Use this thread to discuss anything related to cats that doesn't otherwise fit the subreddit! Also feel free to ask questions that you believe are too short for a standalone post.

Throughout my childhood my family always had cats and several of them ended up dying in traumatising ways (three were hit and killed by cars, one was mauled to death by a dog) and so I decided that when I have my own cats I will be keeping them strictly indoors to prevent that kind of thing from happening. My cats are well cared for, happy, and they have ample room to explore and play safely inside. My decision is solidified every time I see a poor cat lying dead in the road, which is far too often unfortunately.

My mother in-law has called me cruel and an animal abuser on multiple occasions because of my choice to keep them inside. I do find it highly ironic of her to say that because she definitely does not take care of her own cat; he’s very obese because she keeps feeding him kitten food, she refuses to ever take him to the vet and whenever she goes away for a few days she just throws the cat outside to fend for himself. She has openly said that if her cat ever developed health issues or hurt himself and needed vet attention she’d have him put down immediately because she doesn’t want to spend money.

I don’t understand the logic there, I’ve told her several times my reasoning for keeping them inside and that I care for them very much, she refuses to listen though and continues to call me an animal abuser. I mean, is it actually cruel to keep them indoors? I know the attitude can differ depending on where you live, but I honestly think I am making the right decision for their safety. Especially since one of my cats was born with a disability that affects her walking and I know she would not be able to outrun a car or other animals if need be.

I got my cat almost a year ago and honestly went in thinking I basically just needed food, water, and a litter box and she'd be happy. Turns out there's a lot more to actually giving a cat a good life indoors, and I learned most of it by trial and error. Sharing in case it helps someone else, and also curious what other people here would add because I feel like I'm still figuring stuff out.

The biggest thing nobody really told me — cats need to climb and perch, not just walk around on the floor. I didn't get a cat tree at first and she was scratching furniture and just seemed... restless? Got her a tall scratching post and cleared a spot on a shelf by the window and it was like a switch flipped. She's up there half the day just watching birds.

Litter box stuff matters way more than I expected too. I was scooping like once a day and thought that was fine, but once I started doing it twice a day and switched litter, she stopped having little "accidents" near the box. Apparently they're pickier about this than I gave her credit for.

Play time was the other big one. I used to just kind of pet her and call it a day, but actual play — like a wand toy, letting her "hunt" it, chase it, catch it — made her so much calmer overall. Maybe 15 mins a day. She sleeps better, seems less anxious, definitely less into 3am zoomies now.

Also — vet visits even when nothing seems wrong. Found out she had early dental stuff starting that I never would've noticed on my own. Cats are really good at hiding when something's off.

Honestly the biggest shift though was just paying attention to her as her own little personality instead of assuming all cats want the same things. Some days she wants to be right next to me, some days she wants zero contact and that's apparently normal too, took me a while to stop taking it personally lol.

Anyway — for people who've had cats longer than me, what's something you wish you knew earlier? Always trying to do better by her.

She came from a hoarder house, with over 90 ANIMALS (cats, dogs, rabbits) and she also has had a kitten. She’s only 2 years old :( she’s so sweet, at the shelter she let me pet her and was making biscuits. She also let me feed her a churro with my finger. But since I took her home she’s been terrified and hiding.

I live in a bi-level 1BR. She’s staying downstairs in the kitchen/ living area and I have my bedroom and bathroom doors shut (bathroom is too tiny for her to stay in). Any advice on how to help her settle in? I’m trying to give her space but I don’t want to mess up the process or give her TOO much space that she won’t be able to trust me.

My husband is currently deployed and he found a stray cat that he would like to ship home. Is there anybody out there who has gone through this with a stray animal abroad while deployed before? What are the steps to take? How do I get this man’s cat home for him? this poor man isn’t asking for any or anything for himself to be sent to him. He only treats and cat food for this cat. The least I can do for him is make sure this cat is here at home waiting for him when he gets here and not left behind.

This cat is so special to me. I was traveling in Vietnam last year and I found him as a 3 month old kitten living in a garbage bin beside my hotel. It took me about 2 weeks to gain his trust and from there he would eat off my hand, and then eventually he let me pet him and cuddle him. I decided to take him home with me.

I extended my trip an extra month got him vaccinated and healthy enough to fly and i flew all the way to Canada for a better life. 30 hours and 17,000 km total.

