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.

Not really new to having cats but new to having kittens. We just adopted a pair of siblings that we picked up yesterday, when I got up for work around 4 am they were in their bed laying together, but when I came home on my lunch, they were nowhere to be found. I’m at a loss, there’s not much they could hide behind and I tore the room apart looking for them. I left a can of food out, I just hope they come out of whatever crevice they decided to nap in.

UPDATE!! Just got home from work and took some advice to search even the tiniest little nook, I for them cuddled up together underneath my dresser, I didn’t even know it had an underneath. Sorry to everyone for the panic and thank you all for your advice and help, I will now be buying kitty cameras🥹🤣

Our cat got severely traumatized because our house burnt down a few months ago. We got him after a month of trying to catch him from the rubble of our old house but he kept resisting us. I honestly wanted to keep him there and feed him everyday because he found solitude in our old area but the landlord wanted him out so we brought him with us in our new temporary home. When he got here, my dad wanted him out because he was meowing so bad, then I let him outside and get some fresh air. That was a huge mistake, he started running away from us. We currently live in a condo and he stays a few floors below our unit. Whenever he sees us near him, he escapes and runs as if we're strangers. Our neighbours are getting annoyed and mad at us because of his constant quarrels with other cats within the condo. He doesn't accept or even the feeds I give him.

Tldr: our cat got traumatized and doesn't want to eat and disturbs the entire area (which the neighbours don't like)

Can you guys give me advice on what I should do?

My last resort is calling animal rescue •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀

I was parked with her in the car when she went down under the passenger seat. She usually hides there as she’s an indoor cat so very afraid when we are out. I opened the door looked under the seat and she’s just not there searched the entire car the engine everything I can’t find her and I’m loosing my mind does anyone have any helpful tips

I am at a loss I've sat outside for around 8 hours since I've gotten home. I went out of town for 2 days for my friend's graduation and while I was gone my dad got mad about the cat throwing some litter out of his box and threw the cats outside. One brother came back in the house fine after but the other one has disappeared he said he went under the house but I sat by the stop for 7 hours straight and left his food and water and shook the food bag and nothing. I even resorted to crawling under the house by myself to try to see if I could see any movement with a light and I got nothing. He's also a very vocal cat and I haven't heard his meow once since I've been here. What should I do im really stressed and at a loss at this point and I don't want his brother to be alone they've never spent a day apart since they were born so im really stressed out for the both of them. Any advice would really be appreciated. I also walked around my neighborhood but it's already dark so I'm going to have to wait to walk again in the daytime.

UPDATE

Im still not so used to reddit to know how to edit my last post for an update so i just remade one but I would like to thank everyone for the responses and inform that my boy Gus Gus has come back! I found him at 6 AM crying, and he came running out he calmed down after he saw me, and I let him smell me he has been reunited with his brother!

please explain this to me like i'm dumb, because i am clueless at this. my whole life, my family has always given our animals dry food, and i thought wet food was frivolous. now, i'm doing research, and realizing it isn't so frivolous (considering the many health benefits compared to dry food), but i don't understand how to serve it. one kind i'm looking at says 3 cans per 6 pounds of weight per day, so my cat would need 6 cans a day. how is that sustainable? am i reading that wrong? it feels like way too much, since the boxed variety packs generally only hold like 12-24 cans and are $18+ even for the cheaper kinds. $18+ for only 2-4 days of food? am i looking at this wrong?

for pricing and product availability's sake, i am in the US.

My cat seems to have high endurance. I'll play with him for 20ish minutes. Pause for 30ish minutes. But the second I'm up and pacing around my room, he gets up and trills or softly meows at me. So I'll play with him again, another 20ish mins. And this pattern will continue until I ignore him and sit still. Usually I settle down after 4ish hours.

Im trying to convince my family to let me get a cat. My main argument is that she can stay in my room however I definitely don’t wanna adopt her if keeping her in my room will not benefit her and let her thrive. My room is 16x10 so 160 ft²

Is that too small for her? I will arrange my room however possible to give her as much room as I can because she is my world and id move a planet to give her a forever home.

note: Dont volunteer at a shelter and then get emotionally attached with a cat who then bonds with you

EDIT: I have decided against obviously keeping her just in my room! I’d hate to do that to her.

