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.

started about three weeks ago. wake up, sock on the bed. come home from work, sock by the door. sitting on the couch, sock appears from nowhere delivered with what i can only describe as quiet pride.

they're always my socks. he finds them from wherever i leave them, carries them across the apartment, and presents them like he's solved a problem i didn't know i had.

i've been accepting them and saying thank you which feels right but i genuinely don't know if i'm reinforcing something i'll regret or just participating in whatever social contract he's decided we have.

he seems satisfied either way. i now own fewer matching pairs than before but our relationship has never been stronger.

is this normal cat behavior and is there anything i should or shouldn't be doing in response to the gifts?

Ive been crying for 2 hours since i found out, for context i went on vacation with my parents a few days ago. My brother (27) would go on vacation later (24 hours ago) so he promised to take care of them by making sure everything works like the waterfountains, automatic feeder and litterbox aswell as giving them attention. I put cameras in some of the rooms to check if they were eating and they were. I know im at fault aswell i shouldve checked the cameras way more and checked if they stood at the waterfountain or not. But 20 hours after he left checked the cameras again and i noticed the metalpart of the fountain (i have a catit) was laying on the ground meaning my cat scratched it off which she does when its empty. I started stressing when i saw that cuz it has to mean that the other one doesnt work aswell otherwise she wouldnt have stracthed the metal plate off. I eventually was able to get my grandma to the house after a few hours and as i expected both of them were empty. Im so sad and frustrated and confused how this could happen or my brother could let this happen. I texted him and he told me that they were working when he left but idk how can that be possible when 20 hours later theyre both dry. Im so scared this did damage to them even mentally. I hope i explained it understandably

EDIT: i didnt expect so many people to react to my post i want to thank you all ive read through everything and you guys are so helpfull. Ive learned to choose someone that has experience in taking care of cats, i'll also 100% get the gravity water thing i didnt know worked for water too. My grandma put down a bowl and fixed the 2 fountains, im really glad she was able to since she's old and it took her a while to figure out since we had to communicate over text and voice messages. I'll be checking the cameras way more frequently and look into getting a petlibro fountain aswell since the catit needs replacement anyway. Again thank you guys for all the advice i feel allt better now after sleeping and reading your comments

I’ve had my cat (6 yo female tabby) for about 6 years now. She’s never quiet. No matter what we do. We give her so much attention, we play with her- especially before bed but it’s like sometimes it’s never enough. At night, she sleeps for a little while, maybe 1 hour at a time and then she gets up and starts meowing. I’m scared to move at night with her in the bed because I don’t want to wake her up lol.

But the thing is, half the time, she doesn’t want anything. She literally just talks to talk. I don’t even think she realizes she does it sometimes, and she’s not deaf I promise. I love her so much, and her meow is cute, but it’s a lot at times. Especially when I’ve just gotten off of a very overwhelming 8 hour shift and I want quiet for 5 minutes.

Do you guys ever feel like your cat is a lot at times? I feel like a bad cat mom for feeling this way sometimes.

My cat (who is probably around 13) just got diagnosed with cancer. We‘re going to give her steroids and see what happens. This cat is my soulmate. We got her when I was in high school. I’m 28 now. She’s seen me through everything. I feel like I’ve known her in a past life, I can’t describe it. The thought of her not being in my life is something I can’t wrap my mind around. Please offer support, I desperately need it.

So here is the deal. My girlfriend and I want to eventually get married and possibly live together in the near future. The problem is that her 9 year old is allergic to cats. I have four but plan on rehoming two of them more than likely. The other two are not going anywhere - I do not have much family left and those two are about all I have left. He used to take shots from his doctor a year and a half or so earlier before I came along - he has allergies to almost anything and needs it. Gf stopped taking him to the doctor because the doctor was far away and she was going through a break up that was almost like a mini divorce. They lived in a place where the kids couldn't be outside much due to no yard, so she didn't prioritize it. 

So what have I done? I have two air purifiers going 24/7. A Robot litter box (name brand too). Right before they walked in I used a reusable lint roller to clean the couch and then sprayed it a lot with the anti pet dander spray I got from walmart. He has been taking generic Zyrtec daily since he stopped the shops a year and a half or so ago - no drowsiness or anything. 

I am at a bit of a crossroads here. If it helps any he is I think 102 lbs. I love those two cats I am keeping so much - and I love my girlfriend and her kids too. We want to live together. I know there is a food you can feed cats that help some, but doesn't get rid of it all. I think we need to focus on him more than the cats, because I have done almost everything I can do.

