Hi fellow cat lovers,

I've had my two babies, a brother and sister, for 2 months now. They are over 4 weeks post sterilization, up to date on jabs, worms and tic meds. They just turned 6 months.

I am keen to let them outside. I know there's risks, but they both stare outside longingly, and I think overall the risk is worth it, especially as you will soon read, at least one loves the outdoors.

Today and yesterday I let the door open. Boy was surprisingly nervous and just had a little wonder before scrapering back in. Girl on the other hand has turned out to be a right outdoorsy type, ended jumping over the 7 foot fence despite being a tiny 6 month old, getting trapped in my neighbour's incredibly overgrown garden, got stuck there for a couple of hours but then had an explore around surrounding gardens while I panicked. She is tiny and I think vulnerable. Said neighbour has also informed me he will soon get a pit bull. (No hate, but dogs make me nervous in general)

Eventually she wondered back in.

Any suggestions for what to do? Catio? Cat proofing? She seems to love it outside, was rolling in the grass in joy, and in a great mood after, but I dont think my anxiety can take this every day!

(Obligatory cat pic for tax, this was first time I opened the door to outside world...no prizes for guessing who is the escape artist)

I was sooo nervous about the idea of introducing a new kitten to my cat
It’s just been us two since I got her
She’s two years old
She’s a black cat and very stereotypically so
She is quite introverted,likes her space but also very territorial like most cats and loves my attention
I noticed her getting a little down and lonely the last few months
I don’t work but I am chronically ill so though I am home with her most of the time I can’t play with her the way I use to
(I use to run around like a maniac with her….which now I can only do maybe twice month)

I got a kitten out of pure luck in June
The first few days weren’t great as she was very underweight and the person lied to me about her age (I got her for free but she was suppose to be 2 months minimum but she was actually only a month) she was a rescue from a farm that to my knowledge was going to drown the kittens (they were all saved)

Anyway flash forward 5 months almost and they are like siblings,they sleep together,eat off the same plate most of the time,and I truly couldn’t be more grateful

We found a young black cat, probably around 20 weeks old, trapped inside a school.

We have no idea how long she’d been in there or how she got in. She was absolutely terrified when she was found and is still very wary of people. She won’t let us touch or pick her up yet, although she will sit in the same room with us and is gradually getting a little more confident.

We’ve had her scanned and a microchip number does come up, but so far it hasn’t led us to an owner, as it is unregistered. We’ve called all the local vets and rescues we can think of, checked lost pet pages and actively posted in local community groups. We deliberately haven’t posted clear pictures of her because if someone does come forward, we want them to be able to identify her properly rather than just saying she’s theirs.

Nobody has contacted us looking for her so far.

She clearly has some experience of being in a home. She knew immediately how to use a litter tray, she eats extremely well, drinks normally and generally seems physically okay.

Her behaviour is a bit odd though. During the day she mostly hides, sleeps or watches us from a safe distance. Then at night she apparently decides she owns the place and wakes up to terrorise us. 😂 I’ve actually been sleeping on the sofa in the room she’s in because I didn’t want her to be alone while she settled.

Then, from around 5am, she sits at the window and meows incessantly. Not distressed screaming, just constant little meows while staring outside. It makes me wonder whether she recognises the area, is looking for somewhere/someone, wants to get out, or is simply a young cat who has realised there is an entire world beyond the glass.

I’m really torn about what to do next.

I would genuinely love to keep her, and if I’m honest it’s obviously starting to lean that way. But I work full time and I also care for my mum, who is quite ill and is at home a lot, so adding a young cat into the mix does feel like quite a lot.

At the same time, I couldn’t see her left where she was. And now she’s here, safe and slowly settling, the idea of moving her again or sending her into rescue feels awful unless that is genuinely the best thing for her.

Obviously, if she has an owner who is genuinely missing her, I want to find them.

