My newly adopted cat does not meow

[Lara13]

Meet Miss Sophie. She’s lived with me for 11 years. I think I’ve hear her meow twice.

Wow. She’s beautiful!

 

[Lara13]

I think it is probably 2 things combined. 1 she is feeling insecure & 2 if she was raised by a feral mama she would not have been trained to meow to get the stupid human’s attention. Cats are much more about very subtle body language. So cats meowing us like us trying to silently come cats using giant hand/arm signals while jumping up and down. Also some cats are just quieter.

I would suggest giving her time and meowing at her. Try lots of different meows. If she meows back at you, give her a few treats. The best treats come out for meow practice.

I would play with her and just spend time talking to her. You can read out loud yo her for 30-60 minutes every day.

I taught my last cat to meow softer ..... in a non headache inducing way. (He had a siamese meow he did occasionally & I’m prone to migraines.) My current cat, I taught to meow back at me for his wet food instead of sitting..... because I almost stepped on him a few times when he snuck up behind me! Cats are very trainable. So give it time. Someday when she meows at you, respond quickly & talk to her.

Then again I have a talkative cat ..... who meows for the fun of it. He loves to scream/sing in the shower where he gets a good echo. At least once a day he meows and I respond “what?” ..... I have learned he shuts up in a minute or two if I talk back to the attention hog. If she turns into a talker, you may wind up wishing she was quieter.

Thanks. I’ve already started teaching her.

 

[nurseangel]

Stormi is gorgeous! Bless you for rescuing her and giving her such great care! I think everyone has pretty much covered the basis as far as your original concern. I just wanted to add a personal story I thought you might find interesting. Cats learn a lot by watching other cats. When I adopted Speck, he was a kitten. I had an elderly Siamese mix. She was unable to jump at her age, so she would climb on the sofa. I guess Speck watched her, becuase he is a non-jumping cat! I was concerned at first and came to TCS to seek advice. Now he jumps a bit since he spends a lot of time with "the baby" Elsie. (He also wouldn't eat people food. Unfortunately, he's seen Elsie beg for scallops and looks up mournfully from the floor until he gets them, too.) I end up with about half my order from my favorite seafood restaurant.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I've had cats who rarely meow and others who do not ever shut up. My three right now aren't big talkers, but with Maisie I knew she felt safer with me when she started talking back to me when I spoke to her or she would meow at me to let me know that it was dinner time. It took at least 8 months for Maisie to even let me touch her, but it sounds like your kitty is warming up faster than Maisie had, so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[maggie101]

My cat has never hissed or growled. Neither did her mom. Her mom turned feral. Still a quiet,very sociable cat I brought Coco in 3 years ago.

 

[Lara13]

Stormi is gorgeous! Bless you for rescuing her and giving her such great care! I think everyone has pretty much covered the basis as far as your original concern. I just wanted to add a personal story I thought you might find interesting. Cats learn a lot by watching other cats. When I adopted Speck, he was a kitten. I had an elderly Siamese mix. She was unable to jump at her age, so she would climb on the sofa. I guess Speck watched her, becuase he is a non-jumping cat! I was concerned at first and came to TCS to seek advice. Now he jumps a bit since he spends a lot of time with "the baby" Elsie. (He also wouldn't eat people food. Unfortunately, he's seen Elsie beg for scallops and looks up mournfully from the floor until he gets them, too.) I end up with about half my order from my favorite seafood restaurant.

Do you think I should get another cat?