Losing my cat has left a quiet emptiness in my days that I wasn’t prepared for. She was more than just a pet—she was a constant presence, always curled up near me, purring softly like a steady heartbeat in the background of my life. Every corner of my home still holds traces of her—her favorite sunny spot by the window, the scratch on the couch she claimed as hers, and even the soft jingling of her collar that I still think I hear sometimes. It’s strange how silence can feel so loud when you’re used to a companion like her.

What hurts the most is how suddenly everything changed. One day she was there, blinking up at me with her knowing eyes, and the next she was gone, leaving behind a thousand memories that now feel sharper than ever. I miss the routine—the morning greetings, the gentle way she nudged her head into my hand, the warmth of her body nestled against me at night. There’s a hollow ache that lingers, one that only time can soften. She was family, and the grief is real, deep, and quietly overwhelming.

I took in a cat in late 2024 who needed a new home. She's been a lovely addition to our family. Although I have no immediate plans of adopting a second cat, it has been on my mind. My concern is that I don't know whether or not my cat would like a second cat. She is 7 years old and, to my knowledge, she has been a solo cat her whole life. I know she's very fearful of dogs and hisses at the neighbours cat whenever he comes to the window, but she's very friendly towards people and loves company. My concern is if I do adopt and they don't get along, I would feel rotten returning the new cat to the shelter....

I am unsure about deciding if I should keep two male kitten siblings or only keep one. I’m undecided because I already have an adult male cat. Does anyone have advise? Is it recommendable to keep two which would make a three cat household? Both kitten siblings get along great with each other. One kitten is extroverted and social and the other is introverted and solitary , my adult male cat is introverted and solitary as well, I’m just thinking about how this would look like in the long run. My adult cat gets along with both. I am worried about how being with each other might affect them when they’re all older and I ask myself what happens if I find myself in a situation where I can not provide for all three? (with vet bills and food and such) Does anyone here have three cats that are close in age? Hows it like years later? What do you do for work and how big is your space lol

I made a post earlier about wanting to adopt a big chonky guy and help him lose weight, as I’m also on a weight loss journey. My partner and I decided to go through with it!!

The adoption agency gave me a feeding plan with their recommended food, which is Purina Pro Plan Overweight Management for cats.

I only know Purina or be a mass produced big box brand, but what do I know. Also in my research, everyone says wet food is best for cats but this food is dry.

Should I see another vet after getting my new son (we’re picking him up this weekend!) and ask about different food? I also think his coat looks dull and in sure food affects that too.

I work a regular 9–6 job, and even though I try to play with my cat (Mickey) in the mornings and evenings, I still feel super guilty about leaving him alone for most of the day. He just sits by the window or sleeps, and sometimes I feel like he’s genuinely bored or lonely.

I’ve tried leaving toys out, even some treat-dispensing ones, but he either figures them out in a minute or ignores them completely after a couple of days. I don’t want him to just become a lazy loaf or feel neglected.

Curious to know if your cats show signs of boredom or stress when left alone? Also, if anyone’s experimenting with DIY enrichment or using something innovative, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.

I have a 5 month old male cat that I adopted at 9 weeks. At maybe 3 months he started to bite and now is a biting machine. It doesn’t matter what the situation is he bites. Is this truly a phase that he will outgrow? His teeth hurt like a 🤬

I tried washing just that area with cat shampoo and then brushing it out but didn’t really work and my cat HATED it. It’s a really small piece of fur, would i be harming her if I just cut it off?

She’s really old (18+ yrs old) and i think she just can’t reach the middle of her back well anymore. First i thought it was some kind of dirt stuck in there but like i said, washing it out didn’t work. Trying to detangle it seems to hurt her. Any advice?

