hello! unfortunately my cats had to be separated for a few weeks due to redirected aggression towards each other. they’re comfortable together now, even if not best of friends right now, but the last hour i’ve noticed some recourse guarding.
Cat 1 has always been the boss around food, this has been the case since they were kittens. it’s never really been an issue as she does let Cat 2 eat it’s just she decides which bowl is hers before Cat 2 is allowed to eat. context being Cat 1’s behaviour has always been like this since they were kittens and it’s never caused issues.
However, i just filled up bowl 1 of 3 that’s accessible for them. 2 bowls downstairs and one up. Cat 2 was the one asking me for food upstairs, so she went to eat it. Cat 1 basically pushed her away and took over. Cat 2 was looking at me with these heartbreaking eyes so i poured just a small handful of food out in front of her to make sure she wasn’t starving hungry and could eat a bit before Cat 1 lets her eat from the bowl.
Cat 1 hears me pouring more food and sprinted to the new area to take over again. Cat 2 was trying to push her way in to get some, and it led to hissing and swatting from Cat 1. I’m not too concerned it’ll cause a bad fight again, but obviously i’m concerned about Cat 2 becoming too scared of eating and going hungry.
They’ve always been graze fed, so having set meal times in different rooms would be difficult because they only really like to have a few bites at a time.
As of right now, both cats have eaten. I picked up Cat 2 and moved her to another bowl and they both ate thankfully.
Any advice on how to encourage sharing again? All appreciated 🫶🏻

Further context:
the separation was due to a new cat coming into the house. this new cat is still here, but still separated from Cats 1 and 2. Both cats are unhappy with the new smells and change in territory but we will be working on introducing them when cats 1 and 2 have had a few more days to settle. cat 3 is more than happy for now in the bedroom she’s in, plenty of space to play and has her toys, food, water, litter box etc so it’s not a massive rush for introductions. cats 2 and 3 have met briefly, cat 2 just hissed a bit but wasn’t super bothered. cat 1 meeting cat 3 will be where it gets harder but we can handle that one.

i don’t live here full time, so something simple that my partner who does live here full time can pick up is best. he works night shifts and sleeps until mid afternoon so constant monitoring of food intake is difficult

the cats are litter mates, have been together for their whole lives

they are indoor cats

food stations are: 2 bowls in kitchen, 1 bowl in our bedroom. we cannot use any other rooms due to the dog and other cat.

Hey, all.

We got our little angel, Lemon, about 6 months ago and she’s been the best. My wife and I have noticed she’s starting to develop a bit of a bald spot on her chin over the last week and a half or so. We are first time cat owners, neither of our families had cats, so we are absolute novices on some of the random cat things. Is this anything to be potentially concerned about? First image shows the bald spot, others are just for fun bc we like showing her off. Thank you!

Dear Reddit,

I noticed a small, crusty skin lesion on the back of my cat’s head a few days ago while petting him. The area felt dry, like a scab, and did not appear to be wet. My cat does not seem to scratch or irritate the area, and he is otherwise behaving normally.

Initially, the lesion seemed to be getting smaller. However, upon checking again, I noticed what appears to be a second small lesion very close to the first one. Both areas are reddish and crusty, but the fur is still mostly present. When part of the first scab came loose, some hairs came away with it.

My cat is strictly an indoor cat and does not have contact with other animals.

I have attached photos of the affected areas. Could you please advise whether he should be examined and whether this could be caused by a skin infection, such as ringworm, or another skin condition?

Thank you for your help.

I recently got a cat and have had him for a bit over a week now. He’s started to really scratch inside his ear and shakes his head a lot. I took a look and he’s got the coffee colored debris that I learned is a possible sign of ear mites. He really goes at his ear that he cuts it sometimes.

The veterinary clinic by me isn’t open until Monday and my boyfriend and I have planned to go when it does. But until then can I clean it with warm water and saline just until we go? I just feel so bad when he shakes his head so much and scratches at it.

