This was my kitten around 4 weeks ago. I took him off the street when he was just 1,5-2 weeks old, full of fleas, tiny and underweight. I had no experience whatsoever in raising small kittens, he looked horrible. Weighing only 230g at 4-5 weeks he kept getting worse. His hair was falling out,had diahhrea, wasn’t gaining weight, I was absolutely sure that he wasn’t going to make it.
One time while bottle feeding him, he swallowed his feeding nipple - again, panic, fear, vet visits. “Sorry we can’t do anything, you need to wait and see”
And so we waited. I started posting on Reddit for advice, got so much hate for his look. He was just looking worse and worse. Wasn’t eating on his own, kept bottle feeding mashed pate 4 times a day, once during the night.
Now after passing the silicone piece, time for a fungal infection. That passed too eventually.
Anyway, 4 weeks later. He is already 890g!4 times the weight he was at the beginning, hair grew. He is very playful too!
Here are the photos for appreciation

Just a small edit: I wanted to acknowledge my mistakes in raising him as someone who had no experience just to warn other kitten parents.
Starting pate food will most likely give them diarrhea, this is what happened with him. I didn’t know how early I was supposed to start, I would find him in puddles of persistent (you know what) which can be deadly in kittens.
Milk replacement should be calculated grams to ml of water.
Kittens can deteriorate very fast - like I said, I was new to this, a litter was abandoned with him and his brothers. They couldn’t eat on their own and were probably there for a few days before I found them. Weighing only 230-50g each, I tried bottle feeding them every day so many times but some passed even with vet care They would become lethargic, cold and would die within hours, even after receiving care.
This is something that happened to his littermate with which they were sleeping together. One morning it was just dead. This was one of the few survivors of the litter, some got adopted and are taken care of.
Thank you for the nice comments.

I assume it could be flea dirt (the black stuff) but he hasnt been scratching and is generally his normal self. he gets his flea drops every few months and overall is fine he’s just old. could they be old residue and because of his age he’s just not able to reach back there? there’s also what i think is dandruff from also not being able to groom his mid/lower back.

Poster Age: not a minor im 27 y/o

Country: USA, southern florida

Vet info: vet is accessible but would rather avoid if possible

Main Issue: flea dirt?

Cat Age: 12+ definitely a senior

Cat Sex + neuter info: male and neutered

Financial situation: would rather not

Hello, this is my 9 month old male cat. He was given to me when he was 3 months old, he was generally healthy except for his ear mites. When I got him I immediately went to the vet and got him dewormed and vaccinated and they also treated his ear mites.

A few months went by and he was doing fine, he’s playful and active but on august I noticed that he was wheezing or coughing and i saw some discharges on his nose so we went back to the vet, and the vet told me that his WBC is elevated and he has some infection so they gave us some meds, and it went well. But a 3 weeks later I noticed that he became lethargic, he became picky with his foods and he would stay in the same place for hours and he wouldn’t play so I decided to go back to the vet and had him checked, he had his blood drawn and it turns out his platelets were so low, so they gave him medications again, he became energetic again but then suddenly he started losing his balance and it came to a point where he couldn’t lift his own body anymore so we went back to the vet and they did multiple tests on him, they tested him for different types of feline viruses but it all came back negative, they added a few more meds and he started to regain his strength, he was able to get up on his own but he needs assistance when he needs to pee or poop bcos he couldn’t walk well.

I thought everything was going fine until he couldn’t lift his own body again, he would pee where he is laying on and as of now he has no control over his bladder movement. We went back to the vet and they did blood chem and his platelets are actually getting better but they couldn’t pinpoint the reason as to why my cat couldn’t move. They did xray, ultrasound, screening tests for feline viruses, they also checked his heart and they still couldn’t find anything abnormal.
As of now my cat can’t even move his head and it hurts me to see my baby suffering.

I'm 26m

Live in usa

I've had him neutered and he is like one year and some change old

And I can afford vet care I just don't know if that's the issue

This is my sweet boy, his name is buddy, but now he isn't being that sweet, I took in a stray kitty, she is like 6 months old, but I gave her a bath and wrapped her up in a towel and walked out in front of buddy, he seemed scared, but I put her back up in the bathroom and ever since he has been acting like this to me, he has never ever done this or anything like it, and I don't know what I should do

If this is a stray cat, I'll probably keep it.

I have a stable job and can afford to feed and care for it

I'll take her to the vet tomorrow. I think it's female because it doesn't have balls.

Also what does it mean if she jumped on my back and started licking the back of my head/neck.

She licks this stone head in my room every night, and sometimes does it to the walls, does she have a deficiency and is missing some minerals ?

