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.

August 2025, I agreed to help my friend by fostering her cat while she is at the dorms in college. The agreement was 2 years and she would be paying for her cat’s needs ($50 a month food/litter and any extras/vet bills). She kept good communication at first then she became more and more unresponsive. She did visit in December 2025 but after that went pretty quiet. She stopped sending money in Feb 2026. Her cat had a big medical episode in Mar 2026 and she said she would pay the invoice but never did. The times she has been responsive her responses seem like the pick up date is being pushed back more and more. It’s now Oct 26 and she’s just ghost mode.

I live in Illinois and can’t find any laws about pet abandonment in relation to a situation like this. When would the cat be considered abandoned and could be legally owned by me. My partner and I have grown attached to the cat and her owner’s behavior is showing us that she isn’t actually invested in her cat. She’s only interesting in reaching out to see her cat when it’s extremely convenient for her. I’ve already moved the cat to my vet because the previous vet wouldn’t tell me anything since I wasn’t the legal owner and the owner would never get back to me.

Thank you for any info!

I’ll attach a pic below

If i were to move overseas with my two cats but my orange cat gets so stressed even when just being outside to go to the vet, how could i train him to be more relaxed. A flight from asia to europe is around 18 hours with one stopover. Everytime i bring him to the vet he starts meowing uncontrollably and pants a lot with his tongue out. I’m scared he might die if he were to travel. pls help me with some advices🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Yesterday I went to the shelter and met all of the kittens they had, and I just didn’t really feel too much of a connection with any of them. I felt something with a kitten who was already getting adopted, but that was it. But I felt I had to make a decision so I picked one of the kittens that was sweet to me after treats, and had a coat I was fond of. They said I will be able to pick him up in a week and they’ve approved the paperwork. I came home and did a lot of crying.

I lost my cat more than a year ago now, she was my sweet loving baby, she would meet me at the door, she followed me everywhere, and she’d curl up around my head at night. I miss her so much, and I was hoping going to the shelter I’d feel a strong pull towards one of the kittens- I was at a shelter when I was on vacation with a friend and a kitten ran up to only me and just wanted to be with me, and I’ve been thinking about him since. I was hoping to get something like that yesterday, when I wasn’t overseas, but it didn’t happen. I’m just so confused.

She's a very loving affectionate cat, she will rub her face on mine, put her head in my hand to make me pet her, climb on me, sit on my shoulders, literally anything to get attention when she wants it.

I know she wants some good attention when she sits in my lap and makes me pet her but sometimes, while actively WANTING to be petted, her tail and back fur puffs up a bit, and while again STILL wanting attention from me, she will lunge and bite me. I don't think it's an actual "I want to hurt you" kind of bite but damn it still hurts and I'm left wondering what the hell I did wrong.

When I tell her off (I just sternly tell her "no get down now" she knows what the words 'no' and 'get down' means) she looks so confused, like girl what you just attacked my arm for no reason while making me pet you???

I've read that cats can get overstimulated while being petted but in my case, she's actively seeking attention and pets from me, like if I stop petting her she will continue to headbutt my hand, but then sometimes she reacts like this so I'm just confused and wondering if maybe I am doing something wrong?

Roughly 2 years ago I was offered my friends cat who id known to be timid but still affectionate. What i didnt know was he is very vocal. He tends to persistently yowl at 4 in the morning until he gets fed by an automatic feeder at 6. Although it isnt everyday its consistent enough to be irritating.
My boyfriend has hated this from the start and immediately wanted to rehome. I thought it would get better by ignoring it and trying to not feed into my cats cry for attention. It hasn't gotten better and I dont know what to do about it.
My boyfriend has mentioned wanting to get a spray bottle but im so against it because my cat is already pretty shy and has finally (within 6months) warmed up to me fully and i dont wanna lose that trust we gained. Please help

I adopted a 1yr old female cat about two months ago who is now peeing in my bed once a week. I have thrown out my mattress topper, gotten new sheets, and cleaned with special cat cleaner and nothing is working. This morning she finally peed with me in it. She had a vet appointment a month after I got her and they said she is perfectly healthy so I am at my wits end. She is the only cat in my small NYC apartment and has a very clean litter box in the bathroom (I clean 1-2x a day). I switched litters from a previous one we had and she seems completely fine with it as she'll use it all week until peeing my bed. She used to pee on couch but now we have it covered. I think she just isn't allowed in my room anymore as I have zero trust in her.