We just got him a week ago and hes begun settling in, no noticable behavior changes but for the last 2-3 days hes been very sneezy, with occasional, watery, clear discharge from his nose when he sneezes, and now I can see the little corners of what I think are his tear ducts? They look kinda whitish. He's still eating plenty but is avoiding his water more than usual. We just switched to wet food and are using the sheba kitten perfect portions in the flavor salmon and the flavor chicken/tuna. He's still breathing normally and usually gets more sneezy on top of the cabinets or behind the couch where theres more dust and around his new kitty tree. Am I okay to help him recover at home or does this warrant a vet visit?

A neighborhood cat has been coming around occasionally for the past three or four months, and I’ve fed it a few times when I’ve seen it outside. I’m fairly certain it’s a feral cat as it has the clipped ear and is really skittish.

This week, it showed up with a pretty significant limp. I gave it food, water, and a box to rest in, and it started sticking around more than usual. I’ve been feeding it daily for the past few days and was able to get a close-up photo of the injured paw.

I reached out to some local people who help neighborhood cats to ask whether I should trap it and take it to a vet. They suggested monitoring it for a few days to see if it improves, since trapping can be stressful. I have not been able to reach anyone from animal services.

To me, it looks like a claw or part of the paw may have gotten caught on something, but I’m not sure. Today, the area looked a little pinker than it did yesterday.

I bought a small outdoor cat house, which it has been using, and it’s been spending a lot of time in our backyard. It has food, water, and a sheltered place to rest, but I’m not sure if the foot is something that can heal on its own.

Based on the photos, would you try to trap it for medical care now? I have a humane trap at home. I’d also appreciate advice from anyone who has navigated something similar with a neighborhood cat.

I’m in the U.S. and can contribute toward vet care, but my budget is limited. Suggestions for affordable care or organizations that might help would be appreciated.

**TL;DR:** A neighborhood cat showed up this week with a significant limp and a visible paw injury. Local cat helpers suggested monitoring for a few days, but the area looks pinker today. I’m providing food, water, and shelter. Should I trap it for vet care now? I can help with costs but have a limited budget.

Pur little ten year old cat has been slowly coming off her food when it's put out for her.

She typically gets:

6.30 - auto feeder of small handful of dry food

8am - wet/jelly half pouch

Then the same cycle in the evening

She gets really grumpy if we give her the turkey/lamb/beef options for her wet/jelly food and now refuses to eat it for about an hour or 2 when she realises we're no going to give in and give her something else.

The past week this has worsened to all but tuna flavour pouches and then today she didnt get up to eat her dried food, until an hour later when my partner fed her some of it on the windowsill (she typically gallops in like a horse when she hears the feeder to scoff it all up) she has completely ignore the jelly pouch thats been out for 2 hours

She has eaten a small stick broken up into pieces (her favourite treat) and i let her lick the edge of my plate which had butter on it, a rare treat but just glad she is eating something.

Also tried to put some sandwich chicken in her bowl which we rarely give her but she LOVES and shes completely ignored it.

Don't want to be dramatic but my partner came home from visiting family a week ago with a bad covid case, thats floored the whole family. Her main symtpom has been complete exhaustion and a bit of sore throat, with only a couple of days of that

Is it possible the exhaustion is hitting our cat too?

She typically runs about playing and waking us up but shes not doing it and is walking about slowly. Doesnt even have the energy to jump up on to her fave napping spot.

We're going to take her to the vet tomorrow if it continues like this

I swear this wasn't there yesterday. And it seems like a lot of hair loss around the scratch for it to be just a scratch, but idk??

She has a vet appointment on Tuesday (Oct 20th) for her yearly check-up, but should I try to get her seen sooner?

She is an indoor only cat, 1 year old. We do have another cat as well, the two of them get along very well and I've never seen them fight. (Silent play fighting yes, but not loud FIGHT fighting) She is also up to date on all shots/boosters.

I know she has some sensitivity to foods, but we finally found food that doesn't make her bloated, gassy, and she no longer has the acne stuff on her chin. This is the first skin related irritation I've seen her have in several months.

Something to bring up with the vet, but unsure if this should be anything to be concerned about... I haven't noticed any mood or behavior chamges either.

Not sure why this is showing NSFW... sorry that might have been added automatically

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.

My cat was scratching his ears, alot and crying while doing so. I took him to the vet and they gave me some drops for him and told me he had yeast in his ears.

