Ask a Question
READ THIS FIRST!
If your cat:
- Was attacked by another animal
- Was hit by a car
Or is displaying one or more of the following symptoms:
- Obvious injury and bleeding
- Limping
- Having trouble breathing
- Dragging hind quarters or “dead/paralyzed” tail
- Hasn’t eaten in 24 hours or more
- Lethargy (can’t wake him up or isn’t moving)
- Convulsions (seizures or fits)
- Fever (glassy-eyed, hot to the touch)
- Staggering and/or walking in circles
- Vomiting repeatedly or having severe diarrhea
- Trouble urinating (nothing coming out, running back and forth to the litter box, crying when urinating, licking genitals furiously after attempts to urinate)
- In labor, but looks distressed or kittens aren’t coming out after an hour or so
Call your vet right now! If you can’t get to your regular vet, call the nearest emergency vet clinic. These are emergencies and your cat needs immediate medical attention.
Otherwise, if you have cat-related question you want to ask us? Please use the comment form below. We’ll answer questions in the order in which they’re received, with three main exceptions:
- If it’s a clearly urgent behavior issue (as in, you tell us it’s urgent or it’s obvious to us that your question needs to be answered before its natural turn in the queue), we’ll answer your question on a priority basis.
- If it’s clearly a medical emergency, we’ll write back to you as soon as we get your question and tell you to get your cat to a vet.
- If your question is about inappropriate urination or defecation, it will probably move down the list. We’ve answered more questions about this issue than anything else, and we encourage you to look at the Paws and Effect archives to see if you can find an answer there. You may also purchase the “Paws and Effect Guide to Solving Inappropriate Elimination Problems,” available through our Shop page.
299 Responses to “Ask a Question”
Comments (299)
Hi there. A few months ago i adopted a 9 month old blind kitty that had to have her eyes removed due to bad infections. I am a student so I am not home all the time and i am worried that shes getting lonely. Would it be a good idea to get a friend for her? And if so how should I go about it? Thank you!
my cat cant meow whats wrong
one night i was coming home from a trip with my family.my two cats super and presious along with my dog sis came to greet me.my cat presious always meowed at me with a soft meow this time she had a scratchy one. the next day she could not meow at all! my mom called the vet. the vet said she might have a cold. if she doesent get better then we will have to get som kind of treatmgent hope she gets better soon.
Does anyone out there have links to Manx merchandise…..we have manxes and would like to display our servant status to King Gandolf and Prince Macconal. Thanks
Whenever I lay down in bed to go to sleep my male cat always lays on me and licks my shirt while kneading the bed. What is he doing? Please reply!!! Thanks!!!!!
Our Kitten (Lucky) is now drinking her milk from a saucer and is starting to eat small amounts of solid food. We think Lucky is 5-6 weeks old. How much longer should we continue to give her the Kitten milk formula?
I have two kittens – Zot(female) who was adopted from a found litter at 8weeks and Lucius(male) who I just adopted from the Humane Society a couple days ago, they’re now both 2.5months old. Unfortunately, Lucius is much smaller than Zot, and she likes to play rough(jumping on him, biting his neck, etc) and he gets very scared and turns her “play” into an actual fight. I’m worried one of them will get hurt! How can I get them to play nicely?
Weirdly though, they get along fine when they’re eating or napping or using the litterbox.
I have a bangel and she is 7year old. I got her from a resuce and since I have had her, maybe 7 months, she has been peeing in my house. I clean her litter box out every 2 days. She uses her box but also pee in the house.
I have taken her to the vet an dhave racked up over an $800 bill on this cat!
I went in twice and she got the test done for any urinary issues and both time they said she has an infection, so she recieved an antibiotic shot both times.
I cant keep affording to get antibiotic shots every 2 weeks for this cat. My house has become smelling and nasty because of this issue.
I have a 18months old son so this is scaring me and bothing me.
I had someone tell me that I shoudl try giving her wet food but she wont eat that either.
Im not sure what to do, but give the cat back to the bangel resuse I got her from.
thank you
Please could anyone advise me please if a 15 year old cat could die of fear and hyperventilation whilst travelling in a car? My sister needs to move him tomorrow in a 6 hour drive, and she is very upset and worried in case he dies in the process. She attempted the drive last week and the cat was so frightened that she abandoned the journey after 5 minutes.Any replies would be so appreciated, the only thing her vet has suggested are travel sickness pills? Thank you for any replies, Debbie.
