Purring

The other day I was giving our cat, Lily, scritches behind the ears and she was purring, which I took as a sign that she liked the attention. 

When Lily first came to us (rescued from an animal shelter) almost nine years ago, she purred nearly constantly. I have videos of her purring such as this one:

I got to thinking... do cats intentionally purr? So, of course, I googled it. This was before Google AI but here's what Google AI says now:

Yes, cats purr both involuntarily and voluntarily. While often linked to contentment, purring is largely an involuntary reflex used for self-soothing when stressed, injured, or in pain. It can also be a voluntary behavior to communicate needs, such as demanding food or attention from humans.

That made me wonder if she was stressed, being in a new home, and that's why she purred a lot. 

Not long after we got her, I was watching TV and Lily came into the family room purring loudly. And I wondered why she was purring so much until I remembered I forgot to feed her her second meal. She was hungry and/or wanted my attention. 

She doesn't purr as much now, but she will when she's content. Like when I'm scratching behind her ears.

Here's a recent picture of Lily just because. She turns 9 next month: