Do you think your cat is a purr monster? One that vibrates everything in the room when they purr? Well, chances are, they may not be as loud as Bella, a cat from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Guinness World Records confirmed this purr monster reaches over 54.6 decibels. For comparison, that’s about the same volume of a kettle boiling, loud enough that it can make watching TV challenging for Bella’s mom, Nicole Spink.
“To put this into context, that’s similar to the sound of a kettle boiling and not too far off the sound of your washing machine,” Guinness reported.
Bella with owner Nicole, Adjudicator Dave and Polina, WHISKAS® EU Brand Manager via Guinness World Records
Everyone who visited the home remarked how loud Bella’s purr was, so Nicole and her daughter tried measuring it with a phone app. Sure enough, they found the purr monster was unusually loud. Now, it’s a confirmed world record!
Bella with her Guinness World Record and favorite food. Image of Bella via Guinness World Records/ WHISKAS
Guinness World Record Purr Monster
Nicole appeared on video (see below) with the kitty and Guinness World Records’ adjudicator Dave Wilson. He arrived with independent specialist sound engineers, who placed a sound level meter three feet (one meter) from Bella and the ground level.
Image of Bella via Guinness World Records
Fortunately, Bella was all too happy to purr on cue and confirm what her mom already knew.
It was a relief for Nicole, who was concerned the “stubborn little old lady” might not purrform for the cameras.
“Bella is 14 years old. She’s a very lazy girl; she’s an old lady, so we’ll let her off,” joked Nicole. “We’ve always thought that Bella had the loudest purr in the world.”
Nicole Spink with Bella the cat
One Happy Purr Monster
According to Nicole, this elegant lady really gets going when it’s time for food, saying she prefers Whiskas. The company teamed up with Guinness World Records to find the new record-breaker. But the kitty purrs almost all the time, even when she goes to the vet!
“Some vets have made comments about how she is the only cat they’ve ever had purr in there,” Nicole shared.
Aside from being a world record purr monster, Bella is usually content to sleep and eat. Although she can go outside, she wisely likes to stay close to home and doesn’t stray from the garden. Even so, she’s much more outgoing with people than her shy brother Lola.
Video by Guinness World Records about Bella the purr monster:
All-Time World Record-Breaking Purr Monsters
While Bella has the loudest purr of any living domestic cat, two previous record-holding purr monsters were considerably louder. Interestingly, they were both older kitties from the UK, and both were also rescued cats.
Maybe their rescue gave them lots to purr about? We think so!
Image of Smokey via Northampton Chronicle & Echo
A 12-year-old cat named Smokey took the record in 2011 in Pitsford, Northamptonshire, UK. His purr reached 67.8 decibels. Smokey’s mom, Ruth Adams, even worked with sound engineers from New Zealand to confirm Smokey’s purr after another kitty took the record in 2015 (see below).
Smokey with Ruth Adams via via Northampton Chronicle & Echo
There’s even a book about the late, great purr monster called “‘Smokey the very loud purring cat.”
Here’s Smokey’s supurrrr-loud vocalizations via teamline:
Another Rescued Senior Cat with the Loudest Purr
In 2015, Merlin, the 13-year-old black and white cat from Torquay, Devon (UK), took the record at 67.8 decibels. But his mom says he’s been recorded as high as 100 dB. Like Smokey, he was a rescue and maybe that’s why he became an epic purr monster as well?
Tracy Westwood with Merlin the World Record breaking purring cat via Guinness World Records
“If he’s cleaning he gets louder and sometimes if the telephone rings I do get people asking me what’s that noise in the background, I tell them it’s the cat but I don’t know if they believe me,” said Merlin’s mom, Tracy Westwood.
Merlin via Guinness World Records
Merlin’s purring was said to be as loud as a dishwasher, shower, or air conditioner. Clearly, he was one incredibly content cat and let everyone know it (for miles around).
You can see Merlin and his loudest purr below from Guinness World Records:
