I currently have three kittens: Hadia (16 weeks), Maleica (12 weeks), and Namira [Namy] (9 weeks). All of them meow (especially Hadia) except for the youngest, Namy. She's been with us for about six days, and my fiancé and I find it odd that she hasn't made a noise. She cannot hiss, cry, purr, or meow, while the other two are fully capable, and always have been. Whenever Namy attempts to make a noise, all that occurs is a tiny sound that resembles escaping air. We've noticed she makes strange sounds sometimes, though. Randomly, she may have a case of hiccoughs, while other times she sounds like a duck. All of them were introduced together within a three week period. It appears that she still has the habit of sucking on a cat's teet as well (as seen earlier with Hadia). I would have assumed her weaned already since Namy's mother absolutely despised her after seven weeks and never allowed Namy to approach her. Is there any explainable reason for Namy's case of muteness and her prolonging teet-sucking habit? All advice is warmly welcomed since we're afraid Namy will get stuck somewhere and not be able to cry for help!
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Purrs
Mute Kitten?
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Don't know about muteness, but as for the suckling, my Bob still does that and he just turned 2. I looked into it and it seems it's a way of comforting themselves - it makes them feel good. My Bob also never purrs - except when he sucks on his blanket! Otherwise he makes plenty of noise, though :)
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I don't think it hurts the other kitty. If Hadia allows it, I'd just leave them. My Bob started trying to suckle on my neck after I got him. Between his teeth and claws, he hurt me, so I started putting a blanket up against my neck and he started suckling on that instead. That's become his blanket now and is all he ever sucks on. Silly little boys :)
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I see. All right; thanks for helping me there GreatDane :D Does anyone have any ideas for Namy's muteness? I've tried searching Google and The Daily Kitten's old topics, but whatever showed up never helped any (it was always the case that the kitten could purr, hiss, etc. but not meow (which is different from my current situation)).
On a slightly different note, is it normal for kittens to enjoy eating beans, rice, apple pie, spaghetti, pasta, cereal... anything they see us eat, they invite themselves to take from our plates (literally; they jump on the couch and help themselves while we're still eating - we're currently in the process of teaching them to wait until we're finished for their share). All three of our kittens do this; is it all right for them to eat human food as such listed above (if not abused)? Are there any health concerns in regards to this? We've practically ended up calling them "Dogs in cat fur" since they eat anything and everything. -
Kittens who are in the range of ages you describe are normally experimenting to find out what's edible & what's not; also are in the middle of steep learning curves in terms of hunting / playing / learning about their environment. If you want them to learn to be comfortable wearing a collar, riding in a car, being handled by other people, etc. now is a good time to be getting them exposed to different situations, provided they're healthy, up to date on vaccinations, and that people handling them have washed their hands and know how to gently handle cats and kittens.
Food-wise, it might be a great idea right now to train your kitties to wait until you're done to get any leftovers. My cats know the cue: when I put my plate on the ground, it's their turn. Not one moment sooner! If you offer leftovers, it should be as a treat, not as a major portion of their diet. Watch to make sure the kittens don't have access to anything like cooked bones or excessively greasy food, make sure it's in moderation and spread around on the plate so they don't fight over food, and everything should be fine.
About Namy's mute condition... you really should have the vet examine her thoroughly. She may have a condition that keeps her from making normal purring or meowing sounds.
In feral kittens, though, it's normal that the kittens make no significant noise until well after leaving the nest, say around 12 to 16 weeks of age. Even then, they may make noise only when in a very scary situation or when they feel completely lost from the mama cat. Kittens that are too noisy when young tend not to survive; they attract the attention of predators. I've known feral cats that don't purr or meow.
Good luck, and welcome to TDK.
Posted 10 months ago by anncetera2 #
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Hi, I have a feral boy kitty named Stink. I brought him home a very tender age. He didn't meow for almost a year and when he tried it was pitiful. He would open his mouth and nothing would come out. We nicknamed him our Ninja Stealth Kitty, he is a black cat. He meows now, he is a little over a year but his meow is very quite and sometimes sounds like a squeek.