So, I was a dog person. I currently have 3 Dogs I have adopted from shelters over the years. 3 Weeks ago I was given an opportunity by my local shelter to foster a abandoned cat back to health. Needless to say I fell in love and adopted her. I am really comfortable with how to handle my dogs when it comes to her. My question is, do you have any suggestions on the best ways to integrate a cat into a dog family? She doesn’t like them, but seems completely unafraid of them. I am hoping this is a good sign.
I left around 4:00 pm to run a errand, back around 4:30, I open the door, my cat was coming toward me and before I could put my purse down, my cat made a grasp noise and passed away. She been healthy, gave her heart prevented medicine monthly. Why did she die suddenly?
My cat Patch was 12 when he passed away on the 22nd July at 12.38. I had taken him to the vet who said he had a chest infection and gave him a jag and said if he was not any better to bring him back. The vet said he may need an operation.
A few days later (the day he died) he was foaming at the mouth so I was taking him to the PDSA as I cannot afford at the moment to pay for an operation.
We were on the bus and he had a convultion and I held him and told him I loved him but he died in my arms. I took him to the vets just in case they could do something but it was too late.
I want to know why my wee baby had to die is it my fault – was the original vets to blame ??
I really need to know as my hear is breaking without him
My cat had kittens four days ago she ran away on the 2nd day after I moved the kittens out from under our deck were she had them because she would not go under there to them or if she did she was bitting them so hard that they would bleed. I took the kittens to the vet and they got rid of there fleas and started feeding them and told me how to take care of them. Now 2 days later she is back and i put the kittens out there with her so maybe she will care for them now I dont know if she has any milk to feed them with she doesnt feel like she has any what do you think I should do.
My 2 female cats have lived together for about 8 years, and are usually buddies, curled up together, lick each other, etc. But the last few days that HATE each other. I mean, LOUD cat fights in the early mornings, and my one cat just sits there and growls and hisses at the other, whi keeps instigating it by coming closer. I was thinking that maybe I am just letting off too many hormones being about 8 months pregnant, but this is wierd! I don’t think either of them is sick, and I don’t have a lot of $ to take them to the vet to check them out. Any thoughts?
My 4 month old kitten Marcel has been a real problem boy; biting, scratching, attacking, etc. I know this is kitten play, and they are trainable, but I’ve tried out all the advice I’ve read about, and nothing is working.
He doesn’t mind the spray bottle. Hissing at him sometimes works but sometimes gets him more excited and agitated, making for crazier attacks. I try to stay calm and tell him “no” but it’s hard when he’s just inflicted a wound. I never play with him with my fingers, and I’ve provided many toys. Marcel was found at only a couple of weeks old, without a mother. He’s adorable, but a such a brat! Will he just grow out of it? Will neutering help? I’m tired of mopping up my own blood.
My beloved 8 yr old cat named spinx had closed pyometra in april of of this year.
We didn’t know that we had taken her in for a lump we found near her nipple. The vet wasn’t worried
about the lump and said it might be breast cancer but the pyometra was more serious. He said do the
surgery for that first and then deal with the lump and that’s what we did. The surgery went well and she came home and with in 2 days was back to normal. A couple of weeks later her breathing changed and she stopped eating drinking and going to the bathroom. When we took her to the vet he said we had to put her down because she was dying and he said she had cancer all over. Wouldn’t the vet know that when he did the testing for the pyometra. I’m heart broken for the lose of my best friend. Can anyone give my any information about this thank you.
Kitty
Spayed female domestic short haired
Age: 11 months
Weight: 8lbs 11oz
Vaccinations: FVR, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, Chlamydia (given as 4 in 1 prior to owning)
Tested negative for Feline Leukemia
Diet: Aprox 3 weeks ago switched over from Purina Kitten Chow to Purina Cat Chow. She receives ½ a can of Friskies Pate 3-4 times a week.
On Friday 7/30 Kitty was given half a can of Friskies in the am and proceeded to vomit less than 5 minutes after eating it all. The rest of the day she drank water however ate minimal dry food. She vomited 4 times within the day, 3 times bile. No change in bowel movement was noticed.
On Saturday 7/31 Kitty had consumed water but again had a decreased appetite (about a ¼ of normal consumption). Vomiting 4-5 times bile. No change in bowel movement was noticed.
Sunday 8/1 Kitty vomited bile 2x as well has had diarrhea which she scooted across the table to try to wipe off her bottom. At this time, I took her to an Emergency Vet. Upon visual examination, no issues were detected. Blood work was ran which came up all normal. Scans were taken for blockage – only thing that came up with was slight gas and a little water in the small intestines. Stool sample was extracted which did not produce any abnormal results. The Clinic suggested to keep her over night for observation and IV fluids, however after 2 shot to make her less nauseous and to balance the acidity in her stomach, Kitty was taken home that night. Upon arriving home, Kitty had diarrhea which was allover her bottom. No vomiting took place after the am. Kitty had a minimal appetite after fasting for the 8 hours in the ER.
