My non-verbal cat meyowned for the first time!

[emocatowner]

I adopted a couple poorly socialized gals a few months ago. One of them made noises while in heat before I spayed her, and sometimes she mrrrs at us or her sister. But the other one... we only ever heard her make a noise when she was in labor and in horrible pain, otherwise not a peep.

I've been making a lot of progress with them. They went from always hiding when we enter the room, to being willing to come greet me with their tails up when I call them for play/food, starting to not only put up with being petted, but actually enjoy it, and just being willing to relax out in the open around us. I don't know if they'll ever purr or meow at us.

But today, I called them to play, they came running as usual, stretching and yawning. And my dear emo cat actually squeed while yawning! They may yet become vocal kitties!

I had to share this with someone. Tell me about your kitties' meows and meyowns!

 

[rubysmama]

Yay! Congrats on the yawning squee.

My family had a cat once that didn't meow. Until one day the fur on the tip of her tail got caught in the screen door. She was fine. Just startled. But she let out a loud meow. And after that time, she became a bit of a chatty cat.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Awww congratulations on the little squee... I really hope they progress to full blown talkers!!

When a cat is a talker it is the best thing in the world.. my baby girl is such a vocal little thing. We adopted her almost a year ago now and when we did she never answered to the name that was on her paperwork. So we decided to change her name but wanted to see her personality
This process only took 3 days she was such a chatty girl meowing, making trill sounds, chitter sounds, etc that it was decided we would name her Gabby lol
She meows when she "asks" for the door to be open for her, for pets, to be brushed, when she is walking to her litter box to let us jnkw she is going potty, and of course when she is done she has to come let us know.. lol
I think the best of it all though is we will talk to her ask her "what are you doin"? And get a meow
We have full blown conversations haha
Most of the time we know what she wants but when we are just talking back and forth I really wish I knew what she was saying.
She is such a sweetheart!
I really hope your girls start "talking" it really is heartwarming!!
If they start becoming more vocal you gotta let us know..

 

[emocatowner]

Yay! Congrats on the yawning squee.

My family had a cat once that didn't meow. Until one day the fur on the tip of her tail got caught in the screen door. She was fine. Just startled. But she let out a loud meow. And after that time, she became a bit of a chatty cat.

Aww poor kitty... glad it got her talking, though!

Awww congratulations on the little squee... I really hope they progress to full blown talkers!!

When a cat is a talker it is the best thing in the world.. my baby girl is such a vocal little thing. We adopted her almost a year ago now and when we did she never answered to the name that was on her paperwork. So we decided to change her name but wanted to see her personality
This process only took 3 days she was such a chatty girl meowing, making trill sounds, chitter sounds, etc that it was decided we would name her Gabby lol
She meows when she "asks" for the door to be open for her, for pets, to be brushed, when she is walking to her litter box to let us jnkw she is going potty, and of course when she is done she has to come let us know.. lol
I think the best of it all though is we will talk to her ask her "what are you doin"? And get a meow
We have full blown conversations haha
Most of the time we know what she wants but when we are just talking back and forth I really wish I knew what she was saying.
She is such a sweetheart!
I really hope your girls start "talking" it really is heartwarming!!
If they start becoming more vocal you gotta let us know..

True, chatty cats are the best! Gabby sounds like an awesome kitty!

My old dude was a very chatty cat. He showed up in a friend's yard and meowed at us for 5 hours straight to be let in, even though our friend had an old kitty who was really not happy about the intruder. We never found any owner, so he meowed our ears off for almost 9 wonderful years. He'd mrrr in greeting every time we interacted with him. He'd answer whenever he was asked a question. He'd mew at us to follow him, and then paw at a door to open, or sit in front of the bathroom sink to ask us for a drink. He'd meow up a storm whenever it was close to food time. He'd complain whenever we'd go to bed late and he wanted snuggles. He'd even mew at us when it was time to give him his daily meds, because he knew he'd get a treat afterwards. He passed away earlier this year, I really miss his meyawns.

I'm fostering a momma and kittens now, and I'll foster fail a couple of them. It's so nice to have kitties eagerly meow and purr at me again, I just couldn't part with them!

Though it also feels really special seeing my shy gals becoming confident enough to noise around us!
But they are communicating with us, even if non-verbally. We have our routines, and if we're late with them, they just come to wherever we're at and stare at us. My bf gives them food in the morning, and my emo gal puts her front paws on the bed and sniffs at his face, waking him every single day

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Aww poor kitty... glad it got her talking, though!


True, chatty cats are the best! Gabby sounds like an awesome kitty!

My old dude was a very chatty cat. He showed up in a friend's yard and meowed at us for 5 hours straight to be let in, even though our friend had an old kitty who was really not happy about the intruder. We never found any owner, so he meowed our ears off for almost 9 wonderful years. He'd mrrr in greeting every time we interacted with him. He'd answer whenever he was asked a question. He'd mew at us to follow him, and then paw at a door to open, or sit in front of the bathroom sink to ask us for a drink. He'd meow up a storm whenever it was close to food time. He'd complain whenever we'd go to bed late and he wanted snuggles. He'd even mew at us when it was time to give him his daily meds, because he knew he'd get a treat afterwards. He passed away earlier this year, I really miss his meyawns.

I'm fostering a momma and kittens now, and I'll foster fail a couple of them. It's so nice to have kitties eagerly meow and purr at me again, I just couldn't part with them!

