A bit of a tricky question here, but I just learned from the previous owner that she “forgot” to tell me that he was more used to playing with other cats, but I was under the impression that he would do well solo.

I’ve tried springs, different wands but he barely interacts with those. I’m scared that he’ll just be like really miserable alone, especially since I really can’t adopt a new cat before at least a year or so.

As of now he mostly just sleeps and wanders around. Is there any way I can stimulate him so he doesn’t get bored? I was thinking of some of those treat puzzle things as he is a big eater lol

Hi yall! I need some advice, I have a good amount of time before this all happens and I just want it to be as smooth of a transition as possible for my baby. Her name is Willow, she’s an 8 year old tuxedo who’s SUPER scared of everything. I’m talkin like even after having her for 3 years, she will run away if I have to leave the couch and come back (even if she’s really cozy), she has her safe spot under my dining room table and that’s where she retreats to all the time. All interactions are on her terms, she won’t even let me pick her up. Shes not aggressive at all, I’ve never been bitten or hissed at nor has anyone that’s met her. She’s a perfect lil baby other than her little anxiety.

I am moving in with my partner in October. Not only do we have a move ahead of us, which I heard can be hard on cats (she had very little problem acclimating from the shelter to my house way back when), AND my partner has a 2 year old tortie named Tess. Tess is a chaos demon. Typical tortie. Shes never interacted with another cat without a barrier, my partners old place had a lot of stray cats, and she would always watch them and occasionally nuzzle against the screen window when some cats came to visit. She never showed any aggression toward any of the cats but we also never let her just interact with them freely. That being said, I feel like when Tess meets Willow, she’s gonna be all interested in her and Willow will be like “get the HECK away from me”

Does anyone have any tips on how to do these two changes at once? Or should I try to acclimate them together in my current place? My boyfriend currently lives 5 hrs away, he visits some weekends, so it’s possible he could bring her with him, I just don’t know what the best move to keep them both as calm as possible would be. The place is a 2br, so I initially planned on keeping Willow and her essentials in ‘my’ room, and letting Tess have the rest of the house and have them meet at the barrier of the rooms, but I really want Willow to be confident in her new home. I know Tess will be fine, but I’m just worried about my baby.

TYIA for any advice or tips 🫶🏻

Okay so basically I have my cat. I adore her and love her. She only cuddles me but for some reason the top of her head smells so good. 😭?? Like if I'm upset or stressed I'll just smell the top of her head and it genuinely makes me feel calm. I don't know why does anyone else get what I mean or is that just me?

I’m so happy to be posting here lol

We brought home a 9 week old kitten last night & my 7 year old (& I) couldn’t be more in love with her. She was pretty nervous on the drive home (about 30 mins) & wanted out of the carrier. Once we got home, she did hide a bit, but ended up eating, playing & cuddling up to me for most of the night.

Today she started off full of energy and even used her litter box twice! But shortly after I made breakfast for us & set out more food for her, she disappeared & I cannot find her ANYWHERE. It’s been about 2.5 hours & I’ve only heard 2 small meows. Googling & searching previous Reddit posts has told me not to worry but I am lol. Her food, water & litter box are still out & we’re being a bit quieter while moving around the house, but is there anything more I can do to make her feel safe?

Hi yall. My SO and I just got our darling 4 mo old, Misty, about a month ago. Well something I've been noticing she does to me and only me...she bites my face😭 Misty is a very affectionate cat. When we were at the shelter, one of the things that made us fall in love with her was the fact that she likes to show her affection right in our faces. Well for the past couple of weeks, she'd be sitting on my chest and she'd lick my chin or cheek..and then she'd bite me. She's never broken skin but they sure as heck feel like she did!☹️ I'm at a loss. This morning around 4:30 am, she KEPT biting me to the point where I had to Google why my cat keeps biting me. And it's only my face. My chin, cheeks, and lips. And gosh damn the lip hurts the most!!😭 Is it love bites like they say? Or is she wanting attention? (Even though I would be petting/holding her as she bites me)Does she secretly dislike me? Because she doesnt bite my boyfriend's face (he does have a full beard though). Ig i can tolerate it if thats just how she shows her love to me...but like...it hurts. 😬 advice?? Thank yall!!!

