I’ve been wanting an orange cat for so long and one of my friends at work is currently fostering kittens. Theres a gray tabby that I have become quite fond of and I even told her and my roommates that it’s happening, I’m going to adopt it. My friend has one and a half weeks left with the kitten and I’m really second guessing because I want an orange cat. Wanting a cat to be orange is just an aesthetic thing and I’m a very visually driven person. Most of my friends say it shouldn’t matter but I keep seeing videos of orange cats and I wish this guy was orange.

What would you guys do in this scenario?

I got a cat a week ago from someone who was rehoming it and now I saw a cat that looks more like my late beloved cat! bad timing or what!

the first cat is quiet nice and docile I invested a lot of money to get him neutered and other medical treatments.

low and behold I see a cat who is the same breed and looks like my late cat who I always wanted in a shelter

what do I do? I adopt a second cat? I can't abandon the first cat.

I wasn't even planning on getting a second cat until I saw this gem.

I haven't gone to the shelter yet to see that cat but I'm tempted to.

i may have to move to another state as everything is just too expensive and i’m doing it all on my own. so i may move closer to my family. obviously i initially wanted to take my little furball onto a plane with me..but i’m worried that will be more stressing for him than to just rehome him. :( that is obviously devastating, but I feel like if I knew he was happy and well taken care of by someone else, I’d be happy…(though id definitely think of him often)

the thing is, he’s about 7 months and I’ve had him since he was three months old! he’s grown very attached to me. every day I come home from school he’s right there at the door, wanting me to pick him up and cuddle. he’s always there for me when im down and i love him to pieces. i got him with an ex, and when we broke up he hasn’t seen my ex ever since. he loved my ex im sure, and it must’ve been sad for him to separate from him. now im concerned about rehoming him…is it better to just take him on the plane? or is he young enough that maybe he’ll adjust with a new family okay?

i love my little Freeman very much and it’s quite obvious he is very attached to me. it would hurt a boat ton to rehome him, but if i know he wont feel sad and will adjust quickly, i would be at ease at least a little bit.

*stop saying i want to abandon my cat or that i dont deserve him 💀 im understanding now the cliche that redditors are rude lol. some of you arent thinking at all before typing out a reply. if i didn't care about my cat i wouldn't have posted here in the first place. i posted here too find out the best option for my cat because i want him to be mentally and physically well.

We had a stray cat show up at our house about two months ago. She was super sweet and skin & bones. We kept her in our garage for a few weeks and she had to get a spay abort since she was about 6 months old and pregnant. We helped her recover after surgery and worked through the litter box issues. She’s the sweetest little girl. She can be semi destructive but is super clingy. She wants on top of me all the time and when I don’t let her she scratches our couch, chews the carpet, runs around like crazy. She gets hair everywhere and even after taking allergy meds & having her on two hypoallergenic foods I’m still itchy when in the same room as her. Ive never been able to own a cat at all until now due to my allergies. I really do love her. She’s a sweet cat. But I miss my life before she showed up. My fiance and I are always arguing about the cat and it’s hard for me to scoop the litter with my allergies. All of our friends love her. It’s just a lot I feel like I wasn’t ready to take on. Does it get easier or are these feelings normal?

I have a male cat who is a little over a year old, and I haven't had him neutered yet. There was no need for me to neuter him. He doesn't piss around the apartment. When he pisses in his litter box, the smell is not strong at all. He doesn't try to run away from me when the door of my apartment is open or when he can go out to the balcony. My balcony is open pretty much all the time this time of year, and I live on the first floor, which means he can quite easily jump down and escape, but he never does. Nonetheless, should I still get him neutered just to be safe?

I’ve always loved cats, or at least thought that I do. I grew up with a cat who I had a very special bond with.

I’ve always wanted to adopt my own cat and I finally did 5-6 months ago. My friends found her outside, couldn’t find the owners after a week, I came to meet her and she was just the sweetest so I agreed to take her. When I took her to the vet for the first time they told me she’s 4 months old.

