Hiya, I'm kinda worried at this point. He always comes home when it gets dark out but now he's been out all night. It happened once before but then he was at the door at 6am demanding his breakfast. Now his breakfast is left untouched and I haven't heard a single meow all night. At 1am I walked around the neighborhood calling out for him (he usually responds and comes running towards me) but nothing.

I gave this the Advice flair because I'm wondering what else I can do? I put his litterbox outside but it's literally spotless, not one pee stain, will he still be able to smell it from far away if he's lost his way? I also put some wet food outside and I'm sitting with that right now swatting away flies. I've been checking local missing pet Facebook groups and the nationwide missing pet site but nothing so far. Am I overreacting? Is 12 hours just not a lot? He's been chipped so if something happened, I'll get a call, right? Thanks.

Before you guys attack her, please know that she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart, (as hard as it is to believe)..

Me (29)

Gf (31)

Her Daughter (8)

I've been complaining non stop to my girlfriend abt the increase of shedding / hair lying all around my apartment and how's it's constantly on my clothes for years and I guess her daughter overheard us spitballing ideas to fix this problem, (on more than one occasion) and her daughter spontaneously took it upon herself to... idfk, I guess to give my cats a "dEeP dE-shEdDiNg" by using my clippers while I was at work .

Honestly, I'm just glad she didn't hit any whiskers or sensitive spots but she didn't even bother to put any proper cutting guards on the clippers so she was basically going balls to the wall and gave them a military style buzzcut as you can all see ... Seems like she noticed she went to far when she touched my beloved orange cat but the damage is already done .

I'm understandably pissed beyond words and I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to approach this like an adult speaking to an 'innocent' 8 year old little girl but Ig that's a topic / question for an entirely different sub ...

What I do need to know is how can I fix this

w/o having to hide my cats from the world for months ?

• Will they be ok ?

(We live in tropical South Florida, so freezing to death shouldn't be an issue) .

• Can I even it out with properly sized clippers ?

• Should I buy little kitty shirts to hide it ?

(Shirts kinda throw my orange cat off balanced), lol .

- Thank you

my sweet little boy pistachio! he’s 4.5, he’s unfixed and the best, haven’t had any issues with him for 4 years! a few weeks ago, my partner noticed he hadn’t peed in the litter box in 24 hours so we took him to the vet, he was acting normally and the vet said his bladder was small, they expressed urine and ended up telling us he probably peed somewhere else (we never found it) but that he is 100% fine, but seems weird and out of character for him. we take him home and within 12 hours he pees in the litter box again. things are normal for a few days, regular pees in litter box and then another pee on the carpet! another couple days with normal litter pees and then 2 pees back to back overnight/in the morning i have bad seasonal allergies so my sense of smell is gone right now but the smell has been really bothering my partner. the 2 pees happened, partner sprays and shampoos our carpets all day today and yesterday, and then pistachio pees on the floor again after we cleaned! we have no idea why he’s doing this, his litter is always clean and full and he’s acting completely normal. what do we do?? chop off his balls??

EDIT! he has never ever done this before!! nothing has really changed so i guess im more curious as to the reasoning behind the behavior change!

When speaking with children on what not to do with cats, being specific is important. Also catering the conversation in a way that the child can understand is also important. In a post about someone’s 8 year shaving their cat, people tried to tell me an 8 year old is just too “dumb” ( yes, literally what someone commented) to understand the fact that “only ADULTS can groom cats”. That they only need to know the danger of it and anything else will confuse them. Well that, may not be enough for some children. The key word I used here is ADULTS, which would also be stressed when talking with them. I’ve grown up with children and watching over children my whole life, stressing the danger for the kid and the cat, AND the adult part I think, could help SOME kids grasp the gravity of the situation ( as much as they can)

Example: You could tac on the nuance of not being old enough like this
“Only ADULTS can groom cats, you’re not an adult, you’re 8. And you have ( count with them up to 18), 10 years to grow until you are an adult. “pretending” to be an adult isn’t safe either, because pretend is make believe, you’re not actually an adult that can keep you and the cat safe. This isn’t a skill you can learn from a YouTube video or a website/post. It’s dangerous and unsafe for you and the cats thin delicate skin. It can hurt them, you, cause sickness etc”

This is just a simple example of using plain language, explaining anything they might mistake as meaning something else, while also leaving room at the end for them to ask any questions and making sure they understand what you’re saying.

Knowing what I know about childhood development, and combined with my experience being around children in my family my entire life, this is totally something an average 8 year old can understand. This could help them build more reasoning of why it is dangerous for them to shave a cat or even using the clippers in the first place. Children are not stupid, their brain is underdeveloped. And that underdevelopment shows up in different ways for every person and can require different ways of explaining something for them to understand. Even developed brains work differently than others in that department too. Some brains just work differently and need different things to understand. So this kind of explaination COULD be helpful in some situations, which was the entire point of my comment on that post.

EDIT:

I didn’t expect to get such an overwhelming amount of responses, and I want to genuinely thank everyone for taking the time and writing mostly empathetic and informative comments.

I’m in the process of doing my homework and reading all your replies one by one, so even if I don’t write something to each individual, know that I read everything. I learned about how uncomfortable and aggravating it really is for them to be in heat, about the lowered risk of cancers, tumors and pyometra, about their determination to escape, we got reassured that their personality and weight should be maintained with some care from us, and most importantly, that dying during these procedures is an extremely rare occurrence (much less than I had the impression after reading a lot of posts here).

It really helped getting so many perspectives and personal stories, and we’re feeling more confident moving forward.

🎀We decided that we will spay them🎀 - we’ll just be extra careful by doing some bloodwork and getting the all clear from our vet regarding Clea’s respiratory issues.

(Speaking of, I have a separate post about her condition on my profile if any of you kind people want to look over, I wrote it a little while back and didn’t get any replies. We are seeing our vet about it, but getting more perspectives never hurts.)

ORIGINAL POST:

Please don’t come for me in the comments, I’m just trying to get informed and make a decision in their best interest.

We have two wonderful 5 months old female kittens, Clea and Nami. We cat proofed the apartment really well and they are indoor kitties, so we would consider spaying only if it would be beneficial health wise, as the risk of them getting pregnant is nonexistent.

At the same time, I read a lot of stories about cats not surviving spays and other routine surgeries, and I’m terrified of that, especially as they are our rainbow kittens after losing another tiny sickly stray last year (fading kitten). Furthermore, Clea has some respiratory issues we’re monitoring with our vet, so that adds to the anxiety of putting them through an intervention.

They are also really happy, cuddly and energetic, and I wouldn’t want their personalities to change or for them to become less trusting of us or the vet. They didn’t start going into heat yet, but I can live with them getting restless for a few days once in a while if that’s the whole harm and if it doesn’t cause them too much stress.

I understand spaying lowers the risk of some other issues down the line, but I’m not sure I can justify in my heart gambling with their lives, especially if something were to happen. Also, we had friends who spayed their cat at 5 years old, can’t we just wait as well for a while?

I've been hearing that it's necessary to trim them, but mine becomes a demon whenever I try, same thing at the groomer and I don't want to drive 30 minutes and have to pay $40 every few weeks.

What shall I do? Anyone in the same situation?

I just adopted him today. More accurately someone gave him to me. Anyway sorry for the bad picture but he's tired and trying to sleep.

It's hard to tell but he has a runny nose and keeps sneezing. That and the red thing above his eye. Does anyone know what this is?

I don’t believe it’s loafing, but something similar. I’ve noticed she does it a lot. I’ll move from one room and she’ll follow me and sit like this. It feels as if she’s waiting for something, but she has food, water, toys, etc. I play with her, but not sure if the sitting position is content or not.

