hey guys,

i just moved into a new home with my cat (4 years) and we’ve been in a 1 story home ever since. the home that we’re in currently has this arch open area with a ledge around 1.5 ft wide and drops down very high, maybe 20 ft or more. he’s made it a habit to sit and relax on the ledge and while the ledge is big i’m worried about him getting startled or losing balance and falling off. he’s already gotten curious and squeezed his head thru the stair railing and fell, which was a shorter fall but still relatively high.

is this something i should be concerned about? if so, how can i go about blocking this off or catproofing it? any suggestions would be very helpful

He already tried walking but have fallen, so I tried getting him to a safer place.

Hes now currently in my bedroom, its pretty quiet here, I placed a bunch of clean towels I could find on the floor and put an extra blanket on him because he seemed a bit cold.

I think ill also turn on electric radiator to keep him warm. I cleaned some place for him so theres no big furniture around he could jump on. I sadly dont have another small space for him to be put in so I hope this place is good enough right now...

Im feeling a little anxious cuz its the first time I have to take care of a cat after anesthesia, so please give me some tips if anythings wrong! Thank you

she has a small wound on her right front leg and refuses to lean her bad leg. i dont think I'll be able to bring her to vet as of lately. what's the best i could do

Hi! Just adopted a stray cat. She’s vaccinated and spayed and the vet said she’s healthy so we assumed it was just melanin since she has black spots all over but looked back ok older pictures and she didn’t have it.. anything that should be of concern? She’s only one so could it be something natural that has only recently developed? I wonder if it’s a scab

I'm going to be adopting a kitten in a few weeks, and I plan to feed her Purina LiveClear to manage some very mild allergies in the household.

For Purina LiveClear to work, it has to comprise 70 percent of her diet. From what I can tell, it isn't the absolute worst thing nutritionally, but it's not exactly top-shelf, it's a dry food, and the kitten formulation only comes in one flavor (chicken).

So what would you recommend feeding her for the other 30 percent of her diet to maximize nutrition and balance out any nutrients missing from Purina LiveClear?

Once we bring her home, I'll ask our regular vet the same question, and I'm open to taking her to a kitty nutritionist to get the best possible expert input, but I figure it can't hurt to go in with some idea of what the recommendations might be.

Hello. Cat is elderly and has had diabetes for quite a while. He's treated with insulin and at some point went into remission. We ceased treatment based on the doctor's advise and he went through Diabetic KetoAcidosis a few months later. Long story short, he's healthy and back on insulin but has chronic kidney disease that is low grade. In the last two months he's lost patches of hair all over his body but mostly on his chest and around his neck. He's not really grooming and we've added a packet of Churu to his diet evey afternoon. Even if it's not great for his blood sugar, he's very skinny after the hospital stay from his DKA and I prefer he gets calories vs being kept on a diet that's only every 12 hours. He grazes anyway so his "dinner" or "Breakfast" takes him a long time to eat. Anybody have any real experience with cat hair loss? I"m trying to understand if it's the churu, the kidney disease, or what could be causing his hair loss.

I got a new cat after moving in a new home. I have a male dog (Keeshond) named Nano who is very energetic and kind and playful. The cat, on the other hand, is a male Turkish Angora who I named Vanil. I have a lot of experience on handling cats tho. I knew a lot about cats since I was about 9, now being 15-17. ​Any tips or tricks I should know tho???

My 3-year-old cat has been struggling with recurring soft stools and diarrhoea for months, and I’m starting to feel a bit lost. I’m hoping to hear from anyone whose cat has experienced something similar, especially if you eventually found something that helped.

Her symptoms:
- Chronic soft stools, sometimes progressing to watery diarrhoea.
- Very foul-smelling stools.
- During the worst episodes earlier this year, she strained and had some blood in her stool. She couldn’t relieve herself in the litter box so she did it on the carpets. This got better after the initial Giardia treatment.
- Otherwise, she seems well: she eats, plays, is affectionate, has a shiny coat and hasn’t lost weight.

What I’ve tried and tested:
- She received a short course of Metrobactin (metronidazole) earlier this year. Her stools became completely normal for a while, but the diarrhoea eventually returned.
- A faecal parasite test was negative.
- Giardia, coronavirus and parvovirus tests were negative.
- Her bloodwork was mostly within the reference ranges, although her folate was elevated.
- She has been eating Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d for several weeks. Her energy and general behaviour seem better, and her stools are sometimes more formed, but she still has episodes of diarrhoea. She may occasionally get into my other cats’ food, so the diet hasn’t been perfectly exclusive.
- She had a course of Proplan Fortiflora but I didn’t see any meaningful improvements.

