The Tiniest Meow

[Nature9000]

So I wonder, if this is normal or if there's something more to it. I read somewhere that it might be an issue of concern if an adult cat has a squeaky "kitten" meow, and well Nikita has, ever since I had her, had such a quiet meow...

Like, when I hear a cat meowing, I automatically know it's Prince, because he has a "loud" meow, loud in the sense that you can hear it. Nikita on the other hand, when she wants attention she'll come up and meow if I don't start petting her, but it's so small that you could miss it.

I remember when I first got her and was playing a video game, I heard a strange "ack" noise that was so faint that I thought it was part of the game at first until I realized that the game had no such noises in it, then noticed Nikita was on top of the refrigerator (which she hasn't been doing again thankfully) and didn't seem to have a way down.

Even today, I decided to come home during my break and Nikita was nowhere to be seen when I got home (she is ALWAYS at the door), I looked around until I noticed reciept paper in front of the cabinet underneath the sink, and opened the door to find Nikita in there. My god, I don't know what would have happened if I didn't come home, much less I wouldn't have been able to hear her meows.

I call her meows 'squeaks" because that's what they sound like. Tiny little squeaking meows. I can't tell if she purrs either (I don't think she or Prince actually purrs. I've never really gotten them to do that, that I know of, even when I'm petting them). Should I be concerned about her meows or no?

 

[Etarre]

I've heard that cats don't naturally meow to communicate with one another, and it's a learned behavior to communicate with humans. If that's true, then Nikita might still be figuring out that you respond to meows more than to squeaks or other quiet noises-- being around Prince and watching the two of you interact might help demonstrate this for her.

My first cat, Gwen, didn't meow for the first year and a half that I had her. She was an only cat and we shared a tiny studio apartment, so she never really needed to get my attention. When I started dating my now-husband and he started spending time in the apartment, she found her voice pretty quickly in order to assert herself and her territory and teach him some manners! (he was always perfectly nice to her, but wasn't used to cats). Gwen loved to snuggle and purred like a little motorboat when she got going.

Juniper is a quiet but insistent meower, and seems to have a specific meow in the morning when she thinks it's playtime and I'm taking too long eating breakfast and getting ready for work. She also has an array of squeaks, mostly for when she's playing. But her purr is very, very quiet, even when I can tell from looking at her and how her side is moving that she's purring really hard.

So in my experience, they're all just different in how much and how loudly they choose to communicate with us. From what you've said, I wouldn't worry that there's anything wrong with Nikita.

 

[susanm9006]

Some cats are just not big or loud talkers. But if they are trapped somewhere that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t make a big enough fuss to be heard. If she really wanted out of,the cabinet she could have meowed, scratched, banged around enough for you to definitely hear. Yours sounds like a laid back cat who just doesn’t feel the need to speak any louder.

My only caution is that if she has suddenly gotten quieter and used to have a louder meow you want the vet to checker her throat since cats can get to infected tonsils that can affect their voice.

 

[lorie d.]

Years ago, I had two cats who are now both at the Rainbow Bridge. Midnight was found wandering the streets of a nearby town all alone when she was two months old and rescued by a no kill shelter. Midnight was at this shelter for six months living among other cats, not people when I adopted her. She had a tiny squeaky meow most of the time, but could meow loudly when she wanted to and always had a loud purr. In contrast, our other cat Snowball, who had been around people his entire life had a loud meow and was more verbal. We noticed when the cats were communicating verbally to each other which wasn't often, the sound they made was very low and soft. So I agree with Etarre that meowing is a learned behavior used to communicate with people.

 

[Draco]

One of my cats has a silent meow. Her mouth will move, but hardly anything will come out. it's really cute.. I always accuse her of "yelling" at me because she's so quiet. Even when I accidentally hurt her clipping claws, she was not loud at all. Her purr is def louder than her meows.

My other cat is pretty loud when he wants to be.

I guess it depends on the cats and their genetic makeups.

 

[Tobermory]

The Spouse has nicknamed one of our three “The Squeak.” When she talks to us, Mocha alternates among tiny quiet squeaks, the silent meow that Draco describes, and occasionally a noise that sounds like a single note from a flute. When she communicates with the other two cats, she trills and brrrrps. Lily and Iris's vocalizations are much more what I would consider traditional cat speak.

