# Which animals purr (besides cats)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149 "2003-08-10T04:39:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/1 "2003-08-10T04:39:09Z")
I ask because my brother’s girlfriend had a pet bat, which would happily purr when petted. I always thought only cats (and related members of the cat family) purred. Are there any other animals which purr? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/2 "2003-08-10T06:55:55Z")
[From here:](http://www.thecatsite.com/behavior/talk.html) > [@](#): > > Cats are not the only animals that purr. Other nocturnal solitary predators such as civets, mongooses and even hyenas are known to purr occasionally. Also genets. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/3 "2003-08-10T07:44:39Z")
I have met a few human women and one shar-pei dog who purred when contented. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/4 "2003-08-10T08:20:14Z")
Raccoons ---
**Author:** ![Dalchini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dalchini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dalchini)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/5 "2003-08-10T11:42:14Z")
Can purring occur in the smaller wild cat species, like lynx, cougar, ocelot and bobcat? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/6 "2003-08-10T13:07:03Z")
Cavers I know have told me that bats will purr when held, but this is entrely anecdotal evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/7 "2003-08-10T14:18:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dalchini \* > Can purring occur in the smaller wild cat species, like lynx, cougar, ocelot and bobcat? Yes, for all of the above. In fact all cats can purr, however the big cats in genus Panthera can only do so on exhalation ( apparently due to an anatomical difference in the hyoid apparatus ). ‘True’ purring appears to be limited to the Felidae and Viverridae ( civets, genets, and such ). Their are analogous sounds produced by other mammal groups, but via a different mechanism, so some have argued it should be called something else. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/8 "2003-08-10T20:52:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*Cavers I know have told me that bats will purr when held, but this is entrely anecdotal evidence. \*\* I can confirm this with personal observation. I don’t know if this is the same mechanism as cat purrs (indeed, I don’t know what that mechanism is), but is sure feels like purring. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/9 "2003-08-11T22:05:15Z")
Guinea-pigs purr. They purr when you rub their backs (unless they are too scared), when they hear the sound of keys or coins rattling, and when they are reunited after being separated for a while. Sometimes they purr when the phone rings. ---
**Author:** ![CairaJade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@CairaJade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairaJade)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/10 "2003-08-11T22:21:06Z")
A guinea pig’s purr sounds and feels very different from a cat’s purr, but it’s closer to a cat’s purr than another other sound or senation I have ever experienced in the animal kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/11 "2003-08-11T22:22:25Z")
Many pet rabbits “purr” when they are calm and happy and you pet them the way they like, whatever way that happens to be for the particular bunny. It’s actually a noise made by making sort of nibbling motions with their teeth, but it sounds like purring. They make a similar but much louder and more disturbing noise, more like grinding than nibbling, when they’re in pain. BTW, bunnies can also growl. Mine did, usually while also lunging. She scared the crap out of not a few humans, cats, and dogs doing so. Bunnies can also make little grunting or chirping noises if they’re excited and happy, usually while running in circles around their favorite human, with pauses to nudge said human to demand petting. Bunnies can be very bossy. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/12 "2003-08-11T23:02:59Z")
I thought my dog purred once. But it was gas. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/13 "2003-08-12T00:32:03Z")
Didn’t the giant pink sea snail purr in _Dr. Dolittle_? ---
**Author:** ![Jacksbobbie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jacksbobbie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jacksbobbie)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/14 "2013-03-05T19:49:59Z")
Elephants purr. > **[The Mystery of the Purring Elephant | TIME.com](https://science.time.com/2012/08/03/the-mystery-of-the-purring-elephant/)** > > The lowest registers of an elephant's voice are inaudible to humans—but they've been a longstanding puzzle all the same ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/15 "2013-03-05T20:35:59Z")
> [@Jacksbobbie](#): > > Elephants purr. I was just going to post this. I was sitting on an elephant while it let loose a long purr after relieving itself. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/16 "2013-03-05T20:40:50Z")
Coeurl. > **[Black Destroyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeurl)** > > "Black Destroyer" is a science fiction short story by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt, first published in Astounding SF in July 1939. It has been marked as the story that represents the start of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. > "Black Destroyer" was combined with several other short stories to form the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle. It was claimed as an inspiration for the movie Alien and van Vogt collected an out-of-court settlement of $50,000 from 20th Century Fox. > A Coeurl, ... Of course, Van Vogt describes it as looking like a cat, so what do you expect? Some of the fiction about the Kzinti talks of them, purring, too > **[Kzin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kzin)** > > The Kzinti (singular: Kzin) are a fictional, warlike, and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry Niven's Known Space series. > The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If (1966), collected in Tales of Known Space (1975)) and "The Soft Weapon" (1967), collected in Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals (later known as Chmeee), subsequently played a significant role in Niven's Hugo and Nebula award-winning Ringworld (1970... The Kinti are also cat-like. I think that any science fiction catlike aliens should be suspected of purring unless proven otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/17 "2013-03-06T02:48:21Z")
What, **Cal** , no mention of flatcats? And while it’s not true purring, I’ve personally known at least two dogs who made a purr-like noise when contented (both were raised in a house with multiple cats, and were probably imitating them). Interestingly, the two dogs chose different ways of doing it: The one used a modified growl, while the other used a modified grumble. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/18 "2013-03-06T05:04:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I thought my dog purred once. But it was gas. I used to have an elderly distant relative who purred after every meal. Gas. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/19 "2013-03-06T05:32:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I thought my dog purred once. But it was gas. Right, :dubious: it was the **dog** that farted, while in another room with the door closed. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149/20 "2013-03-06T05:38:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What, **Cal** , no mention of flatcats? > > . Don’t recall if flatcats purred. But, speaking of them, **Tribbles** definitely do. They’re not cats, but they’re what cats _would_ be if they lacked those claw-bearing paws. and the fang-bearing head. and the annoying tail. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-animals-purr-besides-cats/194149.md?page=2)