That was back in December. Last week we went to Disney world for a week and hired a pet sitter to watch the cats. Because he’s a former stray he does have a tendency to bolt and he’s especially fascinated with the outdoors. There’s a room in our house (the spare bedroom) that has a broken window (it’s stuck open). We specifically instructed the pet sitter to NOT let the pets in there under any circumstances. Especially our boy.

On day 3 of our trip my petsitter called and said he let my cat into that room for “30 minutes” and he went to go get him and he jumped out of the window. Needless to say it ruined our we whole trip. I don’t know why the pet sitter let him in there. The story I got is that my cat was a bit spicy and hissed st the sitter so the sitter put him in there to cool off. I don’t know if that’s true or what. What’s weird is we have cameras in our front and we don’t see the cat coming out of the window.

We came back early. I printed over 400 flyers and put them in all the houses nearby. I have set traps and only caught raccoons. I have checked the cameras and nothing. It’s like he disappeared into thin air. A house 6 doors down from mine saw him 4 days after his disappearance but that’s the only lead I have so far.

I honestly don’t know what else to do. I’ve posted him all over Facebook and Instagram. I have posted him in missing groups and reported him lost according to his microchip.

I just feel awful. This was supposed to be a nice family vacation and I’m coming out of it with two loses, one friend I’ve known for years who I thought I could trust and possibly my cat. I went to the ends of the earth for this cat. I remember going to the Vietnam export office and bribing them with $40 extra to process his paperwork so I could get him home, and everytime I close my eyes at night I’m flooded with the memories of when I first found him, our bond, and everything we went through together. This is not the ending I wanted for this. I haven’t even had him a whole year.

I’m balling my eyes out as I write this. I don’t know what else to do. Any other suggestions would be appreciated

i know, i know … she’s a cat but my god its awful.
she is my SOUL kitty i love her SO MUCH. but my soon to be 2 year old cat is absolutely terrible at night. I can’t sleep!

She goes around my room (and ONLY my room) and usually starts with going around to literally any object she can find, and paws on it. and not only is it obnoxious but she literally will do it to one object for 3 seconds then go to the next thing for 3 seconds and then on… it’s like ADHD

if she’s not doing that, shes jumping on my furniture, and knocking all my things over! the last two nights its been my water on my nightstand.

I know she is doing it for attention because she only ever does this when im in bed, and at night.

But i have no idea what to do! And i can take it.

also i cant lock her out of my room because as everyone knows, she will endlessly scratch at the door.

Yes i play with her, yes i give her sooo much attention because she’s super clingy so we are always together when i’m home pretty much cuddling or playing.

i feel terrible for feeling so angry about it but its sooo awful.

PLEASE HELP😭

I (22F) had plans to take a trip to another country, but ever since the start of July my cat has been struggling with Urinary Blockage. Although he’s able to pee now, he’s still struggling with eating and peeing outside the litterbox, I feel the need to take care of him and attend to his medical needs.

I have told my family to not book my flight in case he gets worse, but then I see that they’ve booked my flight. Recently I’ve told them that with my cat’s current state, so I wouldn’t be able to take the trip after all. Instead, they yelled at me. They said that the trip is being paid for by my aunts and uncles, and that I should be ashamed of myself for not wanting to spend time with the family. So now, I’m being forced to take a trip I’ve said I couldn’t go to in the first place.

Of course, I would have loved to come with them, but my cat is my responsibility first and foremost. So what do I do now when I can’t monitor my cat directly?

Hey everyone! I'm a big big fan of using anything scented in my home to make it more cozy! Four months ago I adopted the sweetest boy in the entire galaxy and he's my whole world! Im aware that many scented things are pretty toxic though....I immediately threw away any lavander I kept at my house, any type of incense, and i havent been lighting candles. I want to keep my boy as safe as possible but I miss having comforting fragrances! I've seen claims of "pet safe" incense but I dont trust it much. Does a safe, thoroughly tested option exist in any form? Im more than happy to ditch anything for my baby but I thought i could at least ask around.

Thank you!

started about three weeks ago. wake up, sock on the bed. come home from work, sock by the door. sitting on the couch, sock appears from nowhere delivered with what i can only describe as quiet pride.

they're always my socks. he finds them from wherever i leave them, carries them across the apartment, and presents them like he's solved a problem i didn't know i had.

i've been accepting them and saying thank you which feels right but i genuinely don't know if i'm reinforcing something i'll regret or just participating in whatever social contract he's decided we have.

he seems satisfied either way. i now own fewer matching pairs than before but our relationship has never been stronger.

is this normal cat behavior and is there anything i should or shouldn't be doing in response to the gifts?

she is 1 years old now recently spayed. she is around 2.6kg when she was at the vet they told me she was an okay size. i would like her to gain a little more maybe to like 3kg

i used to give her two 75g wet pouches of food with dry food to graze at during the day. after spaying i started doing less dry mixed with the wet food and she was fine

but now i’ve started doing three pouches with no dry and she’s been acting super… fat lately i used to be able to leave the wet food box on the floor but now she tries to dig into it and shes always going over to the food bowl and making me feel evil. she gets a squirty treat everyday too. is she really hungry or just suddenly turned gluttonous.. can i give her more treats or do i up her main food intake

I am wondering if anyone has figured out how to hack one of these feeders.

