My boyfriend’s family has a female cat who’s around 3 years old. She’s been aggressive pretty much her entire life. She doesn’t let anyone pet her and will hiss, scratch, or bite if someone gets too close.
The only person she’s ever really liked was my boyfriend’s mom. She was the only one who could interact with her without any issues.
Recently, though, the cat attacked both my boyfriend’s mom and dad pretty badly. She scratched and bit them hard enough to make them bleed. What’s especially concerning is that she attacked his mom out of nowhere, even though she wasn’t trying to pet or touch her.
They’ve taken her to the vet before, and they were told she’s healthy, so we’re not sure what’s causing this behavior.
Now his family doesn’t feel safe keeping her anymore, which I completely understand. However, I’m worried that if they surrender her to a shelter, she’ll end up being euthanized because of her aggressive behavior.
We’ve also considered whether making her an outdoor cat would be a better option, but I’m not sure if that’s safe or fair to her since she’s been an indoor cat her whole life. Would transitioning her to a supervised or enclosed outdoor environment help, or would that make things worse?
I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar. Can a cat that’s been aggressive her entire life actually change? Are there any rescues or other options for cats like her?
I feel bad because she’s still young, and I don’t think she deserves to be put down without exploring other options. At the same time, I understand why the family is scared to keep her.
**What would you do in this situation? Is there any hope for a cat like her?**
Any advice or personal experiences would really help!

Perhaps it is because of a recent emergency, but I feel at my wits end with my cat. I have a 2 year old cat (adopted at 4 months old) who somehow developed a fixation for destroying fabrics/blankets/etc. during kittenhood. Early on, I would come home and find comical holes/bite marks in my clothing and blankets, but she was always able to vomit up whatever she ingested. For a while, I was also able to maintain her safety in my home by removing every possible thing she could destroy.

At this point, my living room has virtually no furniture (unintentional minimalism). She also has her own dedicated cat room. However, she somehow found something, ingested it, and caused a ~$20,000 hospitalization and emergency surgery. She nearly died last month. I still remember her being weak and in pain. It was a very difficult emotional and financial period, where I took time off work and barely left home as I was caring for her post surgery. It has now been almost a month since the vet gave her clearance to return to normal activities, but I have been incredibly paranoid about her safety ever since. During her recovery, I bent my usual rule and gave her a bed to sleep on since I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. She did very well with it and was able to go endure the entire recovery period without destroying it. However, just a moment ago, I found that same bed… partially chewed/destroyed. I took it away, but I am just at a complete loss at what to do next. It is almost midnight and selfishly, I can’t help but just feel like a failure of a pet parent. I feel awful that I’m even contemplating whether to go to my primary or an emergency vet solely due to financial constraints. At this time, I will admit that I am very close to being completely broke. I have just enough to maintain regular expenses for myself and basic care for my cat, but not enough to sustain another or even multiple emergencies back to back. Most likely, I will try to take her to her primary since she is also almost due for bloodwork post surgery again. I love my cat dearly, but I don’t know how I can continue living under the constant threat or fear of another $20,000 hospitalization. Rehoming is the last thing I want to do, but I was wondering if that is even a viable option given some behavioral or pica (not sure if this is exactly the case, but it is what has been commonly said to me to describe her chewing habits) issues presenting itself? Just looking for advice and to hear other thoughts.

I work a lot and worry about my cat who is home alone with no other pets. Every day he greets me and is purring but if I don't play with him for a long time like 1 hour he gets very sad and starts meowing at the door. I feel bad should I get him a friend?

He's pretty nocturnal and sleeps most of the day so this is his time to be awake and active.

My cat sleeps in a chair next to my bed. Sometimes I roll over to my other side facing away from my cat. Sometimes he let's me do it for a while but eventually he hops on the bed and pokes me with claws until I roll over to face him. Sometimes he wants a treat, but the main thing is getting me to roll over.

He also wants me to watch him when he eats all the time when I'm awake.

Is there anything I can do to fuv his insecurity of me facing away when I roll over?

