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The cat who lost her purr

leia1979leia1979 member
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Hi ladies,

The internets have failed me in finding a good answer, so I'll put this out there in case you furbaby mamas have any ideas.

My older cat Tabitha is a grand dame of 17. She's always had a really loud purr (like you can hear it from across the room). Well, my dad pointed out the other day that she doesn't seem to purr anymore. I picked her up and petted her, and sure enough, there was no sound. I even put my ear right on her in case it was quiet, as my other cat has a virtually silent purr.

Any idea why she's lost her purr? She is old and very thin (just five pounds). Honestly, she's probably not going to be with us a whole lot longer, but she's surprisingly active for her age and can still jump up on the counters with ease.

And not to sound heartless, because I love my kitty, but I'm not going to take her to the vet. At her age, our plan is to just keep her happy for however long she may have left. I don't want to traumatize her for little or no benefit.

As a thank you for reading, enjoy sort of recent photos of Tabitha (from Christmas 2010):





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Re: The cat who lost her purr

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    Elle1036Elle1036 member
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    edited December 2011
    Have you heard her meow lately, or is she a quiet kitty?  If she's usually vocal and hasn't been meowing lately, it might be a sore throat or something similar.

    Otherwise, it could be that she's just not feeling well in general.  But then again, it could be nothing.  She may just not feel like purring lately.

    I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that there's nothing seriously wrong with her.  She could still have several good years left in her.
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    lunarsongbirdlunarsongbird member
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    edited December 2011
    I read the sometimes older cats stop purring, is that's any consolation? I heard you might still be able to feel her purr though. :)
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    leia1979leia1979 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Thanks ladies. I thought it might just be another symptom of old age. She is still quite talkative (a nice way of saying demanding).  And who knows, maybe the lack of purr is only temporary.

    Otherwise, she seems happy. She comes to the door to greet me when I come over (unlike the dog, who is also elderly and now mostly deaf), and she likes to curl up on my lap. Despite her age, she's still more agile than our eight year old cat, too.

    image

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    Beads921Beads921 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    What a pretty cat :)

    If she is otherwise completely normal, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe something in her purring mechanism (I'm making this up, I have no idea how purring happens) is just on the fritz, as a result of being old.
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