Voiceless kitten?

I thought I'd take a stab in the dark and see if anyone knows this one ... I got a kitten from a stray last year, he is now about 8 mos. He has NEVER been able to meow. Once in awhile when he's excited you may hear a faint squeak from him, but usually he opens his mouth and goes through the meowing motions, but all you hear is the air passing through. Anyone know why this could be? He also has a tail deformity, the last vertebrae (spell check) seems off-center and it feels like he has a small stub at the tip, though I'm sure that's probably unrelated. All the vet said was that it could be some sort of "gene mutation". Thanks for any insight. Poor Token!

Our 5 month old female doesn't have much of a voice either -- she does the miaow motion but all she makes is a soft squeak that sounds like "eh!" Our other cat is very vocal so they make a hilarious couple, he miaows noisily and she punctuates with a tiny "eh".

I haven't had enough cats to know how common your "problem" is or if it is a problem.

My new little male, bogey doesn't meow but does try. The funniest thing is when his sister, Betty, tackles him as he trying, this super highpitched sound comes out and he looks so startled!Lol It really is the cutest thing.
About his tail: does he walk, run, jump just fine or does he wobble? If he does fine there probably is nothing to worry about.

My Tigger did not make a sound for 8 months when we first got her. When we went on vacation for a week we boarded her at a great place in our city. Cats have their own multi-level 'condominiums' with a view outside (squirrels, birds, etc). But they can see and hear other cats who are boarded in neighboring condos... that was her first interaction with other cats and she learned how to meow! When we brought her home she wouldn't stop... she had finally found her voice.

Thank you all for your responses. He wasn't taken from his mother early (about 8 weeks), and he's always been around other cats (2 siblings, and now with our other 3 adult cats who meow just fine). He really does TRY, I think he just simply can't meow. He does the same sort of "eh" thing, but its very very faint ... you can tell he's really doing his best to meow! Haha. I have heard of cats & kittens just not knowing "how" to meow, or not wanting to, and later develop their abilities. But I don't think that's Token's case. His tail we're not too concerned with. It doesn't affect him, it just feels weird! haha. Thanks again for all your feedback! It's good to know he at least isn't the only one!

My childhood kittie never meowed either, even though he was around others who did. He was a rescue kittie, after his 'owners' dumped him in a gravel pit. He was my absolute little boy, and sadly died 2 years ago at the grand old age of 18.

My two kittens don't really meow either! I get the occassional (well, twice) mew when they want to get my attention, but it's incredibly soft and quiet!

I gather that the 'silent' meow is actually audible to other cats, kinda like a dog whistle is audible to dogs but not us.

My Lola is 4 months and she just 'meeps' instead of meowing...not much of a voice there either. (Leo, on the other hand, can meow so loud that I hear him meowing at the door from downstairs when I'm walking up to my 2nd floor apartment!)

Has your cat ever been able to meow? Only if he loses his voice would I be worried. If he never had one, then he's probably fine and it's just the way he is. Never hurts to ask a vet, though