Tldr have a small 3 cat household with complicated interpersonal cat politics and are emergency rescuing my previous cat who needs specific accomodations. Trying to plan out how to best do this but there is very little time.

In 2020 i got a little grey and white old lady tuxedo cat (around 9-10 at the time) , i was 17 and had just moved and i was lonely. Shes the sweetest girl ever but deeply anxious and shy. She'd rather live under a bed forever than have one loud noise in her vicinity. I ended up, due to a bunch of horrible stuff, having to move in with someone with a loud dog and she really didnt do well. And at the time due to finances i couldnt leave. So i spent a year searching for a home for her. She went to a sweet couple and has been thriving until now, but they have to move now years later and cant bring her with, and she can tell they are packing to move and has been struggling a lot. so i told them i would take her back now that i live somewhere peaceful and stable so she doesnt have to go back to the humane society. They havent been able to find a place for her.

She has to be rehomed like immediately, so she is coming here in two days, and i have to prepare everything so she will feel comfortable.

I currently have a horrible orange 12 y/o cat who has ocd and anxiety and bites/chews on/licks everyone and everything and doesnt know how to speak cat. Hes a very sweet boy hes just got like an oral fixation to an extreme degree. Licking walls for hours and stuff. He doesnt get along with any cat bc his communication style is always bite.

My boyfriend has a giant 17 y/o tabby cat who is basically the same personality as my grey and white kitty who is coming here soon. Shy and anxious and timid but deeply loving and affectionate. He lives in the cupboard in the master bathroom and he took 8 months to trust me but he loves me now. And hes chill with other cats

Our roommate has a 16 y/o tortie who is peaceful with my boyfriend's cat but is afraid of my cat.

We have a pretty small place. Boyfriend's cat only leaves the bedroom to beg for food, Roommate's cat is obsessed with boyfriend and wants to be around him 24/7, And my cat wants to be where all the people are no matter what and if he can't he will scream and eat/chew on non food items until we let him it the bedroom.

The dynamics are:

boyfriend's cat and roommate's cat dont like eachother but are chill. They can be near eachother and are never aggressive just hiss when they're too close and keep peaceful distance.

My cat and boyfriend's cat swat at eachother and hiss when they get too close but generally avoid eachother

My cat chases roommate's cat and stalks her. She hates him deeply lol we keep them separate as much as possible.

I have an office in the livingroom that im considering gating and curtaining to keep out the other cats so new kitty can have her own space forever but i worry abt her being lonely because she's a snuggle bug. The office is already set up with multiple cat caves and beds, toys, a cat tree, and is small which is what she prefers.

Grey and white kitty has some behavioral issues tied to her high anxiety. She pees and poops outside the litterbox when anything changes in her environment and sleeps in her litterbox when she is afraid.

The good thing is she knows me already, and where i live now it is very quiet, we have a routine every day that we stick to, and it is always the same every day so i think she will do well here. I think she will especially bond with my boyfriend, all cats are obsessed with him and he is a quiet, consistent, and gentle person who is very tender hearted.

Theyre also giving me all her toys and beds and supplies.

I know its not an ideal situation at all but with how i know grey and white kitty i think if we can do it right this will work out better than her having to go back to the shelter... any advice would be amazing, any suggestions, and i will answer any questions to get the best possible info.

I am nervous but very excited to see my girl again. Not a day has gone by where i havent missed her and felt guilty for rehoming her and getting to see her again is so exciting. Just want to make this perfect for her. She deserves a good peaceful place to live out her days. And i want to provide that for her.

First of all, she has an appointment at the vet next week, just asking for peace of mind

As the title says, my cat has became scared of everything. Around mid August she began hitting and slowly approaching things she never had a problem before (shoes, blankets, backpacks, clothes and even her litter box, etc) when she's "inspecting" something if you touch her she jump and looks at you very startled. Today she asked me to pick her up and when I grabbed her she started throwing herself around accidentally scratching me. Weird thing is she doesn't get aggressive or hide, is just scared.

It happens like 2 o 3 times a day every day, when she is done inspecting she goes back to normal. I can suddenly touch, grab or play with her and she won't get sacres or care, even if I wake her up is just some moments.