But if you were in this situation, how long would you keep actively searching before accepting that nobody may be coming forward? Is there anything else you would be doing to try to trace an owner?

And for people who have taken in frightened young cats before, does the hiding all day / chaos all night / shouting at the window at 5am sound fairly normal for a cat settling into a completely new environment?

Thank you in advance for your help.

My 5-6 month old kitten, Knuckles, (male, neutered) is absolutely obsessed with me?

Wherever I am, he wants to be. He wants to be cuddling me, rubbing against me and getting kisses. The picture is him right now as I'm typing this. As soon as I came downstairs this morning, he followed me and plonked straight on top of me.

Since we got him at 7 weeks, I've been kissing the top of his head and making a huge 'MWAH' sound. Every time he runs up to me, he smashes his face into my lips and rubs against them until he hears a kiss sound.

Knuckles doesn't like it if my partner touches me while he is touching me. He will sometimes gently bat my partner, or looks INCREDIBLY offended by him daring to touch me.

My partner does not have the same issue with him. Knuckles plays with him, roughly and gently. He does not go to him for cuddles, kisses, or affection. He loves playing with him though, and play stalking him around the house.

I'm wondering if this is normal behaviour, if anybody else has experienced this incredibly affectionate behaviour? I'm worried about him developing an unhealthy attachment, and if so how can I try and get him less attached to me so that he doesn't become an anxious cat?

My vet said I'm worrying too much, and he's a male cat and this is how they are with their female owners.

Thank you! Please feel free to tell me if I'm being a total idiot 🤦🏼‍♀️ ♥️

So my main confusion is how the numbers seem correct? If I have been told to go for 80% if possible am I trying to read the numbers (example image 4) 14% of which beef 4%?

Also, I have tried to google the highest meat content brands on google but the answers are always non shop brands for a much much higher cost.

I’m actually losing my mind bc my 6 month kittens seem to not eat anything.
I had an untamed subscription and they loved the food but by month 3 they would stop eating it so I assumed they got bored so I changed to purina but they didn’t seem to eat that food either so I got marro and they don’t seem to eat that and I’m worried because now they’re not really eating meals.

They still eat treats and kibble every now and then and they’re healthy but all of a sudden they just won’t eat proper meals please someone give me advice before I cry.

Hey!! My little buddy Marshal has gone off all premade cat foods. He's refusing all kinds of brands, textures, everything. The only thing he's eating AND finishing is cooked (plain boiled) chicken breast with applaws tuna broth topper. I really want to give him his nutrients but make sure he's eating as he's very hungry but is just refusing cat food.

Does anyone know how to make some homemade cat food or have recipes?

(Also DW about the picture, he's fine, he just placed his head in my hand and I wasn't holding him with any force)

(He's 13 if that's of any use)

Thanks!

Hi just looking for opinions on whether this is abnormal or not. My partner took our two cats to the vets today for a routine annual checkup (I usually take them so I’m the more up to date on their health, sorry this won’t have the detail I’d have put in!)

Their vaccinations are due in January at the same time for ease of appointments. But he vaccinated one of them today and then said he got the date wrong and that cat wasn’t due his vaccine. This throws us out of sync with their annual vaccines, which is annoying, but I’m also a bit concerned that the vet seemed to have done it by mistake. Of course if I’d have been there I might have understood the situation/asked, so, mostly just looking for some opinions of whether this is a nonissue or serious issue or somewhere in the middle

Cat tax paid of a grumpy Goblin with his chicken elbows, after being vaccinated AND told he had put too much weight on 🥲

Hello! My 14 year old cat has been a regular sneezer for years. I've taken him to the vet for it several times and they found nothing, he's had a dental (x-ray, clean, extraction of four teeth) this year and that didn't help. They apparently didn't find any suggestion that anything dental was causing it.

This week he sneezed up a lump of brownish stuff. It was the first time I've ever seen him paw at his face while sneezing so it was clearly uncomfortable for him.

