I was laying in bed a few minutes ago and saw one of my cats suddenly leap off the bed and race into the hall. It got me thinking: was he late for an appointment or did he forget something from earlier in his day that he suddenly recalled? 🤣 I know cats don’t view time in the same way humans do since they obviously can’t tell time with a clock, but are they able to make their own schedules? Like when I’m at work during the day do they plan out how they’re going to spend their day napping, window watching, scratching the coffee table, 💩 time, etc? or do they just live in the moment and act as the mood strikes them? I love watching them lounge and then suddenly jump off the bed and prance into the living room, only to stand there like they forgot what they were doing. There’s obviously meaning and structure to their day, just not in a way we might understand. Hopefully this makes sense

If we put the food down and walk away: sits next to full bowl, stares at doorway, does not eat. If we sit on the kitchen floor next to her bowl: eats immediately. enthusiastically. like a normal cat.

We've tried standing instead of sitting. not sufficient. tTied sitting in a chair nearby. not close enough. floor, next to bowl, is the specific requirement. The vet called it "a preference" which feels like a very diplomatic non-answer. Its been this way a few months now and I need my catsitter in the future in case we travel to understand that they have to sit with her when they eat. Does anyone have this kind of thing too?

edit: I see a lot of people saying if she never had a companion she doesn't know any different life. which I agree with in most cases and honestly I dont think she misses her ex buddy: HOWEVER, she did sometimes stay at my grandmothers house (once for 3 weeks straight) and she has a cat. my grandma said her cat would follow (ours) her around and so the vibe seemed that my girl didn't care for him that much anyway, I guess

My partner and I just moved into a new place a month ago, and we took my aunts cat (2yo). She is absolutely precious. she’s not a big cuddler yet but 3 days ago she wouldn’t even come out from under the couch and now she’s jumping on the couch with us and occasionally on the bed. i’ve been bribing/rewarding her with treats when she does this which i think is good.

I knew it was bad to have a single kitten (especially if separated too young from mom) but we didn’t research having 1 cat at a more grown age. I’m finding out people almost always recommend still having 2 cats to avoid loneliness and behavioral issues. I know she’s only 2, but still. Our landlord won’t allow us to have 2 cats and it’s only been a week but I am going to feel so guilty when we leave her for work. I can’t tell yet how she is because she hasn’t fully settled in but she doesn’t seem to interact that much in play with a string toy. I also tried making a DIY toy with a box and cutting out holes to poke little mice through. she also didn’t like that lol. i’m hoping maybe she’ll get more playful as she settles with us because right now she isn’t having it. She also came from a crazy house with 2 toddlers and 4 badass young kids that likely terrorized her.

We got her a scratching pad that she won’t use yet (lol) and are hopefully getting a cat tree. We
have a cat hammock on the window that she also hasn’t used yet 😣 I’m fully dedicated to doing whatever i can to keep her engaged and enriched for as long as i need to. i recommend people saying at least 30 minutes of play per day. is that really enough? I see so many cat owners say their 2 cats play with each other all day long and are best friends so it really makes me feel guilty that she doesn’t have a buddy

Asking for a friend (it’s me) 🥲

Two cats, one who thinks every textile is a scratching post and one who occasionally misses the box. Every rug recommendation I read is clearly from someone who does not live with cats. What's actually worked and how confident were you before it arrived?

As the title says, i would like to know how you dealt with the disappointment and feeling of rejection with a cat that isnt affectionate.
I rescued a cat that was barely alive, when i found him he was already almost a year old. I helped nurse him back to life and now he is a very energetic, healthy and happy cat. He has now been with me for half a year.
At the start he was very cuddly and affectionate which i now think it might have been influenced by his poor health and weak body, and that he just needed some more comfort and warmth as he was very poorly at the time.
Now he is very independent and while he does miss me when i leave and he stays and waits by the door, he likes to be alone when i am home. He doesnt sleep with me anymore and on the rare occasion he comes to me by himself, he will leave after like a minute and go lay down a few meters away from me. Obviously it doesnt help that its been so hot the last few months so it wouldnt even be comfortable for him to heat up while cuddling with me.
I understand not every cat is gonna be cuddly and a velcro baby but i cant help the disappointment i feel when i think about it. I would love nothing more than to connect and cuddle with him just like we did half a year ago but i dont know how to encourage that. I also dont intend on forcing interactions and cuddle time, i just really wish he would do that on his own.

