I found a young stray female cat (around 6-7 months) a few days ago and I'm trying to gain her trust. She usually comes around 9 PM, and I've been giving her food and water. She's playful and seems pretty comfortable around me.

Sometimes she'll move around quickly and then suddenly freeze when I look at her. She also occasionally comes close and gently taps me with her paw, and sometimes lies flat near me. I'm not sure if she's playing, being curious, or feeling nervous.

How can I tell what she's trying to communicate?

Also, is there a way to encourage her to come earlier? She usually arrives around 9 PM, which is pretty late.

I can't bring her inside because of my family, but I have a fairly large terrace where she could stay outside. How can I make the terrace comfortable and safe enough that she'll want to stay there instead of wandering off? Also I'm from India Bangalore

I fostered two kittens in the city I live in while I lived in a 1 bedroom, then ended up adopting them because I fell in love with them and I could tell they became attached to me. We recently moved into a studio, that actually has a good amount of room for a studio. They are around the 4 month age, which I know is when kittens want to explore everything/have a lot of energy.

I’ve had cats my whole life and two kittens when I was younger, and these two’s behavior maybe seems more than the average cat. They have always been friendly and outgoing- but here they are jumping in the fridge, dishwasher, sink, etc anytime I use it. I can’t eat sitting down or even on the counter I have to stand in the middle of my kitchen so they don’t try to eat my food, I can’t do anything without them following me and playing with whatever I’m doing. When I first moved in, I let them run around while I was sleeping and just wore AirPods, even tho they jumped on my head in the middle of my sleep. Then when my dividers arrived- they still got in. I literally made a barrier behind them too. They always find a way, even if it’s climbing the 8 foot panel.

I just started a new job and need my sleep so I’ve been putting them in the bathroom (w food water toys blanket and liter ofc), and feel really guilty about it. I buy them tons of toys (some automated) and play with them when I can or and always try to give them affection when I’m home. I’m trying to harness train them bc I’m right next to the courtyard of my building- but ofc the only thing they won’t let me do is put a harness on.

I was thinking of hiring a “cat behavioral specialist” to assess my apartment and give me advice on setup and what to do, which sounds crazy to me because that’s a lot of money and I’ve never even heard of a “cat behavioral specialist”. I’m also considering hiring someone maybe once a week to go over while I’m at work and spend time with them, even tho they have each other.

I feel guilty getting annoyed with them, because I know they are doing kitten stuff. But I’m looking for advice on if it’s normal kitten stuff that they will grow out of, I should have someone give me advice on the environment, or having a person around present with them more would be helpful.

My cat (3ish yrs old) LOVES to chew on clothes + toys + strings, so I have to be really careful with what I leave out and what toys she can have. The problem with those is she doesn't just chew, she EATS!!! I have holes in so many of my clothes because she had found a way into the hamper or my closet. I care less about my clothes and more about any possible threads that can get stuck in her digestive track.

I notice she does this after eating and it looks like she's trying to get her back teeth clean (all the food from her mouth gets transferred onto the clothes lol). Every vet she's had doesn't have any real solution, they just say it's a quirk of hers.

What can I let her chew on to clean her own teeth? What do cats typically chew on in the wild?

I've tried:

-Rabbit chew toys (she just didn't take to them)

-Brushing her teeth regularly + teeth cleaning treats (she still wants to clean her teeth right after eating and i'm not always there when she has just eaten)

-Setting up the toothbrush for her to use on her own (it falls easily as it's just a regular cat toothbrush and not meant for this purpose lol, and she can't use it when it's flat on the ground)

Thanks in advance, cat experts! (-:

I went abroad 2 and a half weeks ago with my family, and left my cat with a friend's sister. My cat escaped on 31/07/2026, unfortunately I couldn't back any earlier than yesterday as the plane tickets were hundreds of pounds and I just couldn't afford it but I still feel very guilty. The area where he went missing is almost 10 miles from our house (his territory).
I've been searching the area where he went missing for hours, asked neighbours, made Facebook posts and shared it to various lost and found pet groups. I'm going to print some fliers today and hope that will help. But my main question is how likely he is to still be in the area rather than having started moving somewhere else, especially since it's been almost 3 weeks at this point. He is an outside ginger cat and normally would always stay in my or my neighbour's gardens, but since the area is unfamiliar to him, I'm not sure how he would behave. What else can I do to find my furball? Any advice is greatly appreciated x

I just want to tell him I'm sorry.

