This cat has broken the world record for the loudest purr

He's always had an unusually loud purr, says owner Tracy Westwood: "Sometimes if the telephone rings I do get people asking me what’s that noise in the background. I tell them it’s the cat but I don’t know if they believe me."

Convinced that her pet's powerful purrs were one of kind, Tracy alerted the local news station, who reckoned they measured Merlin purring at 100 decibels. That's about as loud as a motorbike, a tractor or a chainsaw. Obviously that piqued the Guinness World Record team's interest who recorded the feline for themselves, here:

Merlin's mews didn't quite get up to 100 decibels, but at 67.8 they were loud enough to set a new world record and win him a certificate.

"Here at Guinness World Records we enjoy coming across your typical everyday pet with a rather unique talent and Merlin the cat from Torquay is just that. It was amazing to see just how loud his purr was in person and, despite a couple of readings of Merlin’s purr just under the current record, a bowl of tuna cat food proved to make all the difference and secure the record," said a spokesperson.

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