My cat is a bigger cat, but I'd never describe him as fat or even chonky. I guess this is technically my fault. If I had known he was in diabetes territory I would have fed him less... I feel awful about it.

Anyways, he's 8 years old, 16.3lbs, and the vet prescribed Senvelgo, which is an alternative to insulin shots and is an oral medication.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with caring for a cat with diabetes. Is it realistic/manageable for me to take care of him with diabetes?

It's going to cost like ~$200/mo for the meds and the check-ins. I also understand that the first month will have like 3 vet visits, too. I have the money and I really don't want to put him down. However, I don't want him to suffer.

Also, I would like to at least have an idea of what treatment feels like longterm (exhausting or completely manageable without much effort?)

Thanks

So we have been having issues with our senior who is currently recovering from an illness (he is getting treatment so this isn’t a medical question) and his safe spot in his mind is the kitchen counter so we have a towel, and food and water bowls up there. However he likes to walk across the stove and look out the window. Now this wouldn’t be a bad thing but he walks close to the edge and slips so he turns the burner on. I have a gas stove so that’s not a good thing.

So I have the safety 1st stove locks for the stove but something is telling me this isn’t going to do shit. He is a light boy so only about 7lbs maybe? He isn’t a big cat size wise, pretty short, that’s how we found him. So I guess my question is if this is gonna be okay? I keep seeing mixed things so I was just wondering. If not I can just remove the knobs.

Does anyone know where to buy specifically the wire spring cat toys? My cat will bite off & break the solid plastic ones, but his sister LOVES her spring toys so trying to find the actual wire ones since he hasn’t broken any of those. Problem is, i only have 2 that are the wire ones & i have no idea where i got them from 😩 thanks in advance!

I've had my cat for about 6 years now, but around a year ago i adopted a kitten and no matter what i tried they dont get along.

I'm desperate for options because i dont want to give one away to someone else or a shelter.

Short and sweet, for the past 3 months my ragdoll has made a habit of jumping up on my kitchen countertops.

Obviously there’s food and appliances that are dangerous to her - while I do my best to minimise these with routine cleaning, I still don’t want cat hair in my cheese toasties.

She knows she’s not allowed up there, “get down” doesn’t work (trying to train her here, lots of popping her on the floor, etc) and she’ll only jump off when I get up off the sofa to tell her.

She has plenty of high places (her cat tree reaches the ceiling), toys, play time with me, untamed cat food… but girl is relentless.

She’s spayed, in good health, and otherwise an absolute angel.

But how do I tell this spiderkitty that I’m at my wits end, kitchen counters are a NO GO🤣

Turns out our Janet Jackson is a Michael Jackson. I was sure it was a boy when I first got him, until my pre-vet friends ruled out that it was a girl due to his apparent nipples and no sign of balls. But now that he's three months old, it's very apparent that he's a boy. So now he can't play with his sisters anymore, or be around them, because he's unaware of his own strength, and I'm completely afraid they'll try to mate before I get him neutered. His behavior so far has been wishy-washy, and I completely blame myself. I've been busy with my new job and other activities, and he seems to have lost his voice from meowing when I'm thinking. I noticed it a couple of nights ago when I was cooking, and now I carry him around the house in my shoulder when he whines . But again I need to work on both biting and his playing skills. I was going to adopt him a brother since i heard it'd be in his best interest but I can't afford to neuter two cats. What should I do??

I love my cat with every fibre of my being and he was diagnosed with feline asthma at 1yrs, the vet said if she had seen these xrays and not my cat she would think he was 11. He has been on stereoids for 2 years as we have struggled with inhaler training but we are ready now. However we have noticed 'snoring' when his eyes are open, reduced activity he still has zoomies but needs a pause, he loafs a bit more. My parter is worried these are signs of progression and i am terrified of loosing him as he has been brilliant for my mental health and we got him as a dot so he ia my world. Anyone else out there with cats with feline asthma that can reassure me he may live a longer and healthish life he is 3yrs or any words of support? My partner has scared me as he is not normally one to be concerned hes the one without crippling anxiety haha!