My vet suspects IBS, but we haven’t established a definite cause yet. We’ve discussed seeing an internal medicine specialist, although I’m trying to work out which next steps might be most useful at this point.

For anyone who has dealt with something similar, did you eventually find a cause, even after negative stool tests?

I’d really appreciate hearing what helped in real cases. I am starting to feel the desperation and I cry sometimes because I cannot help her.

Thank you!

My cat has had this type of coughing episode three times now, about once a month the past three months. He’s total fine afterwards and it lasts less than a minute. Anyone else seen this on their cats? Any advice? I am wondering if it’s allergies vs asthma. Thanks!

We have had our cat for 5 years. Since we got him, he has frequently had jelly blood and mucus in his poop. Poop has ranged from cow pie to normal. There is some straining but he is fairly regularly pooping twice a day. No noted weight loss and no vomiting.

We have done:
*steroids - no real impact
*fecal panel (positive for corona and clostridium) and course of metronidazole, some improvement
*hydrolyzed protein diet with hills z/d wet and probiotic at night and royal canin hp dry in the morning for months
*ultrasound, no noticeable intestine issues
*just recently started Metamucil, noticed improvement but now there is blood again

Internist recommended colonoscopy. Is there anything else I should be asking about, trying, or testing for?

I recently found a feral kitten in the road. It has worms. Is there something I can give it from the store without a prescription? I’m in college and can’t afford a vet. I’m also having a hard time rehoming him but can’t afford treatments.

She coughed once before I could start filming too. It's a wheezy high-pitched sort of cough, only after she drinks water. Sometimes just one cough, sometimes a few more. She gets over it after a few seconds and is completely back to normal. Not sure what it is or if it's a concern? The only other time I hear a slight wheezy sound from her is when she's being naughty and I pick her up, she gives a sort of defiant whine, and from the motion of restraining her ad I picking her up it can come out sounding wheezy

I used Hartz gentle hairball shampoo on my cat days ago and she’s been fine since, do I still have something to worry about? What should I do?

Hello!! This is my cat Mish, and ive been a bit worried about that odd spot on his belly, I assume that is one of his nipples, but his other nipples arent hairless or colorful. Im just a bit worried so id appreciate your guys thoughts on the matter

Hi,

I just picked up my cat from being neutered and I'm waiting for a call back. From the paperwork I cannot tell if they gave him revolution or not. The thing is I gave him a dose of topical nexgard on Oct 3. I cannot get ahold of my vet or the rescue (left them a message). I did not know they were going to do the otherwise I would have pointed out that he was already on prevention.

As soon as I get home I'll check if he's greasy at all from the revolution and carefully wipe it off with a damp cloth and dawn.

Anything else I should do I'm freaking out right now!

Just got home from work and found this bald spot on the back of her ear. We first thought spider bite but we cat see any visible puncture wounds. (The red that you see in person looks more like kinda freakley and just kinda irritated.)

She's an indoor cat with a sibling, she could have gotten in a fight with the other but no other part of her seems rough.

She's acting normal, we'd like to avoid a vet trip so ce WE just went on one for our other cat, but we will do what we must. If anyone has any ideas we'd be more than happy to hear anything.

I am an adult with about $300 saved in the event this is something more serious but I would like to avoid the vet if possible. I am posting from the US. Vet can be accessed today.

Kitty is about 6 years old, a tad overweight. Definitely spayed haha. She's been licking at her butt more often and I noticed scabs so I immediately bought advantage 2 large cat flea medication the next day to apply to her (i had forgotten it was still warm enough for fleas I know i did this to her). But I've noticed she's still been itching and licking. She has lots of dandruff too which I know is bothering her and she's been bathed before so if anyone has any recommendations for a shampoo / conditioner for a domestic medium-hair that would be awesome as well.

Do not worry I know not to bathe her so close to having ointment applied!

Our 1-year-old spayed female cat has been urinating everywhere in the house. She had been using the litterbox well. There is no straining, sometimes she is doing marking behavior and sometimes she just goes a lot in a corner, the couch, or a bed.

I took her in and she had protein and crystals, no bacteria. We have 2 other cats, her brother and a feral. The vet wants her on a prescription diet, but it will be very difficult to prevent the other cats from eating it too.

