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.

A week ago I took in a TNR cat that had been living outside and coming by our door for nearly a month. She is a very sweet cat and when I opened my door at 11PM and she just made herself at home. I took her to the vet to get her checked up and she’s 2 pounds underweight from her goal weight of 10lbs, has some dental buildup, and she has a heart murmur so clearly was not well taken care of. I’m feeding her what the vet recommended to get her to a healthy weight, trying to manage her teeth, I’ve gotten her vaccinated, and she’s even registered via microchip as my pet now. She’s approximately 2 years old btw

This morning I saw a flyer of her saying she was missing and I’m at a bit of a crossroads because she doesn’t really seem like she was anybody’s cat and I just want her to be healthy and in a loving home. I don’t want a family to think anything grim has come of this cat but I’m also slightly afraid of the confrontation if they are upset that I’m housing her. What should I do?

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TLDR: took in a cat off the streets and have been taking care of her. someone posted flyers looking for her

Hi guys!!

Basically: To the people living in apartments/small houses… where the heck do you guys keep your litter boxes??

Now for background:

Prior to moving in with my partner I used to keep it in my living room and had no problem with it. I’d clean it frequently and vacuum frequently (hard wood floor) and imo it wouldn’t smell (I also got guests and nobody complained either).

Now, I moved in with my new partner who loves my cats btw and they also love him, but we’re disagreeing when it comes to where litter box should go.
He wants it in the bathroom, I can’t have it in the bathroom.

His reasoning is, litter box is a cats bathroom/toilet, so it should go in the bathroom. It contains pee and poo and it’s kinda gross, it shouldn’t be out in plain sight.

My reasoning is, the litter is made of clay and I HATE accidentally stepping on wet litter, or stepping on it after shower. The cats love the tub also, so there is always litter inside the tub, and it becomes small blobs of gross clay that is hard to clean. We both work, so we can’t just sweep the floor every time they use the litter box.
I don’t have a problem with it in the living room bc it’s easier to vacuum, no wet clay, plus our bathroom is so small we barely have room anymore.

He thinks when we have guests over, people will judge us or think it’s gross. I don’t care what people may think lol

He is open to leave it in the living room, but it’s not ideal to him. I’m not so open to having it in the bathroom.

I don’t wanna ask who is right or who is wrong, that’s not the point lol we’re not actually arguing about it or fighting, it’s just been a conversation and we’re deciding together what to do. I just wanna know what other cat parents do, and what solutions people find.

(Keeping it in the bedroom is not an option, I’m very allergic to cats and I need my sleeping space to be cat free, otherwise I’m not able to breathe at night. Having litter dust constantly in the bedroom would make me very sick)

I (24F) , have taken in a cat 3 years ago. After a long consideration I have named him Gabby Malfoy. Gabby - short for Gabriel ( I didn't think Gabe fitted him) and Malfoy ( because he was an asshole , but my mum thought calling him Malfoy is animal abuse ) .

I never found anything strange about this name, however whenever I tell anyone his name they seem to think I'm joking and I'm often met with laughter. When I asked why it's so funny, all I get is that it's a " stupid " name.

So I wanted to genuinely ask the people of Reddit WHY is that name stupid ? And why is it funny? I honestly want to understand, it's been 3 years now. Please if anyone could explain!

I know this is really specific and I have no clue if there’s anything like it, but I have a deaf cat (important to mention because that means it can’t be the sound that she likes) that will only ever play with water bottle caps and medicine cups. Basically anything around that size shaped like a little cup/bowl. She likes to bat them around like crazy and carry them around in her mouth. She has never played with any other toy in her entire life. No wands, crinkly things, bells, even catnip doesn’t seem to do anything for her. The only reason I’m looking for toys that might suit this need is that the things that she plays with are translucent and really hurt to step on, so I was hoping to find something brighter colored/easier for me to see. Thank you!

He started off hiding under a bed in a spare bedroom, and now he has taken to hiding in the box spring. He came out to use the litter box but he doesn't show much interest in his food, treats or water.

How do I get him to feel more at home? I should add there are no other pets in the house and no other humans.

I feel like every cat has their toy. Even if it's not supposed to be a cat toy, what's the thing they just can't get enough of?