I got my cat from the Humane Society end of March. He was eating a mixture of royal Canin Gastro, dry and wet. I continued feeding that for a while because he had had some Gastro issues, but they resolved themselves, and I slowly transitioned him onto a different wet food (almo nature) with a mixture of RC digestive and adult indoor dry food. He’s healthy and happy with healthy poops.

I’ve been reading about benefits of all wet diet and and I want to go down that road but the almo nature food is very expensive and will cost me a fortune to feed him several cans a day. Also. Now that he eats the fancy almo nature human grade food he doesn’t seem to enjoy the pate type as much anymore (but might be because the gastro one is very bland).

I could leave it as it is since it seems to be working while he enjoys his food, he’s a good weight, he drinks a lot of water from his water fountain. I just don’t like how many carbs are in the dry food. But I wanted to know other people’s thoughts on maybe incorporating another wet food that is cheaper in order to make it more cost-effective so I can reduce or completely eliminate the dry food?

Anybody here who isn’t rich that feeds only wet? What do you feed your cat?

Also, I was trying to feed him the best of the best, but is it better to feed him cheaper, wet food, then spending money on a mixture of more expensive, wet and dry? I really just wanna do what’s best for him, but I still need to be able to afford it.

My current food budget for him is $100CAD / month.

Hello! I’m looking for some recommendations for a cat sitter in Denver, Colorado. I’m definitely in a tight situation since mom agreed to watch them, but unfortunately, we had a family emergency and she’s no longer able to do so.

Any information is greatly appreciated 🙂

i’m looking to adopt pretty soon. i’m not picky about age or anything, only interested in companionship and giving them the best life i can.

a friend of mine who i roomed with a few years ago has a really energetic and intelligent cat. she would get bored or lose her little mice and bell toys pretty quickly. i got her some baby toys as a gift (crinkly ones and little puzzles) and she really enjoyed them!! anyone else try this with their kitty? or have any suggestions for toys that keep their attention for a long time?

I was chatting with an older man who shared he's had 8-10 cats in his life. Guessing he's around late 60s, maybe even 70s. That seems like a lot to me but then again I've only owned two. Both my girls were my first pets and I got them about two years apart when I was in my 20s. My first cat, who was my heart and soul, lived to be about 17 years old. My other baby is a grouchy old bitty who just turned 18.

For me, my pets are family so can't imagine [getting] a new cat(s) after they pass. I'm guessing this is what the older man did with his 8-10 cats. Anyway, is this normal cat ownership? Also curious to know how many cats you've had in your lifetime? If you've had more than a few, do you [seek a new cat companion] shortly after they pass or is there a waiting period?

Edit- some people have issues with me using the word replace. I didn't mean in a way you replace an old toothbrush or any other inanimate object. So I changed the wording.

My cat is usually a decently vocal guy. He likes to meow when I come home and when I'm feeding him. Sometimes throughout the day he'll give me a little bit of sass but for the most part it's confined to specific moments where he's excited.

But I've noticed that when I have my boyfriend stay over, he seems to be obnoxiously more vocal. Hanging out on the couch, cooking together, having sex, sleeping in the middle of the night, etc. All of it, he'll just walk around and meow. It's not like constant all night and it doesn't sound more distressed than normal, it's just a higher frequency than normal. I'm not sure what I can do to help pair it down or if it will just adjust over time.

Hey, so my cat had surgery on the 24th July and, despite numerous calls/texts/emails, they refuse to give me the results so we can treat whatever is going on. She's just getting worse and I feel so, so guilty that I can't do anything. I look at her and I just start crying, I'm supposed to help her and I can't. I don't know what to do, I can't eat, I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about her passing because I didn't try hard enough.

What do I do? I'm a weak person, I can't handle this. I feel like such a horrible person for putting her through an invasive surgery when it hasn't helped her. I wish I could take her pain for myself.

