My kitten doesn't purr or meow

[marissa]

It is so weird. When we got her we were told she was a bit slower in some areas by the previous owner.

If you don't remember the back story from the nest, we took 2 kittens from a friend of my twins. Her mom gave us the kittens after she didn't have her cat spayed and she had a few litters back to back. The mom lets the cat out and she gets pregnant. I offered to pay for a spay for the cat.

At any rate, one of the cats meows and purrs but our other kitty doesn't. Is there something I can do to help or not? She seems like a happy kitty and is always cuddling with us.

[mrssavy42112]

Well, I’m no vet, but I don’t think that’s that big of a deal. I know my one cat that we adopted as an adult NEVER meowed until about 3y ago. We seriously didn’t even know if she knew how to meow. Then we got 3 kittens and I think she learned that if she wanted something, she needed to vocalize it & all of a sudden she let out these little meows. Now she meows really loud when she wants something (basically all day). So perhaps it will change with time?

[niemand88f]

I wouldn't worry about it, some cats are just quiet. Our tortie NEVER made a sound until we adopted our incredibly loud-mouthed tabby, now the tortie meows and purrs sometimes though still very quiet- you have to put your head next to her chest to hear the purrs. It could change over time or maybe the cat is just a quiet one

[cookaholicwife]

I wouldn't be overly concerned either. My older cat didn't meow until she was 9. I honestly thought she didn't know how. She purred, growled and hissed and made that "omg there's a bird RIGHT.THERE" noise when looking out the window, but no meowing. Then one day she just looked at me and meowed.

Now she half meows half mews every time shes hungry.

[DorkFish]

I have a demanding cat that using his voice to get what he wants. I'm thankful for my quiet 1 year old kitten

[marissa]

Ok, so I'm not going to worry about it. I thought it was something to be concerned about...

[kellbell191]

It's pretty normal. Also, how old are they? A lot of my fosters haven't started talking until they reach the 6 month mark. One of my adults didn't start meowing until we'd had him for two years, when he was maybe 3 years old. Some cats really just don't purr...it doesn't mean they don't like you, I think its biological.

[marissa]

She's almost 8 months old. I have to say I got all excited today, it was VERY low but I heard a somewhat of a purr. She was laying on my chest giving me her "big eyes" and I felt her vibrate so I put my ear up to her and heard something.

She's our more snuggly of the girls. She is such a love bug and always wants to be held, petted, loved on. My husband tells me he thinks she thinks I'm her mommy. She sleeps on my pillow or my chest every night, sits on my lap during the day while I am working, etc.

[interro]

She sounds happy ... I wouldn't worry about it

[effisia]

I agree that it's probably nothing to fret over. Our girl cat never purred or meowed when she was a kitten. (Boy cat was totally the opposite. Yowling and purring so loud you could hear it in the next room)

The girl cat did start purring at probably about 8 months, and then started err.... meowing, I guess. She sounds more like she's squeaking or chirping. It actually sounds a lot like a cheetah.

Cats can be weird. For that matter, the kitten's probably just doing it to try and make you worry. Mine looooove doing that.