He doesn't have any discharge or mucous otherwise, eating and drinking normally for him (he's skinny and has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as well, not needing medication for it yet). Playing and affectionate as usual. He's an indoor cat, there are no plants, we changed to tofu litter to try and get the dust down in case that was causing it. He has a brother who doesn't sneeze so I don't think it's anything contagious.

Has anyone else seen a cat bogey like this before? I squashed it and sniffed it (sorry if you're eating) and it was fishy (again, sorry). I will be taking him to the vet, but wanted to canvas other cat fans for ideas!

Thanks all!

It’s 5am and I’ve not slept yet so apologies I just need to vent and rant and seek sympathy or advice.

I came home from work around 9pm and discovered that my cat is vomiting and also having diarrhoea every 10min or so. I panicked and called an out of hours vet and we got seen at 1am. He got anti sickness jab and I was given pro-kolin paste and a rehydration drink. And I got a gastro packet of wet food to try but he’s picky eater so he hates it.

We got home around 2am and he was in and out of the litter box till 4am refusing to use it because he does his business outside. He had some of the drink, refused the food including the paste. I called the vet again at 4.30am because I noticed he was salivating a lot and his chin was wet. He also has not slept since about 4pm or so (I have cat cam and see his activity on the cat flap).

Vet said to let him go out supervised which I did but then 5min into that a creepy man on a bike appeared and stopped near me so I evacuated back inside. So eventually I got my cat back in 30 min later and he wasn’t going in easily.. I hope he did his business in the meantime.

He’s still salivating. The vet said it could be discomfort from holding his poop but it hasn’t resolved… I then forced in him 1ml of the pro-kolin, it should be 2ml but I pick my battles.. now he’s inside sitting in a pitiful loaf and I’m just too worried to sleep.

I want to trust the vet but I’m so worried that something is badly wrong and he’s not feeling well :(. He’s 6.5 y old and he has easily upset digestion but nothing this dramatic has ever happened and I’ve never seen the drooling before. I will also contact his regular vet in a few hours but I don’t know what else to do to make him feel ok. I know cat vomit and diarrhoea is “normal” but the salivating too and not sleeping is new 😫. Any advice would be so appreciated. I’m so tired and delirious I feel like I’m not doing enough

UPDATE: 11am next day - he’s not interested in food at all but he licked some of the water the chicken cooked in. I put some with his shredded chicken. Better than nothing I guess. And I’ve not seen vomiting since pre-vet last night. Diarrhoea still ongoing but he’s not go much left in him. And poor baby is knackered and so am I. I’ve contacted his regular vet this morning and left them a message to update them on his situation. No drooling either since last night..

UPDATE 2: 7pm and his regular vets practice agreed with all the things emergency vet’s did and prescribed and said to monitor but to expect him to be low energy for a bit because he hasn’t eaten and slept properly for a while. But hopefully he should start getting back to normal a bit tomorrow and if he doesn’t to give them a call. But they were so reassuring and lovely! He ate some biscuits when he got in from being outside a bit (which they told me to let him do so he doesn’t get depressed and more stressed), and he’s been drinking small amounts of liquids. So I hooooope he’s on the mend . Thank you all for the helpful messages, I have the worst health anxiety about my cat

My 10 week old kitten’s face looks mainly black but his body has black/grey stripes. Has anyone had a kitten this colour? Did their coat change as they grew?

EDIT: they worked on him for three hours but couldn't unblock him. He was blocked completely all the way down his urethra. My poor baby is gone 😭😭😭😭 thank you everyone for your words of support and encouragement.

This is Icepop. He's four years old and was quite possibly a dog in a past life, if his constantly wagging tail and love of belly rubs are anything to go by. I know we all say our cats are our soul mates, our best friends, etc, but I really do love him so much and I don't know what I would do without him.

