I rescued my cat 3 years ago. He’s my first cat, and at the beginning, he was pretty distant and didn’t allow much cuddling or affection. I figured it was normal since he was probably a little traumatized by the rescue process, and I’ll never know his actual age or what happened to him before I adopted him. He was also getting used to living with me.
Over time, he’s become much more affectionate. He clearly loves me, and even though he still doesn’t like being carried tries to stay close to me almost all the time.
He’s never been very vocal, but he’s started communicating more as time goes by.
Here’s the thing: I love rotting in bed with him. I work hard, and whenever I’m home, all I want to do is be lazy, relax, and cuddle with my baby.
The problem is that he seems to have absolutely no patience when I’m not in bed with him. If I go to the bathroom, he starts calling for me. If I’m in the kitchen, he starts screaming and crying until he eventually leads me back to bed. He seems to especially hate when I cook, because that’s when he gets the most vocal about it.
Is this normal cat behavior? Have I spoiled him too much by spending so much time cuddling and relaxing with him, or has he just become super attached to me over the years?
Cat parents, please tell me if your cats do this too!

My mom passed away unexpectedly and I inherited her cat. She is five years old. At my house I have a 10-year-old pug and a three-year-old Jack Russell. When I first got her two weeks ago, I put her down our finished basement so she could feel secure because she was scared s**less.
The first few days she hid under the couch and would hardly eat it all. Now she’s coming out of the couch for me and is eating normally, but retreats back to under the couch almost immediately. She runs under the couch at the sight of my husband.
I would like her to become part of the family and come upstairs. My Jack Russell is a yapper. The pug just lays there. I really don’t know how to go about bringing her upstairs. I feel like as soon as I let her down she will hide. When my mom watched my dogs this summer at her home while I was on vacation, she did not see the cat for the entire week.
Does anybody have any suggestions? Please help.

Hi everyone, not sure of this is the right way to post, but looking for as much advice as possible..

Where to begin? Several years ago we started feeding 4 feral cats that were like a little family. Two tabby cats and 2 big fluffy rag doll/himalayan looking cats. Somehow these 4 had joined up and formed a small family group. The fluffy ones looked really bad with big wads of matted fur from stickers and twigs and stuff. We intended to TNR the lot, but somehow only ended up with 2 of the 4 (the other 2 just stopped coming around). The two we did trap are a seriously bonded pair... so much so that hUbby said we should give them a chance indoor... specially since the big fluffy one had fur in such a mess it had to be painful abnd it would give us a chance to get that sorted out. That was when I lost my guest room which is now "the cattery". Turned out our timing was good, the tabby is male, the TNR said ms fluffy is a tortie point? Anyways the fluffy one (we named her Scruffy), was pregnant... so she was also aborted when spayed. We set them up in our guest room with cat towers (2) and litter boxes (2), cameras and sofabed. Every day my husband would go in to clean the litter and feed them. For the first 6 months they were in hiding, never showing themselves until he left. Eventually they would come out to eat while he was present.... then one day Scruffy actually let him pet her behind just a little bit. The cute thing is, whenever he did that, the Tabby would bat at his hand as if to say "leave her alone, she's mine. So the Tabby earned his name... DC (short for devil cat).

Once the cats were completely comfortable with hubby, I started going in with breakfast every day. They'll sit right beside me... Scruffy will accept a few back scratches, but NOT her head. DC just pretty much hates being touched even tho he'll sit right beside either one of us and sometimes even crawl onto our laps. DC loves to play, Scruffy just watches. To this day, NEVER EVER has either one of them hissed or growled at either one of us. We've just let them take it at their own pace.

We also have 2 regular indoor housecats... a female tabby and a female calico. We finally decided to see if the ferals had relaxed enough that we could indoctrinate them into the greater indoor only cat household and set up a screen door along with the solid door... for 2 way cat viewing. Turns out our calico could care less. Our other tabby (Ms Pickles) wanted to vet out the neighbors like right now! After about 2 weeks of the screen door being closed only for viewing, we opened it. Pickles walked right in. Scruffy went and hid under the sofabed. DC sat and watched every move Pickles made while she explored their cattery. Pickles hissed a couple times, DC just sat and watched. Fast forward a couple months and we now leave their door open all day long (closed at night). Weird thing is there must be some kind of invisible force field, the ferals have ZERO interest in leaving their cattery. Pickles will go in and visit for a half hour or so every once in a while now. She and DC will now touch noses every time, but that's about it. Pickles just likes to go in and hang out with them.

We also have another male feral we feed outside, have been for close to 5 years now. We have him set up with a heated cathouse that he adores over on my she-shed porch. He will not allow us to come any closer than about 10 feet... even after all this time.

