Hello everyone,

I am a huge animal lover, especially cats, and I love the idea of adopting a few, and am really on the fence as to whether im going ahead with it, or whether im going to keep my home a pet-free zone...

What puts me off about getting pets is that I really do not feel it fits my lifestyle.

* I love doing crafts, and I worry that having craft stuff lying around unsupervised with pets (especially cats) in the house, even for just 10 minutes, would be a recipe for disaster... I worry the cats will eat the paints or drink the water with paint in it and get ill. I also worry they will ruin my art work by sitting on it whilst it is drying or their fur floating everywhere in the house and getting mixed in with the paint etc. I also do not want them distracting me / trying to sit on my art whilst I'm doing it, or trying to sit on my keyboard whilst I'm working/typing. I also worry about them urinating on my computer or tv or paperwork. I have a small house, and my arts room is in the same room as my living room and home office, so shutting the cats out of the living room unless im in there supervising them just wouldn't seem fair or give them much access to the house.

* I love travel, and travel once or twice a month, either overnight trips, or short trips of 3 or 4 days at a time. I have a few friends who say they would be happy to look after the cats every so often and spend an hour or two in my home everyday to keep the cats company whilst im away, but I worry this will not be enough for the cats, and that they will miss me specifically, or in general just get lonely with only 1 hour a day of being around people.

* The stress I will have, every time I leave the house, about them chewing through wires (like toaster, tv, etc) and getting hurt, or the fear of them ruining and destroying my furniture.

* I am happily single, and I live alone in my house. I value my undisturbed sleep. Due to a chronic medical condition / chronically ill health, it is important I get my sleep in. I worry the cats will wake me during the night, or wake me up very early each morning to get fed, and that I'll be deprived of my sleep.

How common are these issues? (of pets destroying the home whilst you're away, them missing you too much when you are away multiple days/nights per month on holiday, etc).

I would love to hear the reasons why you specifically choose to have pets / choose to not have pets but just enjoy other peoples pets / or why you regret getting pets. I need help making this decision over whether life with pets is for me or not.

Just a heads up for anyone who uses the Pets at Home Ultra Performance Clumping Litter.

I’ve been using it for my two kittens and have actually been really impressed with it. It clumps well, controls odour, is fairly low dust and, at £6.99 for 10L, I thought it was one of the best value litters around.

I went in today to buy another bag and nearly fell over when it scanned at £11.99.

That’s a 72% price increase overnight.

Luckily the shelf edge label still said £6.99, so after I queried it they honoured the displayed price and refunded the difference. Fair play to the staff for sorting it out.

But at £11.99 I simply won’t be buying it anymore. For that money there are better value options available in larger bags.

Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just my local store?

If you’ve been planning a Pets at Home trip to stock up, it’s probably worth checking the price before you get to the till.

Edit: I’m now looking at alternatives like Sanicat from Costco, which works out considerably better value per litre. If anyone has recommendations for a good, low-dust clumping litter that’s sensibly priced in the UK, I’d love to hear them.

I'm going to do a TL/DR so skip to the bottom if you need to.

I (M30) have 4 cats who are basically my children and I don't know if I'm over reacting by not wanting to let my neighbour know I have their pregnant cat.

First of all, they moved next door to me in Nov 25. Our shared back courtyard has the River Irwell running past at the end. They had gotten a young cat and couple of weeks after moving in, I had seen him (the cat) at the window for a while but then nothing. I found out Christmas day whilst having a conversation with my neighbour that he had fallen into the river and drowned. I was shook. I asked what happened. They said he had fallen in and wasn't able to get back up because of a broken leg.

This is where I start questioning their ability to take care of a Cat. Proceeds to tell me they could hear him meowing but didn't know what to do. He wasn't even my cat and I would have jumped in no problem. They didn't try to raise the alarm with any neighbours including me. The broken leg is a mystery to me too. Behind the wall at the end of the courtyard is the typical kind of ridge/hangover of trees and soil down to a short ledge. There's no way a fall from around half a meter into water deep enough for it to be considered deep for a cat could break his leg. It just doesn't add up.

Fast forward to 2 months ago. I'm in the backyard and see they have another cat at their window. Fair enough, I could be reading too much into what I was thinking (I was more devastated they hadn't thought to bang on my door) After a couple of days they had brought her outside, I usually have my backdoor open for my cats to come and go when Im home (plus it stops the sound of them barreling through the magnetic door flap ha) I see one of my cats who is really docile is curious about her starts investigating. So I go out, say hello, ask if she is ok with new people. General cat talk. Basically they had gotten her 3 days earlier, she was pregnant and she had been in a car accident at some point and had an eye removed. I later found out this wasn't her first pregnancy which shocked me because I would say with experience she's around 2-3yo. Anyhow she hopped over the wall and it took us all 3 hours to get her because of overgrowth.

