Purring is a sound that many of us love and associate with happiness, warmth, and safety, but like all good things, it can be a little concerning if there is an excessive amount of it.
Purring usually indicates that a cat is happy, but if your kitten purrs a lot and doesn’t seem to be stopping, you might be feeling confused, and wondering whether you need to take action.
If you’ve recently adopted a kitten and it seems to purr constantly, it’s not surprising if you are worried. After all, purring can occasionally be a sign that your cat is unwell or stressed, and both of these are concerning ideas, especially with a young cat.
It’s always best to check in with a vet if you have any worries, even if you think they are minor; issues that are caught early are often far easier to treat.
Additionally, excessive purring might actually be quite annoying, even if it is generally considered a cute characteristic.
A kitten that purrs constantly when you are trying to sleep or work might be frustrating, particularly if it pairs this with a determination to have your attention all the time.
Is It Normal For My Kitten To Purr All The Time?
A cat’s purr is a very complicated thing that has been seriously oversimplified, and is still not fully understood even by experts in feline behavior.
Some cats purr a lot more than others, and some cats almost never purr – and it isn’t exactly clear why. Because of this, it might be normal for your kitten to purr all the time; it may simply be a particularly purr-y cat, and this is how it is choosing to communicate with you.
However, most kittens will not purr constantly. Like any movement, purring takes energy (although not huge amounts), and therefore it is not in the cat’s interests to keep purring without a break, especially when the cat has lots of other things to put its energy into, such as playing and growing.
Kittens may purr briefly, but usually, they will stop when they feel that they have communicated their message, and move on to doing something else.
A purr is often about communicating something to you, and usually the message is that the cat is happy, but this isn’t always the case.
Your kitten may purr to convey other things, such as appeasement, anxiety, or even as a means of healing itself.
A purr might be a request for food, and it’s thought that kittens purr as a way of helping their mother to locate them – a trait that may exist into adulthood, leading the adult cat to purr whenever it is fed or wants feeding.
Why Does My Kitten Purr A Lot?
There are many things that could prompt your kitten to purr; it may just be happy, or it might be hungry, nervous, excited, or wanting to appease you.
Many of these purrs will range in pitch and frequency, with food-related purrs often being higher and more like the cry of a baby. It is also possible that if your kitten is purring while it is resting, it is using the healing frequency to help repair any stress that has been put on its bones and muscles while playing.
Purring at a frequency between 25-100 Hz is thought to be capable of repairing the body, and is used in therapeutic human treatments too.
Bones respond to frequencies that are between 25 and 50 Hz, while soft tissue and skin will respond to frequencies around 100 Hz.
Your kitten may not be injured, but purring could help to promote healthy growth and ensure that muscles are refreshed and rejuvenated after a lot of play.
Your kitten may purr to show you affection, or might purr as a sign of anxiety, so if you have recently got the kitten and it’s constantly purring, it’s probably feeling nervous.
It is thought that this kind of purring helps the cat to soothe itself and makes it feel better, so your cat might do it at any point when it is stressed. Remember to provide a secure space and minimize disruption when you first get a kitten.
How Can I Get My Kitten To Stop Purring So Much?
If your kitten’s purring is excessive, there may not be much that you can do, but if you think it is stressed, try to make its environment more secure.
Give it plenty of places to hide, such as cardboard boxes, and consider getting a pheromone spray to help it stay calm.
If certain things seem to alarm your cat, such as another pet, a particular noise (e.g. a vacuum cleaner), or certain events, try to introduce your kitten to these slowly and give it time to gain confidence with that thing, or remove the thing from its environment if possible.
You can reduce purring by doing what your kitten wants, such as feeding it, and it’s also worth checking it over for any injuries to make sure it isn’t trying to heal a wound you have not yet noticed.
If it is, get it to a vet so that the damage can be treated, as purring will not be sufficient to heal it. A veterinary visit could also rule out hidden issues that your kitten is attempting to heal, such as an illness.
There is no guarantee that these things will work; you may simply have a kitten that is particularly keen to purr, and little will have an impact on this. Because we have such a limited understanding of the purr’s full purpose, it can be difficult to reduce it.
Conclusion
If your kitten purrs a lot, you are probably feeling a little concerned, especially if this purring seems to be linked to anxiety or stress. However, there is nothing to be concerned about; as your kitten gets more secure in your home, it will likely stop doing this, although it may still purr in response to new stresses, or to ask for food. Learn your cat’s different purrs, and you will be better able to communicate with it.