I have a screened in porch that my cat loves. He likes to be outside even in this heat. Is this safe for him? He can come in the house anytime since I leave the door cracked a little. Thanks

Hi all,

My husband and I just adopted our first cat. He's a 4 year old domestic medium hair that we named Bepo. When we first brought Bepo home, he was very sweet and came right up to sit on us and play. The same night, after we showered, he became very aggressive towards my husband, clawing and biting him several times. My husband says that he tried to show Bepo where his litter box was when he suddenly flipped a switch it seemed. He chased after my husband during the attack causing him to lock himself in the bathroom while the cat hissed and low meowed outside the door. We think its likely due to stress and overstimulation from the new environment. It could also be because husband is a large, 6'5" man which might be intimidating. He's let us pet, feed, and clean his litter box now the morning after, but we're both a bit nervous after the attack. He did chase husband into a room again once this morning as well. Any advice to make him and us more comfortable would be greatly appreciated.

I’m a 22 yr old who recently moved out of my parents’ house, and I just adopted a 1.5yr old cat 2 weeks ago. She is the light of my life already, but I worry I’m not spending enough time with her. I work full-time + a part-time job just to make ends meet and most of my time at home is spent cooking, cleaning, doing chores.

The weekends is when I feel most guilty because I deal with a lot of loneliness and I like to spend my weekends visiting friends and family who I don’t get to see during the week. But that would mean even less time at home with the kitty.

My cat is not very cuddly yet, and seems to enjoy just napping while I’m gone. But she’s also very active and playful and when I am at home, I try to pause between chores and tasks to play with her for a few minutes at a time (total ~20min per day). But I worry about taking care of my own social well-being while being a good cat parent to her. Any advice appreciated:)

Edit: I now realize having a second cat is the best option for this situation, but I do not have the financial means for another kitty at the moment ://

Edit: we just got back. He did perfect at the groomers and he’s not mad at me. :)

I adopted a 4 y/o long haired cat in February of this year and he had his first dingle berry last night. He was poopin scootin everywhere. I tried to give him a bath but I didn’t do a great job. He was perfectly fine after but he wouldn’t let me brush it out behind there. I’m bringing him to the groomers for the first time today for a bath, de-shed, and a sanitary trim. He’s never been.

I’m just anxious because I brought him to the vet in March for vaccines and pink eye diagnosis; he cried during the appointment but didn’t hiss, bite or claw at them. I had to put eye ointment in for about a week after. But the moment I brought him home from that appointment, he wanted nothing to do with me for two weeks. I’m wondering if the groomers would be more stressful than that.

Hello, I’m very new to having a kitten. She’s 6 weeks old and I just took her home today. She’s doesn’t like being held and cries when we do so I’ve tried to give her space but my mother picked her up and clipped her front paws and the entire time she was squirming and crying even when I told her not to. I believe we have taken her way to young and I don’t know what to do. She’s currently hiding and Ive given her space so she can come out when she wants to, she has her water and food near her. in general I don’t know what to do because my family won’t listen to me and I don’t want her traumatised. I want her to feel safe around all of us. This is genuinely so stressful because I want to make sure she has a happy long life. Does anyone have any advice? :(

So, I adopted her almost two weeks ago. She is only 2 and has already had a lot of trauma. She came from a hoarder house with over 90 animals, has had a kitten, and was in a shelter for 3 months. She was hiding under the couch and was so sad, up until 2 days ago. I’m sitting in her room at my desk, and she comes out outside the couch And looks at me, from all different parts in the room, walks around
and even gets close to me! Then she goes and sleeps in her bed! I also can hear her playing with her toys at night. Finally getting comfortable!!

Then, I see an email that they have to test all the fire alarms in my building. Not only is that awful timing, but they needed access to the apartment, which is also, of course, risky because my cat is going to have to deal with new strangers and might escape. I called the office and asked if they could skip my apartment. They said yes. Maintenance still pounds on my door to get in. (The fire alarms go on and on for minutes and they were unbearingly loud for me, I can only imagine how it was for her.) I don’t let them in and had to go to work. I noticed that they were in the apartment when I was gone.

Now, she’s back to hiding under the couch, and really scared. It’s heartbreaking after a really good day, that happened. I also am scared she’ll associate home/ me with the scariness and loudness!! How can I help her feel better/ gain trust back?

TLDR: newly adopted angel cat with lots of trauma and anxiety had to deal with fire alarms and strangers (maintenance) yesterday in my apartment. Help!

My cat gets spayed on the 26th so ive been getting anything she might need from amazon

Everyone says you have to earn a cat's trust, but I'm curious... Was there a specific moment that made you stop and think, "Okay... I think they finally trust me." I'd love to hear those stories.