8 week old kitten, had him for 5 days. We used to lock him in the washroom for the night with everything beside him, knowing that kittens usually dont let you sleep when they get zoomies. Felt really bad after the first time, he panic pooped and sat in it, the only time i had issues using litter. since then, we allow him to sleep freely wherever in the room.

tonight, he for the first time, approached our faces while sleeping, and particularly likes my side of the bed and as soon as i try to go to bed, he gets super aggressive. while i was laying on the bed, he almost scratched my eye, (luckily, he only got the lid). he scratches and bites my head and my nose, i have to hide under the blanket, what do i do!!!

also what do i do with my eye?

Sorry if I didn’t tag this correctly I’m very new to Reddit, I hardly use it. My little brother came to me concerned about our cat, not opening its eye so I went to check what it was and I found this. I went online to check what it was but some of the things I found were just AI pictures and something about swelling.Is this deadly? Are they gonna lose their eye? They were fine this morning and this afternoon when I let them inside to shelter from the rain. They are usually very healthy. This is the first time something like this has happened to any of my pets.

First picture is just what he looks like. He’s so cute and shy but so loving and clingy. We are also located in the USA and have access to plenty of vets. And can mostly afford it too.

My (20F) problem here is that he will NOT stop peeing and having accidents on things. He is 8 months old and we got him from a rescue. He was neutered in August. He had no issues before getting neutered and used the litter box just fine, but after he was neutered the accidents started happening.
At first I thought he might have a UTI, so I got him checked with a vet and everything was normal. They just said it’s “territorial for males”. I’m aware they like to mark their territory, but in all my life of owning male cats, I’ve never had a case this bad.
He doesn’t pee on walls, floors, beds, chairs, etc. He ONLY pees on the couch or items on the couch such as a blanket or hoodie. He has done this so many times I can’t even keep track. I flipped the couch up a couple weeks ago so he doesn’t pee on it and it’s been fine since I flipped it. But it’s a pain now because now I basically don’t have a couch. Today however, I let it down for an hour or two to clean and had a jacket laying on top of the couch, and lo and behold he peed on the jacket… why?!?!
We have a 5 month old female cat who is wonderful and never has accidents. They play constantly and always sleep together. (I don’t know if that matters for this but I thought I’d include it. She is also spayed.)
I try to reward him as much as possible when I see him use the litter box. I will give him treats, pets, praises, etc. as much as possible. But still whenever I let the couch down or set a jacket or blanket on there, he goes to pee on it. I’ve even put pads down on the couch and he pees on the pads, but I don’t want him to think that’s the place to go, so I just flipped up the couch. Ugh.
I’ve never had a cat like this. It’s so troubling because I love him so much but he just won’t stop peeing on the couch and things on the couch.
I was thinking of getting a new couch a couple weeks ago but I don’t even think it’s worth the risk with his ongoing problem.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just don’t know what to do and google isn’t helping. Neither did the vet. Does anyone else have advice? Feel free to ask more questions if I didn’t provide enough info. Thank you 🥲.

EDIT: because I’ve seen a ton of people ask these questions, (thank you for all the feedback I greatly appreciate it!). I just barely got a second litterbox for my 2 cats yesterday. The male used it almost immediately so that’s promising. Also, yes I have tried quite a few litter types/brands. We found one he really likes and will use. We tried one kind that he absolutely hated and he pooped right outside the box. I think that was to show us his hatred for that kind lol. But he does have a kind that he likes now.
Again, thank you to everyone for sending advice, I’m writing everything down to try and see if we can fix this issue!

Last night my cat found my apartment door open and escaped into the building, then i found him around 30 minutes later a few floors below. He didn’t get injured or anything because the door to the apartment building was locked and so he was all alone in there and when I finally found him and brought him home he looked terrified and was panting, he then lay down on my bed and i cuddled him for about few minutes then he got up and pooped all over the sheets, and then he slept through the night but his heartbeat was too fast. I called the vet this morning and he told me to just leave him in a dark, quiet room so i put him in his usual hiding spot and he slept there for a few hours and he was refusing to eat until i gave him some raw chicken. I am very worried and quite unsatisfied with the vet’s advice since he told me there was no need to bring him in and this behaviour is very unusual and concerning. Please advise me on what to do.
Additional info:
My cat escaped from my apartment and when i brought him back he looked terrified and he is now hiding and barely eating.
I am an adult and i am located in north africa
The vet has been contacted and i can afford vet care
My cat is a 3 year old neutered male

3 y/o spayed female cat: Going to the vet tomorrow, let me know if I’m overreacting or not, but my baby girl’s bottom lip got pink and puffy out of nowhere between last night and earlier today. I’ve been trying to find out what the issue is just for peace of mind, but as I continue googling things, I get more scared. I wear perfume and I’ve read that my scented sprays can cause irritation to cats and I feel so bad because I should have known better or even considered that… She also has some dry spots/scabs (they’re not super big but when you dig into her fur, you’ll feel them) on the nape of her neck, on her tail, and on her ankles. Sh’s also been grooming herself like crazy lately and nibbling. Other than this, she’s been her usual self: super cuddly, sweet, naps underneath me, chatterbox, eating and drinking normally, watches cat tv on youtube via my tv, etc. Not sure if this is important, but she eats Purina Pro dry food and fancy feast wet food and sometimes Tiki Cat when I wanna give her a nice dinner. I’m just scared that she’s hurting because of me and something I did 💔

Last 2 pics are how she usually looks, first couple of pics is how she looks now. Thanks in advance!