Monday 8/2 Kitty vomited bile 1 time. Small amount of seemingly uncontrolled liquid diarrhea when sitting down drinking water. And a minimal appetite.
Over all this time – her temperament hasn’t changed much. Seeming her usual self.
After spending almost $1000 already, I was wondering on some sort of opinion on what it would be. The ER wasn’t sure and recommended keeping her there however a $1000 a night bill seems extreme. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
MY CAT GOT IN A FIGHT WITH ONE OF IT’S SISTERS …. AND NOW I DON’T THINK HE CAN SEE. WHEN HE GOT ATTACKED HE WALKED AROUND IN CIRCLES. HE WAS BORN ABOUT 6-7 WEEKS AGO. AND NOW HE DOESNT BLINK, BARELY MEOWS, AND WALKS OF THE BED AND WALKS INTO WALLS. I HAVE TO FEED HEM MYSELF I HAVE TO GIVE HEM WATER IN A SQUART TUBE. WHEN I MOVE MY HAND UP AND DOWN INFRONT OF HIS FACE ALL CATS I KNOW WOULD ATTACK…..BUT HE JUST SAT THERE AND DIDNT EVEN BLINK OR MEOW…… WHAT I WANT TO KNOW BY ALL THIS INFORMATION IS MY CAT BLIND?
My cat Shadow is a Blue Russia and he just recently lost his companion of 3 years, Midnyte. Shadow was a stray I saved in 2005 and then had him neutered. I moved to another apartment and two years later saved a pregnant stray and she had her litter and I kept Midnyte from infancy. So I moved again, to a house. Midnyte liked going outside, but this was the 3d time he was out after 9pm central USA time. So I let him out told him to have fun and saw him jump the back privacy fence and that was the last time I saw that cute kitty. Shadow has walked around and cried for him the last two months. But just recently in the last two weeks he started agressively chewing on his arm/leg. He doesn’t bite his tail or anything else. I read up on it and it might be fleas and it was, but there is another stress. He is allergic to fleas. One or two bites a year, really good ones will give him this allergic dermatitis, that’s what one page said. Now that I read this site, I checked his butt and litter and no flea causing worms. There is a big scab on his neck, must be bite site and one back of his head. Now in the last day or two he has switched to the other arm. I let him bath himself and then when he starts biting front of left or right front legs I catch him with string and play. For some odd reason he still purrs when he is bathing himself and chewing/biting those spots. I am also allergic to bees, hornets, wasps, yellow-jackets, mosquitoes, fire ants, bumble bees, fleas, mites, ticks, and pretty much anything that flies or buzzes. So I know his pain, but I can’t give him Benadryl. So I should get wall plug in calmer with happy cat scent and see where that goes, already treated him with Frontline. Also could he be suffering from all three? Stress about Midnyte, allergy to flea bite, and allergy to new couch spray? Switched from Febreeze to Glade and right after that he started washing a lot too, but not biting. No other spots, but his front right leg is missing fur. So what else should I do, I live right by a Russel Feed Store, should I get a shot of anything for Shadow or get him a kitten after I clean the whole house, scrub carpets, and wash linens. Sorry so long, had to cover everything I can, he is using my foot as a pillow, purring himself to sleep. Oh and is snoring in cats bad? What should I be doing for him since he is 5 years old now that I wasn’t? Also he eats Exclusive catfood that is at the Russel Purina Feed Store and its all organic chicken and rice. Nothing that you can’t read or eat yourself is in it. Now he is chewing on opposite leg and I don’t know what to do, please advise so I can get him help. I don’t mind the bathing, but the biting and chewing his front legs has to go. Thank you, Stacy
hi!
My cat China is about 13. For the past two days, she’s been behaving oddly. She’s spending an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen, sitting on the linoleum floor at either end of the room and just… watching.
She’s eating normally and voiding normally. And she occasionally comes to visit me wherever I am; but up until two days ago she was very demanding of my attention, and had several favorite places to hang out: under the bed (daytime naps), on the furniture in the living room (more daytime naps, and evening naps), or my lap (evening naps).
Is this something I should worry about? I made a checkup appointment at the vet because we were overdue for a visit there, but that’s not for a couple of weeks.
Thanks!