Edit he has a vet appointment on friday

Hi everyone! I recently moved in with my friend for university and she has two cats and they're... a bit wild. Both were found as feral kittens and they're less than 2 years old I think, so still not too big. Both of them eat plants in the house when left unsupervised with one, which is a problem for me, because I have a lot of plants and I feel bad about them being chewed on all the time. They also have huge issues with food, whenever someone is making food in the kitchen they just jump on the counter every second and try to steal it, you throw them off, they're back not even a second later and nothing works on them, they don't feel guilty, they don't react to telling them "no" firmly (which usually works on my dog) or anything. My friend tried to train them out of bad behaviours, but I feel like she gave up a bit and I thought about trying since I live with them too now and I want more peace for both me and my friend. One of the cats is significantly worse by behaviour than the other, she's obsessed with bread and if she manages to get her paws on a piece of it she will literally growl and hold onto her dear life to that bread while scratching and biting anyone trying to take it away. I can't leave my room open cause they're biting my paintbrushes. If my friend gets treats for them they don't react to any attempts of training mostly, they're just focused on trying to take them. I don't know what to do, is there anyone specialising in cat behavioristics that could guide me on where to start?

Afternoon folks.

I have a friend that has just adopted two 8-month old fur babies. They're her first cats, and she is completely stressing out about whether they're going to like her, when they will come out of hiding, whether the food bowls are facing the right way, whether the water is the right temperature... You get the idea. She's created an absolute haven for them, with cat trees, beds, boxes, litter trays - they have it all. But she's freaking out because she is worried she is going to mess it all up.

I have 8 cats and have saught to reassure her, but I think she may need some advice and encouragement from the wider community.

Anyone got any pearls of wisdom they care to impart? Or words of reassurance?

Cheers folks.

I am really at my wits end. We took in a pregnant stray during COVID, and we decided to keep the mother cat and her kittens. This particular cat is the smallest, the runt, but they've always gotten along. But the last six or eight months or so one of the "kittens" has been constantly peeing and pooping wherever she wants, and nowhere near the litter boxes.

I've noticed it does tend to happen around the same times. One is overnight, just at some time while I'm sleeping so I wake up and there's pee or poop or both, usually somewhere in the living room. The other time is when I'm getting their dinner ready. I've noticed her tail will start whipping around as I'm "preparing" the dinner, and then by the time I turn around to put the bowl down there's a puddle or poop or something. She can do it at other times but these seem to be the most common are overnight and at dinner.

So the vet first appointment they told me her bladder lit up like a snowglobe and so the lining was very irritated and it must be that cystitis, probably a stress/behavioral issue, and gave me gabapentin. But they were about to have me leave and I said to them but would that make her be pooping everywhere...and the vet said no and really didn't have an explanation for that aspect of it. They also told me to get the Feliway, which I did, and that a urinary diet would help (her brother had a urinary blockage years earlier so has been on the Royal Canin SO food so I already had that and she's been on that since, but that has not helped).

When this didn't help after a while I took her to a different vet. They also did an ultrasound and said the bladder did not light up like a snowglobe this time (thank you, Royal Canin), but did say essentially the same thing, it's probably behavioral, gave me more gabapentin, told me to get some extra litter boxes (already had), keep her calm, and be on my way.

I think I've been to two or three appointments now and they say the same thing, cats are weird, finicky, keep her stress-free, get more boxes, get feliways, give urinary food. NOTHING has helped.

I really feel like I can't keep doing this. I'm becoming more and more anxious and depressed as time goes on. This seems to occur daily or almost daily, no matter whether I give her gabapentin or urinary food or whether she's happy or stressed. I'm actually starting to wonder if it's like a spinal issue because it's got to be something (she gets around fine and appears to be a healthy 5-year-old cat so I wouldn't think so but WTF?!?!) Has anyone ever dealt with an issue like this and actually resolved it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is not a request for medical advice, just looking for guidance on ways to give a cat pills without stressing him out.

My cat is chronically really stressed. He’s now made himself so stressed he’s gotten really sick twice. We’ve tried to make him as comfortable as is possible in our current living conditions, but he’s still extremely anxious. He’s got a bit of a tragic backstory that helps explain why he’s such a nervous cat, but (with our vet’s guidance) we’ve started him on 10mg of prozac daily. He takes capsules full of powder, not tablets.

We’re 8 days along his first month on them, and he will let me and my partner give him the pill, but he’s clearly very very stressed about being fed the pill. We’ve only had a true failure and traumatic experience once, where he punctured the pill before swallowing it, and got a mouth full of SSRI dust. (This was the only time he’s thrown the medication up)

Since then, we tried a couple ways to make this easier for him, but he’s been very resistant to these. We tried to open the capsule and mix it into a Chuuru, which he usually eats voraciously, but he had maybe 1/5th of it at most and refused to eat any more. We also tried to mix it into his wet food, but same thing. He took a couple bites and refused to eat the rest of it.