What could be causing these crystals? She was diagnosed with Corona virus 8 months ago. She has been very healthy, with no colds, no diarrhea, and is eating well. She does catch and eat things outside, mostly moths and lizards. Actually I think she just plays with the lizards, I've never seen her eat one but she does eat the moths.

All was normal except this: UA (cystocentesis): USG 1.052, pH 7.5, protein 2+, crystals 2+ amm mg phos (6-20/hpf)

and Urine Protein 2+
They want her on Gabapentin for pain for 2 weeks.

Is this bad? Is there another treatment besides prescription food? She is also very picky - hope she will eat it.

It is strange to me that if it is caused by her food, that the other two (both neutered males) aren't suffering the same.

Hi guys,

Unsure if this is appropriate for this sub, but just wanted a few opinions. My four year old girl had this little cyst/spot a few months ago and we took her to the vet. She explained it was a harmless spot and squeezed/popped it. It went away for a few months but has since come back.
Does anyone have cats that have experienced these little lumps and bumps?

Thank you!

I'm not expecting Reddit to cure him. He's lived a long and happy life, but as it stands, he's got some serious issues. I know posts do better with pictures...but I don't think he's up for it. He's looked better...

He's still hanging out with me. He's still eating and sleeping and pooping and peeing. I don't want to call it while he can still sit on my lap and watch a movie. I got this diagnosis about a month ago. He's on pain meds and they seem to really be working. His hair is a total mess after his mouth cancer, so he needs a professional groomer if I'm going to get rid of the mats.

I'm not asking for a miracle, but I want to know what to do for him.

She was fine last I saw her an hour ago.

Now she just lies in a corner. When I call her name she meows softly but she wouldn't even raise her head.

I live in a very remote area in the Philippines. There are no vets near me. It's 8 PM and the main city is about 6 hours away and the public transport is unavailable tonight.

Anything else I can do? At least make her comfortable for the evening?

‐--------

Hes ok now. He threw up and hes doing better now

Thanks.

Seeking advice on my cat with potential dental/jaw issue.

I have a 15 year old female DSH with a history of resorptive lesions.

She had a dental approximately a few weeks ago and had several teeth removed. She’s had teeth removed every couple of years and now has about half left.

I took her in earlier than her usual scheduled dental check because she was pawing at her mouth after she ate. This would go on for about 10-20 after each time she ate, she’d do regular bathing but also be reaching both paws into her mouth and flicking them out, almost like she’s trying to scoop something out. She would also be licking her lips/smacking her mouth a lot while tilting her head to the side, again it really seemed like she wanted to get something out of her mouth. This happens with wet food and with biscuits.

Given her history, I assumed she had lesions again and took her in. They confirmed that was the case and removed some teeth. The behaviour stopped for a few days post while she was still on pain relief, but started again once pain relief stopped.

I took her back and the vet examined her mouth and can’t see any obvious cause. The vet seemed kind of stumped and said it could be a jaw issue, or she may have an infection where a tooth was removed. I asked if she could just be getting food stuck in the gaps where teeth have been removed but the vet didn’t think it was likely.

We trialled buprenorphine again, and again the behaviour stopped while she was on it. But it’s also kind of sedating, she’s less active and I would also stop fidgeting with my mouth if I were mildly sedated.

The vet now wants to do more X-rays to look at her jaw, and I definitely want to make sure she’s not in pain. But I’m always scared of anaesthetising her, she’s old and the past couple of times has taken ages to come out of it.

I feel like if she were in pain, she would show discomfort outside of that period immediately post eating? She doesn’t show any pain when having her mouth touched or jaw manipulated.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, or seen something similar?

Hi,

So I got my cat her annual booster shot in the UK today (we've recently moved here so don't have prior experience with this vet). I found it strange that the vet vaccinated her in the scruff instead of at the back/in her leg as her vets outside the UK have done in the past. I've now been reading about injection site sarcomas, and I'm a little stressed as I had no idea that I should question the injection site. My cat is not reactive at all and takes injections without squirming (and the vet didn't ask any of these questions).

Questions for the community:

1) Can others in the UK share if this is standard practice here?

2) Should I be advocating for leg injections for future shots? Is there any risk if the vet isn't experienced with injections anywhere except the scruff?

3) What's the risk of injection site carcinomas? How long do they take to appear and how common are they?

I'm sure I'm overthinking, but would appreciate some inputs so I can at least ask the right questions in the future.