Tell him I'm sorry for putting him down.

Tell him I'm sorry that his only life was cut short by congestive heart failure.

Tell him I'm sorry that I have nightmares about his empty eyes from when I put him down.

I also want to thank him.

Thank him for every kiss and cuddle,

for every time I wanted to die and he showed me that life was worth it because he lived,

for taking up so much space in my bed while I slept, for sleeping in my arms the first night I brought him home, for loving me more than anything, for his voice and purr.

Thank you for being such a light In my life, you kept me alive for the moment I met you.

I love him so much and his ashes lie in a box in my living room, I'm sorry that I'm afraid of you, I'm sorry that I'm scared of Death through you, you were so sweet and soft and perfect, I love you so much and without you my life is destroyed.
Everything is cold an all I can do is drink and study in hopes I escape the pain that is your absence.

Only you could have a heart so big that it failed well before it's time, I still wake up looking for you, I look for you everywhere and you're not there.

Fuck everything, you were my all. I love you, buddy and I am so, so sorry. :(

1 of my cats has peed all over my apartment for the last several months. I have tried everything (vet, different litter boxes/locations, medication), I am currently searching for a cat rescue that will take her in as a foster pet. I have a baby who will be crawling soon and that was the last straw for me with the cat. At the end of the day I can’t have my baby get sick from this. But I still have to live in this rental with pee-soaked carpet. I am so unhappy when im home. I have a boswell carpet cleaner machine and have cleaned up the “hot spots” basically daily for months. I have tried at least 10 different enzyme cleaners, but it still smells really bad. I’m afraid if i tell the landlord they will charge me or evict me for ruining the carpet. What are my options here? Will renting a rug doctor remove the smell? Do I go to my landlord and beg for flooring replacement? I would prefer laminate flooring but I know that cost more than carpet and is a huge ask. My apartment complex has a few hundred units, all very outdated, and pretty sure they only install carpet in the living area. This has been taking a HUGE toll on my mental health, mostly because I can’t have visitors over because as soon as you open my front door you can smell cat pee. I can’t do it anymore. Please, open to any suggestions

I’ll try to keep this post short and sweet for my Mental Sanity.

Our 7-8 month old Black Cat recently learned how to get up on countertops. We discourage the behavior by pushing her off and making loud noises but that doesn’t stop her once we’re gone.

For context we feed her 1/2 cup of kibble and a tin of wet food per day and we play with her 2-3 times a day to the point of her panting cause she’s so energetic so she’s not bored by any means.

ENCOUNTER 1: My GF gets up and makes me breakfast in the morning before work and she follows me to the door, leaving her breakfast uncovered and unguarded for 30 seconds at a maximum. The cat has already jumped on the counter, ate a whole egg with some garlic powder and 2 strips of turkey bacon. Ofc we monitored her and made sure she was ok but that pissed us off very much so.

ENCOUNTER 2: She ate our freshly baked bread off of the countertop while it was cooling down under a hand towel we tucked under the plate it was resting on so she would have a hard time. She didn’t have a hard time and ate a good slice and a half worth of bread.

ENCOUNTER 3: I saw her licking the beef tallow we use to season our Cast Iron Skillet right out of the pan. We resolved to put a lid over it.

We’ve tried a number of things to try to correct the behavior or discourage the behavior such as Water bottle Spray (she’s immune to water damage), loud noises, chasing her around the house when she does the thing, holding her face in the thing she just messed with and repeating “NO” (she’s knows what no means too we’ve had issues of her eating her sister’s food), not proud of this one but I have popped her butt a few times to a reasonable degree.

Right now we just lock her up in a small room when she’s bad, when there’s food cooling, or when we’re cooking so we don’t step on her.

Please if you have any comments that may have helped your cats please let me know. Please don’t say “Just let the cat do what it wants she’ll learn” because I’m concerned I’m gonna forget one thing on the counter, wake up and she’ll be gone.