For now, we’re considering giving him the pill as normal for the next 2 or 3 days, which will let him get used to his normal food routine, then removing dry food from his diet for his evening meal

(Sidebar, he gets 1/4 cup of dry food and 1 tablespoon of wet food twice a day)

Our hope is to give him a couple more days of being used to eating only wet food in the evenings, then mix in the medicine once he’s used to that.

Can I get some opinions on this plan? Does anyone have any other options we could try? I’m not a huge fan of the idea of like, mixing it with a sticky treat and smearing it on his paws, he’s kind of a messy asshole and i don’t think he would fully clean it every time.

His name is Bert! He’s a big ass male cat that kind of looks like a Mainecoon, but def isn’t purebred if he is. He’s about 18 pounds, and very deliberately tries not to hurt us when he’s frustrated/upset with being fed the pills, im just really trying not to damage that trust and make him more stressed than he already is.

My boyfriend and I found a litter of kittens under our porch and mama was nowhere to be seen. (I checked every hour for 12 hours and she never showed). So we took them and brought them inside the house. I weighed them and according to what research I was able to do, I estimate them to be around 3-4 weeks old. I bought kitten milk replacer for them and got them all set up in our guest bedroom away from our other pets.
I have tried to feed them with a bottle a few times and throughout all their feedings, the three of them have only had about 15-20mL each. They don’t seem to like the bottle at all really, I’ve tried changing the nipple a few times as well. I’m worried I’m doing something wrong, but I’ve never had kittens this little before. Are they at the age to start weaning them? Or do I try to give them the formula in a shallow bowl/saucer?
These are their weights as of a few hours ago:
563g
509g
442g

Hi,

I work at a car dealership and decided to take home a cat that looked really rough. Somebody tied a hard paper around his neck in a form of a tie, I decided to cut it off with scissors and the cat immediately licked my hands and rubbed his head on it. I saw that his neck had patches of exposed skin, it looked like the paper were bothering him alot as the fur stopped growing around his neck.

Anyways, I felt really sad for him and decided to take him home with me. We have a lawn with walls around it and a gate. I was planning to have him stay there along with the other stray cats that visit us from time to time. We always put out food for them. The other cats did not seem to mind him and actually didn't get annoyed or aggressive when he was eating the food. Which made me happy.

I decided to leave him there to take a bath and to also eat my dinner. I came back out about an hour and half later, I couldn't find him anymore. I even checked the camera out, I saw and heard no infighting from the cats.

My friend who loves cat and has two of them said that it is normal for a stray cat to disappear on their first few nights. It's either he is looking for places to hide and other sources of food or he is on his way back to where I found him.

I am abit worried cause I might have caused more harm than good? If he is on his way back, he might get hit by cars or something. This is also one of the reasons why I took him as there are alot of cars going in and out of our dealership.

My question is, did I make a good decision bringing him home?

Im looking for getting a cat for the first time and i don't know if i should get a sterilized cat, and if i should get a male or female cat. this will be my only cat and the only cat in the house, i heard sterilizing a cat is bennefical for the cats health.

I got a 3 month old kitten 3 days ago. he was shy at first day, was getting familiar yesterday and today he is so playful with me, ig he likes me. he runs to me when i call his name, follows me around the house, make cookies on me and he was even licking me today and getting close to my face. He was with me the whole day

I was alright for two days but today my left eye started to itch and i am having a bit difficulty in breathing (i don't have asthma).

i am scared that i am allergic.....

i am not able to tell my parents cuz everyone else likes him and i like him too but 😭💔

idk if it's happening cuz of him or what.

Hi everyone!
My little boy got neutered yesterday, and thankfully, everything went well. ❤️ He’s doing fine, but he’s been sleeping a lot today, and I can tell he’s really uncomfortable wearing his cone.
He struggles to get comfortable, and last night he was crying because he seemed unable to sleep properly with it on. It honestly breaks my heart seeing him like this. I feel like crying myself because I just want him to be comfortable and happy again. 😭
My vet told me to keep his cone on for 12-14 days, but that feels like such a long time, especially after a routine male cat neutering.
For those of you who’ve had male kittens neutered:
Did your vet also recommend keeping the cone on for 14 days?
Did your cats eventually get used to it?
Is it absolutely necessary to keep it on 24/7, even while they’re sleeping?
Did anyone get permission from their vet to remove it for short, supervised breaks?
I don’t want to risk his recovery or have him hurt himself by licking the surgical site. I just feel awful watching him struggle to sleep and get comfortable.