update 1: thanks for all of your comments, it’s been really helpful. some people sent me some mean messages but that’s fine. He got up and went to wander around a bit, and is back at that position. My vet believes it’s not his time yet, so I’m considering to take him in to hydrate him.
It’s all very hard because I’m in the UK and it’s my sister who is dealing with this in Brazil, so at the end of the day won’t be my decision but I’m discussing all the options with her and the vets at the moment. Will continue to update this post.

14 yo male cat, neutered, has chronic kidney disease, having diarrhoea now and yesterday. days without eating (only having a hyper caloric in a syringe). last couple weeks was hard for him, bunch of things happened like kidney stones but not obstructing, gastritis, etc.

he is like this right now, not really responsive.
I’ve spent so so much money this last 2 weeks, I don’t know what to do now (leave him like this or just put him down in a vet. he didn’t get better since started medications for pain/high pressure and for the kidney)

is he dying??? thank you
brazil, I’m +18

Hi all!

TLDR - I took in a feral kitten and he’s had a plethora of health issues of which I don’t know how to proceed with. He has been to the vets LOTS, and they don’t seem forthcoming with next steps. I want to advocate for him properly but also a first time cat owner. My questions can only be answered with relevant context supplied in my post - so if it’s too long to read, please don’t answer but thank you still for your time 🤍

I found Noor at 5 weeks old abandoned outside, very poorly with some minor injuries.

He is now 14 weeks, weighing 2.3kg, generally happy and healthy.

He has only had his first vaccines recently and is due for the booster in a weeks time. He didn’t react badly to the vaccine, more sleepy but just as playful as normal.

As with most babies found outside, he had a plethora of health issues, and I have a few questions of which I would be really grateful for answers from experienced kitty owners please 🤍

He had an upper respiratory infection. He was given Synulox antibiotics for this. Even after the medication, he continues to have runny eyes, sneezing around once daily, and build up in his ears that was confirmed to not be ear mites. He likely has Feline Herpes or Feline calcivirus and the antibiotics treats the secondary symptoms but of course, can’t get rid of the underlying long term issue. The plan is when he is asleep on anaesthesia when he is being neutered, to also do a blood test to confirm FIV etc.

He also has consistently has runny poops. Not watery, but soft and without a clear shape. Soft serve ice cream but sometimes a bit runnier. He didn’t have this when I first took him in, so I wonder if the antibiotics initially started this issue? We did an expensive fecal test, and he has no parasites or bacteria - only a Clostridium overgrowth. With the ongoing respiratory symptoms, and clostridium, he was given ANOTHER round of Synulox antibiotics, as well as a probiotic to help his poops. This seemed to temporarily firm up his poops, but we are now back to soft serve again. Not only is this a nightmare because he is long haired, all white, and my house is also all white 😭😂 but he hasn’t learned to stop stepping in his poops yet. He is getting very sick of the paw baths, as am I. (He has them that often that he has perfected a technique of twisting himself around to the perfect angle to climb up my chest, over my back, and away from the water, resulting in deep claw marks on my chest haha, I know, I’m an evil mum, I deserve it.) More importantly, it’s obviously not good that something is still causing these runny poops. I’ve got another round of probiotics but he can’t keep going on antibiotics or he will develop resistance.

He is on untamed wet food in gravy and royal canin dry kitten gastrointestinal kibble.

Recently he doesn’t finish his wet food anymore. Wet food is given 3x per day. Kibble is constantly available. Before, he would immediately eat his wet food and clean the plate. Now, he picks at it here and there, and it takes him a long time before any considerable amount is eaten. I don’t know if this is fussiness, or to do with his poops. He sometimes goes for the kibble over the wet food. He drinks water great.

He also seems to struggle with treats that involve chewing. Kitten treats that you have to chew, such as freeze dried salmon or little kibble treats, he picks up and spits back out and can’t seem to figure out how to chew them. I have to break it all up and then he sometimes gets it. He appears to “lick” at even his wet food which is like meat bits in a gravy. I am concerned if he has a dental issue stopping him chewing and if that is affecting him eating his wet food too? But even with the pate version, he hardly eats it for ages. I try to brush his teeth but honestly he just freaks out and eats the toothpaste but doesn’t actually end up having them brushed.