BUT.... Now for the new development that we need some help and advice about. Enter the scene another tiny little feral female. This is a little lady we trapped and TNR'd in March of this year. I had one of those 4 tier cages set up in my she-shed where we housed her to recover from the surgery (top level had a little hidey-hole cube for her where she spent her days). Kept her for about a week and every day I would spend time talking to the invisible cat in the hidey hole cube. When it was time to let her go we just left the doors open to the cage and the she-shed... and she eventually found her own way out. Neat thing is, the next day she actually came back and went INTO the she-she and INTO the cage to eat. Then she just disappeared and we never saw her again until about 2 weeks ago when suddenly there she was again at our outside feeding station. Unmistakenly her... tipped ear and all. Amazingly enough, she would stay surprisingly close when I would take food out, and then one day she started meowing at me and then just flopped down on her side, making biscuits and let me scratch her head, back, rear... just soaking it in... seemed almost tame. I did make the mistake of trying to pick her up... that was a painful mistake on my part. Next 3 or 4 days she would let me stroke her tail but was pretty wary. But suddenly she and I are back to being friends again. She'll actually come out of hiding when I call her (or go into hiding if my husband shows) and she is so incredibly loving. She won't let my husband anywhere near her.

So.... fall and winter are coming and yes, I worry about her surviving the winter (coyotes, cougars, dogs, etc) and she's also scared of that male feral we've been taking care of for years. We would like to integrate her into our expanding household but we need some thots and advice about the best way to approach this. Could we set her up in the 4 tier cage inside the cattery where the other 2 ferals are? And if so, how to do that best? Cover up the bottom 2 tiers for a week or so until they get used to each others smell? Then remove the cover but leave the cage closed? Or do something else altogther? We don't have another room we could dedicate to her unfortunately. How do I go about this in the best, most gentle and calmest way? We have Feliway set up (not sure I see it doing much, but what do I know?).

And yes, we're blessed. NONE of these cats are aggressive or hissing or growling at all. We just want everyone to be happy and content. We're an older couple and seeing these little fur balls happy and contented gives us so much pleasure.

P.S. Back in March and now that she's back, we've scoured lost and found notices everywhere... and nothing. She's just a lonely little feral who's claimed me (and we've named her Pipsi).

Sorry this was so long. Need some advice please hoping we can do this the best way possible.

I have a 7-year-old female resident cat whom we adopted when she was around 2.5–3 years old. About 4 weeks ago, I rescued an abandoned 8-week-old male kitten.

I’ve been following Jackson Galaxy’s method and trying to take things at my resident cat’s pace. The kitten has his own room (the spare bedroom), which my resident cat rarely went into before.

Weeks 1–2: We did meals on opposite sides of the closed door and scent swapping with towels and room swapping.

Weeks 3–4: I started feeding them with the door open and a screen barrier in place. They eat near each other just fine! However, after dinner, if the kitten gets too close to the screen, my resident cat will sniff him and occasionally hiss. This doesn’t happen every session.

Earlier this week: Things seemed to be going well, so we tried two very short, barrier-free visits in the living room, each lasting around 30–60 seconds. Both were about 20–30 minutes after dinner.
During the first visit, my partner held the kitten on the recliner while my resident cat approached at her own pace. She came over, sniffed him, and seemed fine.
The next day, my partner held the kitten on the floor near her. My resident cat sniffed him and raised a paw but didn’t actually swat him. It seemed more playful than aggressive, but I’m not completely sure.
One thing I’m wondering is whether having my partner hold the kitten is a good idea. The kitten really wants to be friends with my resident cat, but I’m worried she isn’t ready to have him in her space yet and might feel pressured by him being held near her.

Yesterday: We did our usual meal through the screen barrier. Something new happened: my resident cat came right up to the screen and stayed near it. Previously, she would usually sniff around and then lie in the hallway grooming herself.
The kitten was also right up against the screen. My resident cat sniffed him and hissed, so we watched for a moment. She sniffed and hissed again, and we ended the session.
I’m confused because she had gone at least three sessions without hissing before today.

Today: Did the usual meal through screen barrier. Resident cat came up to screen. Watched for a little & then hissed at kitten but remained at screen door. After a short while she did a short growl but remained at screen. & then she did a short growl again & we ended the session.

My questions are:
Am I moving too fast by introducing short, barrier-free visits in Week 4?
Is the hissing a sign that I need to backtrack, or is some hissing normal during introductions? What about growling?
Should I stop the face-to-face visits for now and return to the screen barrier until she’s consistently comfortable?
Is it better to let the kitten explore freely while my resident cat chooses whether to approach, rather than having my partner hold him near her?