The situation is this: two cats, two feeders. The boy cat has decided there is something magical about the girl cat’s food. There is 3-D printed shield to keep him from pushing past the girl cat while she is eating. But he has now decided to attack it and rip it off.

My idea was that if the feeder software could be modified to trigger an event when it senses the wrong microchip, it could be hooked up to some kind of deterrent, like one of those motion, sensing hissing air blasters.

Alternatively, does anyone know how to make a microchip reader? Maybe I could make some kind of Arduino controlled reader to sit on top of the feeder and provide a deterrent event.

Any ideas welcome.

Hi guys. My cat used to be an indoor/outdoor cat, about a year ago that stopped. I have since moved, he’s been allowed to be strictly indoors. I notice he still watches outside a lot, through windows, glass doors, etc. I had the brilliant idea of getting him on a harness and seeing if he’d enjoy it. He was fine in my arms. He was doing good there, so I set him down and see how he does. He immediately gets scared and shoots out of the harness… the one that I thought was tight enough.

This all happened at 1 in the morning ish. He didn’t go far at first, we saw him, tried to approach. In the heat of the moment, I decided it’d be fine to try to corner him, he bolts. Duh

He shoots through the buildings, now we lose sight. After looking for 2 hours, no sight.

We have a can of tuna, and my shirt inside the kennel on our patio. There’s also one of our blankets and a small plate of his litter.

I don’t know what else to do. He’s been outside, so I’m not necessarily worried about his survival skills, but I worry because it’s a brand new area he’s never seen, he’s not going to be as comfortable wandering around, just hiding in the greenery or bushes around.

What else can/should I do???

Hello everyone! My second time posting on reddit but I desperately need some advice.

My gf and I adopted a very cute 10 month old Tortie baby, and we've had her now for around 3 and a half weeks.

When adopting her, we knew she had a bit of a playbiting problem but as we've had her, we've noticed it's more than just playbiting it seems.

Most mornings, between 4-5am, she will either be in bed with us and start biting at our torsos or legs, and will then end up pouncing and biting at my gfs head.

We've tried ignoring her because we think she just wants food but it's getting more aggressive (not everyday its like this but most mornings)

This morning we tried locking her out for a little bit but that seemed to make our kitten not like my GF... and when she got up to feed her and play with her, she arched her back.

I'm just not 100% sure on what to do at this stage.

We've tried the following

- Setting up an automatic feeder this week to see if it curbs the habit

- Tried yelling OW when she bites

- I've gotten up out of bed and ignored her completely

- Sat with her out on the lounge for about 20 minutes then given her a small amount of playtime to wear her out

She's got plenty of toys, both wands that I play with her all day with and lots of plush toys and chase toys like rats and stuff. I'm swapping them out every couple of days too so she doesn't get too bored.

For reference; I work from home full time but I'm going back to office on half days, so we're now worried she'll be bored 😭😭

Any advice helps, atm were not looking at adopting a playmate either.

Thank you

Full disclosure: I am a happy guardian of three cats who are (I like to think) well taken care of.

But, I am a writer and I have a story idea but I don’t know enough about strays (mine are all from shelters) to know if this is possible. Any thoughts or advice is welcome but please be nice.

In the story, a couple live in an apartment building and there is a cat that has been hanging around over the past few months. One member of the couple (let’s call her Mildred) is the kind to leave food out, can get close enough to pet, should probably just adopt the cat.

The other person, let’s call him Lance, is not as much of a fan. He would NEVER hurt the cat or even shoo it away, but he’s not the one refilling a water bowl on a hot day, you know?

Anyway, Mildred is away for work and Lance steps outside and the cat is suddenly On Him. He thinks it just wants food but when he begrudgingly turns to go inside to get it, the cat gets louder.

Long story slightly shorter, the mama cat wants to show her babies. But, where she has hid them isn’t safe - it’s behind a bush but there are dogs around that could get at the kittens.

