Use this thread to discuss anything related to cats that doesn't otherwise fit the subreddit! Also feel free to ask questions that you believe are too short for a standalone post.

A few days ago I lost one of my cats. The day before he passed, the other boy who I always called his brother, was very wary of him, like he knew there was something wrong. He did see his brother after he passed briefly. Since then he frequently walks around calling out for his brother. He's also become exceedingly clingy. Luckily I'm retired so I'm home 22 hours a day or more. He was a cat that never really liked to have his head scratched for example. But he'd lay next to you to get his chest rubbed. Now he headbutts me, and whenever I walk is rubbing against my legs. Right now he's becoming much more of a velcro cat. He always sleeps where he can see me. Aggressively rubs his head against me when laying down by me.

His brother was just over two and a half, and he's a couple of months younger. So I'm wondering how long I should wait to get him a new friend? I personally like the new velcro cat behavior, but I'm sure it's out of fear and loneliness. Pretty sure he'll be happier in the future with a new partner in crime.

I'm sure others have had to deal with this. How long did you wait. How did the resident cat take to a new friend. I don't know when I'll personally be ready, but if it's better for him to do it sooner. I'm sure I'll work through it.

my cat is finally becoming an indoor only cat !!!!! it’s taken a very long time and some unfortunate vet bills to get my mom to agree, but we did it.

my cat had 24/7 outside access and in the summer would spend most of his time outside. i am investing in a catio but it’ll take longer to get, so im looking for indoor ways to give him the exercise he’ll want/need since he’s used to travelling quite far. i’ve seen a lot of people have “cat wheels” but not sure if they’re actually useful?

i have the space for it, i actually have the perfect spot for it i just dont want to buy what is a pretty expensive thing just for him not to use it, though i do plan to have cats for the rest of my life so even if he doesn’t like it i suppose maybe a future cat will.

curious if people have a pro/con list, or if there are any major cons?

hi everyone, throw away because said family member uses Reddit.

for some context so I’m not seeming petty, a family member recently got a female kitten. I love these family members and we’ve grown up together and are super close. But they don’t have the best reputation with pets… they've had multiple pets in the past, ranging from another kitten, to bunnies and birds. Now you may be wondering so why am I worried? Because these pets don’t last long.

The family gets bored, get tired of looking after and cleaning up after it and end up giving the animals away to shelters or in the bunnies case, releasing it away from the house in the wild. They don’t try and find a loving home for the pets but give them to any shelter willing to take them and I can only hope from there they find loving homes.

I got my cat in December last year which triggered these family members to want to get one themselves. which fine fair enough. they asked me for advice and I gave them the honest truth, cats aren’t easy. they require a lot of attention, a lot of enrichment and play. I also told them they have to get their cat neutered as soon as possible for the obvious reasons. The issue I have is they are constantly taking my advice with a grain of salt. what I mean by this is I’ll tell one to do this and the other will tell me oh but that’s not necessary, when it absolutely is. I’m worried that they will get bored again and this poor kitten will end up homeless or in a shelter.

what can I do to help them realise that I want what’s best for the kitten? I can’t take her if anything happens because I have no space for another cat. please help.

My boyfriend and I adopted a 3-month-old kitten, and she’s the sweetest, most playful little girl. ❤️ She also sleeps a lot, which I know is normal for kittens.
However, I keep coming across advice recommending that kittens should ideally be adopted in pairs so they have a companion to play with and don’t get lonely.
The thing is, we honestly can’t afford a second kitten right now, and I don’t want to take on more responsibility than we can comfortably manage.
We both work from the office 2–3 days a week, So on an average she’s usually alone for around 4–6 hours. We try to play with her and give her as much attention as we can when we’re home.
For those of you who have raised a single kitten:
How has your experience been?
Do they get lonely or bored when left alone?
What do you do to keep them entertained and mentally stimulated?
Is having a second kitten absolutely necessary, or can a single kitten be happy and healthy with enough attention from their humans?
I understand the benefits of having two kittens, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have successfully raised just one.
Please share your experiences and advice. I want to make sure we’re giving our little girl the best life possible. ❤️

My cat ran away this morning (10/20) around 8am. In short, we think when my gf left the front door cracked; our usually—content to be inside—cat decided to check outside without my gf noticing. Then when she came in and locked him out he got spooked by the neighbors landscaping guy and bolted to God knows where.