He was also meant to be getting neutered next week, on the same day as his vaccine boosters, but I think I will be delaying the neuter another few weeks, because I am terrified that because his little immune system is fighting something off, he might not make it through the anaesthesia. I know every cat parent has this fear when it comes to neutering - but with his unknown several issues, I’m really worried his body just can’t hack it. I know issues can also present after the procedure. And I need to know if those issues are from the vaccines OR the anaesthesia - so that’s why I’m thinking to do it separate so if there are any issues we know what’s causing it.

I have not yet got him pet insurance and have been paying for everything myself, because, insurance only covers things which are new issues after it commences. But when I first took him in and he’s been in quite a few times since, he’s had almost every symptom there could be and the vets have recorded this. If I get him insured, surely they literally will avoid paying for EVERY issue he has because he already had symptoms? Ie, breathing very fast, respiratory infection, cat flu, diarrhoea and so on?

My questions, with all of this in mind, are:

How to navigate pet insurance for a feral who already had nearly every symptom of sickness before any insurance has commenced? Is it worth doing? How will they even agree to pay out for anything if they have the perfect scapegoat?

Do you think it’s safe to vaccinate and neuter on the same day next week? Do you think it’s safe to neuter him at all? Or any time soon, at least? We can’t confirm FIV etc until he gets neutered when he’s on anaesthesia.

Why do you think he’s not eating his wet food properly? Should I change the food? Shall I give him something better for his poops like the wet version of the gastrointestinal royal canin?

What do I do about this long term soft stool issue?

Do you think he may have dental issues from what I have described?. Is it normal that he doesn’t just chew treats as an adult cat would? What should dental care look like for a feral who refuses teeth brushing?

Based in England

Any other tips or thoughts also appreciated. Thank you for your time with such a lengthy post 🤍🤍🤍

Hello friends, this is my parents’ cat, Ninja. She was a street cat until they took her in a couple years ago and about a month ago they got her spayed and her health and presence has declined drastically. Her belly is pretty hard which is never good and she’s lost a lot of coordination. We’ve been to different vets multiple times and all her tests come back fine. The last vet put her on a course of antibiotics and prednisone without any change and only now they want to test for neurological issues. She’s been like this for about a month and all the vets say she must be fine but I can tell she’s in pain. She can’t be older than 4 years old. She still eats but not as much as she used to.

17F / in Tunisia/ and I can’t go to the vet / my cat is 6 months old /male /
My cat has had feline calicivirus (cat flu) since he was a kitten i took him to the vet many times, got him treated and his condition improved
However now that he is older, my dad has told me that I have to leave him outside on the street. Since then, his condition has gotten much worse. He keeps coughing, refuses to eat or drink, hides away, and his eyes are almost closed. I keep gently cleaning his eyes for him, but he still hasn’t eaten or drunk anything.and he smell so bad
I’m extremely worried about him, and I don’t know what to do. My dad refuses to let me take my cats to the vet again, and I feel helpless watching my cat get worse without being able to get him the medical care he needs.
Please, does anyone have any advice on what I can do to help him? Is there any way I can get him help without my dad’s permission? I’m really scared of losing him, and I don’t want him to suffer.

BONUS VID IN COMMENTS

Hi,

(English not first language)

We adopted a kitten (Peanut / 7months old /neutered) when he was about 2.5 months old.

We tried to follow the separation protocol at first (he was kept in our bathroom) and our adult cat (Rosie 6 yo/ neutered) remained roaming free in the rest of the appartment (2-bedroom).

For context, Rosie doesn't have behavioural issues with humans or animals (if she's at the vet, if she smells another animal in our clothes... Since she grew up until about 6month old with all her siblings). BUT, she doesn't like being bothered.

Peanut spent his first two months at a foster home with his siblings and the adult cat of the foster mom. He never had behavioural issues but was very curious since he was little.

