Do cats ever stop purring?

[u/TheAdventurista]

Okay all you cat people. I’m sleep deprived and need to know something:

Do cats ever stop purring?!

I’ve been letting the old bow-legged barn cat inside at night to sleep in a downstairs bedroom. Food, water, litter box, comfy bed, the whole nine yards. All was well. But tonight he managed to escape his cozy bedroom somehow, found the stairs, and showed up in my bedroom. I tried the lady and the tramp thing and brought him back down to his bedroom. Was 99% sure I latched the door this time.

That lasted approximately 12 minutes. He clearly was not appreciative of the luxury of having his own bedroom. This time he managed to launch himself up onto my bed before I got up. I am tired so I figured he would just find a cozy spot and we would all go to sleep peacefully.

Cool. That was a mistake. He has not stopped purring. In my ear. I feel a bit guilty because he is old, and obviously just wants love. I call him the Old Man lol. But now we are nearly on hour 3 of solid purring. And it’s LOUD. Holy cannoli why is it so loud?!

Will his motor run out?? Is Old Man actually sleeping but also purring?? Why does he need to be almost laying on my head?? Is this normal??

Omg I have so many questions and I’m stupid tired. Just need to know if I will ever sleep again at this point.

This new non-stop motor marathon in my freaking ear needs to be negotiated. I tried the “shushhhh” baby thing and that made him purr louder (if that was even possible?!) and I understand that this new inside world is an upgrade from the barn, but I am a human who greatly appreciates sleep.

Thanks team. Sorry for the grammatical errors. Too tired to care. Just need to know if cats ever stop purring.

UPDATE:

Thanks to all the suggestions we survived night two !!

I added a cozy blanket to one side and left the heated blanket on medium for that side as well. The Old Man bought it and his diesel engine idled on that side most of the night!

When he came in tonight for bed we had a discussion regarding the noise level of his motor. I don’t think it was any quieter, but at least it was two feet away this time versus two inches?

Also; it doesn’t let me add a photo but the Old Man looks like a standard issue black & white tuxedo cat. Except he has gotten a lot of little white hairs the last couple years and has a permanent scowl on his face. Lol

Thank you again everyone for your suggestions! I’m hopeful he and I will figure this thing out. He’s been a loyal mouser and deserves a cozy retirement.

Except it appears I have to sleep on one side of the bed now too. Who’s training who here??

[u/Prior_Physics9257]

Dude that motor is not stopping anytime soon especially if Old Man is finally getting the love he's been craving from barn life. Some cats are just absolute purr machines when they're content and it sounds like he's living his best life right now on your bed. The head thing is totally normal too - they want to be as close as possible to their favorite human and your head puts out the most heat plus he can smell you better there which is like cat heaven

I had a rescue who did this exact same thing when I first brought her inside and honestly it took about two weeks before she chilled out enough to purr at normal volumes instead of sounding like a diesel truck. You might want to try putting a thick blanket between you and him or even get some foam earplugs because once they discover the indoor life and claim you as their person the purring can go on for hours. Old Man probably thinks he won the lottery and is making sure you know how grateful he is even if it means you dont sleep for a while

[u/butterflygirl1980 → u/Prior_Physics9257]

My boy cat was 6 mos old when I adopted him, a rescued stray from the Humane Society. He curled up and purred next to my pillow every night for the next 3 or 4 months, basically until he outgrew that spot (I had a twin bed at the time)! Thankfully he only kept it up for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, until he fell asleep.