We all literally melt at the purr of a cat. And how not to crack when these little balls of hair snuggle up against us? However, it seems that this sweet sound is not always a sign of pleasure for cats. The latter would indeed transmit through their purring different types of messages, not always positive.
When our feline friends purr, it would mean as much the happiness of seeing their master as the fear of an event to come. Indeed, cats would use this as an alarm signal showing pain or a source of anxiety. And it goes from a slight source of discomfort (temperature, food allergies, etc.) to real discomfort that can be caused by a major change that has taken place in the house, for example. But the sources of concern for humans and animals obviously not always being similar, we often tend to minimize the small inconveniences that our domestic companions may experience.
Instead of exteriorizing its fears as a human being would do, by crying for example, the cat uses purring to calm itself down. This would also explain the reason why our furballs purr when visiting the vet or when they are forced to have a collar around their neck. In addition, sometimes a cat purrs while giving birth to kittens, but this is not always a way of indicating that she is happy or relaxed, far from it! She sometimes acts this way in order to keep her kittens calm and to protect herself. If the meaning of feline purring may seem anecdotal, a misinterpretation of it can have undesirable consequences on the behavior of a domesticated cat. Indeed, misunderstood, our adorable hairballs could start to become aggressive or even start having small incidents in the house.
Well, don't panic:in most cases, purring is still a good sign, but it's better not to take any risks by listening to our animals!