Posted 10 months ago by tinafishfrombirthplaceofElvis #
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Just to demonstrate how wide the range of cat verbalization is...my CJ is a purebred Manx who has had all the love and attention a kitten can possibly absorb since the day she was born. She is virtually mute. The only time she meows is in the car. Otherwise, she chirps occasionally, and she didn't do that until she was about a year old. But she loves for me--or anyone--to talk to *her.* She listens attentively, focuses her ears, and her eyes dilate. I love to talk to her, just to watch her face!
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Our Schatzi is virtually mute. He makes a very small chirping sound once in a great while, mostly when he really wants something, he is a master of the silent meow. We got him at 12 weeks from a semi-feral barn group of cats and he is just nine months now. He does purr however, we think we should have named him Harley for his little roar. All our other kitties have "normal" voices, except for Belle. Belle never had a pleasant voice and as she has aged (16 now) and gone deaf she fairly bellows at us.
As for eating our food, we have always set very clear limits with the cats and they learned them. If the dish goes on the floor it is theirs, if it is on the table it is ours. They have only forgotten a few times (Colebee thought the sugar on my apple turnover this morning looked irresistable - she was right!)
Posted 10 months ago by DancingCatHill #
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We've had this mute issue with some of our ferals in the past. Our Melis who we had for 19 years did not Meow or purr for nearly 7 years. Our current former feral Willow who we captured when he was about a year old did not meow for the first year that we had him. He is now about7-8 and still rarely meows and does not purr; sometimes he does a "purr-like" sound that is more like heavy breathing! Of course I would have your kitty checked out as Ann suggested.
Posted 10 months ago by Tigerlilly #
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I don't believe Namy is feral, though. I'm not sure about the race of either of her parents, but her mother looks like a cougar; Namy's tail is short, her ears are small, her legs seem too short in ratio to her body. She's rather clumsy and awkward as well. A significant difference between her and the other kittens are that her claws are longer, but we assumed this was from her race. She has a tendancy to walk on her claws, too. I assume her domesticate unless someone can prove otherwise. She is still trying to make noises but it still sounds like escaping air. It's quite cute, but I would prefer if she could meow like the rest since the idea of a silent-though-trying kitty seems a bit abnormal.
If you want an idea of what I mean, click her piccies in my introduction post:
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Did you adopt Namy from somewhere? It may be a good idea to ask them if she used to have a voice and has now lost it. If so, she may be sick.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ask-Veterinarian-700/Cat-Laryngitis.htm
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I obtained Namy 6 days ago from a nice woman. She told me specifically that "She doesn't talk", but I'm curious as to why that is since the other two are chatterboxes, and have been since Namy's age.
[Edit]
In referal to the link GreatDane gave, Namy never made hoarse sounds. She just hiccoughs sometimes, so I don't think it's laryngitis. -
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Thanks GreatDane. Namy "silent meows" exclusively, though, and is incapable of purring. I realize purrs are made by vibrating the vocal cords (and is not related to actually making noise with a voicebox), so perhaps she really is mute! I hope it's not the case; I'll keep watching to see if her behaviour / habits / anything else changes though.
Thanks everyone :) If anyone has anymore ideas, do say so as well. There may be another reason that my google searches refuse to find! -
I couldn't find anything, either, Namy! Since she doesn't purr, either, maybe she does have damaged vocal cords?
Does she have a collar with a bell? Maybe putting one on her would be a good idea if you lose her around the house somewhere. If she accidently got closed in a closet, for instance, and wouldn't be able to call for you, you would be able to hear her bell.
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We're thinking of purchasing her a bell, yes. It would be quite helpful for many situations (except the worst: being stuck in the couch since she wouldn't be able to move, thus no sound from the bell). We're going to purchase a new couch soon so that the risk of her being hurt inside disappears. She's influenced the other cats to follow her in, too (naughty kitty), so a new couch is mandatory.
I hope her vocal cords aren't damaged. Poor little thing.
On a slightly different note, can anyone tell me the race of Namy's mother? Perhaps that will help me figure out if it's a race-related thing as well.http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h97/Fair_One_Of_The_Last_Dusk/Miscellaneous/Photos/IMG_0388.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h97/Fair_One_Of_The_Last_Dusk/Miscellaneous/Photos/IMG_0386.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h97/Fair_One_Of_The_Last_Dusk/Miscellaneous/Photos/IMG_0387.jpg(Noting the cougar-like one is her mother)
These are the only pictures I have of her mama (given by the nice lady who gave us Namira). I hope someone can identify a race :)
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