No Meow

[darcifinn]

We got the cutest little rescues from Kuwait. One has feline herpes but is doing well after a course of medicine but he doesn’t meow. He thinks he meows he opens his mouth and looks right at us and makes a meow action. He purrs a lot really loud. When he and his brother wrestle he makes kind of a strangled sound. Has anybody experienced this. He is about 4 months old. I am just wondering if he will ever meow. My Husband pointed out it might be OK if he doesn’t because he sure talks a lot even though nothing comes out

 

[stephanietx]

Feral mom cats teach their kittens to not meow. Could be that he was raised by a feral mom.

 

[darcifinn]

Feral mom cats teach their kittens to not meow. Could be that he was raised by a feral mom.

Thanks I did not know that. I was told this is his brother but I’m questioning that they’re the same litter. He certainly meow’s.

 

[lilin]

Cats basically learn to meow from us. They normally stop making vocalizations very early in life, apart from when they fight (feral mom teaches them to be quiet so they're safer). But they hear us talking, and also see that we don't respond to scents as much as cats do. So, to get our attention, they start talking!

I'd say your kitten will probably start meowing at some point. That raspy, weird sort of noise is the first step. I adopted a cat as a young adult who didn't meow, and even she eventually started!

Her brother may just be more outgoing and motivated to talk to people, so to speak, and thus learned a bit quicker. More introverted kitties are generally quieter, and may not make the connection that they can get our attention quite as strongly as their more alpha counterparts do. But, she may start talking at least a little eventually.

 

[stephanietx]

I forgot that you said he had herpes. I have a herpes girl and she gets a raspy meow when she has a lot of drainage. It could just be that he's holding back until he feels fully comfortable in your home.

 

[tinydestroyer]

They're both beautiful kitties! Even if he never meows, his little face is so expressive!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

What lovely little gentlemen kitties!

They could certainly be from the same litter, and just have different fathers.

If the photos of your kitties are recent, I can tell by the eyes of the black kitty that he is still healing from herpes flare-up. These types of upper respiratory infections can also cause some laryngitis (hoarseness) that could take a bit longer to resolve. Sometimes the flare-ups can take a while to fully disappear (until the next flare-up). I'll bet he will get his meow back in time, provided it is only related to the herpes.