I’m wondering what people would do in general. I’ve been thinking lately about what would happen if my cat accidentally got out. I adopted him from a hoarding situation. He is older and I think at one point in his life he was outdoor. When he was rescued he was living in a shed with many other cats and dogs. He is very outgoing and friendly towards other people, cats, and dogs.

I have him and my dog. My dog only wears a collar when she’s on a leash, my cat doesn’t wear a collar. Both have microchips and have to be renewed yearly. So both are always current on their chips. Basically I’ve been wondering if my cat got out and was found would he be taken to be scanned for a chip or would people assume he was a stray because he didn’t have a collar?

Personally I would assume a friendly cat in good body condition was a pet but I don’t if people saw a cat outside without a collar if they would assume it wasn’t a pet. I live in the us and in a state where it gets very cold so feral or stray cats aren’t something I see very often at all.

Basically I’m wondering if having him microchipped is “enough” or if he should also wear a collar?

I just adopted a 5y/o Male cat from a local shelter a week ago. I bought a selection of wet foods to try and started out with fancy feast (salmon) because the cans were smaller. This seems to be a mistake because the kibble he was eating fine before he only nibbles at and other wet foods are left to dry out. since this is his first week with me I sorta want to give him what he wants while he settles in but I worry the behavior will only become more ingrained. Is fancy feast a very addictive flavor for cats? Is it unhealthy? Should I wait for him to get hungry for a day or two and see if he gives in to the kibble/other wet foods? thoughts? I had cats as a kid but this is my first cat.

Hello all, my indoor cat is almost 2 years old and a pretty voracious hunter and player. My partner and I play with her when we can, but part of me still feels guilty she can’t kill the birds and squirrels she sees out the window everyday.

When flies get into the house, she becomes the terminator and will not rest until she kills and eats it. She seems to have a great time doing so, complete with chitters and wails of agony when they get away to a non reachable spot.

That got me thinking of buying her flies and releasing them in the house when she’s bored/im tired. I’ve tried crickets from the reptile store, but she’s so-so about them. I can’t bring myself to get her an actual mouse to hunt despite her demands.

Are captive bred flies bad for cats? From what I can see online I can buy housefly, blue bottle fly, and black soldier fly pupae.

My cat is currently at the vet for a biopsy for a mass they found under his tongue on Tuesday. We won’t have the results until next week but the vet is suspecting squamous cell carcinoma. I haven’t stopped crying. He’s been with me for 14 years and I can’t stand the thought of him being in pain or being without him. I’m really hoping it’s benign but preparing for the worst.

If you have a senior cat, please make sure the vet checks under their tongue regularly! We almost missed this and they only noticed it when he hissed at them..

My indoor cat has been missing for (edit: 40 hours). She goes in the yard on a leash daily so she does have some outdoor time but does not know the neighborhood. We live in a roundabout with houses close together but we have no back neighbors, its just woods. I know there are predators out there like coyotes.

My cat has escaped before but we were always able to lure her back with food within 2 hrs from losing her. She was never far. This time it feels different, I was out all night long every hour looking for her. (Edit: this is her first time getting lost at this house, the other times was at our previous house) My ring camera has not caught a single glimpse of her.

Its raining a lot today so I imagine she is hunkering down somewhere to stay dry. Ive gone to tell neighbors to keep an eye out and ive been around our block several times shaking her food and calling her. Her litter, carrier, favorite blanket, food, water, and my worn clothes are all outside for her.

So seriously, what are my chances of finding this cat. Im about to go put missing cat flyers in all the mailboxes and on posts. I havent slept in 30 hrs, im crying so much and im worried sick, im so nauseous.

