Not Meowing

My new 10 month old kitten rarely "meows". Instead, he usually makes more of a grunting sound and occasionally when he seems to want something bad he makes this weird "cawing" sound, almost like a crow. I know not all cats meow, but has anybody else had a cat making sounds like this? He's the happiest cat I've ever met and is almost purring so I doubt something is wrong, but I'm just curious.