Why Does My Cat Grunt? – Top Reasons

Parenting a cat is all about understanding their mood swings and weird behaviors.

All the cats like free and independent life while they boss around in their small kitty world.

And hey! You do not want it to get pissed off by interfering in its lifestyle!

Why does my cat grunt

Cats are even strange in expressing their feelings. For instance, let’s talk about grunting.

Most of the time, the grunts are cuddly gestures to show their affection for you.

While sometimes, grunting is all an alarm for some pain or discomfort.

Overall, grunting may be because of common reasons, or it might be a friendly gesture.

You may have noticed your cat grunting when you pet it, touch it, pick it up, jumps, and while it breathes or sleeps.

Here are some of the usual grunts that you see your cat doing, along with why your cat grunt.

Why Does My Cat Grunt?

1. Cat Grunts When You Pet It

Cats are strange and funny.

They act very differently when they need to show you some affection.

While you rub a cat, it grunts to say, ‘Hey! Do it again, my human!’

Yeah, it is strange, but it’s just a complimentary grunt while you are appreciated for your affection towards her.

No one gets bothered by a soft, gentle stroke given to express love.

So, you do not need to worry about it. However, if the grunts are harsh, you need to take notice.

Try gentle and soft pets, and if your cat still shows discomfort in grunts, you might need to take note.

A cat grunts harshly when you are hurting it.

In that case, you need to see if your cat is wounded.

That may be because it fell while climbing a closet or due to a fight with a neighbor’s dog.

2. Grunts When You Touch It

Imagine you are resting in your comfort zone, and someone suddenly comes and starts touching you.

Yeah, you might like it, but your cat does not. When the cats are enjoying some me-time, they do not want to be disturbed.

So, if someone starts rubbing them while they have finally found a nice place to hide from the world, they might get a bit annoyed.

It is the same when you get annoyed because someone had woken you up from a nap.

While you might hide your discomfort, cats are bold enough to show how mean it is to disturb them like that.

In this situation, grunting is normal, and you do not need to worry about that.

You need to pay attention if the grunts are harsh while you touch your cat; you are hurting your cat.

3. Cat Grunts When You Pick It Up

Imagine a cold winter night, and while you are sleeping, your partner pulls off the blanket to get you all cold.

After that, they pick you up from the bed just because they want to cuddle.

Admit it or not, you will surely get annoyed.

In the same way, your cat does not like to be disturbed while sleeping or resting.

While a cat is relaxing, it generally wants to have a very comfortable position.

When you pick it up, you disturb her comfort zone, which is why the cat grunts.

Although sometimes, the cat looks so cute and adorable that you can’t control yourself from scooping it in your arms, the fact is that it does not want to be scooped.

It is all okay because it’s not your fault that you cannot stop yourself from cuddling it.

After all, it is so cute.

You can tolerate some grunting in this case.

Again, you need to check if you are hurting your cat when it grunts harshly, as your cat might be wounded or injured because of any reason.

4. Cat Grunts When It Jumps

It is usual for a cat to grunt right after a jump.

You might note that when you jump, you grunt too because of the physical exertion.

The same is the reason for your cat grunting when it jumps.

It is entirely natural to grunt slightly after doing physical activity of any type.

Due to physical activity, the heart rate increases, and the lungs exhale forcefully.

This increases the breathing processes, which results in making a grunting noise.

We all grunt in that way, and that is considered natural and normal.

Therefore, you do not need to worry about your cat if it grunts after jumping, as you do that too.

5. Cat Grunts When It Breaths

If your chubby dubby cat grunts its breaths, it is because of the extra fats it is carrying.

Due to excessive weight on the cat’s body, its air passages are narrowed, and this causes the cat to grunt.

If you notice your cat grunting while breathing, you need to worry if your cat is obese.

It is because obesity can lead to different health problems for your cat.

Excessive weight can lead to the cause of issues like arthritis, diabetes, and various skin diseases.

In this case, your chubby kid needs to have a healthy diet that can save it from these diseases.

Reasons why cats grunt

One other reason for grunting while breathing can be when the cat rests after excessive activity.

It would be best if you did not worry because frequent grunting is not always a sign of obesity.

If your cat is Persian, Burmese, or Himalayans, it has a narrow airway because of having short-nosed breeds.

6. Cat Grunts While Sleeping

Two main reasons for your cat’s grunts while sleeping are that the cat might be dreaming or simply because of obesity.

Usually, cats can be awakened easily, and it is because they do never sleep heavily.

Still, your cat can dream.

Your cat’s dreams might come to the surface and leading to a few grunts here and there.

All of such sleeping grunts are entirely normal, and you do not need to worry about them.

On the other hand, if you see your cat grunting quite often while sleeping, you may need to see if your cat is obese.

Due to obesity, the air passages are narrowed, which leads to grunting and snoring as an act of unusual breathing.

In this case, again, you need to check the diet plan for your cat to save it from being subject to any disease.

7. Cat Grunts Instead Of Purring

Grunts are also a kind of purr depending on your cat’s breed, weight, and age.

So, it is okay to have some grunts instead of purrs as your cat might be expressing purrs while grunting.

All the cats purr differently, and purring is not indeed a traditional hum for the cats.

Cats have different kinds of airways, and therefore, grunts are more natural to them than purrs.

So, whatever your cat does softly, purr or grunts, enjoy it as it is a way of expressing her love for you.

Important Things To Consider

While grunting is considered normal, it is essential to note that the circumstances determine your cat’s grunting.

Grunting can be a source of communicating affection.

While on the other hand, it can be a sign of showing discomfort or pain.

Understanding your cat’s grunting behavior is more like understanding its mental and physical health.

Having a cat is a whole responsibility.

Therefore, it is crucial to check and balance the cat’s behavior, like its food and health.

It would help if you were efficient enough to understand that your cat grunts in affection, discomfort, or pain.

You need to act differently in all of these circumstances.

Following are the measures that you need to take when your cat grunts.

  • If your cat grunts to show affection, you need to enjoy it as it is the time for some cuddles. This mostly happens when the cat is in a playful or cuddly mood.
  • If your cat grunts in discomfort, you should stop disturbing it. Well, on a serious note, no one is going to follow. So, keep petting it softly as you like, or scoop it in your arms but don’t be harsh. Once cats start getting intense vibes from you, you will face high time getting them back on track.
  • If your cat grunts in pain, you need to treat it. You should give it some medication or leave it as it depends on the type of wound. If you cannot figure out the reason for the unpleasant grunt, the vet is always there to help you out. Your baby might be suffering in pain, and you do not want it to keep suffering. So, make sure to have it treated effectively so that you can get those soft touches and playful cuddles back.

Final Remarks

In a nutshell, while you are parenting a cat, it’s natural to stay curious about the different signs they send to us.

While most of the time, grunting is just a regular thing, sometimes it needs your attention.

Six different grunting situations have been explained to you.

All you need to do is understand what your cat is trying to express while grunting.

By doing this, you and your kitty are going to have a great time together.

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