The world’s loudest purring cat has been found in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK.
The Guinness World Records found that Bella, a 14-year-old moggie cat, purrs at 54.59 decibels. That is almost as loud as a washing machine and the same volume at which a boiling kettle sounds.
Bella’s owner, Nicole Spink, told Guinness World Records, “She purrs all day long! If there’s food around, or cuddles, she always purrs.”
“Also when watching TV – she likes to be loud with television. My late husband used to always moan about the sound of her purr blocking the sound of the TV in the evenings,” she added.
Spink also noted, “Friends and family always notice Bella’s loud purr, everyone comments ‘what’s that loud noise? Oh, it’s the cat’. It’s just Bella being happy!”
Bella is described as being lazy and food-driven.
“Food and sleep is pretty much her life,” Spink admitted, but she is also known to be outgoing and does enjoy going outside to smell the flowers
Spink was encouraged by her daughter to see how Bella competed with her purring peers, and downloaded the Guinness World Records app to test Bella’s purr.
When they realized she was the loudest cat, they set up an official recording attempt to submit to the Guinness World Records.
The outcome was purr-fact — Bella’s purr was officially accepted as the world’s loudest purr.
According to Sky News, Dave Wilson, the official Guinness World Records adjudicator who oversaw Bella’s record-breaking attempt, said, “It’s always an exciting day when there is the potential for a new world record so we waited in anticipation to see whether Bella would be able to do it.”
Spink anticipated her family’s reaction stating, “They will be so happy when they hear the news. They’ve been saying to everyone how loud their cat is!”
“I think the record certificate is going to have a very prominent place in the house. We’ll need to decide which kid’s photos to take down first…” she joked.
Although the loudest purr ever is still held by two other cats, Smokey and Merlin — who have passed away, Bella’s purr is the loudest among living cats worldwide.
One could easily say that hers is “the cat’s meow.”