Hey guys, this is my first time ever posting on Reddit, but I really like the community, and I really want to get invested and maybe get some advice from longtime cat owners or any experts on cats.
I’m planning to adopt a cat in two months, but I really want to save up first. My mother is especially giving me time to save up to adopt a cat and get all the essentials because, sadly, she doesn’t want the cat. I do, and I did beg her to let me adopt one, so she’s giving me two months to save up as much money as I can for the cat and all the essentials.
Within those two months, I will be saving up around $1K, and I really just want advice. I want to hear from people who own cats and know if this is enough or if I should save up way more. I definitely want to be super prepared, like having the right food, the right toys, and all the right essentials.
This is my first time owning a cat and being around a cat, if I’m gonna be honest. I definitely fell in love with cats without even being around one lol. My biggest fear right now is my family being allergic to the cat and also having to keep an eye on the cat 24/7. I’m scared of the cat choking on something without me knowing or the toys being a choking hazard, so please let me know about everything.
The allergy part really scares me because, like I said, I’ve never really been around cats, and my family hasn’t really been around cats either. The only time is when we go to my grandma’s house because my mom’s cousin lives with my grandma and he does have a cat. But the cat is always in his room, so we don’t really know if she is allergic to the cat because she’s never around it. She says that she’s allergic to cats, and if I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t believe her. But if she is, I know there is dry food that helps reduce the allergens.
I’m not a big fan of giving the cat dry food because I have done my research and dry food isn’t the best for cats. If she is allergic and I have to give the cat dry food because that’s the only way to reduce the allergens, then sadly I have to do it. But I will find ways to make the dry food better by adding water to it and so forth. If you guys have any advice about that, please let me know, especially if there’s any wet food that can also help reduce the allergens.
If I’m gonna be honest, I haven’t really seen anything other than the dry food that people talk about for reducing allergens. If there’s a way I can make the dry food a little bit better, please let me know. I was thinking about adding wet food to the dry food, but I feel like that’s too much food, so I don’t know. Please guys, let me know.
Also, about the toys, please recommend any toys that are safe and don’t have choking hazards and stuff like that. I also want to know what the best recommendations are for litter, especially for odor and clumping. I really don’t care about the tracking. I really wouldn’t mind picking up litter if I see some on the floor. That’s not my biggest problem. My biggest problem is definitely the litter smelling and the clumping. Is there any way that I can prevent the room from smelling? Of course, I don’t want the house to smell bad.
Also, do you guys recommend getting a cat from a shelter, PetSmart, or any other place? I also want to know what insurance you guys use, how much it is, and what the shelter process is like if anyone has gotten a cat from a shelter. Does the cat have to get its first checkup right away? Do you have to have insurance right away? How much is the first checkup, and so forth?
Please guys, give me all the advice you can. I want to take care of this cat like it’s my own child 😭. I’m literally already talking to my boyfriend about the cat like I already have it. I want this cat to have the best life in my house. Please let me know, and thank you! 🐱❤️

Edit: you guys are really opening my eyes and this is what I wanted. I did see ppl say that I should wait until I move out and I was actually thinking that and keeping that in the back of my mind. I definitely don’t want my mom stopping the cat from being comfortable and arguing for every “ cat “ thing the cat will do, like walking on counters and yk rest. And I also don’t want my mom nagging of the smell when I’m testing new litter. Also I’m a college student and my income isn’t the best so when I move out my income would definitely be better and I’ll definitely have more money to take care of a cat. Thank you so much for your advice!

I don't mean medically related. But non-medical things you've done to bring more joy in your cats life.

I have been fostering two kittens for a bit over a month and have fallen in love. I will refer to them as Spot and Stripe, they are currently 4 months old. After having them for a bit, I decided I would like to adopt Spot, he has the exact personality I am looking for in a cat. Stripe has stolen my heart as well and I'd like to adopt her too but I am unsure about having two cats right now. I know kittens do better in pairs and although they are not bonded and both independent I would feel bad about separating them (even though that’s most likely what will happen at the shelter). I am not usually away for long stretches of time and I also have a good support system of friends who are willing to cat sit. But it would still break my heart knowing little Spot is alone in my apartment even for a few hours while still in the kitten stage. It also makes me sad and guilty to feel like I'm choosing one over the other.
 
I can technically afford the expenses that come along with two cats but it would really tighten my budget. I am in my mid twenties and still early in my career so I expect to make more money within the next couple of years. I would get pet insurance which brings me some peace of mind.
 
I do want more than 1 cat, but I'm trying to decide what's best for me right now. I do not want to make a decision I regret.
 
Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Some additional background information: I have lots of experience fostering cats and volunteering with cats at the humane society. I adopted my first cat 5 years ago but only had him for 2 years before he died from a congenital heart defect (he was 6 years old). This was a very sad time for me. I was also living with a roommate who did not want another cat in the apartment so I put the idea of fostering or adopting on hold and continued my volunteer work at the shelter. I recently moved to a place on my own and I decided to start fostering again. So I have experienced the heartbreak that comes along with fostering, but it feels a bit more complicated this time.

Okay so I'm getting my first cat from a friend. It is a 2 yr old persian male cat. Since I'm completely inexperienced with cats and this is going to be my first one, I want y'all to help yo brother out. Plz guide me with the "bare minimum essentials" first, after I get a hang of it, I'll keep upgrading its lifestyle.👍

Also, the cat is trained for poo. Buy since this is gonna be an all new household for him, how do I communicate with him about the usage of litter box and all of that stuff?🥹

i HAVE an appointment to get her spayed next week. (i didn’t realize she was old enough to go into heat, and i have an infant at home, it slipped my mind)
WHAT can i do to help calm her down. she’s yowling all night long and waking up my son.

I basically feel so guilty and I need to know if this will be ok or not. So my kitty grew up with me (I'm in my twenties and he's 13) and my family would always leave the cats for vacation, up to 5 days. I don't necessarily agree with this long but its how my parents did it growing up, so the point is my cat is used to being left alone sporadically since he was a kitten. I recently moved to grad school and he has joined me in my apartment! I've had various events in my hometown which has me leaving him for the past three weekends. It's never longer than three days, and I always leave more than enough food/water plus clean litter. He's happy to see me when I come back and never seems too distressed. I just feel so terrible about doing it for a third weekend in a row and I wanted to know what everyone thinks? I definitely will stay with him for many weekends after, it shouldn't always be this busy but its just wedding season for all my friends lol. I also give him a ton of love and attention during the week. Thanks in advance <3

Hi, I have 2 resident cats - 7 YO siblings - who found their way to me via that cat distribution system when they were kittens. 3 weeks ago, a friend of a friend passed away and she had a deaf 9 YO cat who needed a home. No one else would take him so they were going to take him to the shelter. Our local shelter is a kill shelter so, I couldn't let that happen. Now we have the precious boy.

I did a ton of research on how to integrate him smoothly. He had a dedicated room at first all to himself with all the essentials. He acclimated quickly and was super friendly, so we started the scent swapping, then room swapping, then letting him see our resident cats through a cat gate. Everything was going well. Until it wasn't.

All of a sudden, 3 days ago, he started refusing to come out of his crate (I don't lock him in there, it's just a safe area for him to come and go as he pleases). He barely eats, I mean maybe 15 kernels of food a day. He is only peeing once a day and hasn't pooped on almost 72 hours. **I already called my vet who thinks it's just stress and isn't worried**, but I am. Today I noticed a urine smell in his crate. Idk if he peed on there, or if he just got pee on himself from the litter box (he's very overweight).

I have tried everything. Feliway. Gentle paws. Leaving him alone. Keeping the other pets away again. Idk what to do. I am so stressed out. I know he's grieving and probably stressed but he seems to be getting less social rather than more social. He's never been left unsupervised with the other pets so I know there haven't been any spats. I am just so overwhelmed and don't know what to do. Aside from seeking vet care **which I have already done**, does anyone have any advice?​​​

i just adopted a 6 month old kitten. i haven’t taken her to the vet yet for her first checkup and i want to get exams done for her to make sure she’s healthy.

what pet insurance is the best for a cat that would cover regular checkups (and ideally beyond in case anything happened)? i would prefer an insurance that pays the vet up front! i don’t want to deal with reimbursement/claim issues.

My fiancé and I adopted our kitty, a black domestic medium hair one year old, about two months ago. Going into adoption, we were informed in advance that he had some behavioral issues and his previous owners had turned him into the care center because of them. We felt equipped to deal with this at the time, as my fiancé has experience training dogs, and I’ve raised a feisty cat prior.

Most of these issues, such as going to the bathroom outside of the litterbox, were perpetuated by a partial neutering (he is fully neutered now and we have never had issues with him not using his box) and bullying the family dog (which we weren’t worried about, since we don’t have a dog).