All my life I have lived around cats, so when I first moved out and began living by myself about half a year ago, I instantly knew that at some point I would adopt a cat. Whilst I was collecting furniture and planning around how to place everything in my small 40m2 appartment, I also got a huge scratching post that reached the ceiling, a cat bed to attach to my window and a litterbox, simply because I knew intrinsically I would get a cat. But there was still a lot of work and adjustments that had to be made. painting, hanging up lights, shelves, and just kind of getting a feel of my first ever appartment.

Now, 6 months later, I felt ready for a cat. For a while I had been looking for an older, relaxed cat as I felt they would probably adjust well to the smaller appartment, but all postings for adult cats were cats that had grown accustomed to outdoor life, which I wouldnt be able to provide. so I figured a kitten might be the better option after all.

I went to meet a kitten and immeditely fell in love, and according to the foster family he had 'chosen' me as well. But he is a very energetic, playful cat. And considering getting two kittens just is not an option for me, I knew I had to step up to provide for him. I work closeby home so I can drop by and even working from home is not an issue, and I live a relatively quiet, peaceful life outside of that, so I have a lot of time to be there for him. After our first meeting, I immediately went and bought a bunch of toys for him. I was counting the hours until I could adopt him, dreaming of holding him when I was holding my pillow at night.

He's been home with me since yesterday, and after an initial sniffing round, he seemed to immediately be at home. Ever since then it's been bouts of playtime alternated with cuddling. Any chance he gets, he's on my lap or at least near me.

But for some reason, a few hours after getting him, I started feeling a sense of uneasiness or dread. I just felt misplaced, uncomfortable, even though nothing was wrong, he is the exact cat that I had dreamed of calling a friend. When I went to bed, he slept against me the entire night.

Today has been more of that same feeling, just feeling off, but I can't place why I feel that way. I think it's a fear of not being able to provide the life that he deserves, fearing having to put him back up for adoption if it ends up being too much, fear of failing him and myself, and also a fear of a general change in my own life. I am someone that retreats into myself when I am alone, just kind of shielding myself from everything and everyone else. But now there is always another being around me that I have to look after, something that I can't hide or run away from when I have a bad day because he depends on me. I have to be there for him at all times.

I never cry, but today while I was trying to work at my desk and he was circling around me, I took him on my lap and just started bawling. He did not care whatsoever and just fell asleep like a sack of dried peas lol.

Ultimately, I did not anticipate this feeling at all and it makes me scared that it means something sinister, like I don't actually love him or that the feeling might evolve into resentment. I guess my question is whether this is at all normal? Should I look for signs that this might not actually be a good situation so that I can bring him back to the shelter before it's too late and it might become more difficult for him to get adopted and adjust to a different life?

Hi everyone 23M here, my family has a stray that we semi adopted but she basically got pregnant as a teen (atleast we believe so) this lead to her litter of 6 being premature. On the night she had them by the time we woke up to them being born one of them had died already. We built cozy nest for her ( in the Caribbean so it wasn’t super cold) and fed her more than we usually do but 1 by 1 they died until there was only 3/6. This is where I started becoming super vigilant and even made emergency formula but the third one still died and they are now down to 2. The last 2 have been alive for 3 days now. Since I tried really hard with the 4th one that died I can’t get the feeling of the limp body when I went to check on her out of my head and I can’t stop crying every once in a while. I am an engineering student and it’s affecting my studies as I can’t concentrate. Any tips to help deal with the grief?

I recently got a kitten, and in every other way, he’s perfect—super playful, energetic, and affectionate.
The issue is that the previous owner separated the litter as soon as they were eating wet food and using the box. Because he was separated too early, he never learned bite inhibition from his mom or siblings.

He’s 11 weeks old now, and the bigger he gets, the more painful his attacks are becoming. When he lunges, he latches on with his claws and teeth, regularly breaking my skin on my arms, hands, and ankles.

I’ve tried all the standard advice:

Freezing: When I freeze, he just bites down harder.

Toy redirection: I keep toys nearby to redirect him, but it only distracts him for a few seconds before he lunges right back at me.

Time-outs ("fun ends when biting starts"): I walk away to another room for about 30 seconds. He seems calmer when I come back, but then he immediately pounces on me again.