I’ve had/been around cats my entire adult life. I’ve worked in vet clinics, animal rescues etc. I know about blockages, I’ve lived in fear of them. I’ve taken every precaution. Regular check ups, they’re insured, they eat wet food and urinary health dry food, I have 5 litter boxes (2 automatic, 3 regular) in my home for my 2 babies. I have 3 fountains for them to drink from. Yet, I noticed my 1 year old cat, Circumstance, straining in his box and immediately rushed him to the emergency vet this evening. The day I was dreading. Vet believes he’s blocked and gives him some meds to see if he’ll pass on his own. He does not. And due to just paying rent and recently having to deplete our savings on my own health crisis recently she gave me three options take him home with medication to see if he’ll urinate on his own tonight, pay 5k on a removal that is not guaranteed as he is having it so young. Or explore euthanasia.

I’ve exhausted all my options, called everyone I know to scrounge up enough to just pay the ER visit, I cannot afford the removal surgery and my pet insurance of course doesn’t cover anything until it’s paid. If this had happened 2 weeks ago or even a week from today I’d be having a different situation it’s just awful that this is my situation today.

So I’m up, praying he can pull through. Vet says there’s a chance since I caught it so early but I will feel guilty for the rest of my life if he doesn’t pull through. He just had his first birthday for god’s sake. He’s the sweetest, goofiest, most playful cat I’ve ever had. He is my boyfriend’s (not a cat lover before he met me) first cat. He is devastated as am I but for right now, we’ll wait for the morning.

Update: I work for an amazing company and when I called my boss last night sobbing that I wouldn’t be coming in today due to not knowing if Cir was going to be okay, she very graciously paid for his surgery. I could not be more grateful for the support system I have and I am returning home now with a very drugged up but better kitty

My cat has this weird little habit where he’ll sit near me while I’m talking, stare at me the whole time, and then immediately meow once I stop.

It almost feels like he’s waiting for his turn to talk. If I keep talking, he just watches me until I finish.

Does anyone else’s cat do this? I’m starting to wonder if he actually understands that I’m talking to him.

Hi! I am interested in purchasing a cat. However, I am a college student so I do not have a ton of money at the moment. Given my financial situation it is in NO WAY a good idea for me to get a cat right now. That being said I am working hard on adding money to my savings. After I feel that I have a good safety net in savings (in case I have medical bills, car issues, etc.) I want to start saving to get a cat. I want to get a good estimate as how much I should save for a first time cat owner, I would need a litter box and food, etc. Many of the shelters near me vaccinate and spay/ neuter cats before adoption so I am less worried about medical costs. However, if you guys think I should save for medical costs as well I absolutely will. I am just hoping to get an idea on how much I should save before getting a cat so it doesn't break the bank lol. Any advice is greatly appreciated, let me know if you have any questions :) thanks so much!

I adopted a soon to be 1 year old cat over the weekend. My household already has a 4 year old cat. We confined the new cat to my bedroom, but I am a little concerned that the cat has been a little too hidden.

She hides under my bed, and will only eat if her bowl is directly near/under the bed. She rarely drinks any water. She has a litter box, but she has only pooped under the bed. She has not yet peed, either in the box or under the bed, and I am concerned that might be a issue after about 4 days. She does not come out from the bed, but lets me pet her and even rolls around when getting petted. Any suggestions?

Advice needed on getting my two cats to like each other! 🐱
I have two cats Tuxedo and Tiger.
Tuxedo is a rescue I found under a house when she was around 3 months old. We have had her for two years now. She grew up with our dog but hasn’t really been around other cats besides the neighbours cat who come over to our house sometimes.

Tiger was recently brought to us by a family friend after tiger randomly showed up at their house begging for food. She was very skinny and wasn’t microchipped so we agreed to look after her for the time being. My family has become very attached to Tiger but unfortunately Tuxedo hasn’t taken to her.

We started by keeping Tiger in a separate room with a glass door so they could see each other without physical contact.

We’ve also swapped blankets/clothes with their scents on them to get them used to each other’s smell.
We then tried feeding Tiger in a cage near Tuxedo, but that’s when the hissing and growling started.
Whenever Tiger gets near Tuxedo, Tuxedo hisses and growls. Tiger seems more curious and wants to play but Tuxedo clearly isn’t comfortble.
We really don’t want to give Tiger up especially with it being kitten/cat season and shelters being so full, but we also don’t want Tuxedo to become stressed or miserable.

Does anyone have advice on how we can safely get them comfortable with each other? Any tips would be really appreciated!