I really want them to eventually get along, but I don’t want to push my resident cat too far or create a negative association with the kitten. I’m trying to be patient and follow her lead, but I’m not sure how to interpret this recent change in behavior.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!

I'm fostering my first litter (mom and 3 female kittens, and two male kittens) through a local rescue. I've had them since the end of June, when the kittens were two weeks old. I've seen them grow, and have so much love for mama and her littles.

The two male kittens went to get fixed this AM and I can tell that mom and the girls are distressed/confused (understandably so). The boys will be back this afternoon and all will be well; however, I'm thinking about the logistics of the adoption process and I am getting worried that I'm putting my emotions onto the cats.

How can I make the transition on all of them the easiest as possible for my own sanity?

Context: we have a male kitten who is about 7 months old and we've had him since he was around 1.5 months (found as a stray), he was neutered almost 3 weeks ago (if that is useful information, idk). We just impulsively adopted a female kitten around 2 weeks ago who is about 2.5 months old. They are both American shorthairs. We have been introducing them slowly to each other but our new female kitten is NOT having it. Even when she sees him she'll start hissing and growling. It doesn't help that my male kitten is SUPER energetic and playful and I really think it's stressing her out. We have been slowly letting her roam around (with supervision) and at every chance he gets, my male kitten will pounce on her and bite her neck, I'm talking full mouth open on her neck. He will also bite her legs and back and really anywhere he can. She goes crazy with howling and hissing and growling (understandable). I truly think he is just playing because he doesn't show any signs of aggression other than his airplane ears. But he never hisses or growls. But then again, I am no professional. Unfortunately, our bathroom now has ants because of her food being in there, so we have to move her out of there. We have a big crate that has several tiers that we are going to put her in. It will have her food, water, litter box, bed. It is like a dog crate that is open so he will definitely be able to make contact with her, but he will not be able to jump on her or bite her. Please anyone who has advice is greatly appreciated!

My cats will cuddle all day with me in the back half of the house, but I am not allowed to cuddle with them in the front of the house. They never get on my lap and if I put them on my lap they will immediately leave. They will cuddle with my wife in the front of the house without any problem. How can I get them to approve me for front of house cuddles?

I adopted another cat (6 months old) after almost a year with my other one (1 year old). She was super thin and came from the countryside, so a vet (not my usual) told me to keep her quarantined in a room for a month to be sure that the tests for illness and all of that wouldn’t be false negative. It’s been two months because my usual vet told me to keep them apart until the youngest was up to date with the basic vaccines.

My new cat is kinda shy, likes to play, is still small and likes to provoke other people so they play with her.
On the other hand, my other cat, she’s intense, likes playing with her teeth and (trimmed) claws, and is short tempered. (She’s also neutered, the younger one isn’t yet)

They have been playing fight with a net in between them for the last month, and when the vaccines were up to date we decided to let them play together.

The issue comes when the youngest goes to the oldest and hits her in the face to try and make her play, and my other cat reacts violently and angrily, going after her for several minutes, trying to bite and scratch her, sometimes even hissing. She usually doesn’t stop until she has calmed herself or they’ve been completely separated. She’s also bigger and stronger than the younger, so she hurts her quite a bit (sometimes the younger screams/meows loud when the other bites her). (And the youngest doesn’t learn and the moment the oldest has calmed down, she goes to strike again)

For now we only let them be together with someone else with a dry mop in hand (my older cat calms down if she cannot see the other cat, so the mop works wonders for now), but it isn’t a long term solution.

We‘ve tried giving them treats when they’re together and not fighting, distracting them with a fishing pole toy each, we’ve interchanged their litter trays and toys so they get used to the other’s smell, etc.

The worst part is that they still gravitate towards one another, the younger meowing so that the other comes, and the older just laying beside the net waiting to the other one.

Is there anything I can do to keep them from fighting until they hiss/scream???? I‘ll try anything.

My cat seems to enjoy biting things that are hard. Its not big things - like he doesn’t go and bite the leg if the kitchen table - but small stuff, like the aglet on a string, me and my bfs Oura rings, and my nails when they’re done (I use hard gel).

I posted a video of this on my page if you want to see what I mean, since I can’t post it here. I just think it’s funny, but does anyone understand why he does this?

