In Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, a 14-year-old cat belonging to a British family achieved a Guinness World Record when her thunderous purring registered at 54.59 decibels.
Bella, the feline owned by Nicole Spink, secured the title for the loudest purring domestic cat (living) after her purrs were professionally assessed by a Guinness World Records official in collaboration with an acoustic engineer.
According to Spink, Bella is in a perpetual state of purring, whether enticed by food, seeking cuddles, or even during television time. Spink humorously recalled her late husband's complaints about Bella's purring drowning out the TV's sound in the evenings.
The previous record marker for cat purring was set at 50 decibels, a threshold Bella easily surpassed.
While Bella's 54.59-decibel purr was enough to earn her the record for a living cat, the all-time loudest purr by a domestic cat was a remarkable 67.8 decibels, achieved by Smokey, owned by Lucinda Ruth Adams in Northampton, England, in 2011. This record was matched five years later by Merlin, owned by Tracy Westwood in Devon, England.
Although Smokey and Merlin have since passed away, they continue to share the record for the loudest purr by a domestic cat in history.