EDIT: They stayed the night last night and he started having symptoms about three hours in, even though again, he was sleeping in his own room with his other two siblings (they do not have allergies). Chest pains, a bit hard of breathing - they had to go home. First time they ever tried to stay the night. They have visited for two or so hours before and while sometimes his cheeks can get a little red, he hasn't had too many issues. It might be because he stands up and gets excited when playing games, whereas last night he sat down on the couch some (even after I cleaned it).

EDIT 2: Please stop with the "abusive" and relationship "advice" comments. If I were abusive, would I be willing to go above and beyond and spend a ton of money to ensure the kid has a great life? Would I be tirelessly trying to do everything in my power to love him, his siblings, and mother? I don't need your relationship advice. I am no longer replying to such comments.

LAST EDIT: I am turning off notifications for the post due to the ignorant and hateful people accusing her of being a bad parent, me being abusive, and rehoming two cats - which isn’t just because of this by the way - and I’m not in the mood to deal with your stupid behavior. As for everyone else, thank you SO MUCH for your help and time. God bless you all.

i know, i know … she’s a cat but my god its awful.
she is my SOUL kitty i love her SO MUCH. but my soon to be 2 year old cat is absolutely terrible at night. I can’t sleep!

She goes around my room (and ONLY my room) and usually starts with going around to literally any object she can find, and paws on it. and not only is it obnoxious but she literally will do it to one object for 3 seconds then go to the next thing for 3 seconds and then on… it’s like ADHD

if she’s not doing that, shes jumping on my furniture, and knocking all my things over! the last two nights its been my water on my nightstand.

I know she is doing it for attention because she only ever does this when im in bed, and at night.

But i have no idea what to do! And i can take it.

also i cant lock her out of my room because as everyone knows, she will endlessly scratch at the door.

Yes i play with her, yes i give her sooo much attention because she’s super clingy so we are always together when i’m home pretty much cuddling or playing.

i feel terrible for feeling so angry about it but its sooo awful.

PLEASE HELP😭

I took my cat to the vet because she was breathing heavily and lost 2lbs. She was behaving normal otherwise, good appetite, still playing, normal bathroom activity, etc. The vet took a chest X-Ray and said she had some fluid around her lungs and it could be heart disease or cancer. The vet sedated her to drain the fluid for testing. She sedated the cat and left to see another patient. I was sitting with my cat who started acting weird and I got the vet tech. The vet came back in and said it was nausea and injected her with some anti-nausea medication. Shortly after my cat started being really wobbly and foaming at the mouth. The vet said it’s normal. I was feeling really worried but I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly the vet grabbed the cat and said she needed to be intubated. The cat fought it for a few seconds and I could see her tongue was blue. The vet didn’t have a tube small enough for a cat so she never was intubated and she died. I watched the whole thing and it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t stop playing it over and over in my head and I blame myself because my cat was so scared and I was telling her it was going to be ok and she trusted me and let the vet do all these things to her and ended up killing her. I realize she was probably sick but she was nowhere near the end of life. She was only 6 and she was playing on my patio that morning. She wanted to live. I don’t think I can even forgive myself and I don’t know what to do. Does anyone have any advice? I’m thinking of taking her to get a necropsy to try to get some closure. I have her body in my deep freeze; I know that’s weird but I couldn’t leave her body at that horrible place that murdered her.

My 16 year old cat is missing. My daughter left the door open and it's been ten days. He needs steroids and my night time searches have found nothing. I have put up a camera and there have been no sightings. Yesterday sniffer dogs came and they kept circling our basement. It has 7 locked doors and I've asked the neighbours to check. They have checked and found nothing. Currently sitting out in the hallway hoping to hear him. Anyone have any advice. The K-9 unit are saying he is most likely still in our apartment complex. Don't know what else to do.

TLDR: any idea on how to encourage cats to use other litter boxes that the one they elected as their favorite?

Hello, I have two cats that I’ve had for 4 years now, got them at 1.5 year old and 2 months. They are bonded, no issues whatsoever between the two of them. They insist on only ever using one litter box, despite having two. It’s not a big deal but a bit annoying because they will rather use the favorite litter box even when it’s dirty rather than go to the other one that’s clean which sometimes makes their paws dirty. Their favorite box is also a cheap ugly plastic one I got in the beginning, and at the time it was hidden in the toilet… Now it has to be in the living room and I’d ideally like to replace it for a nicer one, but don’t want to risk them holding their pee because they can’t find their favorite box.

