My kitten doesn't meow

shopaholik285

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I just adopted a 2 1/2 month old Kitten from Petco and for some reason she has not meowed! I haven't had her for even a day yet so maybe this is something that will come with time. But the entire ride home from the store when she was in the carrier she didn't make a peep. Is this something I should be concerned about? I really wish she'd meow at me!

Also.. she has not purred either. I'm sure this is something that will come with time when she is more comfortable with me. But I just thought I'd mention it
 

epona

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Aww she's very new to you and she's been through a lot - it can take weeks or even months for them to feel completely settled. She's a bit young to be homed, but circumstances for kittens up for adoption through rescues are not always ideal so it may not have been possible for her to have stayed with mum longer. As she's a kitten I would expect her to settle quicker than an adult cat though.

You should get her vet checked within the next couple of days, even if she has been taken by the adopting shelter/agency to a vet recently it is important to get her and her vaccination records (and microchip if she has one) registered with your own vet, make sure she is in good health, and get her weighed so that you have a base weight to compare against in future.

Don't worry about the fact she hasn't made a sound - she's probably a bit confused and unsettled at the moment which is understandable. Also while some cats like to talk, others are very quiet and don't vocalise much at all - my lot are at various points of the talkativity scale including the extremes - one who never shuts up and even talks in his sleep, one who is quite loud but it's not constant, and one who makes a barely audible noise once every few months but only if he's really really excited about something
 

whiteforest

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We had a cat [
] that didn't meow until he was a year old. He always moved his mouth like he was meowing but no sound came out. The day he finally made a peep it was such a sissy meow, quiet and high pitched, coming from this gigantic beast of a cat. Even when he figured out how to meow he rarely ever did.
 

epona

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It's also the case that cats can both hear and produce noises outside of the frequencies that we can detect - a silent miaow is only silent to us, with our stunted senses - it's almost certainly detectable by other animals.
 

cc12

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Cleo was a quiet kitten and a quiet purrer. He still has a soft meow although he has become much more vocal as he has gotten older. He will be 2 next month.
Seldon has been a blabber mouth from day one. He talks constantly. Even now he is isolation for spraying and he manages to talk a lot.
Mary was very vocal as a youngster but is not as vocal as she used to be. She still talks but I have become better at picking up her body language so she doesn't need to tell me things as much anymore.
Lucia talks daily but not overmuch.
My kittens Sachi and Saffron are quiet. They purr like maniacs but not a lot of meows.

So, every cat is different. At this young age I would not be concerned. Spend some time talking to her and sometimes you might get an answer.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by shopaholik285

I just adopted a 2 1/2 month old Kitten from Petco and for some reason she has not meowed! I haven't had her for even a day yet so maybe this is something that will come with time. But the entire ride home from the store when she was in the carrier she didn't make a peep. Is this something I should be concerned about? I really wish she'd meow at me!

Also.. she has not purred either. I'm sure this is something that will come with time when she is more comfortable with me. But I just thought I'd mention it
don't be too sure - i used to think Java never purred... turns out, her purr is so quiet that i can't hear it if the A/C or ceiling fan is on! she also mews [not meows] VERY infrequently - & it's also very quiet... sounds like a baby kitten.
 

tamarae

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I had a kitty once that never meowed and only purred a couple of times. She lost her mama in a bad thunderstorm when she was tiny, I found her in the garage with her brother. Her mouth would open but no noise ever came out. Poor baby even got trapped in the back room a couple of times because she would never speak to let me know she was stuck. Luckily it was never for long!
 

darlili

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I have a cat whose meow I can hear from several rooms away - however, I have to have my ear up to her chest practically to hear her purring. I can hear my boy's purring, but he rarely vocalizes.

Bless you for adopting your new baby...I bet she's already getting more used to her new home, but give her some time to orient herself.
 

darcifinn

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My Kittesns didn't meow - I even played meows on computer but don't worry nowadays they are quite chatty! It takes a few drinks to admit I tried to teach Finn and Darci to meow - especially when they talk on whenever I am on the phone.
 

fastnoc

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My Tinker did the whole mouthing but no noise thing. It turned out it was just so faint I couldn't hear it. But she got better.

Wilbur doesn't meow he croons, and chirps.. unfortunately he does it CONSTANTLY as you can see here:
 

bbkitty

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one of our cats Meows all the time non stop, the other she's as quiet as a mouse. She opens her mouth and makes the mouth action but not a thing comes out. She does purr having said that. Shes 9 months and our vet said its nothing to worry about
Your new kitten will come around in time, just give it time to settle
 

mountaindew

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LMAO on wilber!!!!!!


I have one cat that purrs LOUD but never really meows, one that talks up a storm and is always meowing and purrs quite loud, one that only meows if you say her name and you can't even hear her purr have to feel it, one that purrs pretty loud and meows some, and the kitten used to meow but doesn't anymore but man can he purr!
 
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