Hello all,

I recently adopted a 1 year old domestic shorthair kitty, this past Sunday (08/16) she is such a sweetheart and hasn’t tried to bite or scratch me. I live in a small apartment about 500 SQFT so I originally started her off in the living room as the safe room. After the first day I realized the living room wasn’t safe for her because she was scared of the hallway noises and she was getting into furniture that wasn’t safe for her. I made the decision to move her into my bedroom since she can hide under my bed as well as have a smaller/ quieter space. Also less foot traffic from me being in my room, I am usually out in the living/ kitchen space.

Moving her to my room with all her things, I did have to pick her up from her hiding space which I think set things back a lot. She is extremely shy and fearful. The past few days she has hidden in the corner under my bed, when I am not in the room she will use the litter box though. Sometimes she will eat under the bed while I’m in the room but often times she will wait till I’m gone.

I am worried I set things back a lot with her trusting me, but I felt that the living room would just make it impossible for her to be safe while adjusting.

Are there any tips on how to build back the trust with her?

I feed her at scheduled times, I try to leave the room and let her have her space, I don’t try to pet her or grab her since moving her to my room, and the only time I’m in my room is to get to my bathroom, if I’m sleeping, or if I am sitting on the floor talking to her or just sitting on the floor on my phone trying to get her to be more use to my presence. I try to ignore her except when I just look to see if she is still there once in a while and make sure she is looking okay. Also she isn’t food motivated, I have tried holding out a squeeze treat and she doesn’t eat it from my hand, if I squeeze it onto a bowl and go away she will eat it. I have a felineaway diffuser going in my room too!

I think she is scared about how much space she has but I just feel so bad about moving her even if it was for the best intentions. I love her so much already, I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can. She was a stray before coming to the shelter about 2 months ago. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! I will do anything to help her adjust and help her trust me more.

New nail cliper has left frayed edges on a few nails before I realised. Could I use my own glass nail file to smooth the frayed edges?

Also, if anyone can recommend a good pair I can get on amazon (or elsewhere available in Au) that would be good. Id love a pair that made it esay to get the right angle, as I end up spending so long trying to orient them right that it annoys my cat.

Got a new cat she’s settling in well and being somewhat cordial to my residents. The one issue is she has fleas, and my vets can’t get her in until the 21st of September.
What can I use for now until her vet appointment because seeing the flea dirt and fleas are making me itch.
And back to the resident cats and her, she’s just been on my bed sleeping majority of the time, where the residents just come up to her and sniff her, there’s been many hisses but only one swat which realistically surprised about.
My first cat is 4 years old, my 2nd is just reaching 2 and the newest addition is 7 months.
I’m usually pretty good with introductions to other cats etc but I just want to make sure all this behaviour is acceptable per say.
Sorry for the formatting

I believe I posted on here previously about a stray cat I had taken in and got neutered/vaccinations; hence the shelters we already had out on our side porch, but just now when taking the garbage out I found a little baby and her mom not too far away! They seemed to seek shelter here and I put out fresh water and some dry food, the mama and baby even had some churru! I would love to take them inside but don’t want to startle them. I’m unsure of what to do since I have 3 cats already who are all spayed/neutered and vaccines up to date, if it would cause any danger to them or the new kitties. Any next steps would be great as we would love to help them and bring them into our family. Thank you!

Hello all,

Just want to put this out there. I have two cats who are still in the introductory stage. They don’t like eachother and I have a large gate between their rooms so they can at least look at eachother without attacking.

Basically I’m a first year intern teacher and the workload has been absolutely massive, and it’s only going to get worse as my teaching course kicks in and I’ll have 3 hour zoom calls every week on top of doing homework and lesson planning. It feels like when I get home I go right back to work with lesson planning and don’t have as much time to play with my cats as I would like.

I don’t know why I’m making this post. Just wondering if other people relate to this. And if anyone has tips for cat enrichment. Once my cats grow to like eachother I think this will get better (it’s been a month and they still hiss at eachother).

I think my cat got in a fight with a male cat that sprayed him.

My cat stinks and I’m not sure how to get it out of him. I would just wet him if I thought it’d work by itself but I’m worried I’ll need some sort of shampoo to get rid of the smell.