I’m really worried about him as he’s only been outside with us a handful of times which were under five minutes. I left his favorite blanket outside and a few unwashed garments of clothes. I also left a fried chicken drumstick in a trap in our back yard and we canvassed the neighborhood talking to neighbors and posting pictures around as well. I guess I’m looking for some reassurance, suggestions and pragmatic help from anyone who’s had this happen to them too.

He’s a friendly little dope who doesn’t know how to fight so I’m really afraid that was the last time that I’ll ever see him but I’m trying to stay positive.

I have never owned cats before, only dogs. After about a year of contemplation, I fell in love with two kittens at my local animal shelter and adopted them (I read it is better to adopt kittens in pairs, especially if they will be alone for hours at a time.) We have had them for a little over a month now, they are roughly 4.5 months old and generally well-behaved. They seem to know to be gentle with their claws and teeth when interacting with people and they allow us to sleep throughout the night, which are two complaints I hear the most from cat/kitten owners.

My concern is now that they are comfortable in their new home with us, they are naturally growing more bold and curious. Recently I have been catching them up on our kitchen table, bathroom sinks, and other surfaces I would prefer to keep them off of. They also have been enjoying scratching the kitchen chairs even though they have 5 different scratching posts/toys around the house. I do pick and choose my battles with them as I know I can’t keep them off of everything, so I don’t normally do much except for attempting to redirect them. But as of yesterday, they discovered how to get on the kitchen counters (they cannot make the vertical jump up yet, but the placement of my kitchen table allows them to jump over onto them.) We have a glass top electric stove and I am terrified of them stepping on it and burning themselves while being up on the counters, not to mention them potentially eating something harmful to them and the hygiene factor of cats on the counters as well (yes, I know I can just clean the counters daily, and I will until I can keep them off) so I would prefer to try and nip this in the bud if possible.

I read that negative reinforcement and punishments do not tend to work very well on cats, however that is really the only way I know how to train an animal since I’ve only ever had dogs. I have resorted to using a spray bottle (ONLY if they continue scratching my furniture or getting on the counter after several redirection attempts) and a laser pointer (ONLY used as briefly as possible for redirection, not as a toy) but I worry this is not a healthy or maintainable method for them. I do not want them to be afraid and I want to encourage them to explore, but within limitations. They have a cat tree, tons of toys, they’re allowed on the living room furniture and our bed, they are allowed in every room of the house except for the laundry room, so they have plenty to check out. But of course, the kitchen is where the fascination is.

I am open to any and all advice for kitten training, I can read and research all I want from the internet but all cats have different personalities and respond to different things, so I would like to hear firsthand experiences as to what did or did not work well for your cat, so I can at least get started on some trial and error methods. Thanks! :)

and sometimes a particular cat who seems to be a teenager or old kitten comes. Whenever she comes next to the others or to the food she just meows and meows. Whenever i hear her i go next to her and she always runs away. What might this mean?

Background: We have a 2 1/2 year old spayed female. She grew up with another cat but is now currently alone. She was given to us by a former roommate a month ago due to “territorial issues” with the other two cats she was living with. Her being given to us was very sudden, and fortunately we had family pitch in to give her stuff to start with (cat tree with scratching segments, litter box, toys, water fountain, wet/dry food, comb, harness and lead). She used to live with us before our roommate moved out, so she’s comfortable in the space. She eats wet food 4x a day with some kibble mixed in, free feed kibble at night, and around an hour of play spread through the day. Her attention span is absolute dogshit so keeping her entertained is an uphill battle.

Her big issue right now is that she doesn’t let us sleep for more than a few hours without screaming bloody murder and trying to kick down our door. She free feeds kibble at night, has toys that roll around and make noise, has windows, gets playtime before we sleep, and has multiple beds. We don’t let her sleep with us at night because if we’re not giving her attention, she will attempt to break our blinds, knock shit over, bite our feet, and scream (she does this in the daytime). We also have a tiny ass bed that barely fits my partner and I, we legit don’t have room for her (our feet hang off our bed lol). Even if we did, she’s a long-haired cat and tracks litter everywhere, which gets it all over our bed. We ONLY shut our bedroom door when we’re sleeping, she’s allowed in otherwise. We have not faltered in this and she has never spent a night sleeping in our room.