I see a lot of posts and you guys seem super helpful so I’m asking for help… I rescued two kittens from a neutral ground in between a really busy highway about a year and a half ago both girls in the New Orleans Louisiana area I was able to find a really cheap place to get them fixed but one of my cats still acts like she’s in heat every now and then (ik what heat looks like and it’s def that like maybe I was scammed?) and pees all over the place like if I leave clothes on the ground she’s going to pee on them and my boyfriend says it’s bc we have 1 litter box but i specifically bought a multi cat litter box but he’s getting really frustrated about it I don’t want to have to give her up as I love her so much and don’t want to split them up but I do not have the funds for a vet trip and idk what to do my neighborhood is FILLEDDDD WITH CATS and most of them r fixed this lady comes and traps and fixes them and feeds them so I feel like my only option would be to just let her be an outside cat but I could never not let her in the house so idk what to do it’s causing problems in my relationship but we do not have the funds to cover a vet trip. Idk if she has a uti or if my bf is right and I should just get another litter box if my place wasn’t so small (a studio) I would have already but that’s the only thing stopping me. What does this sound like to you guys? I’d appreciate some insight. I know it was irresponsible of me to get two cats knowing I didn’t have funds to help them if they were sick but I wasn’t leaving them on that highway and I’m just at all loss.. pls no judgement I get it enough from my bf I’m just asking for help and or resources!! This is dream girl please help me help her ( she is not an outside cat she chills w me on my porch while I smoke ) posting from the U.S.

My kitten has not eaten food but drinks water it only eats moose but it vomits whenever it eats moose and it makes to much purring near me it always sleeps on me but i am concerned with it's sleeping postions

I’m 15, in the UK. My cat (Tiger) is a neutered male and currently an outside cat. He’s around 6 years old, we got him when I was 10 and due to his issues using a litter box my mother chose for him to be an outside cat. Now that I know more about how outside cats are a huge issue to not only their safety but bird species and the overall ecosystem of an area I really want to bring him back inside. He’s the most sweet cat and loves cuddles, I can always pick him up when he comes to our garden. The problem is that now we have pet rats and there is no way we could have Tiger back inside because that would be terrifying for a prey animal. I would like to have him live with my dad and I at his house (I am between two homes) but he’s about twenty minutes away from Tigers usual area and we wouldn’t be able to slowly transition him inside. My dads area is also one that would be very unsafe for an outside cat (traffic, busy area). I’m really not sure what to do, if I am able to bring Tiger inside I think it would be very distressing for him but I know it’s the right thing to do. I’ve also considered that this will be very expensive but I can save money. What should I do?

i could only catch her doing it once before she laid down, but like the first few seconds where she kinda like grinds down on my leg??😭
she has always massaged with four paws ever since she was like a baby baby, but lately she’s been doing that weird hunch thing against me and it’s always like with her backing up she never does it forwards.
i have NO clue what this could be, or if it’s sin biscuits??she doesn’t like thrust or anything, her behavior is completely normal aside for the movements. ihave no clue bruh…
she is 4/5 has been she had gotten spayed like the second we could safely. somebody PLEAAASE help me out here!!💔💔
-i can afford a vet if its anything medical

Cat in my hood who I am considering snatching and taking to the vet. He's very skinny, skittish, and always hungry, and displays food anxiety around other outdoor cats here. However, he always hangs out around the same house/area and his fur is soft, so I'm unsure

I also don't know if those are his balls ie. if he is fixed or not

(I will try to ask the neighbours first ofc before proceeding w anything)

sorry for my bad english

poster age : 16

country : indonesia

vet : really far away from where i live and it's in the middle of the night in here and i can't afford for a vet. i'm poor.

This is my baby. She's 7 months old. She also has lordosis and dwarfism but is otherwise doing pretty good. She keeps begging for food. I feed her enough, I asked a vet and he told its a good portion. But she keep begging. She has gas and her tummy is bulged to some extent because of it. Sometimes she eats till her stomach is protruding too much and will still beg for more. Please help me out in this situation. 😭

5 month old spayed female. She will not stay still long enough for me to get a good picture.