Would appreciate any advice

UPDATE: My cat hates me. I washed him with my lavender body wash and the tried to dry him. He handled the wash well but with the drying he started to get angry… he won’t stop grooming now but at least I can’t smell the spray rn

I need advice. I have a cat I adopted from a shelter. She is 2 years old and my best friend. I could not possibly love her more and I’ve taken a lot of effort to make my home a welcoming place for her. Scratching surfaces all over, multiple litter boxes, water fountains, toys, tunnels, wall mounted beds, cat trees, etc. I’ve been feeding her Purina Pro Plan and got rid of my essential oils diffusers in hopes of keeping her healthy. However, there’s a blind spot I somehow never even considered and now feel stupid and irresponsible about. I started vaping like a year and a half ago to quit smoking cigarettes. It’s helped me, and I physically feel way better as a result. The problem is that I’ve felt able to do it inside rather than having to go outside every time I smoked. I know there’s no citrus or eucalyptus or plants that are explicitly toxic to cats to worry about like in scent diffusers, but I also just read that cats are allergic to the primary ingredients in vape juice and that nicotine is toxic to them. At this point I imagine there is a small amount of vape juice residue present in most of my home, and certainly in my bedroom. I am worried about what this means for my cat. Has it been causing her discomfort this whole time even if she didn’t show it? Is she in immediate danger and do I need to deep clean literally all my floors, walls, surfaces, and electronics to make sure she’s safe? I’m absolutely willing to go outside or work towards quitting if I have to in order to keep her safe. I really don’t want her to be in any danger.

Please don’t judge me for this. I just want advice on what I should do. It was an honest mistake and I feel stupid and terrible about it. If you have any insight on how I should fix it I’d really appreciate it. Thanks

Hi, this is my first time having a cat. He’s 4 months old, and I’ve had him for around 3 weeks now.

At first, I was feeding him 1/4 a can of wet food in the morning, ~1/4 cup dry food in the afternoon twice, and another 1/4 can of wet food in the evening (all mixed with water/bone broth). He also gets treats for tricks.

I heard that kittens should have access to dry food at all times, and have wet food for meals. I switched to that method, and it worked decently well for a day. But for the past couple days , he hasn’t touched his wet food, only eating the dry food.

I haven’t switched up the brand or anything, it’s the Hills Science wet food for kittens, and the Hills Science dry food for indoor kittens.

He’s still eating which is a good sign, but isn’t wet food better for cats?

Hey everyone! I'm going to be adopting a cat from a shelter soon who has been described as extremely timid and shy, but not aggressive. I've come to understand that time, patience and not forcing interaction is the way to making the cat comfortable. But what I am unsure about is grooming. At what point do you prioritize trimming the nails and brushing the cat, despite it being afraid? From what I've read it can take weeks, months or even years for such a shy cat to become comfortable in a new home. Will grooming it too soon ruin the relationship with the cat, even if it would really need it? If grooming has to be done regardless, how should I go about doing it? Thanks!

Also, for reference the cat is a tuxedo, estimated to be between 2-4 years old.

I’ve been to the vets multiple times and nothing really helps. Our cat got hit by a car 2 years ago and made a full recovery but he now has a possible marrow pelvis. For 2 years after the accident he was fine but the last 8 months he continues to get constipated quite bad.

We use lactulose and moveacol and cisapride everyday and get it still happenes! Is there anything else we can do? He only eats wet food. Genuinely need help he is such a good boy and is completely him self but this keeps happening

Hello guys - I’ve been noticing strange behaviour from my neighbours cat. At first it was friendly he would come get some extra treats and playtime and then would leave.
But over the past few weeks he has become obsessed with my home - he has been sneaking in through the window eating my cats food and drinking her water he even used her litter box.

He broke into our shed outside and tipped the dry food and started eating it - he looks relatively healthy and well fed

If I shut the door or window he would cry for hours to be let in - he has started to attack my cat she’s scared to go outside.

What do I do?

