Skip to Content

Why Your Kitten Is Making Weird Noises While Eating!

Although cats have always been a popular pet, they have seen a surge in their growth recently with a spike in the number of people who are choosing to add a kitten to their family, and with there being no end in sight for the surge in the popularity of cats we only expect this to keep on going.

The increase of both kittens and cats has resulted in a large number of people getting their very first pet and often reaching out to ask various questions about the strange behaviors of cats and kittens.

One of the questions that we have noticed people asking is why their kitten makes weird noises when eating and many kitten owners are often worried about the general health of their pet.

These noises can range from a howl to a growl to a sort of human speaking while their mouth is full of water with the volume randomly seeming to change as your kitten eats their food.

Thankfully, this can be very common in kittens and there is generally no need to worry about it and the majority of kittens will simply grow out of it.

Still, due to seeing so many people reaching out with various questions about why their kitten is making these weird noises when eating we wanted to publish our own article going over the topic.

Our hope is that we will not only be able to help you understand why your kitten is making these noises but that we will also be able to help you better understand that there is probably nothing wrong with your kitten and no need to worry.

Why Does My Kitten Make Weird Noises When Eating?

The majority of the time when a kitten makes these weird noises is just your kitten food guarding with various vocalizations.

Although this does sound weird, it is totally normal and generally nothing to worry about, especially if you only ever heard your kitten make these sounds when it is actually eating its food. If your kitten makes these noise for an hour or two after eating there is a small chance it could be due to gastrointestinal issues but this is very rare.

One easy way to confirm that the weird noises that your pet kitten is making is just good guarding is to slowly move your hand towards your kitten’s food bowl as it is eating.

The majority of the time the sounds the kitten is making will become louder as a way to try and tell you that the food belongs to your kitten and not you.

We would always recommend that our readers feed their kitten a high-quality kitten food if possible but we understand that some of our readers will be on a budget and these sounds do not mean that your kitten does not like its food as some people on social media suggest.

The weird sounds that your kitten makes when food guarding will almost always end within minutes of your kitten finishing its meal but some kittens can still make weird sounds for an hour or two after finishing their meal.

This may still be food guarding, especially if you have other pets in the house but if your kitten continues to make these sounds then it could be due to gastrointestinal problems and booking a video call with a veterinarian to have them check your kitten out while it is making the sounds is the best path to take moving forward.

Should I Be Worried About My Kitten Making Weird Noises When Eating?

There is generally no need to worry about your kitten making weird noises when eating as it is usually just your kitten food guarding.

This is an evolutionary behavior in many cat species to try and warn off the kitten’s siblings from taking its food and most kittens will grow out of the behavior by the one year old point.

A very small number of kittens never grow out of this behavior though and some continue to make these weird yowling sounds when eating as adult cats too.

Most people tend to find that this is cute but depending on your situation, it can be a pain but the majority of kittens will naturally grow out of it and not do it once they pass the one year old mark.

We have seen some people report that it is more likely that kittens will continue to keep making these weird sounds if they have been raised with their siblings while sharing a food bowl.

On the flipside of this though, whenever people point this out on forums or on social media, there are often more people saying that they raised kitten siblings from being young with them sharing a food bowl and they grew out of making these sounds.

Conclusion

That brings our article going over why your pet kitten is making weird noises while eating to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand why your pet kitten is making these sounds as well as that there is usually no reason to worry at all. Food guarding is considered a normal behaviour in kittens and although not all kittens do it, these sounds are far more common than you may think, especially if you have adopted a stray kitten that is used to having to protect its food from other cats and kittens.