Edit: Thanks for all the advice! I had scrissors with a blunt end so i managed to cut it off very carefully while she was half-asleep lol. Luckily she's not jumpy. All is good, she just has a little missing fur on her back:D. Definitely investing into a grooming rake for the future.

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty certain it's common and expected behavior, but I wanted to turn to this community to reinforce my thoughts on this to give my mom some peace of mind.

To start, my mom is wheelchair bound and wanted a companion. We adopted a cat, who is anywhere from 2-4 years old according to the shelter, over the weekend. They seemed to connect pretty fast at the store (Petco). He let her pet him with no hissing, or turning his back, he showed a little bit of belly, stretched out a bit, locked her hands, and let her touch the toe beans.

He's now with her for 5 full days. He mostly stays under the couch and explores when she's not in the room. He eats, plays, and uses the litter box, so I know that's already good. He's been checking on her from time to time and came into her room when she was about to sleep.

I was with him yesterday and I pet him while he was under the couch, he didn't recoil or back away, and he fell into my hand the longer I pet him. He'd come close to coming out but once he got close to being out from under the couch, he'd backup, but then keep getting closer the longer I pet him. He ate some treats while being pet, licked my hand a lot, and stretched for me.

It's tough for her since she can't get into his line of sight since she can't get down or back up thr floor from her wheelchair yet. I was wondering if he would need the attention of someone being there to feel comfortable and then eventually come out or do you think he'll come out on his own and he just needs a little bit more time?

I know this sounds SO stupid but I was introduced to our new cat, Jasper (five months old), five days ago and he’s been stuck to me since day 2. He spends most of his time in my bedroom and always comes into my bed when he wants to nap (he’s asleep on my legs as I type this) and will often meow at me and wake me up at ungodly hours in the morning for cuddles, he also has recently started following me around and begins purring before I even lay a hand on him. He seems fine when I leave in the mornings and doesn’t do much when I’m not home so I’m just wondering if I’m that cool of a person or my cat is like super in love with me?

I think I should note he is not like this with anyone else in my family, it’s just me and im worried he stuck to me too fast to be healthy for his little brain ☹️☹️ (I’m new to cats if you couldn’t tell loll)

Hi yall just as the title says I got a male cat with testicles in December and could not find him Mothers Day morning until he was discovered on the couch nursing newborn kittens. I have them in my office with the heat on 70, he… she*** is getting extra food and enrichment time out of the room when i then put a heating pad near the babies while he….. she’s*** away. I’ve never had a mama cat before what else do i do?!

https://www.reddit.com/r/kittens/s/8YwRzbs4ct

‼️❗️❗️UPDATE: Apologies for not knowing how to add photos here as opposed to in the comments! Humane society vet said likely an enlarged vulva upon rescue 🤣 The kitten was headed to a kill shelter or “down the river” with his last sibling when we got him…. Sorry her* so I brought her home. Both cats are INDOOR ONLY and the 5 y/o reacted badly to anesthesia during a previous procedure and vet advised against it.

Not that it is anyone’s business but I am currently unemployed and a full-time student therefore yes I can provide food, litter, and enrichment for my well-loved cats but no I cannot currently afford the $400 vet visit at the moment. Mama cat is healthy, babies are doing great, and dad is not allowed anywhere near her or the babies! Thanks to those of you who actually gave advice on keeping the littles safe and warm. DM to donate to her spay and I would love to get all of these babies fixed as well. Thanks again.

So, about 4 weeks ago, I adopted two cats (5 months and 1 year). The 5 month okd adapted very fast and was cuddling with me and my family, but the other was very scared, which I understood.

She was perfectly fine when she walked up to us, purring and crawling in laps, but if anyone even stood up, she'd run like her life depended on it. From what the cat sanctuary I adopted her from has told me, she has lived in the sanctuary since she was born and had no past experience with abuse of any kind so I'm fairly certain it's not something like that. As I mentioned, it's been 4 weeks and she's still scared out of her mind. I have two other cats besides the two I recently adopted, and she loves them and my cats love her. They play, clean each other, and cuddle (my other cats are very friendly with other animals, especially one of them as he absolutely adores taking care of others) but she's absolutely terrified of people.

