When do they get their miaow - or do they??

[MaudesMum]

My now twelve week old kitten has a bat-like squeak, which is either getting more audible as I get better at detecting it, or is actually getting louder. She greets me with a squeak when she's excited and also squeaks when she's doing the mad running around and ricocheting off walls thing - but that's it. Do kittens get more vocal as they turn into cats??

Your post reminded me of this lion cub trying to roar.
Our cat is about 12 and he has a gravelly miaow. She'll get louder.

One of mine was mute when I got her aged 5. I’d see her meow but it was silent. She’s only found her voice in the last 9 months or so.

She’s now 7

My eldest never meowed for 13 years unless she was ill When her sister died and I got two kittens she started meowing properly. Needed to make herself heard more I assume.

Mine had a strong miaow from when we got him at 8 weeks - he mewed pitifully all the way home - it was heartbreaking! He's very vocal now (at 6) and has a whole repertoire of different ones with different meanings. He's much chattier than all the other cats I've had.

Mine were very quiet when I got them about 18 months ago at about 2 years old, Girlcat would occasionally make very quiet murmuring noises to Boycat but that was it.

As time has gone by, they've started to talk a lot more and a bit louder, but nothing that really counts as a miaow. They both purr audibly now (though Girlcat is still very quiet), they make sort of "Maah!" noises, and Boycat has recently started a strange noise that sounds a bit like a wood pigeon with a sore throat cooing, Oh and Girlcat does the closest to a miaow, a sort of strangled "me" noise when she's after something.

My cat does the pigeon noise too! It’s really hard to describe but I know exactly the sound you mean. My cat is about 4 years old. She doesn’t have much of a meow even now but has leaned to meow a bit from next-door’s cat over the last 6 months or so.

Ours are nearly two and have never meowed! SisterCat has no voice, so she does the silent meow - this has got more frequent, as presumably she tries to enter in conversation with us! For instance, if I am on the landing, she always gets eye contact with me, looks pointedly up at the airing cupboard and does the silent meow until I open the door for her and put her on the first shelf!

BrotherCat only ever squeaks - this can go on for a long time, such as when we have been out and he has chosen to stay out in the garden. He gives us the benefit of his opinions on British weather when we get back!

Mine chirrups. I can tell whether it's a "feed me" noise or a "look what I've brought you" noise. Adult cats don't miaow at each other, they have continued to miaow at humans after kittenhood just as a means of communicating control

My girl is about 7 months old and it's still very high pitched!

My boy didn't really meow for the first two years, only a strained croacky 'eeeh' sort of noise. The girl cat meows a lot, all the time, very loudly. Boy cat has only just started to meow properly- i think he's copying her.

I wish mine didn't miaow!

Girl cat has a squeaky mew. Her brother has a lovely miaow - very gentle. The two other fuckers YOWL. I hate it!

I've only had two cats - first one was a kitten and poor little thing was terrified and hid behind the piano for 2 days before she ventured out. I was a primary school kid desperate to love her.

As far as I remember she always meowed but she was always quite a happy, affectionate, independent cat

My current cat was 4 when I got her, she turns meows into a bloodcurling operatic art form. It's like she puts her whole soul into expressing her wants and it is almost like listening to an aria when she does one of her wails

@scurryfunge my girl cat never read the rule book about cats not meowing at each other. She has a special meow for our boy cat and always greets him when he comes home.

Our girl cat is extremely vocal and has been since the day we collected her as an 8 week old kitten. Our boy cat chirrups at lot.

During childhood we had a virtually mute cat. He only ever meowed at us if we had returned from holiday, and once he went beserk meowing at me. When I followed him to see what was wrong he led me to an overflowing bath - I thought that was very clever!

Thst IS clever :)

Mine never. Shuts. Up.
I figure he was probably like that as a kitten too. He even screams when he's outside and I get texts saying "your cat is shouting hello again"

Olli what do the neighbours text you?? That's really funny!

Yep!
"Your cat keeps shouting hello at me"

They obviously like being said hello to!

My cat is well liked in the 'hood, it makes you feel a bit safer about them being out if the neighbours care about them

Mine is known as the noisy weird one. If I go and ask him what he's shouting at, he looks all guilty and says "ma-ma"

Ollie’s mama video is just adorable. Hint hint!

Ma-ma? https://www.facebook.com/olliebobcpl/videos/1552344601476537/

Well, if they do learn from other cats, its not going to end well as the grown-up cat of the household is using an awful lot of bad language at the moment - mainly due to the kitten's presence!