She knows how to maximize how much sound she makes. She doesn’t have a super loud meow, but she is super agile and will jump up and off our door, taekwondo-style, or throw herself against the door and drag all her claws all over it. It’s impossible to ignore, bracing the door doesn’t work and she isn’t deterred by tinfoil or plastic on the door. I honestly wish I could see what she’s doing, because she’s so fucking loud. I know you’re supposed to ignore cats, but I get so fed up with her that I’ll throw the door open, pick her up and put her in the living room without petting or comforting her. Or she gets put in the room with her litterbox for 5 mins if she is incessant. She’s not letting us sleep. My partner does better at sleeping through it, but I’m a light sleeper and I’m suffering badly. She’s brought me to tears multiple times. We’ve seriously considered giving her away to a rescue or something. She’s always been this way (even with other cats around), so the thought of getting a second cat (which would basically be a sacrifice to get her to stop, which isn’t fair to anyone) makes me so nauseated.

The other thing is that 80% of the time, she’s nonstop yelling at me specifically. I’ve not owned cats before her, So I’m not as in-tune with meows as someone with experience, but it’s usually not pleasant meows. She’s constantly begging, yelling, essentially scolding and being mean to me in her kitty language. It makes it incredibly difficult to train her and not reinforce her meowing, because she does not stop. I talk to her and meow back if she’s not misbehaving, but she’ll bitch and moan regardless of what’s going on. I try to follow her to see if she wants to show me something, and she leads me to nothing (not the litterbox, not a toy) or it’s about food. She’ll lose interest in play after 30s, she doesn’t wanna be picked up, she doesn’t wanna sit on my lap, nothing. She hates it when I’m busy doing anything, hates when I lay in bed (AWESOME combo when you’re chronically ill, I know), and hates when I sit down and not follow her around 24/7.

I’m honestly getting so sick of her. She has moments when she’s wonderful and sweet, she always wants to sleep in my lap, let me handle her in ways that other people can’t, and seems to love me very much (according to my partner). I love her, but her meows are like pencils getting shoved in my ears. We haven’t had good sleep since we got her. I’m at the point where I’m shoving her away or closing the door behind me when I go to the bathroom, just for a moment of peace. She hasn’t been to the vet yet, but rest assured, she’s going once we have the money put together. Please please please does anyone have any advice. I don’t wanna give up on her but I’m getting so fed up with her. Thank you so much.

I adopted my new baby on Saturday (10/17), she’s my first cat and she’s already the love of life. There’s just one problem though. I can’t get her to eat!!!!

I got her the same food the rescue had been feeding her. Saturday night she ate the entire bowl of kibble I left out for her overnight (1/4 cup). The next 2 days she didn’t eat anything. I know for sure because I’ve been taking photos of the kibble and not a single piece was touched. She has been drinking water fine.

For reference she was dumped with 5 other cats, in the shelter for one week, and then I kidnapped her, so at first I wasn’t worried because this has undoubtedly been the hardest 2 weeks of her life, but starting yesterday she’s been really social with me. Like climbing all over my lap, demanding pets, purring like an engine, kneading biscuits on my leg (ow) so I thought she might start feeling comfortable enough to eat but still nothing.

Tuesday morning, I tried giving her a little bit of wet food to see if that’s what her previous owner had been giving her and she ate maybe 1/3 of a can and that’s it. I even pulled out a churu and she completely ignored it. She’s not even going over to the food plate (I changed to a plate already in case of whisker fatigue) to sniff. When I put some on my finger to get it a little closer she might lick a tiny bit and then completely ignore it again. I’m wondering if she’s just picky and really hates this food but I hate to start giving a bunch of different kinds because I don’t want to give her digestive upset. I don’t know what to do 😭😭😭

Also she’s a moderately fat cat so she’s gotta like to eat SOMETHING

I’ve pressed on her stomach a little and I don’t feel anything particularly concerning (not that I really know what to look for) and she doesn’t seem to have any sensitive spots.

