Cat Doesn't Meow

[ultranerdcat]

I wasn't sure where to put this so if it is wrong feel free to move it.

I have a 5ish month old kitten Little Miss. I had a lot of help here with hand raising her. I now have a question about her meowing.

She has NEVER meowed she does occasionally make an odd chortling noise. I've heard this many times from my two boys when they see another cat or a bird outside.

But never in place of a meow. If she wants food she chortles, if she is playing she chortles, if I talk to her she chortles.

I mentioned it at the vet during her checkup. He looked down her throat and said her vocal cords have a cobblestone appearance. Now I know in humans this can happen with acid reflux but he isn't sure what could have caused it. He also said this could be why she doesn't meow but isn't 100% sure.

Has anyone else had experience with this?
What worries me is when she gets hurt or lost she makes no sound at all. My dog jumped directly on top of her and it clearly hurt her and she opened her mouth but nothing came out.
Or if she gets stuck somewhere. She is a very small cat (weighs in at 2.8lbs) but the vet said she is the perfect weight for her size. She slipped into my closet one day and I didn't see her and I looked for 5 hours before finding her asleep under a blanket in the closet. She made no noise at all to let me know she was stuck.
This has happened a few more times in kitchen cabinets, various rooms, the cabinet under my tv, a laundry basket just not nearly as long.

My girl snoozing in the window.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Basically I'm bumping this up for you. There are humans that are mute..I wonder if the same thing can happen to cats

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Huh. I tried to find something for you on this, but everything I located was concerning thyroid issues, and the cats DID meow, then stopped. Also, I found a (ICK) board devoted to spider lovers (did NOT "click to join") with a thread devoted to meowless kittens, and there were a BUNCH of posts, so it isn't that uncommon, if that is any comfort!

 

[ifwewerebirds]

You're brave for digging through that board. Eek.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

AND I'm arachnophobic! The THINGS we do for cats!

 

[denice]

You said you hand raised her so I am assuming she was a bottle baby. Meowing is something that they actually learn as kittens, it is how they communicate with the mother and litter mates. An adult feral cat doesn't meow it is something that kittens that are still with the mother and litter mates do. Cats with humans continue doing it because they have learned that we respond to it. She may never have learned about meowing.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

LOL, years ago, when I was a child, we had a retarded Cocker Spaniel. I don't know what exactly her issue was, this was over 50 years ago, and the knowledge just wasn't there, but the poor pup just wasn't right in the intelligence area. We had to housebreak her about every 6-8 weeks, because she just couldn't remember, and she didn't know how to bark. My dad very patiently got on the floor with her a few times a day, and "arffed" in her face. She would look at him, so puzzled, but one day, the mailman knocked on the door with a package. Sugar let out a HUGE "ARFF!" that scared her so bad she hid under the bed for two days, and never barked again. And the point to this story is, maybe your kitten did NOT learn to meow, as denice suggested. You could try meowing at her and see if she picks it up! Her intelligence is normal, from what you say, so she might learn it very quickly.

 

[murphyboy]

Joking here, Maybe cat got her tongue?

Is she meowing now?