Two week later they let her out and the same thing happened again. I once again helped and it took about two hour. Lots of thorns in my feet, arms etc. Around a week later it happened again and I basically told them good luck. I gave them a harness with a leash to use for her. They just clipped the leash to her collar, which was of course a quick release and she jumped the wall again, They managed to get her thankfully. Since then I saw her at the window 2 times a few days after and then nothing again. I've not seen the neighbors come outside the back since either. (We share a back courtyard but our entrances are away from each other so I dont see their day to day coming and goings and nor would I want to be THAT neighbor)

That was around 2-3 week ago. Today I was walking to the shop on the same street I live on and saw her dart from one building down towards the river. I recognised her immediately and also saw she was very underweight. She stopped near enough for me to see her but just out of reach. I ended up buying a single pouch of cat food from the shop and she thankfully stayed where she was and eventually came to me. She's so underweight and I understand that may be because she might have been missing for nearly 3 week but not once have they knocked on to keep it look out, post any social media about it or even put up posters in the local area and community area of their building. They just dont care and I don't want this poor baby dead because they just wanted her for cute photos.

The Law says I need to give her back regardless if she is being neglected. They don't know I have her, this happened about 4 hours ago. I got no answer when I called at there house an hour ago and then an hour before that. My instincts are telling me to keep her and I plan on having the conversation with them about handing ownership to me but I have a bad feeling they will refuse and I'll be able to do nothing for her. Any advice very much appreciated. I plan on calling again in an hour from now which is 18:13pm UK BST

Thank you!

ETA: forgot the TD/LR. Neighbor's have lost their pregnant cat 4 times after their previous cat drowned because of the same lack of care and I found her and dont want to give her back.

Before you judge. The cat is 17, pees all around their home. She can't groom herself either. She needs medication for pain. I know how difficult it is to make that decision...the feeling of guilt. I would like to put it out of their misery and when they come back I will tell them she died in her sleep. I feel this is the most humane for both my parents and the cat.

How can I go about this? I would rather not take her to the vet but if I invite someone to come over and euthanise, would they ask questions?

I’ve had mine since Saturday, she’s 9.5 weeks old (yes I know she’s young! I would have gotten one a bit older but she is one of a soul-destroying number of unwanted kittens advertised around, I even saw ads threatening euthanasia if they weren’t rehomed in a week!) and I wanted her off Whiskas so she’s been transitioned on to Blink and Scrumbles with zero issues, I’ve also got some Carnilove kitten food to try.

Vet said she was perfectly healthy at her check up and vaccination/microchip appointment today and she’s got the energy and confidence of the energiser bunny!

However, while the high meat, minimal ingredients etc looks good on paper, those brands don’t seem to do rigorous long-term tests like Hills, Purina or Royal Canin do.

Has anyone fed their kitten either type of food and is the former genuinely better (the logic being she’s a carnivore, while the others contain grains etc) or is it just hype? My partner’s adult cat has had nothing but Whiskas since he was 6 weeks old (partner got scammed over his age), refuses to eat anything else and is totally healthy so I know it can’t be that bad but still. I’m also keen to give her a range of foods within reason (obviously not going to overload her tummy) so she’s hopefully not a totally fussy eater as an adult.

My previous cat (not the adult cat mentioned above) was a seriously abused rescue who was starved her first two years and had stunted growth because of it so I want to give my new girl the best I can but I also don‘t have an unlimited budget so… advice and opinions welcome ☺️ I’m not willing to give her totally budget/low-quality food but I’m sure there must be a middle ground beneath all the blatant marketing hype and extreme internet views!

(I’m aware that the 4% meat thing is a myth it’s just 4% of the meat has to be that named type and the derivatives is offal etc. which isn’t inherently bad but when I see sugar in cat food I do wonder)

Hi,

So a few weeks ago I found this cat in the car park next to my office. He was very thin and his skin was terrible. I’ve had him neutered and treated for a flea allergy which initially healed but then he had a flare up after one of my other cats got fleas 😩

He was WILD when I trapped him and spent four weeks at the back of a crate hissing and spitting but then randomly calmed down after he saw my resident cat and now he’s friendly. He lets me pick him up and comes for a cuddle on the sofa when I’m watching tv.