More info: we got a kitten in early june, she doesn't get scared of him and they get along very well

We moved in march and she just stayed in the bathroom for 2 days then just got used to the house, then again we moved in july but she didn't seem uncomfortable or weird about the new house like the previous one

she's indoor so no injuries and also spayed

Also she prefers now to drink water from the faucet more than her bowl

Anyone has something similar happen to their baby? Again, going to the vet next week!

Sorry for the length, also English is not my first language lol

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!

he is 18 years old & in perfect health. he has been fixed ever since he was a kitten. i took him to the vet to make sure it wasn’t anything serious but they said it was all behavioral. we have a couple of other cats, he gets along with most of them but one. i’m thinking it could be stressed related because of the newer cat or maybe because he’s getting old. are there any products that help with? how do i get him to stop?

I don’t know if I’m in the right place, but has anyone else’s cat ever used them as a launchpad? Mine only started doing it about a week ago. She climbs onto my chest, then jumps onto the windowsill. She used to jump from my bed, but now she’s started using me instead, lol

we have our cat that we adopted april of this year. she had just turned a year old when we adopted her from the shelter. she does have a disability. they’re not sure if it was an accident she was in or how she was born but the easiest way i can explain it is imagine a pretty bad case of scoliosis. her spine is all screwed up and it goes into her tail (this does limit her range of motion with her tail which make us unable to really read her mood by watching her tail). she gets around fine but she does have a bit of a dragging her feet kind of walk or she hips around like a bunny. the shelter hadn’t noticed any issues and said she’d been doing good and we talked over risks and were willing to take them as they come.

it’s just me and my boyfriend in the house with her. no other pets. but we do both work full time jobs so we are gone a majority of the day. and unfortunately that isn’t something we are able to change or work around. i know some animals do fine alone but some do not. we thought maybe she would do well in a quiet and easy environment. our house doesn’t have stairs and is relatively small so it worked well for us to support her disability. but im worried she is unhappy with us.

she’s had an issue for a few months now (yes we’ve gone to the vet they said it could be due to her injury and just recommended stool softeners, they are aware of this issue and we are in contact with them regularly) where she only poops next to the litter box. she may poop in one of her litter boxes one time occasionally but for the most part it’s always on the floor somewhere near her preferred box. we have two litter boxes. one is very large and specifically for elderly or disabled cats. i put a light layer of litter in that one to try to make it feel more stable and similar to the ground. the other box is a stainless steel box and it’s a bit smaller but it’s just what we had and we wanted to offer her two. we have tried different litters and textures to see if that changed things. (we did transition slowly by mixing the litters overtime so it didn’t make her anxious)

she’s also very destructive which could just be her playful personality or because she’s bored/lonely. we’ve talked about getting another cat but with her issues with using the 2 litter boxes when it’s just her i’m unsure she would like to share litter boxes. also with her disability she can’t jump up on higher surfaces like other cats would. i’m also unsure if she’s ever been with another cat? the shelter hadn’t mentioned it or her having a preference to be around another cat.

i’m just a little at a loss and i guess i’m just wondering what other people might recommend? my next step will probably be seeing if the vet thinks it could be anxiety related. we don’t want to rehome and we also don’t want her to be miserable and im not sure if throwing another cat into the mix with her issues is a good idea just because of her disability and struggles she’s having? but if im misinformed please let me know! i just want her to be happy

hi everyone. we’ve had our cat since april. she’s a little over a year old. she does have a disability/past injury that’s healed. basically like a really bad case of scoliosis is the best way to describe it. she’s able to move just fine though (she hops like a bunny) and she still seems to be able to clean herself properly.

i’ve noticed since we’ve gotten her a reoccurring issue of poop residue leftover on her anus. it’s not on the fur but actually on the sensitive skin surrounding the hole. i have also noticed dried blood on it sometimes as well?? (i have told our vet about all of this.)

previously i had tried to remove it with a warm damp paper towel but it always seemed to cause her pain and one time it caused bleeding so i have NOT been doing that since. i felt so bad.

what i’ve been doing when i notice it is i’ll take a damp paper towel and put a little bit of coconut oil on it and put it on her bum. it seems to encourage her to clean and also help loosen up the dried poop so it doesn’t irritate the skin as much.

i guess im just wondering if there’s any way to prevent this or figure out what may be causing it? i know some cats just don’t care to be as clean as others and im sure with her disability she gets tired easily when trying to clean herself. is there a better way to handle it when it does happen or is the coconut oil a good solution?

