My kitty won't purr!

by Haven
(Milwaukee, WI, USA)

About two years ago, my brother adopted a cat named Chaos from a nearby shelter. Chaos was only about 7-9 months old at the time. Ever since we brought him home, Chaos really hasn't purred a lot.


I have an older cat named Richie, who is about 13 years old. We also have a dog, Gunnar, and Chaos really took a liking to him when he first arrived. They'd snuggle up, and Chaos would purr for Gunnar, and then the dog would run off soon after.

I understand Chaos is still basically sort of like a kitten. He doesn't really feel comfortable snuggling or anything yet and that's fine with me! I'm just curious because I can pet him and scratch him a little bit and he clearly enjoys the affection and attention, but he still won't purr.

He has purred before in the past, but he doesn't purr when anyone is petting him. So he can purr, but I'm guessing he doesn't want to, even when he's enjoying it.

Does anyone know why? He seems to kind of purr when he meows. At the start of his meow he sort of purrs and then changes it to a meow. He also doesn't meow all too loudly when people are near, but at 4 am when he has his toy in his mouth, he wakes up the whole house.

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starstarstarstarstar 		Did you introduce them a little at a time?
by: James Nagle

Slow introductions are usually best, even when bringing kittens into the house. If you throw the cats together too soon, it shortcuts the older cat's ability to adapt to the new cat.

Consider separating them and doing a slow re-introduction. If that isn't possible for some reason, get some 1:1 time with your older cat where the kitten is not involved.
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starstarstarstarstar 		older cat bullied by younger kitten
by: Anonymous

we have a 4 yr. old ragdoll & we brought home a 3 month old kitten. the kitten has taken over all the toys , the places the older cat lays, & she likes to sit on my lap to cuddle. the older cat doesn't cuddle & when she sees us together she leaves the room, & spends time alone. the younger one chases the older one out of any sleeping places & away from any toys just for spite. the older cat wont fight back. How do we fix this.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Perhaps . . . .
by: Glynda

. . . it's possible, if you got him from a shelter, that he had a very bad experience previously with a human and is still learning to trust. I have a cat that was abused by woman and, actually, was brought into my vet to be put to sleep when he was 3 years old because SHE was pregnant. I believe she used the pregnancy as a reason to get rid of the cat. So my Ben didn't want anything to do with me when I first brought him home. . . . . . but he climbed right into my son's lap and immediately started to purr when my son stopped by to visit. Eventually, after Ben managed to escape and I spent a week looking for him (yet another long story) when I finally found him and managed to get him back in my house, he started to change. And now he is a great buddy. One of my 2 snuggliest cats. So give him time and love. Love and affection are usually the keys. :)
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starstarstarstarstar 		Is he using his inside purr?
by: Jim W.

Maybe he's purring quietly, and you can't hear it. See if you can feel it instead. Sometimes you have to gently place your hand in just the right place in order to tell if a cat is purring.

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