-fast forward to the first weeks where we adopted him: there was a very bad heatwave in Europe and since we live in France (no ac), we had to speed up the introduction process so he could be with us in the living room where we had the portable AC.

- since the beginning, he wasn't really scared of Rosie and would bolt the second he had a chance from the bathroom to go sniff her or touch her.

-OFC Rosie didn't like that and even threw up many times the first week the second she'd see him.

- during all this time, we'd exchange toys - blankets -bring him to the living room when she's not there. Leave the bathroom open when he's not there so she can smell - praise - treats - feeding them behind a door... We also had the pheromone diffusers for the first 2 months non stop

It took us like 2-3 weeks for us to leave them unattended together

- the problem is that rn Peanut has grown sooo much and is nearly twice the size of Rosie. So when he's trying to play chase or fighting, she's usually unable to fight him off.

-HOW CAN WE STOP THEM FROM FIGHTING?? Video for demonstration ( I noticed he was already snooping to chase her but i didn't intervene right away for the sake of video. WE NEVER LET THEM FIGHT IF WE'RE NEXT TO THEM)

- we can afford a vet (we have already talked to them about this but they didn't have other advice besides the pheromones)

--------------------

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS. I'M RELIEVED THEY'RE JUST PLAYING

I've seen them puff up like once or twice before / no blood and no fur flying. I'm very surprised I didn't know this until now since I've had multiple cats over the years but never heard a cat hiss like this during play which worried me.

Another point that made us feel guilty is that we started wondering if we made a mistake by adopting a kitten into a household with an already adult cat who's ruling the house.

I've already known that flopping and exposing the tummy is a playful and trust sign but I also know that cats can be very difficult to read... And it's what made me post.

The important thing is for me rn is knowing that Rosie is still feeling confident in her own home and isn't protective of her resources.

My cat, Oliver who is a 5yo black cat, will stand by the garage door and demand that I carry him in there so I can hold him so he can smell the car.

He will bring me his toys and drop them at my feet while chirping and meowing the whole way. Once I have my surprise, he will go to the garage door and meow and meow and meow until I pick him up and bring him in the garage so he can smell the exterior of the car. He will not stop until he is brought in there and allowed to spend some time with his car.

Now, it’s a show car so it doesn’t really go anywhere, it spends most of its time sitting in the same spot so it’s not like he’s getting new smells to experience. It’s the same old boring garage-car smell every day (at least to me, anyway).

If I refuse to take him he will sit in the bathroom sink and wait for someone to walk past and harass them to take him to the car (the bathroom sink is very close to the garage door.)

What’s going on in his weird little head? How do I break him of this habit? It’s a very expensive car so him wanting to sniff it and possibly throw his nails out towards the car is risky business.

More pics and videos on comments.

Me: 31F USA. Her: 4F USA.

My girlie has smelly breath, I only smell it if she opens her mouth near my face

Am I supposed to be brushing her teeth or something or is this normal

ETA: It doesn’t smell rotten, just like cat food I guess with a bit more fish? Haha

I’m a newer cat owner, I adopted her last year and I’ve never had cats before

CA/US. My husband and I are late 30s/40s. Cat is 5 months, female, not spayed. This behavior is a daily occurrence and I feel for our dog. We’re unsure how to teach the kitty this is too much. I thought the two of them would eventually work it out - perhaps they will, but my poor pup is suffering. He often hides for fear of being attacked and he isn’t able to be close to me as much because she attacks him. We’ve had her since early July so this is still a new situation for all of us and perhaps we just need more time. We spoke to the vet about biting (she bites me a lot and is biting harder as time goes on) so we try redirecting by use of a toy, but vet also recommended time out when she goes too far. We’re not seeing any progress, though.
Financially a bit strained so we are hoping to handle this at home. But also, at what point would it be fair to deem this as not a match? I feel terrible for even contemplating that, but it would be impossible to keep the pets separated in our house.