Her last vet appointment was 10/14 with the rescue and the notes from the appointment said the exam was mostly unremarkable and her only real health issue is that she’s overweight. I don’t think the shelter would lie to me because they seemed very open about some of the other cats health issues.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. ❤️❤️❤️

A cat stayed in my apartment for 3 weeks, and now there's a faint smell in three spots on my wooden floor (photo attached) that wasn't there before. One spot is near where the food bowl was, and the other two are around the couch.

When the floor is dry, the smell is faint but noticeable, mostly in the morning after the windows have been closed overnight. As soon as I wet the floor a little with water, it gets much stronger.

What I've tried so far:

Washed the floor with soap 3–4 times

Went over it with wet wipes

Sprayed perfume

None of it helped. There are no visible stains. We also used a cat pheromone spray during the stay, so I wasn't sure if that could be the cause.

I've now ordered an enzyme cleaner (Urine Off) and a UV flashlight to find the spots, but haven't used them yet.

My questions:

Does this sound like cat urine, or could it be something else (pheromone spray, food spills)?

Has anyone gotten rid of this kind of smell from a wooden floor with an enzyme cleaner alone? How many rounds did it take?

Any tips for using enzyme cleaner on wood without damaging the finish? The label says to cover old stains with plastic overnight, and I'm worried that's too much moisture for the floor.

At what point would sanding actually be necessary?

Thanks!

​

Hi everyone, I have a problem with my cat, Aaru, and I really need some advice.

My wife and I have three cats. We have an eleven-year-old female cat whom we adopted from a rescue organization. Our second cat, Aaru, is two and a half years old, and we adopted him from the same kind of organization. Our youngest, Trico, is one year old, and we adopted him from the same rescue as well.

We’ve had Aaru since he was three months old, but for the past six or seven months, he’s been having these really intense episodes where he meows constantly, scratches at things, and cries at the top of his lungs. He never used to behave like this. Even when he turned one, he wasn’t doing any of this.

I’d say it started around the time we brought Trico home. They don’t fight, and they get along reasonably well. However, because Trico is so young, he always wants to play. He often approaches Aaru to play with him, much more than he does with our older female cat. I don’t know if there’s a connection, but things have reached a point where it’s becoming really difficult to cope with.

The strange thing is that it always happens at the same times of day. In the evening, around mealtime, he starts having these episodes after he’s eaten. He meows and meows at the top of his lungs.

It also happens in the early morning, usually just before we get up to go to work. He starts meowing excessively, running around all over the place, and acting really restless. I get the impression that he feels lost and doesn’t know where to go or what to do. He almost seems panicked.

We’ve already tried several things to help him relax. We have a calming diffuser plugged in, and we also give him veterinary food that contains a calming ingredient. We’ve tried giving him medication as well, but it’s simply impossible to get him to take it.

My wife and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. We feel guilty about it, but it’s reached the point where his constant meowing is becoming really frustrating, and we hate feeling that way because we just want to help him. We don’t understand what’s wrong or how to make things better.

Unfortunately, we can’t afford to hire a cat behaviourist. We’ve already taken him to the vet three times. The vet recommended the food, the calming diffuser, and the other things we’ve been trying, but we still haven’t found a solution.

Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this? Does anyone have any advice?

We genuinely don’t know what else to try. It’s been going on for six months, and he does it every single day, at the exact same times. He meows at the top of his lungs even when he knows we’re right there in the room with him. We try to cuddle him and comfort him, but he stays with us for about five seconds before walking away and starting all over again.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore, and I just want to help him.

I love him so much. We love him so much.

I will soon be moving from my apartment to a single bedroom in a house, and will (at least initially) be keeping his litter box and food dishes in my room. The thing is, I don’t want my room to be inundated with box odor and food smell.

What can I purchase to mitigate these smells and keep the air clean? I was thinking of getting a room air purifier, but I’m unsure if that will be enough. I’ve been told to avoid essential oil diffusers.

Thank you!

We recently got a new kitten, Romeo, and he and one of our other cats, Ollie, have been play fighting alot. Almost every time they're fighting, I notice Ollie trying to bite at Romeo's butt/balls (or atleast where they're supposed to be eventually, not much there yet) and I'm not sure if there's any reason for this? I'm a little worried to leave them completely alone for too long just yet, they also cuddle together so I'm sure they'll become friends, but I'm kinda scared Ollie will bite him very hard. Is this normal, is he trying to clean Romeo or something? Romeo is 10 weeks and Ollie is 3

The cat rescue center I recently adopted my new kitten at says I should be feeding my 1.5 month old kitten a half a can of kitten food in the morning and a half can in the evening with dry food out all day. That surely doesn’t seem like enough right? He cries all day for food, i’m just unsure on if that REALLY is enough food for such a young kitten.