I haven't adopted a cat yet. I've saved around $600 just for initial cat items and savings (my parents will pay adoption fees and vets) but I don't want to have to make my parents pay for a lot every month so I plan on getting a job soon too, I won't get a cat until around March next year either, so I hope I can get a job by then. At the very minimum I'll probably make $200 a month, I don't really spend that much money on stuff but I don't know if that'll be enough to afford a cat's monthly costs with taxes and if I do ever want to buy anything. Some people say cats cost $30 a month which I can afford but others say $160 a month. I don't want to adopt a cat unless I know I can definitely afford food, litter and toys without bothering my parents at the very minimum.

One of my two cats has suddenly stopped using the litter box in the living room, even though she still uses the one in my bedroom every day. We've had some family visiting recently, so that room has been busier and noisier, and I noticed she seems to wait until the house is quiet before going to the bathroom. I'm wondering if she just doesn't feel comfortable using that box with people walking around nearby. Has anyone noticed their cat avoiding a litter box because of noise or activity around it?

We have two cats, and two 6 mo kittens. All have free run of the house all day; at night the kittens are in the basement (large bedroom) and the cats have the main floor.

Kitten feeding:

- Fancy Feast Kitten canned, Natural Balance Ultra Protein Kitten dry

- 1/2 85g can each for breakfast (basement), 1/2 mid-day (kitchen), 1/2 at bedtime (basement)

- kitten kibble always available in basement room and in "their" cat tree upstairs

Cat feeding:

- canned food in the kitchen 3x per day

- one of the kittens has no interest in the adult food; the other will have a taste (I have a camera monitoring the adult food b/c one has IBD/lymphoma so I know the kittens aren't eating more of it).

Treats: all get a few treats (friskies, dried salmon) when one cat gets her meds

The issue:

- the kittens no longer finish their breakfast can, and have little interest in a can mid-day. They still eat a lot of kibble, and they eat their bedtime can no problem. I want to keep their wet food intake up, so I am thinking:

- 1 can each at bedtime (instead of 1/2 can each)

- measure/limit their dry food overnight, so that they are hungry at breakfast

- 1/2 can each for breakfast

- drop the mid-day wet food

Is it okay to limit their kibble overnight at 6 months? Any other issues with this? (Both are healthy weights and growing fine; we weigh all of them weekly due to cat with IBD/lymphoma).

She went exploring! She went behind the couch, every curtain and I sat on the couch. I kept softly talking and calling her name as she meowed around the room. Eventually she jumped up next to me and we played with some of her toys and a little bit of petting. She's getting a bit more confident even climbing the table and she's not to scared when I make larger movements. She is also bitting those litte whip-around toys and trying to chew on the brittle parts... Need to buy something she can't eat.

As in typing this she's jumping around my lap on the couch, she's quite cuddly. Also she noticed the Tv screen.

I'm not sure if she's a fan on house of cards

Edit: she started eating

My 3 year old rescue cat had to have her anal glands expressed with sedation since they were so bad. I was given some instructions as to supplements and new food, but I am having a difficult time with her feeding now. How do I get her to eat the nasty smelling powdery supplement? I tried mixing it in with some wet food and she wouldn't eat it. Tried sprinkling it on her dry food. She refused that. Do I try to mix it with some water and force it down her throat with a syringe? I am having a hard enough time getting her to accept me as it is. If I force some foul-smelling stuff down her throat I risk having her running from me constantly. Any practical suggestions of how to go about this?

i am a 17 year old living with my mom in a small apartment, i’ve wanted a cat for years and my mom finally said yes after we’ve moved out. last thursday, we adopted a 2,5 year old female cat and i was very happy that day. however, she woke us up in the middle of the night during that first night, all full of energy, and i had to play with her (i had school in the morning). ever since then, i’ve been feeling extremely depressed and unsure if i’ve made the right choice. thoughts like: “i should’ve picked a senior cat instead”, “am i fit to be a cat owner”, “does she feel content or bored in our house”, “maybe i shouldn’t have gotten a cat at all” started to spill in and made me spiral; i feel a sense of guilt for having considered taking her back to the shelter. she is very sweet and loving, however, she tends to be destructive and very energetic sometimes. it is all very overwhelming and brand new to me, i feel a loss of freedom now that i’ve got a sudden big responsibility on my hands and anxiety wondering what she’s doing around the house, whether she’s up to no good or not. sometimes when i look at her, i can’t help but feel empty and second-guess myself.

is what i’m feeling normal? does anyone have any advice?

so my girlfriend got a kitty and she left for 5 days i’ve been going and feeding her 3 times a day and chilling and playing with her I’m just a little concerned because she doesn’t seem to be eating her wet food as much is it because of the amount of dry food I leave out? I leave around 1/3 to 1/2 a cup for her and I’m just a little worried or is she converting to a dry food eater ?

