Unusual kitten ‘conversation’ noise

[TheForgetfulCat]

Hello. We have a happy healthy Siberian kitten of nearly five months old. Currently charging round the place in ‘so much chaos to cause, so little time’ mode.

No worries about him but he has a strange noise that I’ve never heard in a cat before. It’s a quiet, low pitched grunt, best translated as ‘Ulp’. When I first heard it I thought it was a baby version of a growl as he would use it when intent on hunting a feather/cardboard box/phone chargers/big cat. However he now definitely deploys it when he’s pleased to see you, making conversation or otherwise content with life.

I also wondered if it was a kitten /mother thing but wouldn’t he have outgrown that by five months?

He has a perfectly usable miaow which he deploys at top volume when the staff are late with breakfast and/or he is feeling a little lonely -at 5am-

Anyone else have a cat that says Ulp?

Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous kitty!

My cat makes lots of strange noises but I don't think I've heard the one you're describing. Sorry, no help at all but I couldn't scroll past that photo without commenting.

Oh how beautiful! 🥰🥰🥰

I've had a multitude of cats over a lifetime, no Siberians though. Several cars have made a "Purrup, Urrp" sound. Our current kitten has something to say about everything, he mews, trills and has an urrup sound too.

Enjoy the conversation!

Aw he is lovely .

Not the ulp sound, but describing cat sounds is notoriously difficult.

They do make cirrup, purrup and urrp sounds as pp said. But they all have their own variety of greetings or excited or come play with me sounds not possible to describe, but you learn over time what is meant.

Aww, gorgeous kitten!

I have one cat whose noises change depending on what she's caught. Bobble - High pitched sounds, Sock/glove - much deeper. None of the sounds are a typical meow/mrrrp/prrp

My other cat typically starts a meow with no sound but ends it with one (a sort of -uk or -ow sound), maybe it's something like that?

Thank you all for reassuring me! We have two Siberians - an adjustment as in my world cats turn up from rescue centres/ mates / the bottom of the garden etc. But husband is allergic and can tolerate these two, plus they are the most gorgeous, sociable and handsome cats I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. Gorgeous beasties.

Sounds like his ‘Ulp’ is just one of a category of strange noises. Cat 1 was very quiet for ages and still only really miaows heartbreakingly when his tea is -two seconds- late. So it’ll be fun to have a more conversational one in the family.

Pic of them both, steadily working out diplomatic relations ...

My cat only has very basic sounds - "eow", "meeeeow", "prrrp", "prrrrrRRRRrrrrRRRR" and occasionally "sssssssss". No "ulp" over here!

Oh they are gorgeous

Pic of them both, steadily working out diplomatic relations ...

Older cat 'I'm sleeping... ignoring you, ignoring you

Younger cat 'ooh you are twitching your eyelid, you can't ignore me.. I'm ready to attaccckkkk wiii'

Boycat does a sound similar to how you describe this. Sort of a grunt, or almost like the start of a very faint snore that doesn't happen. He does it when dozing (but not asleep, or when totally blissed out by something e.g. belly strokes, catnip overdose.

Mine have both also started to give a sort of sighing sound, like a human taking a breath in and sighing it out but with no vocalisation.

My boy goes 'oooh!' if you catch him unawares! They have a really wide range of potential noises and it seems some cats choose to use more of them than others.

AllergictoIroning that sounds just like it. He snores too which is rather cute!

That is exactly the state of relations between them. They enjoy a good play wrestle and have recently been spotted actually cuddled up together. Big one has a good line in compulsory ear washes for kitten too. But little one has yet to learn that, for example, pouncing on that excitingly fluffy tail will not be entirely welcome. He’s a slow learner

GIVE ME HIM !!! 💕

One of my cats is a guard cat who growls. At the postman, at the bin truck.
I booked her in at the vets once when she emitted a strange noise, like what I can only describe as sounding like she had something stuck in her throat.

A quick Youtube search and it turned out to be a completely normal, (lots of videos were on there of cats making the exact same noise), if not widely-known, cat noise. I cancelled the vets & told them what I'd learned and they'd not heard of it either.

I've not heard her make the noise since. But she still growls. Good guard cat.

Such gorgeous kitties! I wish my boy was chatty I think it’s lovely when cats make all the different little sounds. Mine has purr mode and loud I’m dying of starvation Miooowww.
He will sometimes emit a sort of eeep when I stroke him if asleep. I’ve never heard of Siberians. My brother has a Norwegian Forest cat who looks similar and my is she chatty.

FlippinNoah
I've got a growler . Never experienced it before, he is a nervous one, guess that's why. It's not a small growl, if he catches a prey, he sometimes goes bananas if you are nearby, dog style growl. Used to growl if his brother was near, when he was eating etc.

Not until I read similar on mn, did I know this is a thing.

Loving this lesson in cat vocabulary!
Big one growls. He’s the softest thing in the universe normally except when he brings something in - usually a rat - or when he has a toy that he thinks might be alive. Then he does a whole ‘I ferocious beast straight from pine forests of Siberia’ act which is quite alarming. Throw him out with the prey and the amiable cushion returns shortly!

I've got a Norwegian forest cat who "sings" when I'm fussing him and I get too close to his hind end and tail. Its a rising note in the purr and tells me he is getting annoyed. Unfortunately, its irresistible to continue as I can get quite a good tune out of him! just have to be quick when he's had enough so I don't get scratched.

and I get too close to his hind end and tail

Weird - nearly all the cats I've known are very into having their backs scratched right by the base of the tail.

Boycat has also recently started making little "prrp" noises when he thinks it's time for a cuddle & I'm likely to oblige him. Both cats were silent for well over a year when I got them, and they've now got quite a vocabulary (though still very quietly)

Awww, he sounds absolutely adorable. I think I would just put it down to his unique vocabulary.
One of our cats makes all sorts of weird noises, some of them sound incredibly human. You can definitely tell when she is pissed off 😂 she also whines like a dog, which I've never heard a cat do before!

Our (now dead) little black cat used to make a noise like a goat bleating when she was pleased to see you and my dad swears that she said 'hello' to him! She was the most vocal and would make that "yang yang" noise at birds all the time!

Adorable!
I have one silent miaower - quite funny lots of facial movement but no volume
Other one emits pitiful squeaks

Thank you all! Lovely stories of chatty cats. The Ulp is developing in range and volume and amusingly tends to be used particularly when he’s put out.

He will now very much sit and ‘Ulp’ reproachfully at you should you (for example) stop him from eating the houses during a game of Monopoly.