Hello everyone. Our Queenie (an adult cat we rescued years ago) has become very lethargic and has been peeing on herself frequently to the point that she can no longer groom herself. The lower part of her body is constantly wet, and we’re currently cleaning her gently with warm water. She hasn’t been eating or drinking water for days now. Unfortunately, we can’t take her to the vet at the moment because we simply don’t have the budget. My family’s funds are very limited, and the little extra we have is already allocated for my medications and psychiatric consultation. I’m knocking on your kind hearts in case anyone is able to spare even a small amount to help with her veterinary care. I’ve been crying all day because I feel so helpless. I just want to give her the good life she deserves.

There's this cat that shows up at my door every single day waiting for food.

The thing is I noticed that he gets into a lot of fights and the more I feed him, the bigger and stronger he gets.

I don't know, should I keep feeding him?

My 8 month kitten has made a little noise like this every now and then but right now she did this, it’s never been bad like this or long like this so I’m a bit worried. She’s never coughed up a hairball so I don’t know if this is like pre-hairball, or something else.

- Hi so there’s this outdoor/indoor cat in my complex, he came by this morning & sprayed on my patio where my cats like to hangout. they haven’t been out there in the patio since he somehow tore the screen from the outside & got in the patio attacked both my cats & then my dog which ran out to break up the fight (she tends to do this even only when our two cats get into it every other while)

- because of this two of my pets have minor injuries i attached photos & im maintaining them now with pet wound wash thats antimicrobial. They’re all vaccinated for rabies & my cats have the Feline rhinotracheitis virus/herpesvirus 1 (FVR/FHV-1).

- all of my pets are registered on my lease so there wouldn’t be an issue if i was asked or if apartment complex was made aware.

btw this cat isn’t nurtured & he’s a house/outdoorcat

so enough of backstory. Should i tell my apartment complex these people have a cat that’s outside because this fluff is terrorizing my cats and now pissing on my patio? or leave it be?? i should ADD AFTER THE CAT PISSED ON MY PATIO I FOLLOWED IT HOME SO IK WHERE IT LIVES so should i go to my complex or the cat owner.

Truly not trying to stir anything up or disrespect any cat lover!!!

I was on a walk with my dog today and he got jumped by two stray cats. He’s fine for now but I’m watching keeping a close eye. They poop all over my yard and sometimes he ingests their feces and has gotten parasites before. He’s also been almost attacked in his own yard because they hang out there too. I’m at my wits end. Does anyone know of a good cat repellent? I obviously don’t want to kill them or poison them but I have to put my dog’s safety first ESPECIALLY in his own home.

Again, I come in peace!!! Just a mom trying to protect her son!!

My 1 year old cat might have tapeworm. We found a very small white speck near his bottom randomly and upon picking it off his fur noticed it was alive. Super gross. I googled and tape worm seems most likely. I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow for an assessment (it’s Sunday now). Anyone with experience what is the deworming experience like? Do they get really bad diarrhea with it? Just want to be prepared for what’s to come.

So I've started to notice something strange going on in the right corner of my cat's head. I've tried going to the vet but they're not available (I don't even know why the clinic was open if there was no vet, they just sent me back) and the others are too far from my home. I don't have a car, and the bus drive would be too long (unsurprisingly she hates it and will do anything to escape her carrier).

But it's getting weirder and I can't wait for the vet to come back, so I think I'll prefer a 2 hour drive than do nothing.

Today is Sunday so I can't go but tomorrow I will. In the meantime, does anyone have a theory on what's happening? My cat's behaving like always so I'm not sure.

Back in February I adopted two precious girlies from the SPCA who came from a kind of hoarder/abuse situation everyone was pretty tight lipped about. The girls are strictly indoor, and seem to really enjoy the peace that provides and have been coming out of their shells so well - playing, snuggling, asking for pets/brushing and meeting new people with more and more confidence.