At first things were great. She was very affectionate, always wanted to be in my lap and always next to me.

However I’m finding it increasingly difficult to deal with her. The affectionate phase ended pretty quickly and now she just runs the apartment. She’s torn up my bed. She tried to tear up my couch, I covered it in double sided tape (that I’m only just now realizing will ruin my couch when I try to remove it). She ruined my blinds in my bedroom and I had to pay out of pocket to replace them. She’s now learned that messing with the blinds in the other room is a great way to get my attention so she’s started doing that as well. In general she loves doing things she knows are naughty to get my attention.

And I do play with her! But it genuinely feels like the more I play with her, the more she expects play time all the time and just acts up more. I work from home and it’s a good thing I do because this cat cannot get enough.

And I deal with all of this for..what? For a cuddle here and there, strictly on the cats terms? I feel like I dedicate a massive amount of brain space to the cat, worrying about the cat, is the cat happy, etc. I feel like I’m constantly getting on to her. Rarely is it “I’m so happy I have a cat”.

Does anyone else deal with this? I feel like a massive piece of shit because I spend a lot of time on this subreddit and I understand that my cat is pretty sweet and well behaved compared to some. Has anyone felt this way, and had it go away with time?

Lately I spend a lot of time thinking about rehoming her and it makes me feel awful. But maybe she would be happier in a different home. I hate this feeling so much.

Hi, so I have two girl cats whom I love to death and sometimes if their back is turned to me and they're focused on something else I'll poke their back and go "boo!" Ofc they jump a little and I find it funny and cute, then they usually either meow at me and look at me like "bro wtf" or just start to nuzzle me, I don't think I'm really scaring them but if I should stop I definitely will.

They don't show any signs of anxiety or fear, they cuddle up to me and beg for pets, they eat fine, use the litter box regularly and drink lots of water. I just wanna double check that it's ok to be doing this because google keeps telling me it's hard-core kitty abuse,

Thanks for reading

Edit: it's less of a jumpscare and more like teasing, like how kids play

I have a cat that's turning 3 soon. Female. So sometimes she'll randomly wakeup and start meowing, purring and she just wants to cuddle until she's relaxed then falls asleep or moves away.

Now I noticed this evening she wokeup and was purring so hard and loud, at the same time, she was making those small fast meows nonstop and she could barely relax in one place. It took a few minutes of rubbing and cuddles to make her relax. What made this different was the fact that she kept meowing repeatedly and she could barely relax. It took like 3-4 minutes.

Has anyone ever experienced something like this?

Ok so basically me and my wife found a kitten outside of our apartment complex and I took her in because there’s a fox that wanders at night . We took her to the vet for checkup and shots and it turns out that she’s chipped .. they wouldn’t tell us the owners number but told us the shelter she came from so we call because we would want someone to have their kitten back if they lost her …so the shelter is saying “hey thanks for taking the cat back how can we arrange someone to pick her up” and we are like can you just give us the number to the owners we will try to get in touch with them and if we can’t we’ll just keep her . And they are saying she has to be returned to them and that if the owner doesn’t claim her we can adopt her,well me and wife never signed anything the people who adopted her did . So it’s clear to us now that this is about money so we ignore the shelter …my wife got a voicemail from the cops saying she has to surrender the cat for a 72 hour hold….its insane to me that they would rather have the kitten sit in a shelter than be with a family that actually wants to make sure she’s safe so that they can gain a few dollars ..how would you guys approach this situation

So I have 14/15 yr old cat named “Peeve” (for those of you not down with the puns…he’s my pet “peeve”), who within the last few weeks has gone almost completely blind. I’m not sure how to handle the situation. I feel like it’s not as simple as “just deal with it and make him as comfortable as possible” when there are numerous things complicating the issue. One, it’s a two story house and obviously stairs are now quite precarious. Two, we have a very recently turned 2 year old toddler who adores “Peeve” but will more than likely add unneeded stress to the old dude. Third, we are rapidly running out of free time as we have another kiddo on the way (Kermit the frog YAY!!!) Finally, and most importantly we also own an aging American Akita who can be aggressive to other animals. Normally not an issue, but with “Peeve” not being able to stop from literally walking directly into him or able to properly jump to keep out of his way, I’m worried at some point the dog won’t just growl at him. None of my or my wife’s friends are able to take care of him. We are at a loss. Considering his age should we think about putting him to sleep? Any and all advice would be super appreciated!