 

[margd]

I'll add my experiences to those of everyone reassuring you that soft meows are normal. My Chula and Paul lived with me for over a year before I first heard one meow and even then, it was so faint that I almost missed it. They've been with me for three years now and they still have such soft meows that I'm sure I've missed some of them. The other day, I stepped on a hidden (to me) tail and Chula yowled like a banshee, thus reassuring me that there is nothing wrong with her voice box.

 

[Katie M]

Cats, like humans, have individual voices. Selene meows and trills a great deal, but Charlie has the same squeak he had as a kitten. One of my previous cats had quite a few different meows-one of them sounded like he was saying hello.

 

[RajaNMizu]

Raja's pretty vocal when she wants to be and it's great that she talks because Mizu never says a thing. Strong and silent type, that one is.

 

[Daisy6]

I have a hearing loss, so I could have simply not heard it, but Daisy seemed to have a silent meow when she was a kitten. The only time I could hear her soft voice was when I took her to the vet. Now as an adult, Daisy can be heard every time, but for some reason she rarely meows.

I used to have a cat who had different meows. Sometimes he said the whole word: "Me-ow." Other times it sounded more like one syllable.

There was only one time a soft meow signaled trouble: the last week of a cat's life. Her meows were loud until December 2016, at age 19. I knew her last day with me was coming soon when she could not yell on our way to the vet.

 

[Nature9000]

That is so sad ....

I definitely don't think Nikita's tiny meows are troubling, though they are curious. Most of the time when she meows at me it's when, I think, she's wanting to be petted. It happens a lot when I'm on the toilet....um...yeah....she'll jump up on the counter and meow until I pet her, and then she'll rub her face on the mirror or the countertop.

She does this elsewhere too, the desk or the lever under my desk chair. She typically does what I call the kitten meow or squeak meow when she comes up to me and then once I pet her. Once I pet her, she'll lay down. So I think it's an attention seeking meow.

Prince doesn't really meow for attention (heck, I think he just expects to be given attention. Whenever I come home, he lays down in the door and starts letting me scratch behind his ears and around his chin like he knows I'm going to start petting him). He meows when he wants food, or more, once I have the food bowl in my hand he'll start meowing until I set it down.

But like I know when it's him making a noise for instance, when he's searchign for something-I think Nikita to play with-he'll do that curious meow that's like a Mrr-ow? sound. Nikita is just silent.

As far as purring goes, I have to ask....how do you make a cat purr? Because I'll be scratching under Prince's chin and behind his ears and he never purrs (But I have bad hearing, so maybe I don't hear it), I think he's purred once or twice a long time ago. Nikita...her meows are so quiet that if she purrs, I don't think I can ever detect that. I almost feel like if I can't make them purr when I'm petting them, that they don't enjoy it; but I don't know if that's true.

 

[bluebirdy]

I have two cats, Meow Meow and Lillie. MM received that name because, as a kitten he was very vocal. He was constantly talking to us. Now he is almost entirely quiet except when he wants to say something to us. His sister is the reverse. She was very quiet until about a year old and is a chatterbox now. She even meows at her brother regularly if he gets outside. She will yell at him out the window until he gets his behind back inside. My only reasoning for the switch is that they were fostered together with their entire littler and MM was meowing to get attention over several other cats. When the rest were adopted and he was left with just his sister he began to vocalize much less and just crawls all over use when he wants attention instead. His sister is less of a cuddle bug though she adores cuddles but likes to lie on the floor beside you and wait for you to pet her. She loves to be in the same room with us and carry on a conversation as her way of beig close.

 

[Etarre]

Juniper has a very, very quiet purr that's difficult to hear. I can tell that she's purring by watching her side, which has a particular rhythm in the way it rises and falls when she's purring (as opposed to just breathing). I can also feel the vibrations if I put my hand on her chest or rest my ear on her belly.

 

[lorie d.]

Juniper has a very, very quiet purr that's difficult to hear. I can tell that she's purring by watching her side, which has a particular rhythm in the way it rises and falls when she's purring (as opposed to just breathing). I can also feel the vibrations if I put my hand on her chest or rest my ear on her belly.

And you can also place your hand very gently against a cat's throat. If you feel vibrations, the cat is purring.