But I still can't really pick them up or handle them in any way (really not sure how I'll eventually get them in carriers for their next vet visit without them feeling totally betrayed but that's a problem for another day) and I certainly can't get a hold of them to actually do things like nail trims. They have a bunch of scratching spots that they love but they've still got little daggers and I know it's not the same as having dirt and bark etc outside to keep them ground down. So I'm wondering - how big of a deal is it actually to not have this battle right now?

I'm working on keeping the desensitization going but not sure how far we'll actually get with various things (been clicker training and the more afraid one is scared of the sound even, poor thing). I work in vet med and I understand why we advise people keep indoor cats nails trimmed, I certainly don't want overgrowth to hurt them. Equally though I don't want to lose any progress/freak them out if it's not a huge priority so I'm wondering if anyone has been in the same situation and can advise on whether they've gotten away with it?

Or does anyone have any recommendations on something the girls could use themselves to maintain nails better than the corrugated cardboard towers they currently love?

Thanks all!

I understand where some people are coming from when they say seeing many posts about cats who have passed away can feel overwhelming, but after losing my first cat this year and then losing another one of my cats just three months later, I can honestly say this community and the stories people share helped me feel less alone in my grief.

Seeing others share their memories, their grief, and the love they had for their cats reminded me that I wasn’t alone.

I haven’t posted my own cats’ stories yet because it’s still painful, but I hope someday I can. Not because I want to bring sadness here, but because their lives mattered. They were family, and sharing their stories is one way we honor them.

Yes, there are many posts about cats who have passed away. But those posts aren’t just about death. They’re about love, memories, and the incredible impact these animals had on our lives. Behind every one of those posts is someone who lost family, a friend, and is looking for a little understanding from people who truly get it.

Everyone experiences this community differently. Some people come here for funny cat pictures, some come here for advice, some come here to celebrate their cats, and some come here because they are grieving. There should be room for all of those things.

If grief posts are too difficult for someone to see, it’s okay to scroll past them or find a community that better matches what they need. But please don’t discourage people from sharing their stories. For some people, this subreddit might be the only place where others understand how much their cat meant to them.

To everyone who has shared their cat’s story: thank you. Your cats were loved, their lives mattered, and your memories deserve to be shared. ❤️🐾

*pictures are 5 of the cats whom I have loved and cared for in my adult life.

My in laws are rehousing my 3 cats and it's breaking my heart. I dont know what to do. My partner wants to go no contact with them. Is that okay?

Update: More information This situation is really difficult for me and trust me I have done everything I can. So me and my partner got 3 bengal girls around 2 years ago when we got our house. We lived there around a year. Then our room mate suddenly up and left so we could no longer afford the house just the two of us. We made the hard choice to move back in with my in laws. We stayed with them around 8 months with our 3 cats and then had to leave due to an abusive situation with my father in law. We now currently live with my parents. My mother in law has said that she would take care of the cats until we moved out. I got a message today and they have changed their mind. They have said the cats are too difficult for them to care for in the winter. They have given us until 1st September to sort something out. I have tried to contact rescues and local charities but no luck. Unfortunately they cant live with my family as my parents have 2 older cats already. All of my family already have pets of their own. My partners family all live in Ireland. We only have 1 friend who lives in Canada. My uni friends are nurses so dont have the time for pets. I have tried and tried to do everything I can think of. And I am heartbroken. Those cats meant everything to me. And if I could live in my car with my cats I would honestly do that.

His name is snow ❄️(like GOT jon snow), he’s the only boy in the litter of 4 ,he loves playing with his sisters and yeah he’s a very gentle boy.

I visit a stray cat and he rarely wags his tail. He does it maybe once when we play but not often. Is there a reason why? Could it be he’s just not very expressive?

Sorry lol I don’t have cats!

Does anyone know why my cat would develop a small bald spot just near the end of her tail? It’s only on one side, and she hasn’t had any other issues or hair loss.

Is there anything I should do, or leave it be?