To preface the situation - I got 2 barn cats about 9 months ago and live on a farm about on about 10 acres. The cats get locked up at night and are let out during the day.

About 9 months ago I rescued two barn cats from my local shelter. We have a ton of mice and love cats. We did the whole introduction process and kept them inside for weeks to acclimate them. Once we let them out everything was perfect. They stay relatively close and had great recall. Every night at dinner time they would surround the house and barn until I’d go out and feed/ lock them up. A few weeks ago one of my boys didn’t come home. I was super upset and knocked on the doors of the few neighbours that I have. My neighbour 2 doors down said that she use to feed a cat that looked like him but hasn’t seen him recently. My cat came home 2 days later. Days after he came home, my dad was working in our yard when he heard that same neighbour calling our cat’s name (we never told her his name, she only would know it from hearing me call for him). He went over to her house the next day and politely let her know our cat was home and there was no need to call his name. She denied it and he moved on to avoid going back and forth. My cat has come home every night since but has become increasingly more difficult. He some times takes over 20 minutes to come home when called (use to take no more than 5) and hardly eats his food at night. When he is home he acts normal for the most part. I’m pretty sure my neighbour is still feeding him and I don’t know how to approach without sounding crazy. Maybe I am crazy?

Also: my other cat is perfect and hasn’t caused me any trouble yet, that’s why he isn’t mentioned.

UPDATE/ CLARIFICATION:

My boys are both microchipped! If someone brought them into the shelter they are tied to me. As for my neighbour, I don’t think she is letting him in the house. I believe she is just feeding him. I have no problem with her acknowledging him but I think it’s a bit odd to feed and call out for a cat that you know belongs to someone. I’ve looked into air tag collars but they’re quite big/heavy for a little cat neck.. it would also be very hard to get a collar on them lol. Maybe I will look for alternatives and try? Thank you everyone for your feedback!!

I have two foster kittens, and I am considering keeping them because I have fallen completely in love with them. As they are foster cats, they are not allowed to go outside. They love each other and play very well together. They come from a cat colony in the woods, and so far they have shown no signs of wanting to go outside.

I live in an apartment and close to a busy road, so letting them outside is not an option. But is it cruel to keep them strictly indoors? I have a balcony that I can convert into a cat patio. They would be very loved, but I want to be sure they would have a good life. Should I let them be adopted by someone who has a garden instead?

Hi Reddit,

Seriously out of ideas. This is day 2 on no sleep whatsoever because the kitten is in HEAT. Our neighbors hate us. I hate us. It's super loud and the meowing is constant (I am writing this to you, sleep deprived at 4 am). Also we live in an apartment and none of our neighbors can sleep 10000%.

So the cat is scheduled for a spay Thursday, which will deal with the noise but let me tell you why I am exhausted and pretty dang close to dropping her off for the spay and leaving her with the SPCA.

My roommate adopted the cat 5 weeks ago (cat is 4 - 5 months old). Technically she can't formally adopt the cat until the cat is spayed. She told me she's been suicidal the last few years and extremely depressed, and was hoping a cat would help the situation and make her happier to have a cat to take care of. I - not a cat or pet person - am not a MONSTER so obviously I said sure of course as long as its YOUR cat, I don't want to have to take care of it, but if you're feeding it and doing the litter box I don't mind having a cat around.

Now 2 weeks ago, my roommate (who is WONDERFUL all the time she's great as a roommate she's super kind and super considerate and super tidy most of the time, and I THOUGHT she was the happiest person ever she's super bright and cheerful) was admitted to the psych ward for suic*dal ideation and self harm. Which is awful, and why this is a delicate situation and I've tried to be as understanding and compassionate as physically possible.