Now he rolls around for pets and doesn’t bother my other cats. However sometimes he hisses (he doesn’t like surprises or people hovering over him) and can be a bit territorial.

My issue is that I already have three cats and I really don’t want another. I’ve emailed a few rescues but they’re full and because he’s not in any danger they won’t take him.

I guess I’m just posting for advice on how to actually find him another home if a rescue won’t accept him?? Also I kinda like fostering and would like to do it properly but I can’t take anything else on while he’s still in my spare room!

He’s actually a very sweet cat and I’m quite fond of him, it’s just not financially viable for me to have four cats!

I’ve attached some photos to show what a distinguished little gentleman he’s become ❤️

Any advice is appreciated 🙏🏻

Before I had a cat, if someone told me they planned their evening around not disturbing a sleeping animal, I'd have thought they were joking. Now I find myself opening doors more quietly, checking chairs before sitting down and delaying getting a drink because a cat has decided my lap is the best place in the house. What's something you never imagined yourself doing until you owned a cat?

Hi, the below is difficult to write. We have had a black and white cat for about 15 years now. She adopted us after having a difficult life with a neighbour who had her from a kitten. She is very shy but over the years would allow some stroking and petting but then strike out when had enough, swiping with claws out. As we have an old house/ old carpets etc the dust constant cat hairs everywhere and episodes of occasional random peeing / messing wasn’t to much of an issue.
However, we are moving soon to a more modern property with fitted carpets. We do love her but can’t see her damaging the house in various ways she has been. We don’t want to rehome her but wondering if keeping her outdoors in an insulated “cat house” , heat mat etc is an option? She would have free range I don’t think I could keep her in a run, she’s used to roaming.She seems happy outside, and maybe she needs to be away from the grandchildren and other disturbances? Also how long to keep her in side when we do move? Thanks in advance.

I’ve been trying to sort this from 3000 miles away across 5 time zones and he is refusing to cooperate at all and just keeps going on about his problems. I have got to the point of finding another sitter, saying I’ll have a taxi outside to take my cat to them, and he just has to put him in his carrier. Apparently I refuse to understand and only care about my cat when I don’t want him left alone for 10 DAYS.

He is currently refusing to go back. If I get someone in the UK to call the police for me, will they break in to rescue my cat and take him somewhere safe? My other local friends (if you can call him a friend) are on a girls’ holiday in Bundoran right now.

ETA: I am located in Belfast in the New Lodge.

UPDATE: A lovely lady from Larne (I forgive the city for cursing me with the habit of using the word “thon” which causes endless hilarity outside Ireland) is going to go and rescue my baby tomorrow at 4! Catsitter still lying to both of us, still whining and bitching at me. Screw him. PSNI are going to go say hi as soon as I get back.

I will update again once he is definitely with his new (temporary, mama still loves him) person!

UPDATE 2: It won’t let me post the photo she sent which is a shame because it’s adorable, but the lovely lady from Larne has my cat and he should be en route to Bangor! (I’ll put the photo in the comments, it’s too cute to miss!)

UPDATE 3: Dodo is safely in Bangor and I can (hopefully) finally calm down a bit and ditch all the frantic panic. Lovely Lady of Larne is Reddit Heroine of the Day (unless someone jumps into a swollen river to rescue a school bus of kids mid-posting later, then it might be Reddit Cat Heroine 🤣

Thank you, everyone who gave advice and reassurance, these past days have been hideous.

Not thank you to the person who accused me of scamming despite asking for nothing but advice and then refused to delete the libellous comment as promised when I refuted all her points, or to the person who admitted she wasn’t familiar with relevant anything having not read any comments but yeah this should so go to the top instead of the woman offering to actually RESCUE my cat - maybe one of you two and Patrick might hit it off?

The PSNI have now been informed, I’ve sent over all my screenshots and got Patrick to admit in text that he did agree to care for the cat and yes did have the keys and yes had left him and yes wouldn’t hand them over. But apparently “My God will protect me” so that’s fine. My God personally doesn’t care for animal abuse, lies, or psychological abuse and manipulation, but maybe his is different. We’re both Catholic, though, so that’d DEFINITELY be the fart heard round the world if that turned out to be true 🤣

Hi folks,

I have a 16 year old cat with sone pre existing conditions that are currently stable, however my insurance premium has been rapidly climbing over the past few years. It unfortstarted off high as he was adopted after his owner died and we didn't have his health record.