I have two female cats that live strictly indoors. They are both about 8-9 months old. Just recently one of them, and I don’t know which, has started pooping outside the liter box in my room. It started when I went away for a few days. My daughter and her boyfriend live with me and they were at home when I was gone. Tonight I was late getting home and I found poop again in my room. I have two liter boxes and up to now they have been using both boxes just fine.
I don’t see any change in either cats personality or behavior but have appointments with them to see the vet in a few days just in case.
Could one of them be mad at me for leaving?
Our cat Henry (The Howler) is a Siamese/Tabby male cat that was dumped off by someone. The vet figures he is about 3 to 4 years old and has been previously fixed. He was roaming around our place for about a month before we took him in. He has the best personality, very vocal (being Siamese), and likes to go out hunting. I am trying to get him to be an indoor cat because we live on a very busy road and he has almost been hit a few times. Also, I am trying to get him out of this mode of wanting to go out in the middle of the night (starts around 12 to about 6 in the morning) but his meowing is so loud that it keeps us up throughout the night. I have lots of toys for him, we play and give him attention, and feed him before we go to bed and through the night I have been using a spray bottle, which sort of helps. I don’t want to have to give him away but if he doesn’t stop meowing through the night I might have too.
If anyone has any suggestions, it will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi,
My baby Angel, she is 1 year 1 month old who is born blind. My problem is I want her to eat well and grow a bit fat. Right now she is lean, but yes very active, naughty and playful. I am concerned cos she is moody and eats very little. Right now she eats the Cats food, she does not like milk. I got a appetizer tonic. She is too fussy and throws it out. Kindly help!
Ruby
I have a male siamese cat he is nearly two, he has started eating large strands of carpet from the edges and swallowing them, it has been coming out in hes poo but im really worried what can i put down to stop him, i have also another 2 siamese as well they are fine they dont do it
please help
We found a kitten about 10 days ago with it’s umbillical cord still attached. The animal shelter said it was less than two days old, so now we assume it is 10 days old.
When we found it, it was struggling with flies all over it, and thousands of little things in it’s fur that looked like tiny grains of rice, but the rice things were not moving.
We got a tooth brush and luke warm water and got them all off that day.
We have been feeding it via bottle KMR. We have been helping it go pee and poo too. It has an appetite and is moving around a lot.
Today, we noticed one front leg around the joint being swollen and one back leg swollen around the calf. It’s red in both areas. The kitten seems to be trying to lick it’s front leg. It is still eating well, but seems a little in pain.
Please advise. :(
Angie
URGENT!!
We found a kitten about 10 days ago with it’s umbillical cord still attached. The animal shelter said it was less than two days old, so now we assume it is 10 days old.
Today, we noticed one front leg around the joint being swollen and one back leg swollen around the calf. It’s red in both areas. The kitten seems to be trying to lick it’s front leg. It is still eating well, but seems a little in pain. We cleaned it with apple cider vinegar.
When we found it, it was struggling with flies all over it, and thousands of little things in it’s fur that looked like tiny grains of rice, but the rice things were not moving.
We got a tooth brush and luke warm water and got them all off that day.
We have been feeding it via bottle KMR. We have been helping it go pee and poo too. It has an appetite and is moving around a lot.
Please advise. :(
Angie
Angela, in the event that you didn’t get the e-mails we sent you and are monitoring the site, here’s the answer we gave you in our e-mail:
We’d definitely recommend that you check in with a veterinarian. There are any number of things it could be, and there’s no way for us to even offer a suggestion. This kitten has no immunity to common infectious diseases (kittens that young get their immunity to infection through their mother’s milk). If it were us, we’d call the nearest 24-hour vet clinic and see what they recommend. They might tell you to bring it in, or they might tell you what to do until tomorrow morning when you can call your regular vet.
Thank you so much for rescuing this tiny baby kitten! Hope this helps, and please let us know how things turn out.
(P.S.–it’s very rare that we’re online at night, so we’re glad we were available to get your e-mail as soon as you sent it.)
Our situation is unusual so I really hope you have the time to answer it. we are going to have to give our beloved cats away because we are going to Afghanistan to work with a an NGO on a humanitarian relief project. We really want to my cats to my father-in- law who lives in a different country because we know he adores animals and will move heaven and earth to take care them. (he used to be a farmer and was one of those that would do anything to heal an animal. By everything i mean western medicine, operations, if that didn’t work he would try homeopathic treatments, or even shamanic interventions… you name it) he has the softest heart for animals that i have ever seen. This is a home where pets are in charge and cosseted in the most shameful ways, and I know that if they can adapt to their new life, their living situation will be superior to the cramped life of a New York apartment cat.