This morning when Pop didn't come for his breakfast and I found him crouching and crying by the litter box, I immediately knew something was wrong. He did eventually go and eat, and I cleaned the litter box in the meantime just in case he was displeased at its condition. Afterwards Pop came back, went straight into the box, and sat and strained for a long time with nothing coming out. He then went to the second litter box upstairs and did the same thing. He was leaking the odd drip as he walked about, and kept stopping to lick himself down below.

I had heard that this kind of obstruction is quickly fatal to cats if not detected in time, so I called the vets as soon as it opened and took him in. They confirmed he has a very full bladder and has to stay with them to be sedated and catheterised. If that doesn't work then they will open him up to try and treat him. He is insured, so I'm not hugely worried about cost - it's him even coming home that has had me bawling my eyes out. I'm terrified he won't survive the anaesthetic.

Pop meets most of the high risk criteria for urethral obstruction - he is male, neutered, prefers dry food (but he drinks a lot), indoors (mostly - he sometimes sits in the back yard but never wanders) and overweight. I haven't ever been diligent enough in exercising him, so despite eating the same amount as his more active and outdoorsy brother, Pop frequently sits around 7kg. If he doesn't survive, I know I will be beating myself up for a long, long time for not doing enough for his health.

Thank you for letting me vent, and please keep sweet Pop in your thoughts today.

We got a brush to clean our radiators before winter and our cats found it before we could use them, and they have now claimed it as their new favorite brush.

Four weeks ago today we adopted our lovely but nervous boy. Everyone was so lovely at offering advice when I first posted about him. I wanted to give an update and would welcome any further tips 😊

My cat is getting more and more confident as the days go by. We had to take him to the vet twice, not 100% sure if he’s injured his leg but an xray showed his hips on both side weren’t quite right but he’s only a bit lame in one side so the vet wasn’t too sure. Hes only anti inflammatories.

The vet visits definitely didn’t help with our relationship but I seem to be forgiven now. There was hissing and growling when we tried to get him in the carrier but at the vets he was scared but calm. Even at the vets, he’s never bit or scratched us. Once I’ve had a slap with no claws and had a few hisses here and there 😅

On the three week mark exactly he began exploring more confidently with us in the room. And in the last few days he’s been actively playing with me and his wand toy out in the open. Though if I move a bit fast he does back off.

And yesterday was a huge milestone! He was sat on the armchair and I sat on the one right next to it and he stayed there. He even groomed and took a treat from my chair’s arm AND tapped me (then scared himself because of it haha)

But he still doesn’t like any human touch. When I put a treat down i stroke his paws and he’s learnt to accept that. Sometimes i do ONE stroke of his bum but he quickly turns around so I can’t get there anymore. Will this come time or do I just accept that it’s like this?

Also, so far I’ve been absolutely respecting his boundaries but trying to push them a little bit every now and then. Like test the waters sometimes. For example the butt touching, do it once, clearly still doesn’t love it don’t try again for a few days.

Edit: when I say bum, I mean the lower half of his back, but feedback noted 😅 I’m not going near his actual tush lol

I have been with animal friends for years with no problems, they have paid out on all claims. Suddenly the price per month has more than quadrupled per cat without any extra coverage etc. ( majority of the policies haven’t even been claimed on) also the Joii app is a joke. I was panicking about my girl mink who had some weird lump on her neck. It was evening so used the app to put my mind to rest till I could get to the vet. They didn’t have a clue even though I sent pics and a video. Not a problem as it’s hard to diagnose from this, instead they tried to sell me a load of skincare products upwards of £100. I didn’t buy as they didn’t have a clue.

Anyway took her to the vet was just a pus filled lump they squeezed (tmi) which then dried and just fell off. Didn’t require any products or antibiotics. It just had me thinking how dangerous this app could potentially be. I don’t know how products can be suggested when they admitted they didn’t have a clue.

Am now looking for another insurer and won’t be relying on any app again. If anyone has any suggestions.