[yingying]

First of all, Metoo is not a frequent purrer. Unlike my Meatball who can start her motor by simply a pet on the head, Metoo reserves her purr to the most pleasant event, like kneading, being groomed, sleeping in my arms, etc. But I noticed that whenever I clean her eye gunk, she always purrs during the process, so I'm confused.

I know that cats can purr out of either pain or pleasure, so I'm not sure which kind of purr is this? I use q-tip to clean Metoo's eye gunk, always damp it a bit with warm water, always careful not to touch her eyes. It's a daily routine that I have beening doing for her for almost half year. So I don't think she suffers a lot. But I can't imagine it's extremely pleasant experience either. Then why does she purr?

 

[MowMow]

I would guess it's contentment. Cat's groom each other, she just figures it's her turn and that's soothing... imo.

 

[yingying]

Wiping eye gunk is soothing? LOL. If someone poke around my eyes, no matter how gentle he is, I would find it at least annoying... :lol:

 

[Ritzpg]

Good question; don't know the answer in YOUR case. If you clean Metoo's eyes, thinking/saying loving thoughts, maybe by now she has picked up on your loving feelings, so that's what she is projected.
OTOH, the first time Ritz purred was out of fear (she was put into a cat carrier).
Only now, after two years of being owned by Ritz, is show now purring out of contentment, love, almost always when I am giving her a belly rub or head massage.

 

[yingying]

If you clean Metoo's eyes, thinking/saying loving thoughts, maybe by now she has picked up on your loving feelings, so that's what she is projected.

Frankly, I don't think I have loving thoughts when doing that :lol:
All I was thinking when cleaning up her eye gunk are "d**m, how come you have so many eye gunks today!" or "arrr, this piece is really stubborn..."

If Metoo did pick up any "loving feelings" during our cleaning session, then she was deluded :lol:

 

[maggie23]

awww, come on!

of course you have loving feelings when you're cleaning her eyes! :luv

why else would you take on the "yucky" task of cleaning out the gunk? ha ha! i do that with our Angel everyday myself and i'm sure she knows i'm doing it because i love her. her prior owner must've gotten her used to the eye (and nose and ear) cleanings because she is so good most of the time when i do it. she sits very still for me and keep her eyes closed.

my guess is that metoo has finally decided that you are doing her a favor by grooming her like that and has started to purr. even if it was annoying to her before, it's not like you've ever hurt her doing it, so i can't imagine she'd be purring due to pain. she probably also realizes at last that AFTER the grooming, she feels really refreshed and clean. what a great feeling that must be for her!

you're a very good mommy to clean her up like that. it's a labor of love for sure.

 

[littlesushi]

i was thinking the same thing the other day when i found a ball of matted fur under aster's armpit and we were trying to carefully cut it out. she remained calm, didn't fuss and was purring like crazy.

i agree with the others though, that she's purring cause she trusts you and knows youre grooming her, like a mama would

when i try to clean our kitties eyes, they definitely don't purr, they spend their energy in cringing or trying to get away while we hold them down and try to quickly wipe out their eye gunk with a moistened paper towel lol. i would take the purring as a compliment

 

[Binkers]

Please don't use a Q-tip!! To much risk she will startle or your hand/arm will move suddenly and she will get poked. Use a mostened kleenex/paper towel/cotton wash cloth etc. Never anything "pointed". GL B

 

[yingying]

Thanks folks! Glad to know she is most likely not in pain

Please don't use a Q-tip!! To much risk she will startle or your hand/arm will move suddenly and she will get poked. Use a mostened kleenex/paper towel/cotton wash cloth etc. Never anything "pointed". GL B

Q-tip works best for us. I've tried towel, tissue, cotton ball before, and none of these does a good job like q-tip does. They cover too big area and Metoo hated to have her face wet. It's also hard to apply a little pressure on the stubborn gunks. With q-tip I can finish in half minute but with other tools it won't be done until Metoo lost her patient and started wiggle.

I always have a firm grasp on her chin when doing that, in case she moves. Also I believe she will retreat rather than running toward me if she is startled. Q-tip is not pointy anyway. So I think I will stick with it. Thanks for the concern though

 

[catloverami]

Both my cats don't mind it when I clean their eyes. Zuba's particularly can get quit crusty...neither of mine purr when it's being done, but I can tell that they appreciate it and my guess is it makes their eyes feel more comfortable.

 

[Cat'sHouse]

Purr = contentment, closeness, safety, love, who knows? I'm just glad to hear them purr for it tells me I am theirs and they are mine.

 

[Milky's Mammy]

Milky also purrs when I clean his eyes/ears/face. At first, he didn't like it and kept squirming to try to get away, but I suppose after so many months of daily cleaning, he has gotten well used to it by now. He is very good about it now and sits very still. He allows me wipe to my satisfaction and I always give him a couple of treats before and after so he knows it's good.

 

[Straysmommy]

My cats scratch me if I try to remove the eye stuff, so they're lovely cats with extremely dirty eyes. What I don't understand is why would Metoo purr in pain and not scratch your hand away? It's most surely happy purring because of your proximity and intense focus on him?

 

[maggie23]

geez! i finally noticed purring myself today

well, goodness. i have no idea if this was already happening before i started following this thread or not, but just today i realized Angel was ALSO purring when i was cleaning her eyes. maybe i was concentrating so much on the cleaning that i never noticed it before.

now if we could get her to purr when i try to file her claws...