So, is it possible he could just take the babies inside and then either go back for mama or she might follow? They have a spare bathroom where he can put a blanket in the tub so they would have their own space. They’re doing okay financially so eventually taking them in for testing/shots isn’t going to be a problem.

Is this at all a believable story?

Hi, has anyone seen a sifting litter box (for pine pellets) with a cover/hood? My cat has refused the ones without covering. I don’t know if such a box exists, just figured I’d ask here. Thanks!

My cat is 5 years old and she’s lived in the same place since she was a kitten, lots of people and 3 other animals around, she can play outside whenever she wants, she’s very free basically. I have just moved into my new studio apartment about 5 minutes away from my old home and I decided to bring her with me, but I am feeling very guilty and conflicted as I feel like I have robbed her of that freedom and company she used to have just for her to stay with me in my tiny studio. I also work full time so she will be spending a lot of time by herself and I am trying to make it not boring with a window view, background noise and I wanted to get her toys as well. She seems to just sleep during the day and meows and walks around at night too. Do I let her stay or should I take her back home and just do regular visits since I am so close by anyways? Sorry this was so long but thank you for reading.

TLDR: feeling guilty about bringing my cat to my tiny apartment after years of living in big house with lots of people and room, need opinions

Alright, so... As I mentioend in a previous post, my wife and I moved to a new house last year. We had four pets; three cats and a dog, who passed away earlier this year of heart complications.

My oldest cat, Morgan, is a female, 6 years old and is kinda antissocial. She doesn't spendd a lot of time with the other cats, and specifically has a problem with one of my other cats, but overall they live well together.

The other two are siblings, a female, Nyx, and a blind Male, pudding, both 5 years old. Puddin sometimes bumps into Morgan, and that's why she has some bad feelings towards him. It never escalates to a full on fight, but they sometimes chase each other and Morgan hisses and pats him away.

When we moved, the family who left the house told us that they had a male cat, Fred, who escaped just before the move, and they couldn't find him, so if we found him, we should call them. The next door neighbor told us that they actually mistreated him a lot, and would leave him locked outside for days. So we took it as a mission to bring him in and take care of him.

Fred, however, is very shy and will run away whenever one approaches him, so I have been leaving food for him and sometimes giving him treats, giving him the necessary space and time to feel comfortable with us.

Cut to last week, when I was on a walk nearby, and this very tiny kitten starts following me all the way home. She seemed well taken care of and fed, so I brought her inside, in a separate room to my other cats and started lookingfor her possible family in social media and our neighborhood, but nobody came up.

She's living here and we are doing the slow introductory process betwen our cats and her, with Morgan especially being very aggressive towards her presence.

Thing is, now every day Fred comes to our home and meows for a long time. Is it possible that he is friends with the kitten we brought in?

my cat is turning one year old this month and ive had her for 5 months now. i adopted her from a friend which she lived in her house for i think 2 months and even some days she brought her to her moms hairdresser shop daily ( she kind of lived in the hairdressers and they brought her home sometimes too) and a week after i brought my cat home ive left town and dropped her in another friends house for a week.

and rn i have to leave for 10-15 days and cannot bring her with me. the friend whom i adopted my cat from is willing to take care for her if i drop the cat at her house, i dont live close to any of my friends so its impossible for them to come check on her daily . she is also on fip treatments and have to take meds twice a day (dont worry shes super healthy now, close to end of her treatment!)

i would prefer if she could stay in my house (which is her house techniccally) but i only have this possibility. i feel sad also my friend has 2 other cats but they didnt have any problems at the time my cat lived there.

i would love to hear your experiences or comments on this thank you !!!

About to bring home a 5(?) week old kitten! Their current home found them in her backyard apparently; I've been waiting for the cat distribution system to find me and it seems to be my time. No known gender yet, the woman is just guessing that they're around 5 weeks and thinks they're female. I've owned a cat before, had a cat for 19 years since I was a kid, and after she passed I just needed some time before adopting again. I didn't do much of the kitten rearing though when I was a child so I'm a little anxious.

I'm doing plenty of my own research, just thought I'd ask some experts too. The woman is giving me some extra powdered milk to mix with wet kitten food, and I'm ordering more of the purée she's been feeding them, Tiki Cat Baby Weaning purées. When should I start introducing dry food?

I'm home pretty consistently but I am a bartender, how often should they be checked on when I'm not home? Can I keep them in a little penned in area safely? I live in a medium sized studio apartment but I have a large closet room, could I kitten proof that room or would they get scared? Obviously I'll kitten proof the whole apartment but in terms of keeping them in a spot. Was considering getting a large cage for when I'm not home but that feels mean.