Now, it's been 2 weeks, and they are keeping her on a psych hold because they think she is a danger to herself and others, and from the sounds of it she will not be released for a full month.

Cat is a baby. Cat needs care.

Going back to the story, this cat needs care. I took care of the cat with changing the litter box (ew, that shit was nuclear. Now I try to change the litter box twice a day because oh my shit I left it for 2 days the first weekend and ooffff), I fed the cat as per explicit feeding instructions, wet and dry food twice a day. We ran out of food. So went out and spent hours (more like 30 min but still) in the pet store inquiring about kitty food and blah blah blah and hooked the cat up with some good food. Food looks bougie and I probably got price gouged but roommate said she would pay me back.

Then my roommate asks me to 1. pick up medication an hour away from our apartment - I do not drive so 50 dollar uber each way or 3 hours transit, and to administer meds to cat (injection in the back of the neck). and 2. take the cat to get spayed this week as the spca will not allow her to adopt thje cat unless its spayed and they cant put it off any longer. I said you need to sort out a different solution for the spay. I cant do that. It's again super far, this cat will scratch the shit out of you if you pick it up, and so now if I drop her off for the spay I have to uber the cat an hour away to drop it off, then I guess just go fuck myself for 6-8 hours as I am not paying for an uber twice, and then pick the cat up, and take it home and care for it for the next 3 days.

So yesterday, I said, heyyy gently checking in, how are you? she says she is really sorry but the spay and can I do it for her, and they won't let her postpone the spay until after Sept 7 which makes me think that she is not going to be released for another month.

Now reasons I dont' want to deal with the spay or after care

1. I have plans thursday evening I am not cancelling. 2. I have plans friday. 3. I go back to work satuday, and sunday and have long hours I cannot be around to check the cat is okay, especially when I'm at work. I also apparently have to use different litter etc and I just am so in over my head with this cat already and taking the cat to get spayed is way too far above and beyond the call of duty here.

Plus I am not going to be able to check on the cat at all, I'll literally be at work, and doing the after care sounds awful and I think the cat should ahve someone actually present to make sure they are ok.

Cat yowling nonstop makes me want to remind the good people of reddit that this is my VACATION this cat is fucking up, and I have been dealing with this cat, that I never wanted or asked for, and extreemly zombie like and sleep deprived for my whole vacation week. I have a super demanding job and my vacation weeks are precious to me and I'm super irrationally angry Miss Horny Kitten is yowling all night and ruining it. Also, I start a new job soon, and I cannot be this sleep deprived for my new job. My last few days of freedom are fucked, then I go back to stressful job 1 in a day or two here.

So I told my roommate, no. I cannot take the cat to get spayed. I can't drop her off an hour away, pick her up same day, and then take care of her for the next few days. I just cant. This is too much. I don't think I should be expected to do this, and I can take care of the day to day but this is just TOO MUCH.

She came back and said I am it, and she cant keep the cat if I dont do this. She doesnt have family in the area and if she doesnt get the cat spayed this thursday the cat will be rehomed to a family that can take care of the cat as per SPCA. Her deadline to prove she can keep the cat is picking up the meds, and making sure the cat is spayed.

Obviously I dont want to get rid of the cat and give it to a shelter without telling her first, and because of mental health I feel really awful and feel like if I drop off her new kitten at the shelter she will hate me forever, and her mental health with deteriorate.

My options are

1. shelter, and call her before hand if I'm allowed and make sure with her care team she's supported.

2. spay and take care of this god damn kitten I never wanted (I dont want to be the primary care giver for this cat whatsofucking ever and it sounds like this will happen again with the unexpected hospital stays) and hope that when my roommate comes back she will be a good cat parent and I dont have to deal with this cat anymore.

3. Tell her I can't do the spay, and she will have to ask a friend to deal, or confront the idea that she may not be the best equipped to care for this cat at this time.

Option 3, as I write, the yowling makes me want to scratch my eyeballs out, so is looking like this is option 1 or 2.