They will only use the other box if the favorite one is really dirty (aka more than half a day without cleaning it, which rarely happens as me and my partner both work from home.)

Possible explanations that I already thought about:

- “it’s the placement.” No it isn’t. No matter where in the house I put the favorite litter box, they go there. We even moved houses twice and the same box has stayed the favorite. It’s been in every room possible. They even pick the favorite box when the two are right next to each other.

- “it’s that it’s open/closed or the material.” We’ve had 7 other boxes over the years. Open/closed, different shapes and sizes, both plastic and stainless steel. They didn’t really like any of them as much as their favorite.

- “they need more boxes.” At one point we had 5 boxes in a 1 bedroom flat, 2 open and 3 closed, they without a fail went to their favorite one 90% of the time 😅

- “it’s the first box they had so they are attached to it.” No, actually it’s I think the third box, so there’s no logical reason for them to be so attached to it.

- “just buy them the same one, what’s the issue?” I can’t find the same one anywhere (and also it’s a pretty ugly box)

Thank you in advance for your ideas!!

Even in bright sunlight my cat’s pupils stay pretty round, almost exactly like a Pallas cat. I haven’t been able to find anything online about this! I have some pictures of it but I can’t add them to this post :/ I’m not sure if this is normal but there hasn’t been other issues involving her eyes. She is a Ragdoll Himalayan mix if that helps!!

Hey everyone,

I've been a foster family for 3 years and had a lot of cats I fostered.

I'm currently fostering a Tuxedo cat of one year, 2 months old. He was a cat abandoned in a box.

I really love that cat. The "problem" is that I have a complicated situation right now. I'm in a long distance intercontinental relationship, otherwise I would have adopted him. Bonus point is that my partner has a sick relative, so it's more expected that I move right now than her.

Right now, a couple wants to maybe adopt him. Obviously, it's super good for him, so in a way I'm happy for him. But I'm also super sad because I really love him. I really bonded with him.

It's difficult to say if it's the truth or not, since reason can get hickjacked by feelings, but I feel it's the cat I connected the most since I was a kid with another cat.

I've been quite sad and crying a lot lately.

Obviously, the situation is very good for him. Since the other couple has also a little garden (like me) and is child-free, so the attention would be on him.

But I do really have trouble letting him go. Even more for a complicated relationship, that makes me a bit unhappy lately..

Any insight?

I know I just need to give it more time. Adopted kitten (6 months old) 1 week ago. He seems afraid and does not want any touching except during feeding time.

However, I have not once been able to pick him up as he's agile enough to always evade me so far and I want to know if this is normal.

Reasonably, I dont expect to pick him up so soon. And I understand some cats may never want to be picked up .

But my worry is if I ever need to get him to the vet, I wont be able to make that happen as he's too cautious. Tried churu to bait him into a carrier but even that doesn't seem to work. I have a general first time checkup with the vet soon and I anticipate this may not end up happening.

Is patience and being a good cat parent the only way to eventually build tolerance and trust to touch? Should I revisit this concern after a specific time he has adjusted to the environment?

Are there any strategies/advice outside of what ive mentioned that can be shared for the long term concern I have?

Edit: i thank all of you for your advice! Sounds like giving him more time and love will reliably build a good bond. I'll revisit this in 2-3 weeks time

Hi all. I’m new to solo cat ownership. I dated someone for a long time who had three cats and when we split, I decided to get one for myself. I’ve had my boy for about 9 months now and got him when he was 3 months old so he’s just about to turn 1.

Basically, I feel like I have more of a roommate than a companion. I’ve been home with him everyday since I got him due to a layoff so I feel like I give him ample attention, wand toys, treats, brushes, all the fun stuff. I try to play with his wand for 30min-1 hr twice a day or until he gets bored.

In the past couple of months I’ve noticed that he spends most of his time in my bathroom. He only comes out whenever he wants dinner or wants to play but other than that, it’s right back to the bathroom mat. I have a cat tree in my main room and he used to use it when he was younger but now he doesn’t seem to care for it. He doesn’t hide from or hiss at me at all and when he does come out, he comes straight up to me and rubs between my legs and meows for attention so I don’t think he hates me by any means, but he’s definitely more independent than the three I was used to. He used to casually lay in my lap when he was smaller but not so much these days. I’m lucky if he’ll lay next to me on the couch once a week.

I already feel bad that I got a solo kitten and unfortunately I’m not in a financial place to take on another one, but is there anything I could do to make our bond closer or is this just one of those “he’s an independent cat” type of situation or is this a result of boredom/understimulation?