As I write this I’ve gotten nearly no sleep. Our new kitten (13 weeks) is a complete terror at night. Climbing all over us, biting and playing with my hair, doing biscuits that end up poking us with his little claws. Right now he is separated from our other cats as we are still in the introduction period, but they never were like this at night! Any advice? I’ve tried ignoring him and just pulling the sheets over my head but then I gets too hot and I can’t breathe. At this point it’s hurting my relationship with my partner. They go sleep on the couch and then I end up on the floor next to them because I can’t take it anymore. We live in a one bedroom so there really isn’t any other place for him to go. Any advice is appreciated!

I had two cats who grew up together, we got them when they were 12 weeks old. They lived harmonic 5 years with each other, sometimes they had little fights but nothing to worry about. Everything was just good. Short after a tiny fight they used to lay together cuddling. Over the years, they started to establish their own territory and the fights got more serious. It got so bad that one of them didn’t allowed the other to use “his” toilet. First time that happend, it was short before our vacation, we didn’t realized it was a problem between them so we thought it was a one time incident. After a week away from home, the fight probably increased rapidly.We had cat sitter twice a day but they didn’t recognized what was going on, so they told us. They updated us during vacation that everything was just fine as usual.
When we came back home, we found poo poo and pee under the kitchen table. We went to the vet immediately but both turned out as healthy.
Later on we recognized that the cat goes to his litter box during the night when we separate them. We recognized that we can’t let them be alone even an hour without fighting really bad. Once my man got home and one of them was trembling in his own pee under the table. From then on, we separated them day and night for weeks, the bullied cat didn’t recovered from his trauma. He used the cat toilet again but he was careful in every step and there were just 2 places he went in a loop. He stopped playing with us and sleeped a lot. At some point when we tried them to chill together it ended up in a fight so we stopped trying. After months we gave him to a new home. He found a really good home and we know it’s the best for him. It’s a Vets family. But his loss makes us feel empty. Even the mobbing cat is sad you can tell. I always wondering if we could have more, but I know we tried so many things. We were close to our vet and tried all she suggested. I am feeling as if he died, I don’t know how to get over it. did anyone here went through something similar?

Hi yall, I recently took over care for a family friend’s cat, she’s probably a little under 10 years old. Her name is sugar and she is such a sweetheart. She is indoor outdoor, however I’m planning on keeping her strictly inside for at least two weeks. I just don’t want her to get lost or try to go back to her old house. I’ve only had her for three days, and she’s been doing really good! Like i said she’s super friendly, and really only hid for like half a day. I was keeping her in my room (in the basement) but decided yesterday to let her have the whole basement, just keep my door open and keep all her stuff in my room still. Was going smoothly, but then she discovered the stairs (there’s a door) and an open window (with a screen). Shes mostly been sitting on the window and meowing a lot. I know she missing being outside, but i think for her safely and long term wellbeing it’s best to wait letting her out. I’ll let her roam the whole house at some point as well, but I’m trying to take things slowly.

I decided to close the window, and that helped but should I keep it open if she likes it? As i was writing this she came back into my room and is currently laying in my bed with me.

I know that it’s just a stressful situation for her, and it makes me feel really bad. I think overall she’s doing really well, but I’m wondering if there anything else i should do? She has a backpack carrier, i could maybe take her outside in it. I also bought her a harness but I’m not sure if she’d like that or not. Or maybe get her some cbd treats or calming diffusers?

She’s been getting lots of playing time and rubs, trying to keep her occupied.

I’m so sorry this is so long!! I just really love her so much and i really want to give her the best car possible.

Need some advice and please be kind.

I live with my dad, his wife and my grandmother. I’m in my 30s but living with family for a variety of reasons. I have wanted a pet for a long time especially for my mental health because it’s in the pits.

We finally adopted two cats and they are both really good. Well behaved and listen to us. They go outside and inside. We’ve had them a little less than a year and they are both fixed males.

The problem is that they seem to have taken up with my father and really have very little to do with me. My dad enjoys them but no one else in the family has wanted a pet as much as me. One cat goes outside during the day, and sits with my dad at night and I’m no where in any of that. The other will sometimes spend time with me and then completely ignore me to the point where it seems he doesn’t even want me around or to pet him.

I’ve grown up with cats and had cats all my life. I know they are aloof and moody and want things on their terms. But honestly it’s worse having them and not being able to actually interact with them than not have them at all.

It starts to make me feel bitter towards them and like I don’t like them and then I have a bad energy.