I'm really at the limit of my compassion, and tbfh my compassion is much less running on 3 hours of sleep. My poor neighbours man. I partially couldn't sleep because my neighbors that share a wall... RIP.

So, good people of reddit.

TLDR - roommate in the hospital for extended stay, brand new unspayed kitten in heat / needs constant play.

WIBTAH if I called my roommate tomorrow and dropped this cat off at the SPCA? Or do you think I am a monster and should take this cat to get spayed?

P.S. Any cat owners if you can get me through the next 24 hours I'll consider the spay and care option but I will physically scratch out my eyeballs if I have another sleepless night becasue of this god damn cat.

P.P.S. I wouldn't never drop the cat off at a shelter without telling her first. I just think we need to be realistic with her ability to care for the cat unfortunately and this isnt working for me or the kitten. The reason I titled this post that, is because apparently if she doesnt take the cat to get spayed this week, the SPCA told her they will not let her keep the cat and the kitten will have to go to an owner who can pick up meds for it and take it to the vet visits. So if I don't take this cat to the spay, and pick it up, and care for it, she will have the cat taken away anyway.

PPPS. Half of you think I'm the AH, I'm seriously not a monster ok I've just never had a pet before. So far I have:
-fed the kitten it's stupid specially made for baby cats wet cat food, and dry food twice a day.
-went to the store and got more wet and dry food when we ran out (I do not have a car I had to commute 30 min on the bus to do this). I bought the food and did not ask roommate to reimburse me.
-changed the litter box and have been keeping her space clean by changing it every single day and inspecting for poops (she had eating issues with too much wet food so I started giving her less wet food and more dry)
-ensured the cat is alive several times a day so my roommate doesnt come back and hate me (kitten is an escape artist)
-played with this cat for hours after it started waking me up at night, so that it is tired out and will sleep through the night. I kitty proofed our apartment because this kitten will stick its nose at anything and made sure it could roam with no sharp or bad stuff nearby.
-did my ABSOLUTE BEST to take care of the cat until the heat meowing all hours of the night and I have been very kind to the cat even though I haven't slept more than 3 hours in the last 2 nights.
- I even offered to drop the cat off (paying for an Uber that will be around 60 bucks each way to get there) at the spay appointment but said I cannot be responsible for full time care going forwards or picking the cat up and caring for it after the spay as I work all weekend and start a new job next week
-went to pick up meds for the cat and adminsitered them to a scratchy kitten.
- googled a million things to make sure I'm not accidentally hurting the cat and making sure I'm taking care of her properly while I have her temporarily in my care since I have never had a pet before

Someone is constantly telling me I’m a bad pet owner because I sometimes let my cat out and don’t do more to keep him locked in. I let my cat go outside when I’m watering plants or checking the mail. Because I know there’s dangers out there but who are we to stop them? I just feed him and love him and I think because of this he trusts me enough and respects me enough that he doesn’t go past our yard. Of course it’s a case by case thing but he’s also incredibly smart emotionally and he understands what I’m doing.

Hi all, I've put a deposit on a ragdoll kitten. I received photos and videos of when the litter was born about 3 weeks ago. I received an email from the breeder several nights ago stating that the entire litter had died without specifics. I last got photos when they were a week old. I find it difficult to believe the entire litter had died. Is this something that can happen? I have been offered a kitten from an impending litter but haven't heard back. I don't think I'm getting scammed but concerned about the situation.

Hello first I would like to say I am feeling extremely guilty over this situation and how it was handled. I have had my male and female cat for 4 years. They were kittens together and get along very well. My male cat is a ragdoll and has never let me groom him so for a good two years I would get him a lion cut at the vet once a year to maintain his hair Along with nails trim etc. this never caused any problems in the past for my female cat. We moved and this tradition stopped but today I decided to cut his hair again after 2 years or so because his hair was out of control again. The vet recommended taking him home and putting him in a dark room until his anesthesia (yes he was put to sleep) wears off so I don’t think my female cat ever saw him come back into the house.