Update: Thanks for any constructive feedback and advice. To be clear, kitty - Frida - will be spayed next month. We can’t do it this month due to work/personal travel. We want to be able to supervise and confine safely comfortably while she heals. I play with her often, but will make a concerted effort to play more and add more toys to the mix. I typically intervene physically in moments like these, but I was filming to show my husband. We’ll make sure pup has protected solo time and a place to rest without being ambushed. I’m picking up some FB marketplace automatic interactive cat toys today in hopes it will keep Frida distracted and more enriched. We won’t be getting a 2nd kitten as it would be an added cost that we cannot take on. Frida was a solo kitten we adopted from a family and she only had one littermate that we think was adopted out earlier. We were told her mom was done with her, so unfortunately she didn’t get socialized much in her previous situation.

Hi, i need help for my cat named pipo. My cat suffers on this annoying crust all over its body. I tried dropper for earmites but still nothing happen. What shoul I do guys? Really need advice for this because we are all out of money and want to try medicine that can really help my cat. Please, help us out on how we can cure this kind of annoying disease? It's really painful for me as furdad that my grown man baby boy has this kind of skin disease. Btw, his face also swollen due to this😭

I'm a working adult from the Philippines and vet accessible here only the funds I make is not enough for checkup. I wanted to help my cat to make him feel relieved.cat age 2 yrs old male and can afford vet but not this week and next week

Update from my post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CATHELP/s/8fRDVXSfD1

Me: 22F, UK and can access the vet
My beautiful baby cat: 1F Spayed, Vaccinated the whole lot

Update from the post about her red lip, those who said rodent ulcers were right!

She’s currently on steroids and has one week left of her medication till I take her to the vet again. Her other sores have gone down but the one on the side of her mouth (shown in the photo) has become more concerning to me.

Her sore has developed into more of a scab, I’m just wondering if this is normal? I’m not too sure how these usually heal. Should I wait for her to finish her medication or take her to the vet soon (likely this weekend)?

She is very playful and has no problem running, jumping high and plays for a long time. the hands and the legs do they look unbalanced when she walks. And should I do something about it? I will send more videos in the comment section

Hi everyone,

I [F27] am looking for advice on what to do about my mother’s cat because I’m genuinely at a loss and don’t know what the best decision for her would be.

She’s approximately 5 years old, female, incredibly affectionate, sweet, and loving. She deserves a safe, stable home where she’s cared for properly, and it breaks my heart that she’s in this situation.

My mother [F49) is unemployed and struggles with alcoholism. Our relationship has deteriorated significantly because she only contacts me when she needs something. For years, I’ve been responsible for handling her administrative tasks, arranging medical appointments, fixing problems when she messes things up, and generally taking care of responsibilities that she either cannot or will not handle herself. I even found her current apartment and furnished half of it at my own expense, despite being in education and unemployed myself at the time.

For the past several weeks, my mother has been staying in her home country, approximately 600 km away, with the exception of just 1–3 days every two weeks. During this time, her cat has been left alone in the apartment, and my sister and I are simply expected to take care of her.

I genuinely enjoy spending time with this cat and would never want her to suffer. However, I work full-time at a new company, commute approximately two hours every day, and already have three cats of my own. My mother leaves without discussing her plans with us beforehand and assumes we’ll take responsibility for her cat.

I’ve already told her that she cannot continue relying on me for help while she continues drinking. I need to establish boundaries for my own well-being, but I don’t want her cat to become another victim of the situation.

There are also serious concerns about her care:

• My mother has never taken her to the vet since the cat has been in her possession, apart from the initial care I paid for.
• I paid for her initial veterinary examination, first round of vaccinations, and spaying.
• My mother was supposed to take her for the follow-up vaccination to complete her primary vaccination course, but she never did.
• My mother smokes heavily and continuously inside the closed apartment, meaning the cat is constantly exposed to secondhand smoke.

Every time I visit the apartment to feed her, my heart breaks. She’s so affectionate, and I feel terrible leaving her there again. I’ve genuinely cried over this because she doesn’t deserve to be neglected.

The problem is that I don’t know what my realistic options are.