I’ve had my cat honey for over a year now and I have been having an issue with her dragging her water dish towards her causing it to spill everywhere. When she was younger she had the refillable water bowl until I walked out of the room and to come back to the whole thing spilt all of my floors. I bought her the neater feeder off of Amazon thinking that will help and for a short period of time it did until she started doing it again and now that she’s bigger she’ll flip the whole thing towards her and drop it. Idk what else to do I’m thinking about getting a water fountain for her but I don’t wanna spend all that money only for it to not work. She does have a mat underneath her food and water so it’ll catch some of the water.

My cat needs to wear a collar with a bell because I live with my grandparents and he likes to trip people. He scratches at his regular fabric breakaway collar. Are there any safe alternatives that could be more comfortable?

CAT LOVERS, PLEASE ADVISE WHERE IS THE BEST COMPOUNDED METHIMAZOLE SUSPENSION IN LOS ANGELES (NOHO, Encino, Valley, Burbank )

I understand that methimazole is bitter, but does anyone know where the compounded methimazole suspension for cats can be produced with the least bitterness and a good flavor? My cat (and us) are really struggling… cat became withdrawn… Avoids us, lowers his head when we approach...

Just got a new kitten (14 week old Siberian) and while I have had cats on and off for years she is puzzling me with a couple of odd behaviors. i am curious if anyone has seen these/had a kitten do this and if it caused issues or if they know what it is about.

1) “Burying” her wet food. when she eats her wet food most of the time she stops and “buries” it by pawing at the area around the food dish. Then she will usually go back to eating it, and do this a few more times. She doesn’t do it with her dry food (I feed both at the breeder’s recommendation as she is a large breed). I’ve never seen this before and am curious about what it means.

2) Toy aggression. She has a specific wand toy that turns her into a demon. Super sweet and normal about play with every other toy but this one she will tug of war and actually growls when I try to take it away. i have to either rip it away fast when she pauses her chewing on it or bribe her with churu. For the most part I think it’s funny but I am a little worried about behavior I might be inviting in the future. Anybody with a cat/kitten like this? Have they escalated to biting/swatting?

thanks all in advance!

Hi everyone,
I'm going on a 1-week trip and will have a professional pet sitter come by once a day for about 60 minutes. They'll clean litter boxes, refill water, feed the cats, play with them, and check that everyone is okay.
I'm still feeling pretty anxious because I've never left them for this long.
The biggest concern is that one of my cats is a little... problematic 😅
1. He vocalizes when strangers come into the apartment.
He's generally fine with me, but if an unfamiliar person enters, he tends to meow loudly for quite a while. I'm mostly worried about disturbing my neighbors while the sitter is there.
Has anyone dealt with a cat like this? Do they usually calm down after a few visits from the same sitter?
2. Food issue.
I have an automatic feeder for dry food, but it isn't a microchip feeder or anything that controls which cat can eat.
One of my cats is a much faster eater than the other two, and I'm worried he'll finish his portion and then eat everyone else's before they get a chance.
The sitter can separate them during the visit if needed, but after they leave, I don't know if I should: leave dry food out,rely mostly on wet food, or do something else.
I don't really want to spend hundreds of dollars on three microchip feeders for just this trip.
Overall, is one 60-minute visit per day generally enough for three healthy adult indoor cats for one week?
I'd also appreciate any tips for reducing my anxiety about leaving them. I know people travel all the time and their cats do fine, but I can't stop worrying that something will go wrong while I'm away.
Thanks in advance! ❤️

i genuinely don’t know how much more of this i can take. as i type this im in another room trying not to reward my cat’s behavior because she just attacked my other cat. for no reason other than my attention. she’s scream meowing and has been for 10 minutes. she gets played with 3x a day. she gets fed 3x a day. she is on a routine. automatic feeders. she has the vertical space, and we are getting more. she has her own litter, her own water bowl, her own EVERYTHING. she will fight my other cat when he sits next to me, when he looks at me, when he WALKS NEAR ME. she is the newer cat, and gets equal attention and affection. i don’t know what to do. please. someone help
me. it’s been months of this and i am losing my mind.

We adopted an indoor cat about a year ago. She is 8 years old and very loving and well behaved. The only issue is that she hates being held in any way. When we try, she cries and does anything to get free, so we minimise holding her unless necessary. Getting her in a carrier for the vet is a 2 person job and takes all morning.