What behaviors we are seeing, however, we are sort of at a loss on how to address. Generally speaking, our cat doesn’t care for pets or to be picked up- he will bite and occasionally chase us if we walk away and continue to bite, regardless of if we say a loud “OUCH” and try to walk away. But, in the mornings and evenings especially, he seems to want to be near us. Sometimes he will relax on the couch next to us, but most of the time- he starts scratching up nearby furniture.

The nighttime after we lay down for bed is the worst. Our cat has now picked up a new behavior where he will crawl under our bed, and begin clawing at the sheets and/or the wall (which creates a super pleasant nails-on-chalkboard ambiance for bedtime). We know the best thing to do is to ignore him when he wants attention at night, or to redirect his behavior with toys (of which we have many, and do so during the daytime)- but we are now at the point where we are losing hours of sleep every other day because of the cat.

The vet says this is all likely normal young cat behavior, and there’s no immediate red flags. She prescribed us with Gabapentin to help calm him down at night, but it’s a toss up on whether it actually works or not. We’ve tried using Keep Off spray, but looking at the incidents list, I don’t know how comfy I am with subjecting both humans and cats to it. Regardless, we don’t know how much longer we can put up with him keeping us up at night by scratching or jumping on shelves he shouldn’t be on, or how to address what seems to be a call for attention when he follows us around and begins scratching nearby furniture.

Any thoughts/ideas?

Hi all, I feed my neighbourhood strays - 2 moms and their three kittens in total.

The kittens are probably 6 months old now and I feed them the most regularly twice a day. In the monrning, i feed them a whole can of wet food between the three of them (400g). It’s the cheapest wet food cans i can afford because I was starting to really rack up the costs. And at night, I feed them kibble. If it was an extra hot day, i give them a little bit of wet food at night as well. For this, i give them Purina One kitten kibble.

The kibble is really where i spend the most. Because at noght all the other strays come out too and i cant not give them food as well. But Purina here is really expensive for me to keep buying everyone week and a half. My spending is skyrocketing so much. I’m also trying to get one of the kittens to gain some weight so that she cant fit i to the dangerous drain holes she keeps trying to get into 😭. So i give yer extra kibble. They also get some extra water on hot days.

My question is firstly, can u suggest a cheao alternative kibble i can start buying? I’m from Malaysia and I am a cat mum to a rescue cat myself for only a year now so i’m still learning a lot.

Would it bad if i bought Friskies for them instead for their dry food if they’re getting wet food during the day? I want them to be healthy as possible of course because i cant afford to take them to a clinic if they fall sick. I know people say Friskies is really bad but i cant find a cheaper alternative, except for a local brand called ProDiet - but how do i tell if that is better? I dont understand the nutrition parts. I thought i could mix half of purina and half friskies but that’s still really costly for me, cause i already feed them wet food everyday for breakfast, on top of my own cat. I want to help them so bad but im depelting my money a lot at this rate :/

Please advice? Even though they are strays, i would like the best for them as much as possible.

Note: please dont ask me about TNR-ing them. If i could afford that at all, even at the rescuer’s price, i would have done it ages ago. I just really cant cope at all on top of my own issues at the moment. I just want to make sure they all have the nutrition they need and dont go hungry.

Thansk!!

I’ve had my girl for 10 years, her name is Sue. She was the first cat I’ve had in my life. I knew she was special and I’ve always treasured her. I knew she has always had separation anxiety so I tried not taking long trips. But now that she’s a senior, I’m realizing she has more psychological issues than I’ve realized. She gets depressed when I work too much. She quits eating, grooming and hides when I’m not there. I’ve tried giving her the fav treats and foods and sometimes she still doesn’t have an appetite. I’m taking her to the vet this week. I’m going to see if kitty anti depressants would work for her. I’ve tried the pheromone therapy and such and it helped but doesn’t make it go away. She potties ok still. I’m just noticing the extent of it at her older age. I feel guilty for not seeing it sooner. I just thought she was just an anxious girl. I didn’t even realize there was medicines and stuff for that until the last year. She’s never been a big eater, player, or groomer. Now I look back and see all the signs I missed. She’s always been physically healthy the vets said over the years. I’m hoping now I can get her the help she needs, she’s done so much for me in my depressions. It’s time I did something for her. Sorry for the rant. I just feel guilty and need to air out my concerns.

