# Why doesn't my cat meow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274 "2001-11-08T20:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![typo\_mna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@typo\_mna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typo_mna)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/1 "2001-11-08T20:58:27Z")
So, this cat. She’s only been known to meow 4 times. Twice when her tail got stepped on, once (well, continuously) when in a carrier on the way to the vet, and once when she sniffed a box full of stuff that had come from a house with another cat in it. She frequently makes a noise that sounds like a purr that dropped out of meow school early on. Is this normal? Are some cats just naturally quiet? I did search for this in the archives (where I found surprisingly little) and on Google (where I couldn’t find the keywords that would return fewer than a quajillion hits). ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/2 "2001-11-08T21:07:26Z")
From what I understand (I saw this on some cat TV show)… Cats in general do not vocalize very much. The main reason that _most_ housecats meow is because they have learned that\* Humans\* respond to vocalization (meowing). Maybe your cat hasn’t put 2+2 together yet… or maybe it has and just doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/3 "2001-11-08T21:18:56Z")
My kitty Darien didn’t say a thing until he was almost 2 years old. We thought he was mute. Later in life (he’s now 6) he started meowing more, because he learned that when he did it got him attention. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/4 "2001-11-08T22:38:13Z")
Maybe she doesn’t have much to say…but seriously, I have known silent cats, and one of mine was very quiet - rarely meowing - until one of his housemates was taken away. Now, he cries and cries and cries, and makes me feel so badly for him. It was clear that he was responding to something in his environment that changed, for the worse. It breaks my heart, but I can’t bring his kitty-friend back. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/5 "2001-11-08T23:08:29Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by bernse \* > Cats in general do not vocalize very much. The main reason that most housecats meow is because they have learned that_ Humans\* respond to vocalization (meowing). > > Maybe your cat hasn’t put 2+2 together yet… or maybe it has and just doesn’t care. This actually makes sense in reference to my (nearly) silent cat. I love him to death, but he’s as dumb as a very small rock. The only voluntary vocalizations he makes are a sort of croaking sound for no apparent reason, and a freaky howling noise when he’s about to hack up a hairball. He never just _meows_. But he does purr like a lawnmower. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/6 "2001-11-09T01:17:54Z")
perhaps you don’t have one of the chatty cats; siamese, maine coon, burmese. those breeds can chat up a storm. my three are domestic short hair. they have a collection of merps, hrrrmps, purrs, growls, and this strange chatter noise they make for birds, squirrels, and bugs. no meow though. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/7 "2001-11-09T01:55:47Z")
This is from PetSpeak by the editors of Pets. > [@](#): > > wild cats were… solitary hunters who depended on stealth and quite cunning. … cats didn’t have a lot to talk about before humans came along > … > Intelligent cats quickly realized that making a little noise was the only way to communicate with their powerful but apparently dim two-legged companions > … > The most common form of cat chat, the meow, is unique to domesticated cats, Dr. Wright adds. Cats who have been socialized and introduced to people at an early age tend to be more vocal than those who’ve had to go it alone. Great book. You didn’t say anything about the cat’s history, but it may be that the cat wasn’t around humans at the time when meowing tends to develop. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/8 "2001-11-09T03:53:36Z")
My cats do that meow/purr thing…it’s so cute. My Fluffy used to cry all the time. If you walked into a room and she saw you, she’d start crying. She was a VERY talkative cat. Tess never said much-only when she was hungry, and then it was a tiny little squeak. Buffy cries when I pick her up, or when she’s playing with her “cards.” (Tags from clothes that she likes to carrying around with her-she has them all over the house). Misty has a very gutteral cry, sort of a whiney twang. Noel does that mmmmm-row! thing…And that little mmmmm…sound, when she’s in a good mood. Gypsy mostly growls. Cats are just cats. No one can really explain them. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/9 "2001-11-09T04:36:16Z")
You know I never thought about it but my cat only meowed when it wanted attention. Maybe yours gets enuff so it doesn’t need to meow. My cat’s lower lip used to quiver and it would make a chirp when it saw a bird. It also would hiss if another cat came by the window. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/10 "2001-11-09T04:51:04Z")
My girlfriend has two cats. The male will chirp at pigeons and when he’s jumping up on the couch to get on someone’s lap. He’ll also sass back when he gets in trouble. The female, who’s “adopted” me, has a really pitiful sounding meow that she only uses for me. She’d sit on my lap and yap at me for hours if I let her. ---
**Author:** ![VeraGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9bcb4/32.png) [@VeraGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VeraGemini)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/11 "2001-11-09T10:13:18Z")
Socialization doesn’t explain it all. I have two cats, from the same litter, same environment from day 1. One is a real talker, with a wide range of meows, yowls, mrrrts, and this little exasperated snorting sound she makes when she’s being ignored. This cat will greet you when you enter a room (or when she does), hold a “conversation”, and even meow to herself when she thinks no one is around. Her sister occasionally makes a faint squeaking noise around mealtimes. I say cat vocalizations are a personality thing. ---
**Author:** ![AndyJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@AndyJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyJ)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/12 "2001-11-09T11:19:24Z")
The first one, who’s still going @ 19yrs of age, lives with my mum and dad. He hardly ever says a word. When you let him in he greets you with his ‘hello’ meyow but that’s about it. When he’s happy though he purrs a lot and head buts you. The cat, well more of a kitten, I have now never shuts up. She greets me when I come through the door and purrs really loudly when you pick her up. She meyows when she’s hungry and if she’s locked out of the room she’ll cry untill you let her in. She has a mad hour most days when she runs around the flat at full tilt jumping up at things and running up the couch. Sometimes when she does this she starts growling like a dog. It’s quite wierd as I’d never heard a cat do it before her. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-meow/92274/13 "2001-11-09T12:04:44Z")
Maybe your cat doesn’t have anything to say? * * * ~She’s not crazy, just a little misunderstood… -Better Than Ezra