I’m recently separated and have had to start furnishing my new apartment from scratch because I didn't have any belongings in this relationship. I’m trying to get back on my feet financially, and I simply don’t have the money to take on another cat’s expenses right now.

My apartment also officially allows only two cats, and I’m already keeping my three cats there. Taking in a fourth would put me in an even more difficult position with my housing situation. Beyond that, I don’t know how well four cats would get along or whether I could provide everyone with enough space and attention.

I’m torn between two options:

1. Taking her in myself and somehow making it work with four cats, despite the financial and housing difficulties.
2. Finding her a new, loving home where she can finally receive consistent care, veterinary attention, and the stability she deserves.

The second option feels heartbreaking because I love her and don’t want her to think she’s being abandoned. But I also know that loving an animal doesn’t automatically mean I’m in a position to provide everything she needs, especially when I’m already struggling to manage my own life.

What would you do in my situation?

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation involving a family member with an addiction who neglects their pet?

I’m also wondering whether rehoming her would be the most responsible decision, even though I feel guilty about it. I want to do what’s genuinely best for her, not simply make a decision based on my emotions or my sense of responsibility toward my mother.

I live in Austria, in case that makes a difference regarding animal welfare organizations or available resources.

Thank you for reading. I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have faced a similar situation.

TL;DR: My alcoholic mother keeps leaving her 5-year-old cat alone for weeks, neglecting her veterinary care and exposing her to constant cigarette smoke. I already have three cats, work full-time, and can’t afford another one. I’m heartbroken and unsure whether to take her in despite the housing restrictions or find her a loving new home. What would you do?

I'm 29 from the USA.

So this weird lump showed up on my cat recently. Her fur is pretty dense, so I hadn't felt it before. She didn't like me touching it, and it felt kind of wet and solid when I gently squeezed it.

She's also been peeing outside of her litter box and had some blood in her urine. I thought it might be kidney stones, but other than some thick material in the blood, there were no stones. She also vomits sometimes after she eats.

She's about 18 and was seen by the vet recently and had healthy blood work outside of stage 1 renal failure.

She was neutered and declawed when she was around 1 (not my choice on the claws, it was standard for our vet at the time). I could maybe afford vet care, I'm not sure.

I know she's going to pass soon purely bc of age, but I want her to live a happy and healthy life until she does.

Both neutered male cats, 5-6 years old. I adopted them from another family who described them as a bonded pair. Since moving in with me, the brown tabby seemed to turn on the grey, with occasional swatting, hissing, and chasing. gradually over the course of the year they’ve mostly been ignoring each other.

Never seen them do this… neither cat was making any noise. After the video I interrupted the brown cat and he let go. The grey cat walked out from underneath him.

Should I be worried??

Hola estoy buscando opiniones o ayuda para poder tratar a mis gatos.

La primera tiene 8 años fue la segunda en contraer estos síntomas, la foto tiene alrededor de 5 años y fue el primero en mostrar señales en su piel.

Son gatos domésticos, no salen para absolutamente nada.

Los veterinarios indican que podría ser alguna alergia o algo cutáneo para el servicio de veterinario es un poco caro en donde vivo y de por sí en México ya es muy caro.

He visto que varios han tenido un problema similar, realmente las heridas de ellos empezaron principalmente en la cabeza y en el cuello y todo indica A qué son ácaros cutáneos pero si alguien ha pasado por el mismo problema me gustaría leerlo para saber qué decir en el veterinario.

Tengo un tercer gato con apenas 6 meses de vida que no ha presentado ningún malestar pero no por eso me preocupa menos.

Les agradezco a todos su atención.

