Purring question

Both of my cats purred loudly when they were kittens (I got each of them
at about 4 months) but now they purr silently. Is that a pattern? Am I
never again to wake to the sound of Doc purring right into my ear?

Jane...

Rita is a silent purrer, too. The only way I know she's purring is by
gently stroking her throat, and I can feel the purr. She apparently
does it a lot, though.

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

I think the volume of the purr is probably the same - it's
just surrounded by a lot more cat than when they were
kittens! (Flesh and fur are not very good conductors of
sound waves.)

Chakolate...

Adrian A...

Both of mine purr loudly. Bagheera is just over three, people on the phone
can sometimes hear him. I jokingly say to him , "can't you be quiet? I'm
trying to listen" Snoopy purrs loudly enough to be heard from the other side

Chakolate...

Did Spooky start to get hard of hearing around that time?

of the room.

That can't be it, really, since Doc is about the same size now as when I
got him, and definitely the same size as before his purr got quieter.

badwilson...

It can also go the opposite way. Vino's purr used to be very quiet, had
to have your ear quite close to his body to hear it. But ever since
he's recovered from his blockage, his purr volume has increased about 10
fold. Now he's got this super loud motor that can be heard from a few
meters away.

illyria.anel...

from what i read, kittens purr to sooth themselves or when they are
really relaxed and comfortable. they also kneed for same reasons.
this behaviour may stop in older cats. Shaina used to kneed a lot, but
didn't purr all that much, unless i was petting her, which has been
hard to do after she was about 2 months old because she started running
about like an electron and only set quietly when i petted and scratched
her head and neck. she allowed less than 5 min for that activity.
since i've moved and she's not getting nearly as much attention, she
purrs much more. whenever i pet her, pick her up, when i come back, or
feed her, she purrs a lot. probably because she is happy to see me
(know, presumptuous human).