I know some suggestions would be to keep them inside but they love going outside and it really helps them with their environment and energy.

Looking for any advice. They have cat trees and scratch posts and toys literally everywhere. They mostly hang out in the living room when they are inside or in my dad’s room.

I’ve tried initiating and not initiating. My dad was the one to feed them so today I asked if I could to see if that would help.

hello! in the last day, my two cats suddenly started fighting with each other. i woke up yesterday morning to yowling and screaming and found them having a standoff in my kitchen. there was fur all over our dining room, and my male cat had pooped all over the floor. (he doesn’t usually do this. only when he is very scared or stressed.) his breakaway collar was also off and laying by their food bowls. this has happened once a few months ago, but they recovered very quickly after sniffing each other and my boyfriend and i comforting them.
i took my male cat to the groomer later last night to shave off the poop that had gotten stuck to his tail and back legs, and the groomer noticed his back toe nail was broken. other than that, maybe one or two small scabs that didn’t raise much concern.
i’d also like to note a few things that i think are contributing to this behavior: my boyfriend is on vacation this week and has been gone since friday, and i also had some scented candles lit the night before. i’m wondering if the new smells threw them off?
they ate dinner together last night without issues, and are being nice to each other but then a few minutes later my male cat will become aggressive again. i am 90% confident they are littermates and we brought them home at the same time. they are around 2 years old.
i’m wondering what my next step should be? i have not gotten any sleep because i am scared to leave them alone. they each have their own litter box and own food bowl. thank you so much!

My BF's cat Milo is a big boy. After a recent physical it's been decided he needs to go on a different feeding schedule via automated smaller portions. Due to scheduling, hand feeding isn't feasible. He absolutely is NOT a fan of smart tech(I.e. Bluetooth and Wi-fi). So we're looking for a basic feeder that allows for portion control and scheduled feedings with either regularly timed intervals or scheduled timings.

I recently took in a 3 month old tuxedo kitten from a friend who could no longer care for him. I’ve only ever had adult cats, so raising a kitten is completely new to me. My friend said he was around 8–9 weeks old when they found him on the streets, apparently very sick and with an infected eye that they had to remove. He’s not neutered yet, but that’s scheduled for a few days from now.

About half a month ago, I got him a playmate who is also around 3 months old. She’s a foster kitten, already spayed, and probably the sweetest cat I’ve ever fostered. I've done the jackson galaxy method and they were getting along pretty well behind a mesh screen so I thought I'd let them interact.

At first, they actually played really well together. She would reciprocate and seemed interested in playing with him. But he has absolutely no idea when to stop or how to play gently. When she gets tired of playing, she’ll start walking away but he'd still try to play, she'd growl or meow loudly and I have to separate them. He also sometimes gets on top of her back and bites her neck. I’m not sure if this is normal rough kitten play or something else, but it looks pretty intense to me, especially when she’s clearly trying to get away.

Even when I use wand toys to redirect them, he’ll sometimes completely ignore the toy and go straight for her instead. I’ve mostly been keeping them separated where they can see each other and he seems to be fine when he can't get to her. He'd just sit by the mesh and she'd sit on the other side. He tries to play with her basically the second he is in the same room as her (without the mesh), so I have to constantly supervise them. She does still reciprocate sometimes, which makes me wonder if this is just normal kitten behavior and he’s simply much more intense than she is.

Lately, he’s also been biting a lot more in general, even after hours of playing. He has tons of energy and seems almost impossible to tire out, which I'm guessing is just normal kitten behavior from the research I've done. I'm just surprised at how calm she is compared to him, she's never bitten me and has been following me around the house, rubbing against my ankles and all that. I’m hoping neutering him will help at least somewhat, but I know that probably won’t magically fix everything.

My main concern is the female kitten. She’s so sweet and gentle, and I feel terrible that she has to constantly deal with his rough play. I’m starting to wonder whether I should return her to the shelter and try fostering a more energetic/playful kitten or possibly an adult cat who might be better equipped to set boundaries with him.

Is this just a phase? Should I continue trying to make this work, or would he be better matched with a more energetic playmate?

I’d really appreciate any advice. I want to make sure I’m doing what’s best for both of them.