Hi all, I rescued my 7 month old kitten from my coworker who had a barn cat who had kittens. Long story short, the dad cat killed all of the kittens and my Zoey girl was the only survivor. After the incident, the mom would not reconnect with Zoey so I took her in when she was 6 weeks old. She is very chill and sweet about 80% of the time when it’s just me and my boyfriend. She never attacks my boyfriend but out of nowhere sometimes she will attack me, specifically my face. Not only this, but she goes crazy whenever I have guests over or she interacts with anyone else who is not me or my boyfriend. She hisses, growls, and attacks. My question is.. has anyone else experienced this and have any success stories? I’ve also been reading about single cat syndrome but given her behavior i’m very nervous to introduce her to another cat. Thanks for your advice.

Hi,
My uncle has unexpectedly passed away this night and my family and I need to reach his town to help out with the funeral and other stuff.

I didnt have much time to prep but I asked a friend of mine if she can come and check on my cats at least one time tomorrow.
This is the full timeline:

I am leaving this evening around 9 pm (wednesday) and I’ll be back round 3 pm on friday. My friend will come check on my cats at least one time on thursday morning to feed them and give them some company, and she should be able to come also in the afternoon.

I’ve never left them alone so I am kinda worried. One of the cats in particular is very attached to me and really likes company so I’m worried he could be depressed…

Plus, they usually roam in my yard, but I have a strict schedule and curfew (they go out supervised and only during the day), so while I’m not here I’m not letting them out, they’ll stay home for the entire 48h. I am mentioning this because sometimes if they really want to go out they will stand by the door and squirm out while you enter if you dont pay attention, but if you open the door carefully ot shouldnt be a problem. So, in light of this, should I ask my friend to come only once to reduce the risk of her letting them out by mistake? Is it better to risk it and, if she can, have her come twice to give company to my social cat?

Im pretty stressed out by all of this, any advice is welcome😔

Ps. Sorry if I made any mistake, english isnt my first language

TLDR at the end

Hi All,

I wanted to share my story in hopes that this might help others in a similar situation. I've scoured through all cat subreddits and found this one particularly helpful so felt like I should also contribute with my experience :) I'd also welcome any advice from all you cat whispers on how to continue to improve my relationship with my cat.

As a canon event in every young adults life entering into their dirty 30s, I adopted a ~1.5 year old cat, Belvita (constantly makes biscuits), about 6 months ago. This journey began like any other casual Sunday where in an effort to fight off the sunday scaries, I decided to peruse Petfinder and add to my mountainous pile of favorited floofs. All of a sudden I stumbled across what I considered to be one of the cutest floofs in all of floofkind. Having painfully dealt with the consequences of impulsive decision making throughout my years in grade school, I held off on the thought of rescuing her for a couple weeks. Later in the month, I revisited the listing and saw that she was still available but there was very little info about her. I picked up the phone and dialed sweet old Jill at the adoption center and before I knew it, I began the one hour drive to the middle of nowhere.

Once I arrived to the adoption center, Jill informed me that Belvita was having a particularly difficult time in her cage and so they had taken her to the back, in an isolated room. Jill took me to the back and lo and behold, I laid eyes on my sweet Belvita. I began my detective work and opened an exhaustive line of questioning with Belvita's foster parents (they also happened to be there as there was a big adoption event going on that day).

In hindsight, the conversation with Belvita's foster mother was slightly misleading. Belvita is not how her foster mom described her (although I understand that maybe she is still getting adjusted). I asked about her personality, tendencies, where they found her, environment at the foster home, medical history, etc. I asked the foster mom to describe Belvita in one word. To my dismay, the foster mom used 3 words: "Calm but playful." The following is what I gathered from my 30 minute conversation with the foster mom:

Belvita was found stranded alone at a car dealership at around 6-8 weeks old. The foster family welcomed her into a home with 4 other cats and 5 dogs. I do believe in Karma, but I can't imagine what sweet little Belvita must have done in a prior life to enter a household with 5 other dogs. I'm not a cat, but if I was, I think I'd rather be stranded at a dealership. The foster mother did not have much time to take care of each of her pets and ultimately decided to put 3 of the cats up for adoption. Belvita was one of the chosen ones. She was caught up on all her vaccines and recently received a checkup at the vet prior to being taken to the adoption center.