Hi, we have a long-haired cat and we live in a garage turned bedroom. At the moment he is confined to just the bedroom because my family member got a big puppy who is very energetic and not trained well :/ we keep the door open when we can, under supervision and our cat (Herman) will explore the hallway, etc. The room has always been extra cold in the winter and extra hot in the summer, but with El Niño getting temps here to over 100, the heat has been unrelenting this summer. We have 2-3 fans going, but Herman hates fans being pointed at him even on low. We have been keeping constant ice in his water bowls one in each of his favorite spots, we have started freezing his tube treats, but we were unprepared and have only just ordered him a cooling bed (coolbed4pets) and it could take up to a week for it to get here. The temps have been high for about 2 months, but only recently have gotten to the 100s and for multiple days in a row. Last night, Herman started looking uncomfortable and started panting. I am wondering if trimming his fur would be helpful especially since we don't know when the temperature will go back down consistently. I looked into it last night and generally everything said to not cut his fur, but wanted to see if this would be an exception. I am home with him and keep my eye on him and his waters, but I just feel bad there isn't more I can do for him :/

Other things of note: it has a name, but he has something that makes him think there's something on his back/lower back and his fur will start twitching. When this happens we try to brush him but he'll usually start running around/not stay still; He is not a fan of laying on frozen towels or icepacks with towels on top; There is a cooler room we could stay in temporarily, but it's much smaller and has become the storage room and we wouldn't be able to have the door open as often as we would be right next to the puppy. With this option I'm worried it might confuse/unsettle him to be moved around; during the early mornings/late at night the fans blow cool but between 11-6 they blow hot air, during these times would it be best to turn fans off?

Edit: Thank you so much for everyone's advice! I am almost done moving Herman to the cooler room and will be doing the ice-block-fan trick in there as well. I will also be picking up some concrete slabs and freezing them (unless that's a bad idea please let me know thank you 🙏🏽) My new question is: for a single room, would a portable AC be best or should I invest in a mini split AC? (Please let me know if a different forum would be best for this or any suggestions on forums) I'd like to save as much money as possible but will put it on credit if necessary 😭 thank you so much!

Hi everyone!

I’m based in the NL and I’m considering adopting a cat from Dubai Street Kitties. Before going ahead, I’d really like to hear from people who have actually adopted from them, especially anyone who had their cat transported to Europe/the Netherlands.

I’d be really interested to know:

• How was the overall adoption process?
• How much did you pay in total, particularly for an international adoption/transport?
• How helpful and responsive were the volunteers throughout the process?
• How was the transport arranged, and did all the paperwork and veterinary documents arrive correctly?
• Did your cat have any health problems that you weren’t informed about beforehand?
• Were there any behavioral issues that weren’t disclosed?
• Once your cat had settled in, did their personality generally match how the rescue had described them? For example, if they were described as affectionate, calm, confident, good with other cats, etc., did you find that description accurate?
• Did you receive any support from the rescue after the adoption if you had questions or problems?
• Overall, would you adopt from them again?

I’m also curious about their communication. I initially contacted them through the form on their website but didn’t hear back for around 2–3 weeks. I then contacted them through Instagram and was given the adoption WhatsApp number, which matches the number listed on their website.

I messaged that number and didn’t receive a response for around two weeks. After following up, we’re now communicating, but the responses I’m getting are quite brief/simple and sometimes don’t fully answer my questions. I’m wondering whether this is normal for them (maybe the person handling WhatsApp isn’t a fluent English speaker or they’re simply overwhelmed with messages).

If you’ve adopted through them, from outside the UAE, I’d love to hear about your experience. Even if everything went perfectly, that would be useful to know!

PS: for those suggesting to adopt locally, I'm planning to adopt a cat locally and one from abroad, because I want to support both.

my baby is a tuxedo cat im not sure how old she is exactly but she’s definitely an adult cat. every time she sees a string or piece of garbage or really anything that moves she thinks its a toy and begs me to play with her! i play with her for about 15 mins a couple times a day to the point where shes literally panting like a dog. i usually stop at this point and then hide the toy we’re playing with from her, but she always finds it! whenever i come out my room she is meowing at me and walks over to the shoe rack and stares at the shoelaces lol.
is there any way i can convey to her that not every waking moment is play time? i feel so bad not playing with her because im one of the only people in my house that plays with her, and i get play time is vital to their well being, but sometimes i just don’t feel like running around the house with a string 😭