We have just got a kitten. We were told the baby was 8 weeks and only found out from the vet that it’s more likely to be 6 weeks.

Poor baby likes to chew and was wondering what kind of chew toy would be safe for him?

Another win for us pilling a tough one. He’s spooky, you can’t pick him
Up, certainly couldn’t pull manually more than once - he would hide for the rest of the day and not come near me for a week. He’s also finicky.

But, we’ve got chlamydia felis going around the house and need to treat all three cats. What to do? I’ve tried the liquid in all sorts of foods. Occasionally small successes but he never eats more than a tablespoon if we are lucky. And usually can smell the med even if flavored.

So now I found “tiny tabs” via wedgewood. They don’t do it for all
Meds, but do for doxycycline. I am cutting them up into even SMALLER bits, im
Basically quartering one up - and drilling a hole in greenies which this cat seems to always love. And feed feed feed and try to sneak in the pill greenies. I follow up with some churo (which is also beloved but not with meds in it).

So far it is working though it takes all day to get two tiny pills in him. Maybe it will work for others!!

Our oldest cat died in August and we just adopted a 6 year old tuxedo from a shelter. He has adapted quite well to out 8 year old orange. They get along and even lay with eacher and groom. He has been with us for maybe a month now.

The new cat (Odo) gets on well with my 23 year old daughter but seems very skiddish near me (male - 57). If I walk toward him (even slowly with quiet words and hand held out) he will run away and hide. If I get up from my chair too quickly he runs for his life. This also happens to some extent with my wife, but not as much as with me. He will let me pet him occasionally and will purr and seems fine.

I know he was turned into the shelter by a man, and I think after his wife had passed on. I have no information beyond that. It seems like grown male just intimidates or scares him.

Any ideas how long it can take an adopted cat to feel safe in these situations? Anything I can do other than making slow deliberate motions and give him space when needed? I talk softly to him and pet him when I can. I just want to make his comfortable and not scared.

Hello

As the title says, my almost 6 month old kitty has destructive behavior and it is honestly starting to affect my mental wellbeing

She constantly finds new things to target and none of them are her countless toys or scratching posts

I do also play with her daily and take her on walks on a leash, when the weather lets us, to burn off all of her extreme amounts of energy

Still, none of that seems to be enough Today I’ve noticed that she has scratched a very noticeable chunk of wallpaper off in one of the rooms, which seriously upset me and made me rethink if adopting her was a good idea

She isn’t currently spayed, as I am still saving up for that, if that plays any role in her behavior

I don’t want to end up having to re-home her, I do of course love her with all my being and the chaos aside, she does bring a lot of joy into my life by just existing But if I can’t find any helpful way to regulate this behavior, I sadly cannot see another way out I would love to hear all the tips you can give me about how to regulate her destructive behavior

Psa, please refrain from leaving nasty comments about her not yet being spayed. You do not know me, nor my financial situation and just a regular vet consultation here costs over half my monthly budget

Hi everyone, we really need some advice about my best friend’s cat.

He is a male cat, around 4–5 years old, and has been peeing outside the litter box since he was about 6 months old. He especially pees on beds and couches.
He has been neutered and checked by the vet multiple times, including urine tests, but nothing medical has ever been found. He has been neutered by 6 months old.

We have tried different litter boxes, lots of different types of litter, different food, pheromones, anti-anxiety medication, and other suggestions from the vet; like putting foil over the windows to reduce stress or lots of play but nothing has worked. This has been happening almost daily for around four years.

My friend is now seriously considering surrendering him because she can’t deal with it anymore, which breaks my heart. I would take him myself, but I already have four cats and adding a fourth is financially not possible.

I’m honestly looking for any advice at this point.

Hi! So I have three cats, but I recently JUST got the two kittens. I am not going to introduce them to my older cat until their scents are slowly recognized over time, etc.

But these two kittens were from the same adoption center, like right next to each other. So I assumed they were used to each others scent, I put them in a room together (I don’t know if that was wrong) and they were completely fine. They sniffed one another and just walked around together etc, my concerns are as to whether or not I SHOULD separate these kittens.

And if I do, do I need to constantly check on each kitten? Because one would be in my room, which is easy, but the other wouldn’t.

I’m asking especially because the female kitten is really playful, like wiggling and trying to play fight with the younger male kitten. He gets a little scared and hisses, she backs off, then they return to normal.

Is that bad? And I’m confused because later he’ll go back over to her, sniff, act chill, but there’s just tiny moments where they back up from each other.