Dear George,I wonder if you could give me a bit of advice about my brother. In my opinion, a self respecting cat should purr only after the human has put in a fair bit of effort, and even then, a purr is never guaranteed. I am concerned that my brother, Frank, may have a purr disorder. Not only does he purr as soon as he is touched, he often purrs as soon as a human makes a silly kissy noise at him, or even just looks at him. The purring often continues for quite a few minutes after the human has stopped attending to him. I've tried to have a word with him about it, but he ignores me. Is it normal for some cats to be trigger-purr-happy, or could there be something wrong? Is he just a 'Purr Tart' because he's contented?
Thanks,
Bob
PS. I am the one with the white bib and
purring Frank is the one with lots of hair below.Dear Bob
I agree with you. Indiscriminate purring to humans is not good for discipline. Your brother Frank needs some more lessons in training theory. If a reward (purring) is given too easily, it loses its value. He is devaluing the training currency and letting down the side by being a Purr Tart.
As we all know training is done by reward - purrs and rubs - and by either active ignoring (withdrawing all attention) or punishment (claws and teeth). Human dog trainers have gone all soppy and nowadays (apart from out of date TV stars) train without punishment. We cats believe that punishment is a vital tool in our training strategy. Some of us enjoy showing off our power over humans (just like out of date TV stars with dogs!).
Is there something wrong with Frank? Yes, indeed there is. He is too easily pleased - a big mistake in a cat.
Talk to him seriously. Spoiling your human is not good for either cat or human. Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen is my motto. Frank needs to sign up to a claw and order programme. Now....
Love George.
PS. He may be a Purr Tart but he has a wonderful nose - pink with a dark lining.
I agree that cats should make the apes work hard for a purr. Gerry my bro' is a Purr Tart, he purrs so readily we think he is addicted to the endorphins and may need an intervention. Oliver my other bro' is different, he decides when he wants to purr at an ape, then goes and does so. I follow you George and Bob, I like to make the ape work hard for even the smallest purr. Becareful though, apes can become quite emotional from purr absence, thus making them ever more grateful if I relent and offer the odd rumble. Remember, grateful apes = 100% subservient apes.
ReplyDeleteWhicky Wuudler
Purr Miser.
PS: Of course purring freely for your own reasons is always best.
ReplyDeleteI am most disapointed in my cousin Frank (our humans are related so we often bump into each others smells). I had hoped that one who had a tail EVEN FLUFFIER than mine could controle his humans better than that! Thank god for Bob, keep going cousin, you will have those apes properly subservient, I think the femail one is an easy mark!
ReplyDeleteMog
Yup, we need to keep these humans in line and trained. Too much purring can be a mistake. WE will have to watch ourselves. Hope all of you have a super Saturday.
ReplyDeleteMOL Purr-Tart =^_^= make those Hoomans work more fur your rumbling!
ReplyDeleteWow! You, beautiful girls (Luna, Mog, Marg) where are you hiding? How come that, when I write, you girls never make a comment?
ReplyDeleteWhat does Bob (sorry, Bob...nothing personal)do differently?
Frederico
PS. Frank, hope you don't have a respiratory problem :-)
Frank, could it, actually, be "self-contained" purring? Something you do for your own "ears and soul" that has nothing to do with human interaction? You look very much above "average"!
ReplyDeleteSir Winston
PS. It's nice to have a caring brother!
I wished I had one.
Frank, tell me you are teasing your humans!
ReplyDeleteI know you do! I do the same thing (even if my mom thinks I'm purring "backwards" - whatever that means)!
And....we look very much alike :-)
Love
Fluffy
PS. Hey George, how come that you never complimented me for my nose? Or eyes!
Hm! New kids on the blog :-)
ReplyDeleteI smell "danger"! You kids keep purring!
Have fun!
Sebastian
Bob, you look lovely! My advice? Ignore Frank.
ReplyDeleteLet him purr as he likes. It must be his trick to get all the attention! My sister does same thing!
But, we (you and me) have more self-confidence and don't need to please anybody! We purr when we want and for whom we want!
Love you white bib!
Cayenne
PS. W. Wuudler...it's good to see you back.
I missed you!
Stop purring for humans, dude!
ReplyDeleteThey are not worthy!
I'm fuming mad at mine! I'll write about this later.
Diego