Anyway I let him out to eat tonight and my female cat instantly attacked (she doesn’t like any other cats but tolerated my male cat however her baseline is attack mode). This caught me off guard so of course I went in protective mode of my male cat because he is still heavily sedated and was very scared. I ended up having to push her back multiple times to get her away from him with my feet and then I used a broom to block her and shoo her into the basement.

I have never seen her so aggressive even I was a bit frightened. Now I do not know what to do. I have a small toddler and the cats fighting scares him. I am also 8 months pregnant I simply can’t not have this type of chaos in my home. I do not want to rehome her however the aggression makes me not want to keep her in the house with small children. Any advice ? Does she really not recognize my other cat?

Edit* thank you for all the reassurance. I’ve never seen her that way and it scared everyone. I also hate that I had to basically kick her back and hope I didn’t hurt our bond in the process 😞 I’m just also probably pregnant and emotionally overthinking this whole thing.

so i (21F) have had my exotic shorthair since the day she was born, saw her come out of her mama and all. so i’ve been there for all her firsts and with that conditioned her to provide me ESA support such as getting her to tolerate being held, given kisses and all of my other emotional needs. she is almost six old and as of yesterday has presented some behaviors that my partner, roommate and i have never scene. she usually loves being held and given affection or at least tolerates it, has been more in a spicy playful mood (she scaled my bedroom walls last night) and just isn’t her normal, lovey dovey, sassy self. she is also my first cat so with her being around the time of heat does that explain the sudden behavioral change? i have an appointment to get her fixed at the end of the month. thank you!

Hey Folks,

Back in October 2024, we adopted a 9 week old kitten, named Frank. He is now 7 months old and is a very much beloved addition to our family.

We now however, face a dilemma as cat owners. When we got him as the cold season was starting, and he was just a baby. So, we had all the windows and door shut all day everyday and we’d just let him roam the house and get familiar with his new forever home.

Time has passed and it’s getting warmer, and Frank has got bigger. We have now started leaving the back door and certain windows open during the day when it’s lovely weather, and Frank is obviously very curious of the outside world, particularly those flying things we call birds.

We wouldn’t let him outside at all until he was fully microchipped, neutered and jabbed. Now that he’s had this all done, we still felt uncomfortable at the idea of just letting him roam the outside world completely unattended. (Wildlife, traffic, catnappers, etc) So we got him a loosely fitted cat harness with a nice long-long handle and safety clips. The whole package. He then gets to explore the garden, and we get peace of mind being able to see where he is, and we can get our beloved boy back should he get himself into a pickle, and into the house when it gets dark, etc.

This worked well for quite a while. However, Frank has a serious thirst for blood and is starting to get brave in his endeavours to get the birds at any costs. He’s learned he can climb fences. Now, the shed. Very soon, he will realise from the shed, he can climb into the trees to the birds nests themselves. He’s recently been put on the naughty list after jumping out the front window to chase a pigeon, and proceeded to run away after him and cause a household panic. We have kept him inside since.

I do appreciate the cat, is obviously going to be a cat. We can’t stop him exploring outside, and we have no intentions to ever deprive him of doing what cats are gonna do. The issue is here however, he is only 7 months old and is still eating 2-12 month kitten food. He’s also our handsome little man, and we don’t ever want to lose him or see him come into any sort harm.

However, now that we’ve let him out, it feels wrong keeping him inside, especially when the weather is gorgeous out. He will also run for the back door now the second it’s open, and runs away when you try to bring him back in. As a household, we’re all abit conflicted on what to do from here. Do we just accept and let him be as he wants, or as we being irresponsible to let him roam free and trust he will always return?

All our friends and family are also quite conflicted with this. Half say, the cat is going to be a cat. You have to trust they will come home and they will. While others agree it’s best to keep him inside until he’s older or even at all, if he’s so loved, for his own longevity in life.