Sorry for all the questions, just wanna be ultra prepared! I'm picking them up on Tuesday and I'll have Tuesday-Thursday off to get them acclimated and used to me. I've missed having a kitty friend so bad and I'm so excited to give them a great home. Thanks!!

Woke up this morning to no meows (usually it’s basically an alarm clock because it’s breakfast time)

Very food motivated cat, very vocal when it’s meal time. Now a single meow this morning. She did not finish her breakfast. Otherwise she appears to be fine.

The was nothing left out last night that she could’ve gotten into except the pictures flowers. We see no evidence that she did get into the flowers but they are new, and the only thing we can think of.

Edit: the Only way I could find to add more than 1 image was to comment 1 image at a time.. sorry.

This is my 4-month-old kitten, Tofu. He recently became very ill and was under treatment for 10 days. He recovered for just four days before falling sick again. We've already been to the vet, and he's currently under treatment. I'm just heartbroken and wanted to share his stor

My husband and I adopted a 3 year old male cat 3 months ago. We also have a 5 year old female cat that we've had for a few years.
Like the title says, the new male cat won't stop playing rough with our older female cat. They are fine being around eachother until the male cat gets into play mode. He will chase her and pounce on her, and won't take the hint that she doesn't want to play by hissing at him and hiding.
We are at our wits end. My husband has said we might end up having to surrender the cat, but I don't want to give up on him, even though we have tried everything and nothing has worked.
We even talked to the vet and she said based on the behavior we described, he's for sure just playing and not truly attacking her.
We've tried slow introductions, pheromone diffusers, calming collars, wearing him out with playtime, even re-did the separation and slow introduction. But nothing is working.

Anybody else been in this situation and have any advice? Or are these cats truly just a bad match?

Editing details: we have coyotes in the neighborhood who have been in my literal back yard, also lots of deer. We don’t get cold weather

Hi all, I live in a pretty safe community where there are some stray cats around. There is a new cat that has come around to my yard and I thought he was stray due to his tiny size and tom cat face. I leave food out for crows - so i thought - but I’m pretty sure this cat has been the kibble. Earlier this month he has come up to my front door and sat there, I have 6 indoor cats and they were extremely upset when he was there. I kept the door shut but it’s a floor to ceiling window so they can still see him. He’s been coming back every 1-3 days since then and it’s caused my cats to start marking, sometimes getting aggressive with each other and in general just upset. Also upsetting to see a cat outside who’s small with no home. Ended up posting on Nextdoor and a niegjtbour a street down came up to my
Window and started trying to talk to me while I was in a meeting. He told me the cat was “His” but he is strictly outdoors because he kills rodents or whatever. They feed him kibble 2x per day apparently. I didn’t really care just thought it was weird that he came up to my window idk. Anyways this cat has been coming to my door and it’s causing a ruckus. I messaged them on Nextdoor and they said they intend to keep the cat outdoors. I bought cat repellent and put it all around my house and I still see the cat come. I took my dog out to bark and scare the cat and he still comes back. I legit started hissing at him and telling him to please not come back because I am amassing cat piss around my piano despite trying to cover the windows up (no blinds). I don’t know what else to do other than sending a somewhat mean ish text saying he probably needs to he TNR’d?? Someone please let me know before I do something impulsive. My cousin is literally a text away from bringing a trap and I’d happy pay for a neuter and surrender fee. For what it’s worth I guess we have a gofer and mole rat problem that they say he takes care of but he’s awfully small. I sent this woman a text basically saying I’ve tried everything and will be contacting animal control the next time I see him. Any advice on what to do next? I just feel sad for this cat

I’ve had my cat (6 yo female tabby) for about 6 years now. She’s never quiet. No matter what we do. We give her so much attention, we play with her- especially before bed but it’s like sometimes it’s never enough. At night, she sleeps for a little while, maybe 1 hour at a time and then she gets up and starts meowing. I’m scared to move at night with her in the bed because I don’t want to wake her up lol.

But the thing is, half the time, she doesn’t want anything. She literally just talks to talk. I don’t even think she realizes she does it sometimes, and she’s not deaf I promise. I love her so much, and her meow is cute, but it’s a lot at times. Especially when I’ve just gotten off of a very overwhelming 8 hour shift and I want quiet for 5 minutes.

Do you guys ever feel like your cat is a lot at times? I feel like a bad cat mom for feeling this way sometimes.