Question:
My cat milly is three years old and stopped purring about 3 months ago. She used to purr all the time but now does not purr at all. Is anything wrong? Her life has not changed and she is has not been treated differently apart from getting extra fuss!

Answer:
I asked my Aunt who has 12 cats about what she did when she had the same problem as you. She said that it can some times happen. Her 4 older cat stopped purring in the same fashion as your, she took them each to the vet and was told that sometimes older cats just do not purr any longer. It does not mean that they are sick or unhappy it may just be the way they are.

My oldest cat Nikki (I have four cats and four dogs but I am no expert on them )is around 3 yrs old and is a rambo outdoors kinda cat. She stopped purring about 6 months ago and the vet told us that she was fine and we should not worry.

I guess the best thing to do it keep loving your little one up. If she purrs then hey, she will keep you up at night. If not then at least it will be happy from the love.

If you are still not sure then maybe a quick trip to the vet or even a phone call might help. My vet in St Joesph MO has often seen one of my cats without charging me a full visit unless they had to run tests.

Answer:
Are you sure she really stopped purring? Sometimes cats' purrs change and you might not be able to hear it. The next time you are petting her and she seems very happy, put a finger on her throat and see if you can feel any vibrations.

I had a cat who purred so softly that was the only way I could tell he WAS purring.

Answer:
Is Milly still able to meow, if not she may have a form of laryngitis which could be viral. Has she been vaccinated? If she is still eating and is happy, and nothing has changed and it is not viral, then I may be stumped too.

It may just be a behaviour change internally or there is some anatomical damage of her larynx. If something is just not right, have her medically checked out. This may involve an anesthetic and an intra oral exam of her larynx for problems ( may find a polyp or something there). You could often try and co-ordinate this anaesthetic with a dental cleaning which in most cases will usually need to be done properly at 3 years old in most pets on average.

Good luck


Martin Slome DVM

Centre Street Animal Hospital
7700 Bathurst Street
Units 40-42
Thornhill, On.
L4J 7Y3
Tel: (905) 771-9855

Answer:
Thank you Dr.Slome. That is very informative!

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