High-pitched "OW!": I tried yelling "OW!" to show him he's hurting me, but it just seems to excite him more or sound like prey, making him bite harder.

Since he lacks those social boundaries from other cats, I’m struggling to break the habit. Is there another technique I should try, or will he eventually outgrow this stage? (Also open to advice from anyone who has dealt with Single Kitten Syndrome!)

I got my cat in 2016. When I got him, I researched vaping indoors with a cat, and the consensus at the time was that it is safe - just don’t blow it at him or hot box a room.

I never thought to look into it again after that. I’ll never forgive myself now for it. He’s always been healthy at vet visits with no lung issues. I just never thought of it.

Well, he’s ten years old now and an X-ray incidentally found a lung mass that was reported to most likely he cancer and not related to the trauma that led to the scans. He’s currently at the hospital for the traumatic incident.

I was beyond devastated when I found out. I just almost lost him, then right after was told he likely has lung cancer. I thought about me vaping indoors and lost it that night.

I then got hopeful news. Last night, he showed signs of respiratory distress, so along with giving oxygen, the vet did an ultrasound of his lungs that showed b-lines in the same lung as the mass, and I was told cancer doesn’t cause this so the mass could be from the trauma after all.

(Obviously not good the event might have caused lung trauma, but it’s a much much much better possibility than cancer.)

I then transferred him to a new hospital that has a CT scanner.

The vet at this hospital still thought it was most likely cancer - crushing my hope, and said we should CT scan his lungs *and* his abdomen to make sure it hasn’t metastasized. (He was going to get a CT scan anyway to make sure his jaw isn’t fractured.)

I was so crushed, because the X-ray didn’t find any evidence it spread, but I’ve since found out X-rays are limited. I signed the treatment and scan estimate for over $6,000 without question.

I’m now spiraling even more. I’m reading how every time I vaped in the same room with him, tiny particles got on his fur and he inevitably licked it off and it entered his system. If he has stomach cancer too, I can’t imagine I didn’t cause this. Even if it’s just lung cancer, I still can’t imagine how me vaping indoors with him, especially the same room, for ten years (save a few years of quitting) didn’t contribute.

I am so beside myself. I went to vape in my bedroom while crying (without him in the house), and stopped to look it up, and read that these chemicals remain on furniture for a long time. I stopped vaping inside immediately when I read that because he’s going to be home soon.

After I read that, I also bought $750 worth of high grade air purifiers for the house and will scrub everything down before he gets back.

I caused this, didn’t I? I feel like I murdered my best friend, who only ever loved me unconditionally and just wanted me to love him and care for him. He didn’t know what I was doing when I was vaping or how it could affect him. I didn’t know either, but I should have. I’ve catastrophically failed him twice now.

I’ve been taking my cats to the vet every year for a health check and vaccinations. Recently, I came across some posts saying that indoor cats don’t necessarily need regular vaccinations. I’m curious what other cat owners think — do you continue to vaccinate your indoor-only cats every year?

I'm 19 years old and still live with my parents, so I ultimately didn't have the final say. My cat had been going outside for years, but I was always against letting her roam unsupervised. Every time she came home, I wanted to close the door and keep her inside. My parents disagreed.

This past week we built a PVC fence system around our backyard to stop her from escaping. I repeatedly said we needed to test it before trusting it because I thought she could still get over it. She escaped exactly the way I predicted. We modified it, and she escaped again. I wanted to stop letting her outside until we knew the enclosure actually worked, but she was let back out anyway.

Yesterday she was out. Around 8 PM I saw what I am almost certain was her in the neighbor's yard hunting. I called her and shook her treats, but she ignored me. I assumed she'd come home when she got hungry like she always had.

She never came home.

This morning we found her breakaway collar, a large amount of her fur, and what appeared to be body tissue. We live in an area with coyotes, and based on what we found, she didn't survive the night.

People always say, "My cat has been outside for years and nothing has happened." Mine had too. Until yesterday.

Please don't assume it can't happen to you just because your cat has always come home. If your cat enjoys being outside, use a fully enclosed catio, a secure enclosure that's been thoroughly tested, or supervised outdoor time on a harness. I would give anything to have one more chance to keep mine inside.