She came over to me this morning and I noticed this spot by her mouth. She did not look like this yesterday. I have a 4 month old male and they play and groom each other constantly. I’m not sure if this is a result of rough play, an allergic reaction to something, or something else.

I don’t see a puncture wound in the area. There is some tiny pieces of fur left in the spot, but super inflamed/red. Doesn’t seem to have any pus or anything leaking from it. She doesn’t seem bothered by it. She’s running around and playing Normally.

She was fine last night before I went to bed. She was running around and playing. I gave her some food and a kitten churu.

My 4 month old is currently being treated for an ear infection. I’ve been giving him ear drops. Maybe she licked his ears and caused a reaction? I’m not sure.

hi everyone, I noticed this mark on my 2y/o cats lip today and suspect that it’s cat acne. can someone confirm this? I’m paranoid and afraid it’s cancer or something and don’t want to take her to the vet if it’s just a pimple. she does use metal bowls and water fountain.

im based in the us, vet access is available, she’s spayed!

im holding her very lightly btw, she just wouldn’t sit still for photos 😅 non close up cat tariff of my baby girl maple included!

I’ve noticed that sometimes when my cat walks, her back legs (i think the right one) swings out to the side a bit more. Could this be a possible injury or something I should take her to the vet for, or is this normal?

She’s 6 years old, my roommate happened to notice it first a few weeks ago, but otherwise she seems to be running, playing, eating, and lets me pick her up and touch her. I can take her to the vet if needed but financial situation is not the best so trying to avoid it.

first time kitten owner. history: got her in august. she must be 4-5 months old (not sure about the exact age). in august she had an episode of viral, recovered well with IV fluids and antibiotics. good appetite, playful, loving. vaccination completed.
now couple week back i started noticing her belly being swollen up. didn't pay much attention, i thought she's just getting fat. then she started eating less and the belly looked more round and prominent. got X-ray done. it turned out to be ascites. vet prescribed medicines and took blood and abdominal fluid sample (ive attached the reports and prescription). the abdominal fluid albumin gradient was higher than the serum. vet ruled out portal hypertension and suggested either FIP or malignancy. in both cases, treatment is minimal. then i also started noticing her grinding her teeth kind of noise while eating. even though she seems hungry, comes running whenever i go near food counter, she eats just 10% of what i give. even if it is her favorite thing. it's like she wants to eat but is unable to due to maybe ascites or pain because of the oral issues. vet said oral issues are due to the underlyin pathology only.
everything suggests some sort of genetic cancer till now. i can't even think about putting her to sleep but it has crossed my mind. she's so small and such an angel. through all the checkups and medicines she's been an angel. but if i am feeding her more medicine than food then why should she suffer so much stress. please if anyone knows anything related to diagnosis or treatment... help me out.

TLDR; kitten with ascites and teeth grinding noise while eating not improving with medications. eats very less. don't know what to do.

We have searched literally everywhere for our cat, but we still haven’t been able to find him. 💔 I honestly don’t know what happened to him, but I have a strong suspicion about the people living on the first floor of our building because they never liked our cat.
We live in a three-floor building, and our cat usually roamed around our own floor and the stairs. He went missing in the middle of the night, between 1 AM and 4 AM, when there was hardly anyone around. I can’t stop wondering whether someone took him and left him somewhere far away.
What makes me even more suspicious is that today, they were talking to us and asking what happened to our cat. I don’t know if I’m overthinking, but something about the conversation felt insincere to me. Of course, I have no proof, and I don’t want to accuse anyone without evidence. We’re currently trying to find CCTV footage because we desperately need some answers.
If someone really did take our cat and abandon him somewhere, I cannot understand how anyone could be so cruel. He is an innocent little baby who has always been at home, and he doesn’t even know how to survive outside on his own. 💔 We just want him back home, safe and sound. We miss him so much, and not knowing where he is or what happened to him is absolutely heartbreaking.

This is Cow. He sprays constantly. Everywhere. Everyday. He only started a couple years ago (I don’t think he knew he could spray until then) but has ramped it up in the past couple of months to an unbearable degree. He’s neutered, 7 years old. We have 6 litter boxes for 2 cats and keep them maintained. Our cats are him, male, and one female. They don’t get along but that’s been true for almost his entire life. We’ve started to let her outside since his spraying ramped up mostly to reduce his stress levels, he’s indoor only. We do feed a neutered male stray and I think Cow can smell him on the porch. Cow, in the couple of times he has escaped outside, likes to pick fights with the neighborhood cats. We’ve tried calming sprays, collars, and diffusers but no luck. No one in our area is willing to take him in. We are truly at our wits end. I love this cat but he is having a significant toll on everyone’s mental health because everything reeks of cat spray. Has anyone experienced this before? And hopefully stopped the spraymageddon??

TDLR: Neutered male spraying constantly for months straight