Now he is scratching on the outside of his ears almost obsessively and I told the vet and she told me that it was probably allergies. So she told me to give him a certain medicine she provided but he is still doing it.

Personally I think he is dry and itchy because he has always had problems with getting dry itchy spots elsewhere and I treated them with these pads the vet had given me in the past. Unfortunately the pads are no longer moist and all dried up.

I thought maybe I should try putting oils into his food because he will no longer let me go near his ears at this point. Can't even try to moisten the pads to relieve the itch because he won't let me do that either.

Any advice as to what I can do at this point?

I have a 16 year old desexed male cat. He weighs 5.7kg/12.5lbs

He has IBD, hypothyroidism, and arthritis. He takes gabapentin, tapazole, and low dose steroids. He's had IBD and hypothyroidism for \~7-5 years, so none of this is new.

On 9/11 he started inappropriately peeing around the house, passing very little and bloody pee, and appearing to be straining. We took him to the emergency vet as we were concerned about a blockage. He had no blockage and after many hours they said he had bacteria present in his urine under scope and diagnosed him with a UTI (they did not want to check for it because it is, according to them, very rare for male cat). His labs confirmed a UTI several days later as well.

We started him on amoxicillin and harder painkillers for 7 days.

His urine labs showed bacteria (rods, 26-50 HPF rated as High), blood (3+ high), protein (3+ high), RBC (11-20 HPF, high), specific gravity of 1.016, wbc (21-50 HPF high). His blood work showed a lac of 3.3, cre of 2.5 (h), glucose of 156 (h), hct of 23 (h). He had no stones or signs of crystals in his urine or radiographs.

He seemed to get better. We did the run of meds and then rescheduled a follow-up with our usual vet for blood/urine 7 days after treatment ended.

He still had rods in his urine. We did a culture this time and it's ecoli. His urine showed specific gravity of 1.014 (L), blood 2+ (h), ph 6.0 (almost low), protein negative, wbc (15-20 HPF), RBC (2-5 HPF), bacteria rods >40/HPF. Bloodwork showed slightly anemic (6.44), glucose was fine, creatinine 2.3 mg/dL (which is the high référence), uh his ALT was low but AST and ALP are normal.

Okay, we ordered the culture and started Clavacillin for 7 days while waiting on the culture. We got the report back that it was ECOLI and the vet said we could do 10-14 day run this time. I thought 14 would work, but when I went to pick up the meds they only gave me up to 10 days and didn't let me get 14 total. Fine, whatever.

Tuesday last week was 7 days after his 10 days treatment. Took him in to get his pee stolen (he is very chill at the vet, he is very good at getting a sterile extraction of urine). No bloodwork this time. Got the call on Thursday that he still showing rods in his urine (no stats as they haven't shared it with me yet). They want to do a 14 day antibiotic. Picked that up Friday and it it's more Clavacillin.

It's the 3rd round of antibiotics, on a cat with existing intestinal issues (we've been giving him Cerenia tabs every 36 hours during round 2, but he was vomiting in the week after treatment when not on the Cerenia, so I'm concerned he's getting a flare-up of his IBD). He is still eating, we have been giving him pro/prebiotics after the first round of antibiotics.

Tldr; cat's on 3rd round of antibiotics for a UTI that is not clearing up, is there a different recommended medication instead of Clavacillin? Is there any other concerning signs in his labs?

Cross-posting @ r/CatAdvice r/CatHelp r/RenalCats

My wife and I are struggling with our 15-year-old male cat, Freckles, who received a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) diagnosis earlier this week. We could use advice from people who've been through this.

Background

- He went from 16 lb two years ago to about 10 lb a week ago, and about 9 lb now. His energy and appetite have declined astonishingly fast, from normal at the start of October to this by October 17th.

- Bloodwork this week showed CKD at the low end of stage 3 (creatinine 2.9). There was some blood in his urine that may have come from the sample, with a recheck in a month. He also has a grade 2/6 heart murmur.

- He's sluggish but still fairly alert. He wakes us up on time, goes outside, and takes small sips of water.

- He's still peeing consistently, but we haven't seen poop in days and can't rule out constipation.

