Comments on: Do big cats purr?

By: Ian G

Ian G — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:52:00 +0000

Snow leopards may not be able to purr but they sure can make the “I’m going fuck you up if you don’t get away from me” sound (1:17).

By: Kris Sakara

Kris Sakara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Small cats in the Felinae include upto the Cheetah. These purr.
The Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Jaguars are members of the Pantherinae family and they make a ’chuff’ sound when they are happy.

By: awjt

awjt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:07:00 +0000

OK, that ROCKS!!!!

By: Felton / Moderator

Felton / Moderator — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:03:00 +0000

In case you haven't already seen it: Baby ocelots at ZooBorns!

By: awjt

awjt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:52:00 +0000

This post gave me an awesome dream last night. I dreamt that we owned an ocelot. It was a little rough, but only out of affection. Sometimes it would kiss my face and nip a little too hard, drawing blood. This made everyone laugh, including the bleeding person. But this post was not supposed to be about me and my psyche; it was supposed to be about how awesome are the Ocelot.

Ocelot?

Some, some.

By: Vanwall

Vanwall — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:04:00 +0000

I remember reading in a book about hunting where the writer, an old-time big game hunter turned game warden in Africa, stated categorically that there had never been a recorded case of an unprovoked attack by cheetahs on human beings.

I was close to a couple of relaxing cheetahs being petted by a handler at a fence line once, and in real life, their purring sounded like an idling Ferrari.

By: jaytkay

jaytkay — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:46:00 +0000

I saw a panther cough up a hairball at the zoo. It sounded like thunder.

By: usfoodpolicy

usfoodpolicy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Lately my 11-year-old son has been coming up with an appropriate comic literary reference for almost any topic. Today I showed him this boingboing post. He reminds me (paraphrase):

Calvin: “Why do you purr when I rub your tummy.”

Hobbes: “Tiger don’t purr. That’s just growling friendly-like.”

By: V

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:24:00 +0000

In other news, they are generally ‘meh’ regarding laser pointers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3BHSt42L0Y

By: Helen Elizabeth BadKitty

Helen Elizabeth BadKitty — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:14:00 +0000

BCR does a really great thing. I’ve only been once, but I got passed for Christmas and can’t wait to witness “chuffing” up close and personal again!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:53:00 +0000

From what I read in the papers, half the population of Dallas does, as well.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:32:00 +0000

Of course they don’t purr. They growl friendly-like.

(I’ve heard house cats growl. It’s a scary sound.)

By: Maurice Reeves

Maurice Reeves — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:32:00 +0000

The cat nip video was even better. Big cats getting high and freaky. I miss my kitties. And then I ended up spending too much time looking at the Sylvester the Talking Cat videos which were full of yucks and awwwws.

By: pablohoney

pablohoney — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:31:00 +0000

ehh, on OS X, open terminal:

afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Purr.aiff

By: Anselm

Anselm — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:19:00 +0000

OK, moment of clarification: If I remember my feline anatomy correctly (from elementary school, I admit, but I was a precocious little bastard) the difference between big and small cats is, by definition, in the vocal system.

In short: small cats have vocal cords, which allow them to meow and purr. Big cats have vocal bones, which prevent purring and meowing, but do allow roaring. Cheetahs, as well as cougars, are (technically) “small” cats because of this- both of them don’t roar, but can scream and purr.

By: Doctor Device

Doctor Device — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:07:00 +0000

setdog: my assumption would be that, while it might be technically possible for a house cat to make a roar-like sound, they don’t have a large enough chest cavity to really produce a proper roar. I am probably completely wrong on the acoustics of cats, but I have known cats who ‘sing’ as well as purr. I expect, had they been much bigger, the singing could’ve dropped down into roar range.

By: Doctor Device

Doctor Device — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:04:00 +0000

just because it’s purring (or ‘miscellaneousing’) doesn’t mean it isn’t about to eat you. and yet that knowledge does not make them any less cute to me. I want to give that cougar a belly rub.

By: setdog

setdog — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Can house kitties roar? They do have a deep-throated growl mode that one hardly ever hears, but which indicates deep displeasure and “I mean it, pal.” I first heard it from our first cat when he tried to bring a dead chipmunk into the living room. I went to get the carcass from the cat. I got the growl/roar instead (carcass retrieved later). Granted, the volume is not there, but the intent is. Same sound, I would claim.

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:47:00 +0000

The purring video was OK, but the next video up was full of awesomesauce!

Do big cats like to get high? Fuck, yeah! Even better, they act just like your housecat on the nip!

Came for the “aww”, leaving quite satisfied.

By: dustindriver

dustindriver — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:46:00 +0000

The Pharaohs used to keep cheetahs as pets. How cool is that?

By: MrsBug

MrsBug — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:38:00 +0000

We were down in the Tampa area recently and wanted to go to this SO BAD, but we couldn’t get our schedules to work out. Bummer. What a great program.

By: MrJM

MrJM — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:22:00 +0000

Big Cats Rule!
Big Dawgs Drool!

By: destroy_all_humans

destroy_all_humans — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:22:00 +0000

i think i’m going to take my next vacation there