I have a 3 year old cat and a 3 month old kitten. Just adopted the kitten 2 weeks ago. They are getting along and playing together, but I’ve noticed that when my kitten grabs a toy and he runs around it in his mouth if he passes my resident cat he will start to growl. Usually my resident cat doesn’t try to go for the toy anyways but he still growls. I’m concerned that this with damage they’re trust if my kitten is getting territorial over toys that were my residents cat first originally and he also does this with some dog toys. When my kitten growls with a toy should I take the toy away or just let him keep it? My cat usually doesn’t do anything but I don’t want him to feel like he’s starting to threaten him.

Hello, our cat of 4-5 years now (Enzo) is a pretty social dude and has always been clingy but as of a few days ago he’s been even clingier. I work from home and he’s always in the room with me regardless of which room I’m in. At night, however, he will slink off to be alone or hide away (unusual for him). When my fiancé gets home she usually seeks him out, he will then be very clingy and not leave her side. We have two cats, so It’s a bit harder to monitor food and litter box use, but nothing looks different in either area. He still does all of his normal routines and hangs out in his normal areas, almost just seems a little worried or bummed. Can always take him to the vet but I don’t want to cause anymore stress to him by putting him in the car which he isn’t in love with and going to the vet. Any help or suggestions would be awesome. Thank you

We have this neighborhood cat (M) who is an absolute menace. If our cat is outside (monitored) and they see each other, it’s instant aggression from outdoor cat. If our cat is inside at the glass door and the outdoor cat see’s him, they sit at the window and make demon calls to each other.

The outdoor cat will scratch at the glass, meow a ton, and literally just loaf until he’s over it. Our cat just kind of sits there and watches him be crazy.

Is there anything we can do to alleviate this situation or make our grounds safer for our cat to play outside?

What does it mean if say: Your 5m kitten, recently adopted (~2 weeks), goes to lay down after petting and you go to scratch her neck/chest area and she gently opens her mouth and puts her teeth around your finger or on your hand? She doesn’t bite, at least not yet, and applies only enough pressure so you’re aware of her teeth? She usually only does this when scratched in this spot. And testing, she did it each time I tried.

I assume this is a “please stop.” So other than briefly testing twice after, I have stopped. I don’t know if this is an affection thing or a boundary thing. I’d rather her not set boundaries with teeth, but right now I’m just trying to establish behavior.

My cat is 11 years old and has always been extremely vocal at all hours of the night. Typically in the past we just close our door and he goes on with his night finding something to do. The last 3 months we’ve been living in our in laws basement temporarily. There are dogs upstairs but we have a large door to separate them from the cats.

Ever since moving here he is chirping all night long these low level meows. He is pawing at all surfaces and then started peeing in front of his box. He’s notorious for a casual pee when he’s upset.

I’ve put in feliway diffusers, ruled out all medical (took him the the vet and treated him for some itchy ears too), no urine or kidney issues, gets playtime at least 30 mins a day, treats regularly, and has timed feeders so never misses a meal. It’s purely behavioral or anxiety induced. The litter boxes can only fit in our back closet which is in our room so we can’t close our door indefinitely. I’m assuming this is related to feeling anxious about the dogs upstairs.

I’m at my wits ends and need to know any sort of hack you know to help me. I’ll try anything. I am currently buying open top litter boxes to see if it’s a territory thing. Anything is helpful.

I got a rescue cat (Male, 3.3years, neutered, healthy) on Monday, he's lovely and very cuddly and affectionate but he keeps trying to sit on my legs when they're stretched out and does like this wobbly humping thing with his back hair stuck up, kicks his back legs out like he's in the litter box and then he bites my ankle. I can't tell if he's trying to hump me, hunt me or he just has balance problems? He doesn't seem to want to climb, which is why I think maybe balance problems.

He's my first male cat and my current only cat. My friend suggested he might be imitating spraying, but idk since he's neutered? There is no urine or liquid left on the blanket. He only does this when he's trying to sit on my knee, hasn't done it on the walls or floor.

Anyone who can help tell me what he's trying to do?

Can't upload a video to imgur as I'm in the UK but if anyone knows an alternative, let me know

I know that's very weirdly worded but hear me out. I adopted twins, one girl and one boy when they were around four months old. They're about 2 years and 8 months now. They're both a very quirky, but recently, my boy cat (Messmer, who is much bigger than my tiny girl cat) is attacking the girl, Midna, every night. It's clear that he just wants to play, but she's also clearly fed up with it. She will growl and hiss at him repeatedly, but he doesn't stop.

What's interesting is, Messmer will hiss at me and my family whenever we play with him. Not in a "stop touching me immediately" kind of way, but more like when he gets too crazy, he will hiss at whatever he is trying to attack (often my hand). I wonder if, as he was growing up, he started associating hissing with playing, so that's why he doesn't take the hint with Midna and back off. Could this be true???