Is there such a thing as a cat that cant meow, ever?

Question

Ive had this kitten for a week and she purrs nonstop. She hasnt meowed once since weve had her. She has hissed(at the dog), and even opened her mouth at me like she was trying to meow, but nothing came out.

Answer 1

I suppose it's possible, but I highly doubt it. How old is the cat? Maybe it's still acclimating to it's new environment.

Answer 2

Yes. You've never heard of a mute cat?

Answer 3

I have a one & a half year old cat who purrs and hisses, but doesn't meow.. She's in perfect health.. I'm interested in reading your answers, thanks for asking the question. Good Luck!!

I'm not exactly worried about my girl not meowing, my Persian does enough for both of them!

Answer 4

You might be pleased to know that in cats purrs are involuntary ... sort of like humans yawning or sneezing.  However, I must note here that cats even purr when in pain, such as in giving birth.  Has she been to a vet for a general checkup?  If you are sure her purring isn't that involuntary distress response [she may be just damned happy that she has found you], and you want some 'meowws', whenever you feed her or present her with a fun toy you should make a 'meoww' sound at her.  

Also,  you may find it fun to try yawning at your cat and watching her/him involuntarily yawn back.  That is probably the biggest triumph you will ever have over a cat.  They are so powerful!!!  That's why they appeal only to certain people.  Anyway, a 'meow' is voluntary [as opposed to the involuntary sound of purring which expresses both pleasure AND pain in cats] and is more often a voluntary sign of greeting - but also sometimes as 'want' [such as food, water, some mutual interest in her favorite toy, or a cleaner litter box].   So the lack of meowws may mean that you are taking lovely care of that cat.  

Interestingly, if you just really want a 'meoww' out of her you can probably get one by making a meoww sound [as best a human can] when you present her with her toy of the moment [you will understand that better as you take on her amusement and maintenance - lol], or fill that empty dish or water bowl or clean that disgusting litter box [What were you thinking? you'll hear her say!]   Enjoy.

Answer 5

Haha... Ironic how this question came up when I was wondering the exact same thing! All 4 of my cats have different meows, purrs, and hisses- two of them have the most "normal" sounding meow, and the other two are just plain weird. Pirate, my 1 y/o, has this weird thing where his voice just "quivers" but it's a meow. Trixie, a 10 y/o snowshoe siamese, has what I'd like to call the "retarded siamese meow" where she'll open her mouth to meow, but then a second later only a little squeak of the siamese meow comes out. And a lot of the time she just opens her mouth and nothing comes out (except for the occasional grunt to try and meow lol). And Sidney, my 4 year old, has the cutest purr ever. It sounds like she takes in deep, short breaths and purrs as hard as she can as quick as she can. And then the newest one, Mamma Mia, has a normal meow, hiss, and purr.

So I'm just as confused as you! Sorry I couldn't be any help! Hopefully someone has more info for us ;)

Answer 6

There are a few cats that don't meow.  It's rare but a few don't.  It tends to be a random thing.  She may also have laryngitis.  My cat had it once and  my vet told me it would clear up on its own. It did after about a week.

Answer 7

I've had cats all my life and I do have about 10 or something cats right now, cats all have their own personalities, some of them are social, others are very territorial, some meow, and even a couple don't meow at all.  There's nothing wrong with your cat, that's just its personality, some of them just don't like talking.