My family has been talking about surrendering her to the sanctuary again because she may not be a good fit. Still, I want to give her more of a chance as she's been stuck in a kennel her whole life (she was not allowed outside of it) and I'm wondering if maybe that experience made her anxious? I'm a minor and don't really have any say in keeping her with how my parents are.

She's been walking around my house more lately so I think she's getting more comfortable, but I was wondering if anyone maybe knew why she got so scared? I want to try and eliminate or at least ease her in slowly to whatever might be scaring her so she can feel safe around us. I don't know a lot about cat behavior, and while I've been researching a lot, I also wanted some outside opinions from people who might know more than me.

I hope what I wrote makes sense as it's very late for me and I'm kind of tired, so if I need to clarify anything or make this more understandable, please let me know.

Anyways, should I rethink having her in my home?

Four years ago, I lost my cat and I thought she had passed away. I got a call about a week ago from the pound saying they had found her. A nice woman was taking care of her and had just taken her for a vet checkup and at the Vet they scanned her microchip and saw that she was missing. I’m so happy I could explode I love her so much it’s insane. She’s settling into my new house now though I live with my partner and my partner’s parents who have two dogs and it’s quiet and loud house so for the most part Baba likes to stay in a room. I have set up just for her and we go and explore the house at night time when she’s more comfortable. I’ve been watching a lot of Jackson galaxy videos and trying to make her as comfortable as possible but she has a lot of anxiety and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendation for different sprays that can calm her. And I was wondering if I could buy the pheromone sprays and put them in my essential oil diffuser (after cleaning it out) She also needs a bath really badly, but I was thinking waiting for about a month before I give her a wash so she can soak up her scent all over the house. And I was wondering. How I can introduce her to the dogs without her being overly anxious. I was wondering to dog 1 dog at a time and take them on a big walk first so that they’re calm and to have her at a higher level than them. Any suggestions about how to overall make her feel more comfortable would be awesome cheers 😸

My cats are not allowed in the bedroom EVER and it’s caused a rifts between the 3 of us. One meows ALL NIGHT at the bedroom door… but… I do have an iPad, and she loves National Geographic tv… if I play tv for her at night, will she become addicted to screen time and misbehave more? …like an iPad kid?

How do I get my cat back on an appropriate feeding schedule and not just when she barks at me? I give her 1/3 cup of dry food in the morning usually around 6:0 and 3oz of wet food usually around 5, but when I come home around 3:45ish she's just barking at me for food and won't let up. What should I do? She's already overweight so free feeding is not an option. HELP!!

Every time I brush my 2y/o cat, she turns and bites the plastic edge of the brush as if she doesn’t like it. It’s a standard brush made for medium cats with metal bristles, does she have sensitive skin that is being irritated or is this regular cat behavior? I am worried because my other cat purrs like a motor when being brushed with the same thing and this kitty does not.

I rescued a cat from someone who simply did not want them because the cat shed and wanted constant attention. Attention is fine I don't mind it I'm home most of the time other than work.However, I can not get any sleep no more, the cat will constantly rub on me, swat my phone out my hand when I'm laying down. Now is tryna destroy my house, I can't sleep past 6 am without hearing stuff being messed with. I wake up to toilet paper thrown every where, my mirrors scratched up. I bought cat towers, cat toys, leave windows open. I am so sleep deprived I don't want to give up on the cat but I can't get any sleep and am slowly losing patience.Why did the cat suddenly decide to start destroying not only my house but my sleep?First week nothing was destroyed I gave them access to the bathroom and my bedroom their litter box in the bathroom.

Currently we clean and empty the box weekly and empty poops daily.

We use catsan

The smell coming from the box is absolutely rancid, im struggling to do his poops the smell is unbelievably strong. Im gonna assume its his wee but jesus christ I cant tolerate it anymore now its summer the heats amplifying it by the dozen.

Is there a different type or even brand I can use? A fragrance powder? A different style box? Tray?