Though it also feels really special seeing my shy gals becoming confident enough to noise around us!
But they are communicating with us, even if non-verbally. We have our routines, and if we're late with them, they just come to wherever we're at and stare at us. My bf gives them food in the morning, and my emo gal puts her front paws on the bed and sniffs at his face, waking him every single day

Awww I'm sorry about the loss of your little guy..
You definitely know what I'm talking about with Gabby it is the exact same thing like to the t lol.. I'm glad he wound up staying with you it sounds like he loved you guys just as much as you guys loved him!!
You are absolutely correct even if they aren't "talking" to us they are always communicating with us. The best part is how we learn every little way our kitties communicate with us nonverbally. Which I think understanding their nonverbal cues is a special thing too because it means we truly know our fur babies and really pay attention to what they are wanting to communicate.
Again I'm so sorry for the recent loss of your little dude. I am also glad you guys have two girls who seem to be very happy and just might start communicating verbally, but if not that's ok too
You know they love you and they obviously know you guys love them just the same

 

[emocatowner]

I promised I'd update. Check this out!
heatherwillard0614


This cat would bolt under the couch whenever we entered the room when we first got her. I wouldn't even think it's the same cat, except she still bolts under the couch whenever something even remotely scary happens

 

[Margot Lane]

I promised I'd update. Check this out!
heatherwillard0614


This cat would bolt under the couch whenever we entered the room when we first got her. I wouldn't even think it's the same cat, except she still bolts under the couch whenever something even remotely scary happens

Her cute meow reminds me of the moment when Dorothy puts oil on the Tin Woodman and he speaks! GOOD ON YOU. What a moment to cherish. I used to have a dog whose previous owner kept it in the dark tied to a radiator with a wire around its neck. It took it a month to utter a sound, but then, when it realized it was loved, really got going. So heartwarming! Thank you for sharing!

 

[allmykitties]

Let's see:
Autumn silent meows. You see her mouth working but she doesn't actually make noise. Not sure why.

Domino: pretty quiet except for the purr (he's one the vet has a hard time listening to his heart because of the purr volume)

TV: if you speak to her, she trills in response

Cosy: meows loudly (does the fact she's a tortie have anything to do with that?)

Leo (former feral): squeaks he has a very high pitched meow

Jemmy (another former feral): trills but doesn't really meow

Pandora (new kid in the house, young kitten from a feral mother): she's a loudmouth. Considering Cosy doesn't much like her, I'm not sure how that happened, since it's Leo and Jemmy who play with her--they're also the next youngest at slightly over 3 years old.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I promised I'd update. Check this out!
heatherwillard0614


This cat would bolt under the couch whenever we entered the room when we first got her. I wouldn't even think it's the same cat, except she still bolts under the couch whenever something even remotely scary happens

Omgoodness.... she has the world's cutest tiny little meow... more like a "meh" not even the whole meow just a little "squee" lol... which is perfect..

There is so much great progress going on here. She is out and about interacting with you. Still a little jumpy but hey this is a big step. I think she is doing absolutely great. It's looking like any time now she might not be jumpy at all..

She went from bolting when you walk in to now giving your hand some head bonks. That is so huge. Omgoodness this makes my heart so happy.. also like I mentioned she has the cutest tiniest little "meh"

Thank you so much for sharing this. I needed something to lift me up emotionally today and this definitely helped.

 

[BellaBlue82]

Omg this is so cute! And also makes me feel less alone lol.
We had adopted Sadie our special princess torbie a few months after our first and eldest cat passed unexpectedly in 2017. She was part of a feral litter, and was the last to be adopted. We later found out no one wanted her because she's polydactyl on all four paws - but I think that makes her even more special/cuter.
Long story short, she was very timid. She still kinda is, but she NEVER meowed. EVER. Lol
Just last year, she came to me one morning to wake me up at 4:30 for her breakfast. I kept telling her it was too early, go back to sleep... And she gave a tiny gravelly meow! Since then she's been working on her vocal skills. Now we're up to having "full conversations" about her day.

 

[emocatowner]

Omg this is so cute! And also makes me feel less alone lol.
We had adopted Sadie our special princess torbie a few months after our first and eldest cat passed unexpectedly in 2017. She was part of a feral litter, and was the last to be adopted. We later found out no one wanted her because she's polydactyl on all four paws - but I think that makes her even more special/cuter.
Long story short, she was very timid. She still kinda is, but she NEVER meowed. EVER. Lol
Just last year, she came to me one morning to wake me up at 4:30 for her breakfast. I kept telling her it was too early, go back to sleep... And she gave a tiny gravelly meow! Since then she's been working on her vocal skills. Now we're up to having "full conversations" about her day.

How can people not want more cute beans to love on...
Glad to hear she ended up in such a loving home, though, and her true personality is coming out!

 

[ObeseChess]

Sassy had been non-verbal for years when I rescued her off the street. Over time she started chirping and trilling a bit and now she's a full-on chatterbox with so much to say. However, being non-verbal for so long left her a bit out of practice - her meows are very raspy and growly (people refer to her has having a "smoker's meow") and sometimes she kind of stumbles, the way an anxious person trips over their words, like "mrrreee, EEE, owww." It's so fun to watch them get more comfortable with you.

 

[GranolaLouise]

My cat sounds like the Aflac duck ! I would be thrilled if she would gently meow more often!

 

[BellaBlue82]

Sassy had been non-verbal for years when I rescued her off the street. Over time she started chirping and trilling a bit and now she's a full-on chatterbox with so much to say. However, being non-verbal for so long left her a bit out of practice - her meows are very raspy and growly (people refer to her has having a "smoker's meow") and sometimes she kind of stumbles, the way an anxious person trips over their words, like "mrrreee, EEE, owww." It's so fun to watch them get more comfortable with you.

Haha, Sadie has a gravelly meow too! Vary curious, I always wondered if it had to do with how long it took her to "talk." I can hear your kitty now.

How can people not want more cute beans to love on...
Glad to hear she ended up in such a loving home, though, and her true personality is coming out!

I just had to show the extra beans.... hopefully you can see them!!