# Cat purring when stressed out



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Is this true? Do cats purr when they're stressed out? Today someone wanted to adopt a kitten so before they made it final, they wanted to do a meet and greet with the cat and their dog :? I know it doesn't make sense to just put a cat in the same room with a dog without proper and gradual introduction but yeah. I mean DUH a normal cat will go insane when seeing a dog in a cramped up room for the first time! Ok, but that's besides the point. So the dog was very sweet, he was medium sized and the kitten Olivia didn't try to jump out of my arms or anything. Olivia hissed once and then started purring. She wasn't clawing at me either. She was sitting in my arms purring and only hissed ONCE. The shelter director comes and grabs the kitten because of the one hiss and says "no" to the people (and the people say no too). :? Then when I said it was purring, she says "yeah, because she was stressed out." Obviously the people were wrong for rejecting a cat because it hissed once but I am wondering if they were all right about cats purring when they're stressed? Because my cats start purring during car drives and I'm just wondering if maybe in reality, they're stressed out and not excited like I thought they were all along. Ahhh I hate mixed signals. I thought purring = pure happiness.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Cats purr when they're happy, but they'll also purr when they are very stressed. It's something they do to make themselves feel a little calmer. 
Think of a human humming when on the verge of totally freaking out in panic.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

When I volunteered at Petsmart, we would "dog test" the cats, but certainly not in the same room. Mostly what we were looking for was that the cat didn't freak out. We had one siamese cat that would literally throw herself against the plexiglass when she saw a dog walking by. 

I agree, that's not a good dog test. We would have people stand behind a line several feet away with their dog and see how the cat reacted.


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## Martho (May 3, 2010)

Im not sure, but I have heard that purring means they are having a strong emotion. So it could mean they are very happy, or very stressed, or very anything.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Yeah, it's not smart to put a dog of unknown temperament and a cat also of unknown temperament together in a small room to test how they will "get along". Whether the animals are being held by humans or not, it is one of those, "Just say no.", situations.


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## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

This was direct contact, no glass or anything :? She just told me to get the cat, hold it and put it in with the dog in a very small room that the size of a extremely small closet. And then she didn't even supervise it! I guess they don't know it takes time to introduce a cat and a dog?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Our test has the dog on a leash, someone holding the cat, AND someone between the two.


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## kreimhilde (Jun 24, 2010)

I have a cat who was attacked by a dog and had most of the flesh torn from his hind leg. He purred all the way to the vet and during the examination. He ultimately had the leg amputated and is doing great now, but the purring was very surreal for me. Yes, they DO purr under stress and anxiety.


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## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Ah I see. Thanks.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

When we introduced our kittens to our dogs, there were a few hisses. But they coexist quite well. The cats don't like strange dogs at all. Our dogs will walk over and give the cats a lick whn they are upset - the cats either tolerate it or appreciate it. It does seem to calm them a bit.

So I'm not sure that is a valid test.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

I've only introduced kittens to a dog twice. Mind you, I knew the dog; our family pet who was familiar with an adult cat. In the first instance I was down on one knee with the kitten balanced on the other when the dog was brought into the room. The kitten jumped about four feet into the air, came down running, its little feet going a mile a minute, and disappeared under a piece of furniture. It came out later on and made friends with the dog. The second time was when I went home on leave from the Royal Navy with a kitten. As I remember, she and the dog got on well from the start, it was the other cat (the now grown previous kitten) and her that didn't get along too well, but that, too, calmed after a day. However, 'they' never did become friends. I think it's the people's attitude that counts a lot.

As to the purring, why they do it is a subject that scientist have been trying to solve. But thinking it over after reading this thread, perhaps it comes when the emotions are aroused -- excitement. Misty doesn't always purr right off when I pet her.

I'm not sure that a cat that doesn't react in some way to a strange animal is what I call a cat, cat.


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