Do anyone's cats trill, chirrup or squeak instead of meowing?

Question

We have two cats who do this. One is Bengal, the other is
Siamese/Manx cross (little black cat). They are healthy,
affectionate, outstanding fur people, just, they do not meow!
They make an assortment of other sounds, talking with us
and each other. Do any of yours do this, or do we have a
couple of strange cats?

Answer 1

Haha chirrup, I like that word.

Yes, my cats do that... especially when I bring out the treats.

Cats are not supposed to meow much after the kitten phase. Meowing is meant for mothers and babies to communicate, to warn potential predators, and occasionally to let you know if they need something. Otherwise they don't need to meow. They communicate a lot with their tails actually.

Chirruping, trilling and squeaking are all pretty happy sounds, so I guess you have some happy children!

Answer 2

I have two little brothers, both domestic short hairs. They have never really "meowed". The only time the gray one will meow is in the morning when I'm getting his wet food (he's letting me know just how extremely hungry he is). The black one will meow if he has to go in the car/cat carrier (he's letting me know how much he HATES the car).

Otherwise, they mostly chirrup and trill. It helps me immensely because I know something is really, really wrong if either one of them let's out a clear meow.

Answer 3

One of mine started out squeaking instead of meowing. She isn't very vocal, but whenever she want something or if you privoke her, she will give this tiny, little squeal or chirp. She is capable of lowering her voice, but not in the sense of it sounding like a normal meow. I guess some cats just have higher voices. And if you make a fuss over how cute it is when they do it, they'll deffinately pick up on the habit being a good one, and continue even though they might be physically capable of proper meowing.

Answer 4

Our one cat Bella trill's in our presence, she meow's when no one is around (ie: we are upstairs, she is down and thinks we can't hear her). She meowed non stop when we first got her, then didn't hear a peep out of her for a few years, she has just strated this trilling thing in the last few months (since we moved to a bigger house) She is totally affectionate and wonderful. Your cats are not weird!!!

Answer 5

Cats are like people in that they all have different voices. I have one cat who is very "talkative" and meows a lot. I have another who is constantly "chirping" and only meows once in a great while. They have different sounds for communicating. I highly doubt your cat is depressed, as suggested by another poster. Their vocal cords can be influenced by hormones and a lot of cats who were neutered early tend to have squeakier voices. Either way, it's all normal.

Answer 6

One of my cats, Snickers, usually doesn't meow much. She makes a high purring noise that lasts about a second or two.
Sometimes my cat Sophie obviously tries to meow but nothing comes out...
Cloey is just the "meow-every-two-seconds" kitty in the house.

Answer 7

No my cat doesn't but I know some cats that do, and it is soooo awesome! I don't know why some cats do and others don't but If you read chicken soup for the cat lover's soul, about half the stories in there are about non-meowing cats.

Answer 8

he does only when he's sees a bug or a bird he wants to catch. is kinda a chirruping meow

Answer 9

Oh, yeah - lots of cats do this. I used to have big, burly-looking black cat who emitted the daintiest little trills and squeaks.

Answer 10

I grew up with cats that brrrr, mew, maa, and ones that barely make any sound at all when they open their mouth. Sometimes cats uses different sounds to "converse" with me and indicate their moods just as much as their body language or tail twitches. These are completely natural and part of what gives them their individual character and personality.