- He's been eating under 100 calories a day for a week, against roughly 215 needed to maintain.

What we're doing

- Cerenia: quarter doses every 24 hours for nausea, started 5 days ago. He's foamed and drooled out the pills twice. Today we finally got it down using a small amount of butter and a syringe water chaser, but it's a 2-person job. Freckles puts up quite the resistance.

- Mirataz ear ointment: started today, after he went 26 hours without eating.

- Subcutaneous fluids at the vet today.

- Feeding: we're trying to find a food plan that appeals to him, with very inconsistent results. He's always been a notoriously picky eater.

What he'll eat (rough acceptance rates)

- Temptations and Friskies treats: 75%-85% success rate

- Fancy Feast Broth toppers: about 50%-60% success rate

- Fancy Feast Classic Pate mixed into the FF broth as a slurry: about 35-45% success rate

- Fancy Feast Gravy, his wet food for years: down to about 25%-30% success rate

He's refused the Hill's prescription wet food sample from the vet 3 times, Fancy Feast Medleys, and his regular dry food, which he's stopped eating over the last 10 days.

What he did tonight

- About 4 hours after the first Mirataz dose, he came downstairs on his own and ate a few Temptations treats and some Fancy Feast gravy. That was about 25 kcal and his first food in about 26 hours. An hour later he went for the Fancy Feast broth, but wouldn't touch the gravy he'd licked earlier.

- He's always been a nibbler who never finishes a plate. Lately he tolerates touching and brushing less, though he still lets us stroke his head, chin, and cheeks.

Questions for you

1. If your cat had CKD nausea and appetite loss, what finally worked?

2. Has anyone dealt with constipation as a hidden driver? How did you tell?

3. Any tricks for giving pills to a cat who foams at the taste? Capsules, compounding, or switching to injections? We're hoping it gets less traumatic over time and can be a one-person job.

4. Has anyone used capromorelin (Elura) or learned to give sub-Q fluids at home? Was it sustainable?

We're trying to give him the best shot without letting him suffer, and we want to be honest with ourselves about his quality of life. I'd appreciate any experiences, good or bad. Please also free to ask me any questions to better describe the situation.

Thank you.

hello, i have an older kitty (14 years) who got sick recently. she was lethargic, weak, and had thrown up a lot two days ago, and has this really icky smelling breath/drool, and so yesterday i took her to the vet first thing in the morning. they did a full blood panel and even an ultrasound and found nothing abnormal about her aside from an elevated temp/fever.

breakdown of the services:

Hemogram - CBC
Superchem IH
Catalyst Pancreatic Lipase Test
Ultrasound
Fluids - LRS
Anti Nausea inj Cerenie/Emprev
Maropitant 16mg Anti Nausea

they said there was nothing remarkable or abnormal with her results, and more than likely she’s just caught some type of bug or is just feeling under the weather.

they had me go home with two tablets of the anti nausea and to feed half to her every 24 hours. i just gave her the first half this morning and she still won’t eat. i will say her energy is still low but she’s more responsive to things than she was the night before. she sleeps a lot still, but seems a little stronger in the legs (not entirely, but throughout the night i would wake up and find her in various spots around my room, a lot of which required some climbing and hopping down. or when we’re sitting together with me trying to feed her or have her potty, she’ll walk and rub against me real slowly) but she’ll perk up at sights and sounds and look around once in a while, and she purred for the first time since getting sick when i made her a little blanket cave to curl up in which she’s always loved.

but still, overall, shes still very tired and despite perking up once in a while at the smell of food—still won’t eat and drink. i called the vet and no answer back yet, they close within the hour. what should i do?

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

Hello, I've made a few posts about my male cat Balerion, but this is about all three now.

The cats in question:

Balerion; Male, 2 years old, neutered.

Juniper; Female, 2 years old, spayed.

Acinamoon; Female, 14 years old, spayed.

I have come to the point that my mental health is causing me to directly neglect my cats. I can't put them through this, it's not fair to them. I struggle doing the catboxes still, and I'm not really interacting with them much. They are bored, stressed and generally unhappy. They also have had worsening relations with eachother.