During our conversation, the foster mom was caressing Belvita in her arms and Belvita, despite being beyond anxious and scared, was still very calm. She would even allow me to pet her. But after a few pets, poor Belvita slowly walked to the nearest corner of the tiny room and tried to fit inside the inner corner of the wall with her head angled up at the ceiling and her entire body faced away from us in an effort to truly become one with the wall and cut off all sensory stimulation. It was at this moment where I had reached a fork in the road: 1) acknowledge that as a first time cat owner, I am not well-equipped to handle her or 2) I can help her. Thankfully, I did not learn a single thing from my relationships in the past and decided that I can be the one to fix her. I signed the paper work and gave an oath to treat this precious princess with the utmost care. I was no longer by myself anymore - I now had a companion. She wasn't perfect, but neither was I.

I decided that the best way to get her adjusted to her new home was to first give Belvita the bathroom and cut off access to other parts of the house. On the first day she got in the bathroom, she found the most enclosed space she could and basically spent the entire first week inside that crack. She was very afraid of me and did not make much attempt to interact. I wanted to give her space and let her approach me on her own terms. I spent hours with her in the bathroom throughout the first week. I'd listen to calming music with her, read books and bring my laptop inside the bathroom to knock out work.

Finally by the second week she began exploring the room outside the bathroom (my bedroom). Despite her fear and anxiety, one of the first things I noticed about her was that she was very very playful. She'd shy away from any human interaction and scurry when anyone (myself included) would approach her, but she would still play if you dangled something in front of her. After the second week she was more comfortable in my bedroom but she would spend most the days hiding in spaces under the bed and pretty much any dark, enclosed corner she could find. This behavior continued for the next couple months.

She slowly explored the environment more and sometimes would even come sniff me (even briefly jumped onto my bed a few times!). Despite the progress, we would still take one step forward and two steps back. She did not let me approach her or pet her once (this went on for months). She would even try to run away whenever I would standup. Admittedly, I got discouraged for a variety of reasons:

1. I began to see myself as the problem. On the day of adoption, the previous foster parents told me they never really had any issues with her and she was a normal cat. I questioned how much of this was sugar coated - but if this was true, then why would I keep tormenting Belvita by forcing her to stay with me when she so happy with her previous environment?
2. My quality of life also started to take a hit. Beside the mental component from point 1, Belvita's crackhead energy slowly would come out in spurts of the middle of the night. Although this is great because she is more comfortable, I'd wake up multiple times between 2-5am. I've been around cats and I've seen zoomies but this was different. The moment I had reached deep sleep, she would transform into a 200 pound tiger and raise hell. I still to this day do not understand how 7.1lbs can generate so much power and mayhem (also didn't help that my bedroom had wood floors). I'd try to play with her and feed her before i go to bed but that wouldn't help much.

By the second month I decided to give the foster mom a call and get advice. After speaking to the foster mom, it was evident this time around that Belvita was never a lap cat. She still likes pets and affection but she just isn't the cat that will approach someone for pets. I was upset to find out that she will probably never be a lap cat but I was ok with that - I just wished the foster family would have been more forthcoming with this on adoption day. I don't think this information would have changed my decision at all and I still would have adopted her. But her tendencies and personalities should have been more thoroughly described when I initially asked my questions on adoption day. I would give weekly text updates to Jill from the adoption center and at one point Jill even admitted that she should have been a bit more thorough when finding a home for Belvita as she needs an experienced owner. They even offered to take her back. I spent quite a bit of time considering whether the right decision might be to return her to the adoption center so that someone with more experience can give her the home she needs. This was the second fork in the road: to return Belvita to the adoption center in hopes she will find a better home, or give her more time to adjust. I couldn't get myself to give Belvita up and decided to give her more time.

