when I attack his belly. Zorro is gentle with me, but once in a while he hooks me by accident.

Zorro has a very specific meow, when nature is calling desperately. It's like a broken and strained meow. That's when I get up as fast as these old bones will allow, and let him out to the litter box in the garage. He prefers that litter box, over the covered box in the kitchen. He's too big, for the largest covered litter box made, and doesn't use it, unless I'm not home, or won't get up to open the garage door. Other times, he has this very soft plea for treats, gently touching my face with his paw, and meowing softly. There is also a low moan, I hear when he sees other cats outdoors, through the window. Sounds so sad.

Zorro still attacks my oxygen line, but I have it under control. I have cut the line up, into sections, and can replace a section, if he holes it badly. He is attracted to the swivels in the line. I suspect they leak a little, making a whistling sound, only Zorro can hear.

Once, before I had the BIPAP machine, my oxygen mask had come off my face, and it was down around my neck. Zorro woke me up, meowing loudly, standing on my chest, with his mouth in mine. I suspect, Zorro might have had something to do, with the mask being down around my neck. He can't do that with my current mask though.

Don't know what I'd do, without my Zorro. We have come to know each other so well.

oldgrandpajack

I love it, WNG the cat whisperer. If I put you on the phone to my cat can you tell him to stop walking on the kitchen bench and to only do number 2's in the litter tray not beside it.

Oldgrandpajack

It sounds like you have a wonderful relationship with your little man Zorro. I know how much enjoyment having a companion like him can give and I think it is wonderful that you are sharing it with us all. Give him a little scratch behind the ear for me.