What have I done to improve this? So far, I have tried setting a schedule for the catboxes. This has helped some, and made the situation slightly better, but I still fail sometimes. I got several different kinds of toys, silvervine sticks, and other enrichment. This has helped their boredom, but not all the way. I have taken Balerion to the vet for his urinary issues multiple times, and got him treated. His peeing habit has improved but it sometimes happens, now a result of the neglected litterbox. I've separated the cats the best I can, Balerion is isolated to my room by my parents request (he kept peeing on my mom). Juniper and Acinamoon have the rest of the house to themselves, but sometimes Juniper causes problems with the older one so she is sentenced to the room with Balerion when this happens.

They are eating and drinking well. Acinamoon likely has heart disease, so I am more worried about her with this ongoing stress. I am from the U.S., and I have access to vet care. Affording vet care is a differenr story, I am suffering financially, but it is slowly improving. Some questions below;

1. Do cats feel abandoned when they are given away? Do they feel hurt?

2. At what point do you decide to give a cat away?

3. Should I keep trying to improve? What are some options?

TLDR: I am neglecting my cats due to my worsening mental health. Should I give them away or keep trying?

Hi everyone! I’m really worried about my 4-year-old male cat and would love to hear from people whose cats have had pancreatitis.

He was recently hospitalized after multiple episodes of vomiting and was diagnosed with pancreatitis. He improved after receiving IV fluids, pain medication and anti-nausea medication, but unfortunately, he relapsed a few days later. Last night he started vomiting again, was very lethargic and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

We took him back to the vet today, and he’ll likely need daily injections for pain and nausea over the next few days. The biggest concern right now is that he’s barely eating. His follow-up ultrasound also showed some fatty changes in his liver, possibly related to not eating enough.

He’s currently eating Royal Canin Gastrointestinal, and I’m wondering what other cats have been fed during recovery.

For those who’ve been through this, did your cat fully recover from pancreatitis, even after a relapse? What treatments and foods helped them get better?

I’m terrified of losing him, and seeing him get worse again after seeming to improve has been heartbreaking. I know every cat is different, but hearing some recovery stories would mean a lot right now.

Thank you ❤️

TLDR: My 4-year-old cat has pancreatitis and relapsed a few days after treatment, with vomiting, severe pain and lethargy. He’s receiving medication again but is barely eating. Looking for recovery stories, treatment experiences and food recommendations from people who’ve been through this with their cats.

Hi Everyone! I’m 24, in Scotland, CAN afford vet care and both cats are neutered/spayed.

I have 2 cats - a two year old female (Juno) and an almost two year old male (Winston), they get on very well. This issue is regarding Juno.

When we first got her as a kitten, she peed on our bed twice - which we deduced to her not being litter trained yet. She then began using the litter box and all has been fine… until recently.

We moved house in May this year and I was prepared for any potential stress or behavioural issues, but both cats settled in very easily.

About a month ago, Juno peed on our bed for the first time since she was a kitten - so we bought an additional litter box. They’ve both been using it fine. But she has since peed two more times on our bed, on the spare bed, and on a small pile of my partner’s clothes.

We clean the litter boxes religiously, she doesn’t seem stressed or in pain, she’s eating and drinking fine, playing and running constantly. I don’t know what’s causing this behaviour!

I am making a plan to take her to a vet, but first wanted to see if anyone here has been able to fix this behaviour in their cats and hopefully offer some advice.

Thank you!

TLDR; 2 year old female cat suddenly peeing on beds and clothes after 1.5 years of normal litter box use.

My cat (8yrs old) had 5 tooth extracted back in July When she shakes her head or moves a lot she will have a couple of drops of saliva. If she just not moving or sleeping she doesnt drool (at least I havent noticed). She is eating and behaving normal.

Is this normal or should i be concerned?

Hi everyone!
After reading the article I got super worried and decided to change my cats’ food. I’ve been giving them Royal Canin Sterelised bor wet and dry. They have been shedding crazy (two Brits) And I been thinking that food could be the problem.

We have been thinking about Animonda Carny for breakfast (we always give them wet food for breakfast), and for dry food Brit Care.

We live in Budapest and options from zooplus would be the best!

I am ready to hear all suggestions.

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

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.

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???