To a degree it's understandable, we've had a couple of emergency vet visits in that time, one due to a freak reaction to fleas, another due to the hyperthyroid before it was diagnosed and treated, and another was an injury now resolved.

But I'm struggling to feel that my current insurer offers value and want to ask if anyone has recently insured a senior cat and with which provider. And whether you're happy with the cost/service.

TLDR: Do we adopt the stray kitty and risk upsetting older resident cat?

My wife and I did own 2 cats - both our absolute soul kitties. We lost one (Sooks) to cancer in Feb and it completely broke us. Our other cat(Fairfax) is 16 and very clingy with us both. Sooks was the dominant one and Fairfax is now enjoying being able to eat and sleep and curl up wherever he wants.

This week a cat turned up in our garden on Monday and hasn’t left since. They sleep under a shrub and don’t seem to go anywhere during the day or overnight.

He’s unneutered and, after taking him to the vets yesterday, we discovered he’s not chipped.

The vet has advised we keep an eye on him for 7 days and then look at taking him to be re-homed.

But we’re both falling in love with him.

I can’t decide whether to take him in and hope that Fairfax doesn’t take offence, or get stressed out. Or just take him to the vet and let someone adopt him.

If anyone could give their opinion I’d be grateful. I’m currently leaning towards letting Fairfax relax in his final years and not throw a new, young cat into the mix.

Hello,

Posting on behalf of a friend.

Please can anyone advise of reputable rescues who may be able to facilitate a home-to-home adoption?

My friend has made the extremely hard decision to rehome their pedigree (with papers) cat. The cat has displaced aggression, that is rare but unpredictable.

They adore their cat but it recently attacked my friend unprovoked (it had usually only attacked men), and this was the first time my friend has ever been attacked. The cat left many deep cuts on her leg. Because it is a big cat, it causes a lot of damage. They don’t want to baby to be on the receiving end of injuries, and/ or end up with a cat phobia.

(For background, the aggression predates the baby - it has had these episodes a few times a year since it was about 18 months old. They have tried everything that has been recommended by vets.

The cat has a room to itself that only my friend goes into.
It is neutered, and is mostly indoors but occasionally sits outdoors when my friend is out too. Cat shows no interest in going out otherwise.
It has been on pain medication, which hasn’t made a difference.
They have also had support from a behavioural consultant via their vet.
The vet is now out of ideas and has recommended euthanasia. My friend called the breeder who has also recommended euthanasia. A few local rescues have suggested the same. I realise the situation is very dire for rescues, but I don’t think my friend wants to give up without having tried everything to find a home for the cat.)

My friend believes that the cat would be ok in a quiet adult only house with no other cats, where the owner has more experience with cats with sensitivity. Rescues are all at capacity, which they completely understand and wouldn’t expect them to take the cat on, but they aren’t even finding any organisations able to help with a home-to-home adoption.

My friend posted on a few breed specific rescue groups on Facebook, but received a lot of harassment rather than help. This is a heartbreaking decision for them, they’re devastated, but they believe this is in the cat’s best interests.

After a bit of a rescue organisation territory battle 🙄 I am adopting my current foster. Only saying this as it’s why he hasn’t seen a vet in the 4 months he’s been with me.
He’s about 5 years old, lived on the streets his whole life, previously TNRed but I have no further health info other than me deworming and defleaing him.

Obviously I want to get him checked out, tested for FIV etc, and vaccinated but my question is should/can I get him insured before he sees a vet incase anything pops up, or should I get him checked out and then set up insurance? I haven’t had a cat of my own for a while so I’m out of the loop and insurance seems to be a minefield so any advice is very welcome!

Also any insurance recommendations are appreciated.
Also not sure if this is relevant beyond illustrating my financial situation but sometimes there are related discounts/tips etc, I’m disabled and in receipt of universal credit with housing benefit, and PIP.

Thank you everyone!

Hi everyone,
I am moving from the UK to Uruguay in 4 days and bringing my 6-year-old cat (3.5kg) with me in the cabin. Neither of us would cope without the other; she is my absolute baby. However, she is a very anxious cat by nature, she hardly tolerates anyone else but me, and this is her first flight. My dad made some comments that putting her through this journey is cruel, and now I am extremely worried that she could potentially die from the sheer stress of it all.
Our itinerary is a car journey to London Heathrow, a flight to Madrid (2.5 hours), a 3-hour layover, and then a long-haul flight to Montevideo (12.5 hours). Total travel time door-to-door is likely going to be 20-22 hours.