This is my first kitty and we found her on the side of the road of Walmart, gave her food that day, and washed her with dawn soap. However I’ve moved to college with her since then and she’s almost recently had this grey scab that’s sort of flaky but on her skin and the hair on it is short. Since then I’ve been feeling around her and one side seems to have a lot of bumps as well and they’re almost pimpley and they’re not in groups either. Pictures don’t show up well bc she’s grey but I’ll still show any way. A friends roommate said it might be fleas or ticks or something and provided a type of medicine but I just need something to confirm this or other ideas on what it could be. From estimation she’s about five pounds, six and a half weeks, and a tabby. She still eats well, jumps, and runs around but I’m just still wondering it could be, please help. I’m 18, US, there’s a vet nearby but I’m a broke college student I can go just need to know if it’s severe, she’s not spayed, I can afford for most part.

Got my Girl Salem today and looks like she's already bonding with me. She just made herself a home and took over my bed. At least she's out of my cabinets now.

Shes 1 years old

This is Biscuit. She is a couple or a few months old now. She really likes to suck on my fingers. If I put her on the floor she will come back up. If I put her in front of her food or water she will return. Why does she do this, and how do I get her to stop? I put another video in the comments too.

Video is from today.
Last Thursday (7 days ago) when I got home from work, my 6 month female kitten came and said hi and then ate some dry food. She threw up twice about 10 minutes later. She ate a little bit after that and was fine. On Friday and Saturday, she would only eat the tiki cat baby thrive pouches. No type of wet or dry food, no matter what I added. On Sunday, she didn’t eat a single thing (tiki baby, churu, dry treats) and was hiding under my bed. Through all of this, she was otherwise playing and acting fine. Running, jumping, playing with kitten brother, etc. On Monday when she still wasn’t eating at home, I took her to the vet. She ate a churu in the vet and dry treats and they said everything seemed fine, but took her blood and gave me a specific hill science food to help the gut biome.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I noticed she wasn’t running as much or jumping up on my bed as easily. When I got home from work there was some vomit (just stomach bile) on my bathroom floor. She also wasn’t eating as much anymore.

Today there was no puke. The video is from today. Her movements look worse than I think the video shows. She’s running in a crouched position, is kinda wobbly/limping like, taking more breaks, is hesitant to jump up, and not eating as much still. But she’s still playing and wanting to play. She seems to switch between sitting in a crouched position for a little and then laying down on her side. I don’t know if I’m being a hypochondriac for my kitten lol. Please let me know what I should do or what is going on. The weird running/jumping happened quickly and she seems uncoordinated or hurt maybe.

6 month old kitten, can afford vet care, in USA, I’m not a minor, vet has been emailed.

I keep on begging my dad to bring her to the vet but he keeps on saying that she’s fine but i don’t believe it. Do you think this is asthma or something worse? I just want my poor baby to breathe correctly 💔

Hello beautiful people!

I made a post a few weeks ago about my cat, Socks, who turned aggressive during a routine game of chase that we were playing. We’ve owned her since she was 3 months old and is turning 6 in a few months.

I took her to two vets after this incident and everything checked out normally. Bloodwork, imaging, etc. She is still eating and drinking and using the litter box as normal.

However, she does not tolerate me walking near her anymore and is clearly distressed. She does not do the same with my partner. She still sits with me, plays, and will even lay on me but the moment I stand up she is hollering and hissing. I attached a clip of what this looks like.

I tried making an appointment with behaviorists in the area but they all have waitlists until January so looking for any ideas of what to try in the meantime. We managed to go 10ish days without an incident and thought we may have been in the clear but then she regressed and it’s been pretty consistent since.

Has anyone encountered a situation like this or have any ideas what we can try moving forward? I miss my buddy.

(After this incident, she spent 5 minutes under the table and then returned to her normal self and went to eat)

I woke up this morning to find that my cat had vomited and defecated in multiple places, including around and inside her litter tray. She is now experiencing unusual breathing and involuntary body twitching, and we’re unsure what’s causing it.
We’re currently on our way to the emergency vet, but I wanted to post here in case anyone has experienced something similar or knows what might be happening.

Additional information:
Poster age: Adult
Country: United Kingdom
Vet: Currently travelling to the emergency vet
Main issue: Abnormal breathing, involuntary twitching, vomiting and unusual defecation
Cat age: 15
Cat sex: Female
Spayed: Yes
Financial situation: Able to afford vet care

Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated.