Merlin smashed the previous record of 67.68 decibels set in 2011 by Smokey, a gray and white tabby from Northampton, UK.

“Occasionally when he’s really loud I have to repeat myself,” said Tracy Westwood, the cat’s owner.

“When you’re watching films you have to turn the telly up or put him out of the room, if he’s eating he’ll purr loudly. I can hear him when I’m drying my hair.”

“If he’s cleaning he gets louder and 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.”

Tracy and her daughter, Alice, adopted Merlin from an animal rescue center in nearby Kingskerswell.

“No-one’s really sure why cats purr, we do know that they all purr at the same frequency, and cats tend to do this when they’re very relaxed and when they’re happy, while kittens do it when they’re suckling from their mothers. Interestingly the big cats – lions and tigers and so on, can’t purr. It’s only the little guys, the Felis genus cats who purr,” said Prof Peter Neville, pet behavior expert.

“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,” said Jamie Clarke, spokesman for Guinness World Records.

“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.”