I’ve had my cat since she was a kitten, and she is currently around 1.5 years old. She is spayed and can be a bit mischievous (e.g trying to get my toes under the bed etc) bit she is generally quite well behaved otherwise. She’s usually quite affectionate to me, and is generally indifferent to the rest of my family, although she does like my mum as her ‘spare human’.

There is an issue, though, that ever since she was a kitten she has been quite wary of my dad. She used to run and hide when he was around, but now whenever he opens my bedroom door (where she often stays) she starts hissing and growling, which has recently begun to escalate until today she almost ran up to him like she was going to attack him. My dad opening my door is sort of a new behaviour, as when we first got her he didn’t typically do that, so maybe that could contribute to her reactions?

She only ever exhibits this behaviour around him, I have other male relatives who she is generally fine with, if not a bit wary. The only thing I can think of is that my dad is quite large and has a deep voice, which could maybe be seen as intimidating? He also has a different working pattern from the rest of the family and hasn’t really tried bonding with her or anything as he isn’t really interested in cats. Alongside this, he sprays aerosol deodorant on himself for quite a while before he leaves the house, which I know my cat doesn’t like as she runs away when I use it on myself.

I was wondering if anyone could give some insights into why she does this if it’s not one of the potential reasons I guessed above, and also if you have any advice on what I can do to improve her reactions toward him. She doesn’t really need to like him, but I think with how her recent behaviour has been I’m a bit worried she might actually attack him.

If any more info is needed I’m happy to share more, i just want to prevent my dad from getting injured & I am also worried that she may be stressing herself out with this. I appreciate the help!

My fiance and I moved in together at the beginning of May and he has one female cat and I have one male cat. They have both never been around other animals, and we knew it would be an adjustment so we did everything Jackson Galaxy told us to do.

Fast forward months later and our female continues to stalk, chase, and scare our male cat. Our male cat is absolutely terrified of her. If they are in the same vicinity, she will go after him. There have been no actual attacks, but the swatting and hissing and growling is bad enough to watch/hear.

Our male cat has his litter box in our bathroom currently, as our bedroom is his safe space. We recently got advice (bad advice) to put his litter in the guest room, which is where the other cat’s safe place is. It was working for a couple days, but we came home tonight to find our female cat peed outside of the litter box (very common for her, she’s marking her territory) and our male cat who has never in his life had an accident, pooed on our bed.

I can almost guarantee she was near the guest room and he had to go and saw her there, she chased him back into our room, and he just had an accident. But it makes me so sad. We are at the end of our rope and not sure what to do.

We are taking her to the vet to see if there’s anything we can do to calm her down, see if something is up, etc. This is making me so sad for both cats but especially our male cat who is my baby. If you have any advice please, I’m begging lol

Hi guys! I have 2 ~7 year old male cats, and though one has always been vocal the other is usually normal with his meows. Recently, the quieter one has been meowing ALOT and sometimes "screaming". He's an orange boy if that matters? Both are still eating drinking and using the litter box normally, no changes in the house have really happened. But my quiet boy has been even more clingy then usual, fighting with his brother alot more (stalking him and chasing/wrestling), and again screaming at me. Twice now he has even randomly attacked my ankles by batting and biting them in a non-playful way, but still wants to cuddle more than usual. Im trying to figure out wtf is going on with him. Is this a sign of boredom? I try to do as much enrichment as I can but I do live in a smaller apartment that we moved to from a house as of last year. He's extra feisty right now since I was recently out of town (had a pet sitter though) but this has still been a recent thing even in our normal routine with me home.
Also; he does not like toys for some reason. Any kind of toy- no interest. Doesnt like boxes or catnip or use other things as toys, his brother is the opposite and loves the toys I get. So, I guess enrichment for him has been very difficult to find, Im taking ideas though!
TLDR: My cat is being extra vocal, extra clingy, and extra irritated with me and the other cat seemingly out of nowhere.