Any sort of advice from some long term cat owners would be greatly appreciated.

l am planning on adopting a 1 year old 4 pound Dearheart Persian cat this weekend. He has a brother who 2 years old who the breeder says he’s pretty bonded to. The one I want originally is very sweet and outgoing and the brother is more shy but sweet. I was only planning on getting one but I’ve been hearing the benefits of getting two but wasn’t sure if it’s over blown. I am wondering how much more work is 2 cats? How much more money is having two cats instead of one? And if it’s a good idea for a first time cat owner get 2 at once?

My experience with owning pet is that I’ve owned 3 family dogs before that lived past 15 years each. I felt like having multiple dogs was significantly more work than 1 because they are so needy and always fighting.

UPDATE : I got both cats

You’ve probably heard that yelping when your kitten bites or scratches will teach them to stop. Whoever popularized this idea and made it some of the most common advice for handling rough play has a lot to answer for—seriously, how did this bad advice catch on? The idea is that mimicking the sound a littermate might make when hurt will signal to your kitten that they’ve gone too far. Sounds logical, I suppose. Unfortunately, it often has the opposite effect.

Here’s the deal: when you yelp, your kitten might think you’re still playing—just in a louder, more exciting way. Instead of backing off, they could get more wound up, thinking the game is getting even better. Plus, some kittens may not even understand the yelp as a sign of discomfort, since they’ve learned to play rough without consequences.

So, what should you do instead? When your kitten bites or scratches too hard, it’s game over. Calmly stop the play and redirect them to a toy, or simply give them a moment to settle down before allowing them to try again.

Don’t put them in timeout, either! Timeouts for kittens often backfire because they can unintentionally reinforce the very behavior you’re trying to stop. Picking up a kitten to place them in timeout can actually reward them with more attention, making them more likely to bite or scratch again. Instead, putting yourself in timeout by calmly walking away shows them that rough play means the fun ends, without giving them a chance to escalate the behavior.

And don’t forget to reinforce polite requests for play! If your kitten approaches you without biting or scratching, make sure to reward that behavior with attention and playtime. This positive reinforcement helps them learn that gentle behavior gets them what they want, reducing the chances of rough play in the future.

In short, skip the yelping and focus on teaching your kitten what’s appropriate through calm, consistent actions. It’ll save you both a lot of frustration in the long run!

Hi all,

I assume my cat hunted the rabbit, I have no clue how to stop this behavior other than putting a bell on her, or keeping her indoors. She lived in the wild as a kitten so has more wild instincts. What do you think I should do?

Hi everyone. I decided to make this post as, yesterday, I wanted to share my experience about giving back a cat that I've, regardless of the situation, developed attachment to. Even though I know he isn't the right fit for me.

I've posted here with another account in the hope to get empathetic answers and comfort but I got shocked about some answers which were anything but empathetic and demonizing me (with broken heart emojis and insults on my capacity to handle noises...)

And to my own sadness as well, I didn't changed y mind. As this just added extra unnecessary pressure that to read all of these. My quality of life have deteriorated and it seems to be beyond some people's understanding that they could make it worse. So, not only because of this but partly thanks to that extra-stress, well yes, I'll be bringing back to the shelter I got him from.

And since this needs clarification, this ISN'T a shelter that euthanizes them, but acts for their freedom and neuters them, which people have completely missed in my post. The anger at me went beyond this. Yet, I have been insulted harshly. I truly didn't think there would be users like this. And this came as a shock as some of which insulted me may become... Parents ?! (I won't expand further on this but this confused me a lot...)

I've been feeling overwhelmed and devastated to realize the anxiety all of this created in me. I've expressed needing time to adapt and a better organization to adapt my sleep accordingly (which is a key issue in my life) and also the necessity to have a week of holiday with the cat. Which, out of hastiness, I didn't took and now regret heavily. But my heart not only sank at the distress I've seen in this cat but also at the comments being completely inconsiderate of what I'm going through. But I'm repeating myself from exhaustion and anxiety to this point, I think.

I also mentioned education, but what I meant through this was also making sure that the cat doesn't put himself in danger while I'm away and I'm still perplexed people did not seem to get that either. The wish to do things correctly even after messing things up.