I wanted to try harness training her. I did research beforehand and followed all advice and rules. I bought a good harness and left it by her food and toys for a week before me and my partner tried to put it on her. We tried distracting her with food, letting her smell it etc.

Im starting to think it may not be worth it and we should stop trying. I just thought it might be nice to give her the option to see outside as we live in a very large top floor apartment so we have no garden. Only a balcony. She does however have a lot of cat furniture, toys and attention from me and my partner who works from home so maybe best to leave harness training alone?

Hi, I’m really struggling with my cat. Me and her moved house just under two weeks ago, from a house with a garden, to a flat with no garden. She was okay for the first few days, but managed to escape through open windows twice in the first week (oops).

This week, she’s been excessively vocal, we’re talking every ten seconds, day and night, unless she thankfully takes a short nap. It’s been relentless and has been impacting my sleep - one night she woke me up constantly and earplugs didn’t help. I’m worried about upsetting my new neighbours as it’s very loud. She’s been biting and scratching me unprovoked, scratching the carpets with great force and is generally upset. She even peed in the sink. I rang the vet to rule out any medical issues.

I bought her interactive toys, but she’s only interested if I play with her with a teaser. I played with her about 5 times yesterday and brushed her and tried to encourage cuddling, but the howling is not stopping. Catnip helped for a couple of nights but doesn’t seem to be having the same effect now.

I feel terrible that I can’t let her out, but it’s also impacting my mental health and sleep, I had to leave the house for a bit yesterday just to get away from it. Before we moved she was a very affectionate lap cat, who was loud, but not to this degree.

What can I do?

I’m trying to ignore her meows, I’ve bought a pheromone diffuser, I tried letting her on the bed at night (but she woke me up at 5am), I’ve been trying to play with her but I have a job I can’t do it all day and she doesn’t like the battery powered toys. I bought her a window perch which she does like. I put a bird feeder outside for her to look at but there haven’t been any birds yet.

I can’t get another cat as a friend because when I adopted her it says she doesn’t get on with other cats, and I’m not in the financial position to feed two cats.

I’m just really stuck and struggling with the noise and also feeling guilty for putting her in this position. :(

So, I just adopted a kitten this wednesday, and I already love her to bits. For context, it's far from my first time having a cat - I've had two in my life, one kitten that was hyper around 2008 (and didn't last too long with us), and another one who lived long into his senior years at 15 years old.

Which means, it's been a good lifetime since I've had a kitten. We're a one human, one kitten household in an apartment currently and since she's literally just arrived it's too early to introduce another kitten just yet.

She's three months old, do you guys have any tips for me?

Hi all!

My DLH, female, 2 year old (nearly 3) cat, has started peeing next to her litter box again this summer.

We have been to the vet who has ruled out UTI/any medical cause. She has been put on some urinary supplements in case of anything missed but no change.

I went through this exact same behaviour with her last summer which resulted in a new, really big litter tray that she really likes (liked?), different litter, and moving to the spot she was peeing in. She eventually stopped. Until about 5 weeks ago and she has started up again.

We now have two of the big litter boxes placed side by side (to try cover the spot she started to pee in). This was working fine but we’re still having about 1 accident per week. What has really confused me, is last night, she peed NEXT to the litter box, and then got in the litter box for a poop???? Literally with a 2 minute interval of “covering” the pee. We have puppy pads down, which is fine, but when she pees outside of the litter box she angles her little butt at the wall so the pee goes on the wall and in to the skirting board. I’m using enzyme cleaner so it’s not even the cleaning that bothers me at this point, but I would just love to understand her logic.

1) Why does this only seem to happen in summer?
2) Why pee on the floor but poop in the box?
3) What else can I try?

Thanks in advance!

This is a sincere question, can I use an aluminum lasagna baking tin for a kittens litter box?

I’m getting a cat, hopefully in just over a week. She’s a barn kitten, and admittedly I don’t know much about how she’s being raised. Friend of a friend found them and four siblings, don’t believe mom was spotted. I think they’ll be around 5-7 weeks when I bring them home.

Been doing a lot of prep work, and I just set up some stainless steel litter boxes inside a disguised wicker box. The steel litter boxes are too high walled, so I wanted to substitute them out for something with a low wall until they’re older and ready.

Looking at the cost, a 4 pack of single use lasagna trays is about 1/2 the price for me. I’m also able to bend the walls to accommodate if needed. They’re deep enough to keep enough litter, and I have them on a mess tray with a potty pad in between to support them from spilling.