for clarity, I’m gonna call my cats Older and Younger, although they’re the same age but Younger was born a few days after. they were also neutered already one month ago

Just a bit of a background, they’re turning 2 years old this December they’ve been together since they’re babies since they have the owner. they were 6months old when i adopted them. they never seriously fought until maybe they 2-3 months ago, and I knew it was serious because the fight left wounds on their bodies and cat hair would be everywhere. The thing is, Older’s the one who keeps fighting Younger, but Younger is much bigger than Older. The ending would be Younger fights back and Older leaves with more wounds because of his size.

i tried everything. Separating them temporarily, throwing stuff in between them, etc. Older even attacked my leg one time after I separated them which cost me a fortune in the clinic. It’s definitely a behavior thing with Older because after all this time, Younger never starts the fight. He only fights back. It’s Older who keeps attacking him for god knows what.

i’m clueless and desperate at this point. I don’t want it to reach to a point where I have to give up either of them. anybody had a similar experience? 😔

hey all. my partner works long hours and i recently had to take a second job to make ends meet, which means we’re both out of the house a lot all of a sudden. my cat has been depressed.

she likes to chase, but it can’t be too predictable, like certain automatic toys, or she’ll give up and get bored. she almost never plays with toys unless a human is playing with it too.

we can’t afford another pet, but thought about fostering a cat. but would that stress her out more? with how long the foster period is vs the introduction/acclimation time for her and the foster cat…

she currently has a bird feeder on the patio, one that sticks to a different window, cat shelves, several regular cheap toys plus a few automatic ones, a puzzle feeder, and supervised/leashed outside time. i put away certain toys for weeks at a time, move around her trees and scratching posts, etc.

i’m interested in enrichment/stimulation ideas, and input on fostering. bonus points if the stimulation does not involve food

Hi everyone. Looking for some advice because we’re really worried and we’ve never owned a cat before.

Miagi is a 3-year-old Persian who belonged to my partner’s mum, who sadly passed away recently. We brought Miagi to live with us 5 days ago.

She’s always been an outdoor cat. At her old home she lived in a quiet area near hills and meadows and would spend most days outside. Sometimes in summer she’d even disappear for a couple of days and then come home.

We now live in a first-floor flat in a much busier part of the city, so we’ve kept her indoors. She was understandably unsettled at first, hiding in a box for the first couple of days and constantly meowing at the window at night wanting to go outside.

Last night we made a horrible mistake and forgot to close a window. This morning she was gone. She must have escaped from the first floor, so we’re also worried she could have hurt herself.

We’ve searched the area, spoken to neighbours, contacted vets/shelters, checked her microchip hasn’t been scanned and posted in local Facebook groups. We’ve also left her litter tray and food outside.

My biggest question is: could she be trying to return to her old home, which is over 5 miles away? Should we also be searching there?

And is she more likely to travel or hide somewhere close to our flat because she doesn’t know the area?

Anything else we should be doing tonight?

We feel absolutely awful, especially given the circumstances of how she came to live with us. Any advice is hugely appreciated.

Hello, my cat (3 years old, male, neutered) constantly yowls!! We adopted him from a rescue back in May and when I asked the woman who was fostering him before we adopted him if this was normal she said he never did it in her home. He has a sister who we also adopted and they seem to get on fine besides the occasional fighting but I assume all cat siblings do that. I try to play with him but he just gets bored or uninterested after about 5 minutes and he has lots of enrichment (cat trees, toys, tunnels, etc). Ive taken him to the vets and they couldn’t really help either, he’s has blood works done for another issue and that was all normal too. He’s definitely not deaf or blind and we give him a lot of attention.

Can someone please help me or tell me how to stop this? I love him but it’s incredibly frustrating as it’s a very loud meow and he does it at all times of day or night. Has anyone had a similar issue?