Cat voices

[grybai]

Aw, that's so cute! My black cat is also quite a talker. He always trills whenever I say his name. My girlfriend makes fun of me because sometimes I carry on conversations with him. I'll say something, and then he'll meow back, and so on and so on...

[Beauty17]

I loved reading the long post from Ingrid's Dadd, and also the post that mentioned "sugar-coated meows." It is indeed a great joy to have a talking cat. She will converse quite readily. She will also complain when she is moved from one spot to another - "wah, wah, wah, wah," these little whispery, grumpy rapidfire little cries in a Siamese-y baby kind of way. I also discovered that she will come to me if I meow in a cat-calling kind of way - that voice they use to call one another with. She shows up in a hurry to see what the trouble is. She will converse with me whether I talk to her in cat or in human. I am sure she is sure she is making herself perfectlly well understood. And, yes, my other cat, who doesn't meow (she only prinks) *can* meow - she will meow if en route to the vet, for instance, though softly - but it must be an effort for her, because she simply chooses not to. Even her purr is soft, as opposed to Beauty's purr, which can be heard across the room and above the sound of a television. I love cat voices, no matter what kind.

[Ingrid's dad]

I've never heard that term. But I like it.

In part because I wanted to make sure that I didn't constantly measure her according to the standard of Ingrid--which would be unfair to Ingrid, unfair to me, unfair to the new kitty--I was hesitant to bring a new cat home to live with me. I thought it might be too soon.

Yup, Ingrid had an amazing variety of vocalizations.

Matilda hardly uses her voice at all. She makes noise in other ways: galloping around, turning over a piece of furniture (just her house, which is fine--that is for her to destroy as she sees fit, rather than ruining my other stuff), etc. She flipped over her house and got it to bang against the wall while I was in the shower, and it sounded like somebody had hit my front door with a battering ram. (I'm gonna have to put some sort of weight in the bottom of it.)

But talk? Not much. She cried softly as I carried her to my car when I adopted her, she cried softly when she got tangled up in my sheets and hung off the bed in sort of a cocoon, she squeaked when she saw her image in the mirror, she squeaked last night one time when I picked her up, but she does not talk. Looks at me and moves her mouth in a silent mime of "meow."

I've known people who had cats that started talking when they were ready. Sometimes after years. Sometimes after many years. I assume that Matilda could hiss or growl if she wanted (although I'm not sure). But this Harpo Marx thing is a new one on me.

Any advice/comments? Does she need a speech therapist or a vocals coach?

[TopCat3]

My blue point is your typical talkative Siamese, plenty to say for herself and answers back. My lilac lynx has always been quieter, but when I kiss her bye-bye on her head in the morning as I leave for work, she always farewells me with a forlorn little "bye" from her spot on her own pillow on the couch. She also gives little cries of joy sometimes as she tucks into some food if she is hungry, like a strange little wail. I thought she was in pain at first! She's only done this the last few months or so! Anyone else's cat do this?

[Beauty17]

In reply to Ingrid's Dad: maybe what I call "prinking" is what you call "squeaking." Some people call it "trilling" I think. I just call it "prinking" because that's what it sounds like to me: "prink!" Or - "prrrrrink!"

I know the problem of not wanting to compare cats unfavorably. Fortunately for all of us, cats are all so different and so endearing, they make it difficult for us to cling to the memory of one to the disadvantage of another. We can still love our "gone" ones and go on to love the new ones.

I asked my vet about my silent cat's silence, and she just said, "Some cats are just like that." I knew another cat who was even more silent - did not even prink. He had been abandoned as a tiny, tiny kitten and hand-raised from only a couple of weeks old, so I don't know if his separation from other cats had something to do with it - but he seemed healthy and he led a long and happy life. I wouldn't worry about a non-talker. It seems within the bounds of normal cat-ness, at least from my anecdotal experience.

[Ingrid's dad]

A friend of mine had a cat named Pickles who always went "Bdddddrp?" as he raised his head to be petted. Came up on his hind legs. Sort of a purring call. He was a gray Siamese with blue eyes. Very mellow guy.

Matilda just squeaks. Rarely. She can cry if she's in trouble (sort of weaky), but otherwise it's just a tiny squeak. To indicate excitement, mainly.

She can definitely hear okay. Maybe she's just shy? When she's in a good mood lying beside me, I'll say hello & she just goes through the motions. No sound, though.

[Beauty17]

Matilda sounds like our Indigo. Indigo prinks - she stands on her hind legs to be petted sometimes, too, like your friend's cat. But she can give a small meow if she is in trouble (locked out on the cold back enclosed porch, accidentally) - and, yes, on occasion she does open her mouth in a gesture of a meow.