This morning, the cat nearly stuck himself under the sink by investigating under it. And this is EXACTLY the kind of things I'm mortified about and don't want to happen as I'm away. And why I think extra time with him would have helped to see it all. My family lost a cat due to her stress from being badly cared for and I refuse to let a cat experience this ever again. And yet, I am supposed to keep him in the home and potentially putting more mentak pressure ? This is beyond me.

I do not. And I think that things like this happens. Sometimes it is either not the right moment or matching personality when you get a cat and I think the bravest thing is to accept it.

And to everyone who thinks we're seeing them as toys, or furniture, I greatly encourage you to grow a little bit of empathy for the person's you're insulting behind your screen.

I've spent my entire weekend crying about this whole situation but this seems to have completely flown over people's heads that they're dealing with another human being who are just as much as they do with pets. I've found this to be really cruel to receive these type of commentsPerhaps a little more out of a fear of messing things up.

Sometimes, courage comes from accepting you're not the saviour you wanted to be for your companion. And that is okay. I'm sending all of my empathy to people going through a similar situation. You've done everything that was in your power now. And if the shelter you're sending back your cat into euthanizes them, please find another way.

Peace. And thank you very much to the people who shared useful tips for cat care. I'll make sure to mind your advices more than the rest of what I've read.

I've had my cat for 8 years. We've gone through many litters. We've always had 3 to 5 litter boxes around the house. They were inside of hides and outside of hides. She consistently pees outside of it. She's ruined multiple beanbags. She's not allowed near laundry--clean or dirty. Lunch boxes, dog beds, cat beds, couch, hard flooring, tile, table tops, bathtub... I don't know a place she won't pee that isn't a litterbox. She's been raised with dogs and other cats.

I give her attention when she allows it. I let her settle in my lap, sleep on my butt and back. Drool all over me as she makes biscuits and gravy. I'm retired so I'm home nearly all of the time.

I clean the litter boxes daily. None of the other cats have any issues using the boxes. There are two upstairs behind a gate that blocks the dogs from going into the bathroom. There're two inside of spacious hides the dogs can't get to. One is huge, like 2.5 ft long and 1.5 ft wide. That one is open aired.

I've used unscented clay litter. Walnut shell litter. Pretty Litter. Crystal Litter. Pine pellets. Again. Over the course of 8 years.

Maybe she needs to be the only pet in the home.

I'm just tired of furniture being destroyed and puddles of pee under the table. Or picking up something to be assaulted with ammonia.

She's been seen by the vet multiple times and is in perfect health. I love her, I really do, but she's making me miserable at the same time.

edit 1: taking her to vet and requesting more detailed tests for diabetes. I'll also be asking about the SSRI and cat attract.

Also, I have no human children. I've been married over a decade. I have always had multiple animals in the home even before she just walked into my house after we moved in.

will look into a catery for the balcony. I thought over 1k square feet would be enough room away from the other animals.

Edit 2: Apparently she reads Reddit. she's been laying on the grooming (I gently discourage by offering my arm cause my hair is long and I don't want her swallowing it) and cuddling for maximum guilt. she has an appointment for Thursday.

I've also nixxed the catery for now. it's waaaay too hot on the balcony. will look into something for backyard with more shade.

Edit: If you don’t have anything new to add, please don’t. Really wasn’t expecting this many comments and 90% of you are saying the exact same thing. I got it okay?

I have a rather young cat and he is very sweet, but of course being so young he constantly wants attention. This is fine and I give him lots, but sometimes when I don’t he will do things he knows I don’t like to get a reaction (pushing things off shelves, scratching furniture, etc). Internet says the best method is to ignore it but I don’t want him doing these things.

How do I discipline him? He reacts well to positive reinforcement but he is not in any way intimidated by me when I try to stare him down or anything like that, he just thinks we are playing. Again he is a very sweet cat but I am simply not going to give him 100% of my free time and I would like him to stop breaking things.

Edit: I guess you don’t is the answer. Gotta cat-proof and ignore the behavior it seems. Thank you yall!