I tried to stop myself from focusing on the negatives and instead focus on all the progress Belvita was making, no matter how small. I began to appreciate her situation the more I got to know her: imagine a few aliens abducted you and took you to a new planet. You would probably be freaking out to.

In an effort to encourage more interaction with her, I was convinced to begin giving her gabapentin. Since I couldn't get a hold of her and put her in the crate, I had to make an online vet appointment to get the gabapentin prescription. I tried gabapentin for a few days but could not get myself to continue drugging her just to force interaction. I stopped the gabapentin and continued to give her more time.

I continuing giving her space and time with occasional head pats. I would let her sniff me, which she usually always did, but petting was hit or miss. Sometimes she would let me gently brush her head (while still squirming uncomfortably) but other days she would hiss, swat and even bite me. I continued playing with her at night and this helped us bond quite a bit. She is extremely playful and will never pass up the opportunity to chase a wand.

I am glad to report that after 5 long months, the day finally came where she began to consistently accept pets. Now at month six I pet her everyday and she vigorously leans into the pets and makes biscuits every time. Oddly enough though, she only let's me pet her when she is laying down on her favorite chair. In an effort to really make this work for the long term, I have also decided to lock her out of my room at night so I can sleep. She cried in front of the door for the first couple days but now is completely fine with staying out in the living room for the night - she comes right back to my room in the morning. Placing this boundary has helped significantly.

Throughout this journey, I've received helpful advice from friends as well as the countless reddit threads. Generally, there have been two camps on how to approach a cat in this situation. Give her the space she needs and let her come to you on her own terms (the vast majority on reddit appear to take this stance) or be more adamant to initiate interaction and get her comfortable with you even if she might be uncomfortable in the process. As a new cat owner, the most difficult part of all this was understanding the balance between the two (I still don't). It is a bit frustrating that almost every thread I found on reddit suggests to just give the cat space and let them come to you on your own terms. Since my cat is very skittish and has extreme anxiety, I found this to be less helpful at times. If I let her do whatever she wants and not force contact with her, she might never be comfortable with me given her avoidant personality. I eventually decided to block the bottom of my bed as well as other hiding spots to stop her from constantly running when she is scared. Most people on reddit argue this is counterproductive as cats need their hiding spots but I found removing the majority of them really helped Belvita avoid running away. She still has her cat tree to go into when she doesn't want to be disturbed and now she does not spend much time under the bed.

This takes us to present day (~6.5 months after adoption day). Belvita has grown so much and I couldn't be more proud of how brave she is. She has become more comfortable with her environment and even purrs loudly when pet. There are still real problems I am trying to work through, but I have come to better understand her and give her the patience she needs while still encouraging her to step out of her comfort zone. She unfortunately still scurries away from me if she is walking on the ground and I walk in her direction. I also still cannot pick her up as she will run away or even swat / bite me. This has prevented me from completing essential tasks like bathing, grooming, brushing teeth, vet visits (thankfully she is healthy and got a checkup 6 months ago). I'm optimistic that if she continues to progress at her pace, I can pick her up in the very near future without eroding the trust we have developed.

I've learned (and am still learning) a lot about myself and Belvita. Although she still does not voluntarily come to me for pets, I oddly feel that she does find peace and solace in just existing in the same space as me. She is currently snuggled up on a chair a few feet away from me as I type. I do not regret adopting her for a second and hope this thread gives an additional perspective to those that might be thinking of adopting a cat or are currently adopting one. Most of my friends have all had cats that were on the more affectionate side so this experience was very new to me. The most difficult experiences tend to be the most informative and rewarding :)

TLDR: Adopted a 1.5-year-old anxious cat with no prior cat experience. She spent the first week wedged in a bathroom crack refusing to eat, hid under the bed for months, disrupted my sleep nightly, and wouldn’t let me pet her for nearly 5 months. Conventional advice said give her space - for a cat this avoidant, that only went so far. Blocking her hiding spots (controversial, but it helped), consistent low-pressure presence, and a lot of patience eventually got us here: she purrs when I pet her and snoozes a few feet away while I work. She still does not let me pick her up and does not voluntarily come to me, but we understand each other much better and our relationship continues to improve. Don’t give up too early.

