hoarse meow

The last two days our younger cat, who is 10 months old, has had a really screechy meow. She doesnt appear to be sick and is still very active, but i have no idea whats causing this. Do cats get sore throats or is her voice maybe changing since shes getting older

tewing84 said:

The last two days our younger cat, who is 10 months old, has had a really screechy meow. She doesnt appear to be sick and is still very active, but i have no idea whats causing this. Do cats get sore throats or is her voice maybe changing since shes getting older

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Has she been meowing more than normal? Do you know why she is meowing?

The three biggest causes of a scratchy meows that aren't a regular part of your cat's vocal repertoire are in this order:

- An upper respiratory infection that's causing laryngitis 

- A laryngeal mass which could mean a tumor (benign or more serious, but unlikely in a 10 month old kitten)

- Hyperthyroidism can lead to changes in the voice, but this is VERY unlikely in a kitten.

If your cat goes outside or has had other coontact with cats, this would raise the possibility of a URI (top cause above).  Regardless, the next thing to do is see a vet.

Shes a balinese cat so she is always very vocal. I guess she has been meowing more than usual lately, or at least right before it started. Could she have just been meowing too much too loud and maybe kinda lost her meow as we would lose our voice? She doesnt seem to have an upper respiratory infection, she had that when we first got her. Those are the only 3 options it would be?

Well, the subject line said hoarse meow. Then in the post you said screechy.

I can't help about screechy but, I do know that A LOT of times cats will meow and purr at the same time causing the meow to sound hoarse. Reese does it all the time, it is precious!

I hope that is all it is with your baby and that she is well.

tewing84 said:

Shes a balinese cat so she is always very vocal. I guess she has been meowing more than usual lately, or at least right before it started. Could she have just been meowing too much too loud and maybe kinda lost her meow as we would lose our voice? She doesnt seem to have an upper respiratory infection, she had that when we first got her. Those are the only 3 options it would be?

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It's hard to say thats why you should see a vet.

Its a really hard meow to describe. Its just raspy and not her usual meow. Its only been going on for about 2 days, so ill probably wait on the vet. Shes still eating, playing, and trying to be vocal. Ive been trying to not play with her to try and keep her quiet, just hoping she meowed too much the few days before. The only differences i notice other than that is she sleeps just a tad bit more, and i havent seen her have any water. But im only here about half the day

We did just move to a new apartment about 2 weeks ago, not sure if that makes a difference

tewing84 said:

We did just move to a new apartment about 2 weeks ago, not sure if that makes a difference

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Like i said above this is not normal.  There is a physical reason why her voice has changed, and while it might be minor, you can't tell without a vet visit.  If its anything other than minor (like a URI) the longer you wait to see a vet the greater the risk.

If she is purring and meowing together you will be able to feel the purr if you touch her or if you happen to be holding her.....easy answer. If that is not it, then I agree with the rest on a vet visit.

Thank you for all the replies! I went ahead and made an appointment...unfortunately tho its not for a few days. I have to wait till i get paid but i needed to get her last round of shots from when i first got her. I lost my job about 2 months ago and just started one recently...so my savings is zip right now.

But a quick update, her meow sounds a lot better, still just a little raspy. Im hoping the vet doesnt find anything serious and just tells me it was a little cold or something minor. She has been coughing a little bit so i set up my humidifier.

Please keep us posted.

tewing84 said:

Thank you for all the replies! I went ahead and made an appointment...unfortunately tho its not for a few days. I have to wait till i get paid

but i needed to get her last round of shots from when i first got her. I lost my job about 2 months ago and just started one recently...so my savings is zip right now.

But a quick update, her meow sounds a lot better, still just a little raspy. Im hoping the vet doesnt find anything serious and just tells me it was a little cold or something minor. She has been coughing a little bit so i set up my humidifier.

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Coughing is a URI symptom and a possible indication of lung involvement so a vet appointment is definitely still indicated.

Yeah i made one yesterday. I cant do it till the end of the week tho. But her meow is about 90% back, i put a humidifier by her last night and i think that helped. But shes going regardless, she needs her last round of shots anyways...which i hate doing! I cant stand watching my pets get shots and be in pain

tewing84 said:

Yeah i made one yesterday. I cant do it till the end of the week tho. But her meow is about 90% back, i put a humidifier by her last night and i think that helped. But shes going regardless, she needs her last round of shots anyways...which i hate doing! I cant stand watching my pets get shots and be in pain

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The good news now is that cat's rarely feel the needle for vaccinations.