Research overview: the development of purring in kittens

Kittens purr from very early life, and this overview surveys the developmental emergence and early functions of purring. It examines reports that kittens purr while nursing, possibly communicating with the mother and littermates and coordinating suckling, and how the mother may purr in return during nursing and grooming. The survey considers how purring fits into the broader sequence of behavioural and vocal development during the first weeks, alongside the maturation of senses and locomotion, and how the nursing purr may form an early template for the soliciting purrs cats later direct at human caregivers. By tracing purring from birth, the survey connects the behaviour's earliest mother-offspring context to its adult roles in communication and care solicitation within human households.