So my cat keeps taking her turds out of the litterbox and plays with them across the floor like theyre a football. She has many toys and i spend a lot of time playing with her, also i try my best to keep her littterbox clean, cleaning like 3 times a day. Does anyone have the same problem? Need help what to do

Backstory, in June this year we had a really bad storm. A momma cat must have been trying to move her litter somewhere safe b4 it hit, but ended up leaving 2 behind b4 it hit. She didn't come back for them, and I basically ended up keeping them. Love them 2 death they are such good babies.

Now, in same neighborhood I have routinely noticed a female cat who looks almost identical to my boy. I think it's a sibling from his litter. I think it's a she as I have seen her with kittens of her own :( She is very friendly to me. Her offspring are not, never socialized.

How can I best help her? She lives as a stray, no medical care, or anything. I can't afford to take her on too. Should I bring her to shelter? Or see if TNR program is available?

I recently adopted 2 kittens this past Sunday. They have been eating everything I give them so that’s a relief but I’m not sure if I’m feeding them enough. I’m using the same stuff that the previous people did for now to get them accustomed and plan to switch a variety of stuff after.

At the moment, I’m feeding them 4 small meals throughout the day.

This is the total amount of food for the day:

1 can of Weruva Kitten (different flavors - no fish) per kitten (~105 KCal)
1/3 scoop of IAMS Proqctive Chicken or Salmon Dry Food per kitten (~166 KCal)
Treats/ Toppers per kitten (~ 6 KCal)

My cat is a little over 1 year old and was potty trained when I got her at 2months old. She is a very skiddish cat, and tends to get spooked while using the bathroom. In the last month or so, she has decided not to poop in her litter box. A month before this started I got her a bigger litter box than we had originally since she is a bigger cat and I tried a new litter (we have used different litters in the past and the change never bothered her).

When she started pooping on the floor instead of the box, I decided to move her box from the bathroom into my bedroom (which is currently just being used as a closet), thinking that maybe the bathroom had too much foot traffic or was too noisy since there is a small window in there. Afterwards she still wouldn't poop in the box.

I recently got new litter (a brand that we had before the issue started) to see if that would help. The last two days we were in a different environment then our home, but we had the new litter and the same litter box from home. While away, she pooped in the box but went back to using the floor after we returned home. There has been 1-2 times that she HAS used the litterbox since this started, but I'm not sure what had changed to make her feel comfortable enough to do so.

She doesn't have any health issues.

Thank you in advanced to any help I receive!

I have a 1yr black cat, he is full of energy and I adore him. I took him in due to him attacking the other cats at his previous home. Due to his history and just being a predator, he has never met and never will meet my 4yr rabbit. The rabbit had his own bedroom that he free roams in our apartment.

I keep the door shut, install a screen door, and some thick netting (traditionally used in garden to keep out animals), the netting lays over the screen door. There has already been a slight tear I'm both of these. Winter is coming and I need to get heat into the rabbits room while keeping both animals safe.

Does anyone have any suggestions or input??

hello all! new cat owner here! our little baby had been wandering our apartment complex for some weeks before we decided to take her in because she was very obviously an indoor house cat that had been abandoned (super affectionate and cuddly around humans).

shes been living with us at home for a couple months and she’s been amazing and adjusting so well! however she is 5 years old and can be a little skittish when it comes to being handled (doesn’t like being picked up or touched in certain areas), so I’m afraid that she would never get used to a harness/leash. I do find myself feeling so bad for her that she’s cooped up inside our small apartment all day, despite us giving her plenty of play and vertical space, because she was previously outdoors and got to experience that for a few weeks.

so my question is, is it safe to bring her outdoors for a few minutes (very closely supervised) in the backyard of the complex without a harness/leash? she knows the area very well because she had been outside for a while, plus it’s not near a street or cars. HOWEVER, if this is unsafe and not recommended at all then we won’t be doing this, her safety is ours priority.

My kitten (7 months old) sleeps on the floor all the time, even if it's cold. He once caught a cold and the vet said to not let him sleep on the cold floor, since then I've tried so many types of beds but he just refuses to use them. Even if he's sleeping and I put him on his bed, he wakes up, goes to the floor and sleeps again. During summer we let him be cz it gets rlly hot in my country, now that it getting colder, I need some advice on how to switch him to a bed.