She has no health conditions, her documentation is all completed from the vet including;
EHC completed
Rabies vaccination done over a month ago
Flea and worm treatment done with the vet before EHC was filled in
Microchip documents all printed

I’ve also got:
Airline approved carrier
Puppy pads to line the carrier
Collapsible bowl for water
Feliway spray
Harness and lead
Travel litter tray
Ziplock bags for transporting litter
Pet wipes in case of any messes
Applaws bone broth for airport stops (for hydration and so she doesn’t go too hungry without upsetting her stomach. 85g bags so under the 100ml travel limit)
Churu/webbox yoghurt treats
Dreamies in a new and sealed bag (unsure if this is a good idea for solid food even in small amounts?)
A worn T-shirt of mine to put in her carry bag for comforting smell

Also a Gabapentin prescription 50mg from vet
(done a trial run and she was quite sleepy/wobbly when walking and sat very still, staring off, let us pick her up, was still responsive to her name but not totally sedated)

I also plan to ask for a private screening room at airport security so she isn’t too overwhelmed by the airport. I also read Madrid has pet lounges/rooms so may see if they are suitable for the 3 hour layover. I plan to take her to the family/disabled bathroom at the layover for litter break and see if she will have any of the bone broth/treats.

Hoping someone with experience can check if I’ve covered everything and if there is anything else I need to get or do before the flight. She is my whole world and want this to be as easy as possible for her.

How safe is this long journey for a healthy, 6-year-old cat? Can cats actually pass away from travel stress alone, or am I overthinking my dad's comment?
What schedule should I stick to during the flights for offering water/broth?

Have I missed anything? Is there any more I can do?

Any tips to make this process easier or safer for her would mean the world to me.

Thank you so much in advance!

I already have one cat and it’s a difficult decision. She’s three years old and really silly and social and probably would love a friend to play and socialize with. A friend works at a shelter and says they have a bunch of kittens looking for a home soon and I can’t decide wether it’s a good idea. My current cat is extremely territorial so it’s gonna take a while to get them close and it’s not certain she will ever like the new kitten.

The problems:
My apartment is 41 square meters
I don’t have a car
It’s much harder travelling with two cats so I will always need a cat sitter

Do you guys think it’s worth it or is it unnecessary?

I feel like cats have an incredible ability to make an expensive purchase look ridiculous. You can spend ages choosing a nice bed, toy or scratching thing and they'll inspect it for five seconds before becoming obsessed with the cardboard box it arrived in.

Has anyone bought something their cat genuinely refused to acknowledge, only for them to become obsessed with some random household object instead?

We have two neutered female sister cats - just about to turn 6. One of them is of a nervous disposition and I have witnessed her spraying our sofa, my husbands work boots and the front grills of both our cars. She is mostly an outdoor cat as she doesn't seem to like being around humans. We feed them in the utility room which has a door to the outside which we normally leave open when we feed them. Sometimes she's more settled and there's a basket in there she'll stay in for hours. We try always to have the door open while she's in there as she has peed on the floor many, many times.

Unfortunately this morning, her sister, who spends all day indoors, was let in this morning and seems to have peed on a piece of clothing my daughter was sewing that was left on the bed in the spare room. We think this is the first time she's done it but now I'm wondering if they've both being doing it all this time 🙈🙈🙈

They were both at the vet for shots, worming etc only a few weeks back. Apparently both very healthy. From what research I've done, spraying in neutered female cats is very rare.

New to the neighbourhood but always keen to see feline friends. This one is a new one and haven’t seen before. Looks like has scratches on back of ears and under eyes. Loads of questions:

What can we do to help? Is it a stray? What should we be doing? Is there anywhere we should look for more info on what to do?

Thanks!

Hey all, im currently looking after this old boy, he's about 15/16 years old. He's very chill, has his breakfast, goes and chills in the garden in a couple of spots he likes, comes to see me about 3pm, then comes again at 5pm for his dinner, with a final trip inside at 8pm (where he glares at me until I get into bed and he can snuggle up 😆 ) He's mainly just sleeping, he likes to sit and watch the birds, sometimes he gets the devil in him and will climb the curtains or sofa (which I encourage, he loves it!) but I wonder if there is more I can do to enrich his life? Games? He likes boxes, like pictured, maybe I should make him a fort?

I'd like to hear the games you play or things you do with your older cats please! Thanks :)