The problem is that he lives in a very open house. It is a style hard to conceive of in the US; it is a large house with an open floor plan and an interior patio and many. Many places that lead directly outside. there is absolutely no way to keep them locked in the house until they adapt to their surroundings unless we were to lock them up in a small bedroom (the only rooms that you can close off completely). my feeling is that if they are put in these rooms they will be alone and suffer and never want to stay once they are let out. if they are let to wander around free I am afraid that they will run off in terror and never be seen again. how can I get my two house cats to acclimate themselves to a completely new environment, in a new country where they can wander out of the house at will.
Background: one, Kala, was a stray and is very smart and I know would love to go outside, she still tries to do so on occasion although she tries to do so very hesitantly and I just tell her sternly to get back inside when she goes into our hallway and she cooperates.
the other cat, Bansi, is beautiful, has the sweetest disposition ever, but is very stupid- just take my word for this. We took in when he was quite young and is very mellow as long as he is in his comfort zone. BUT anything new scares him. for example, once we bought him a harness to take him for some fresh air on our roof. he wore the harness in the house for a week without ever trying to take it off. when we felt he was ready we started to take him upstairs to the roof. He became soo afraid of just going into the hallway that he peed himself on the stairs!
Any ideas on how we might get them not to run away as soon as we get there? we are planning to fly there just to take the cats to my father-in-laws house. what can we do to prepare them, how can we get them not to run away right away. I know that there is always a risk, and I am willing to take it because really this place would be cat paradise. But I think there must be someway to make the transition safer. Any ideas?
my cat will not stop meowing since last night, and she keeps following me. its driving me crazy, and i feel bad for her. and just before she threw up. can i has some reasons why she is doing this?
I have a 16 year old female cat that over the last 6 months has been urinating in her bed…but only at night when I’m asleep.
She is very stealthy, but I do see her going to the litter box once in a while and she never poops in the bed. It only happens ‘after hours’.
At first I thought my other cat might be scaring her (he likes to play and she doesn’t), but it is getting a bit more frequent…instead of a few nights a week, it is almost every night now.
I would hate to take her to the vet so they can poke and prod just to find out…she is getting old…especially because she does not appear to be in any pain or discomfort, she drinks normally and does eat food, although less at any one time…but does graze throughout the day.
Any suggestions?
Worried momma
I have a two year old cat who is fixed now. She was very hyper active up until recently, About 3 weeks ago i got a new 4 month old kitten. I brought him in, they sniffed, she followed him around, and without even a hint of issues, they played together, kitty wrestling, they slept together, she would even give him a bath.
3 days ago though, my older cats attitude seemed to change, Shes eating, drinking, using the litter box just fine, but every now and then she would dry heave. At first i thought maybe she either had a kitty tummy ache or she had a stuck hairball. But besides that whenever the kitten comes around her, even just to walk by, she gets mad and hits and hisses at him, and shes so worked up that if i walk to her to investigate, she gets mad at me too, and sometimes hisses at me. Today i have not seen her dry heave, i closed the door and left the kitten in my bedroom, i played with my older cat for 45 min, gave her a personal treat and played with her some more. When she got bored with me, i let the kitten out and she went right back to being kind of angry.
My older cat has never been the type to let me pick her up and hold her, shes always came to me, ill come out every now and then from my room ( door is always open ) and find her, pet her if she will let me and give her kisses on the head. But she seems to be less then thrilled when the kitten gets up on my lap or comes into the room. In fact unless he’s sleeping she wants nothing to do with him.. and i just dont know why. they got along great!
Is this kitty jealousy fixable? i am only one person and i can only do as much as my cat will allow without her biting me or getting mad and irritated. But besides the kitten being very affectionate towards me when im around, ive not changed my own routine. Any help would be great on this.
I am allergic to cats, but have managed to become mostly acclimated to living with my girlfriend’s cats. We now have an affectionate six month old kitten. He wants to snuggle with me at night, which would be lovely, except that he ONLY wants to lay across my nose and mouth. I try to move his head or body somewhere else but he just keeps moving back to covering my nose and mouth.
This causes two problems. 1. It makes my sinuses go crazy all the next day. 2. I can’t breathe!!
I want him to snuggle me at night and so I don’t want to simply discourage him from snuggling at all, but I can’t figure out how to get him to understand that I need to breathe!
Please help. Thanks.
Hello wonderful advice givers!
We have a dog and two cats. We had one cat for about 8 months and then he seemed like he would want a friend (we adopted him from Animal Control and we remembered him wrestling with a cat there) and so we started looking around. He is a large, gray male cat. We were out garage sale-ing and there was a kitty at one of them looking for a home. She is 1-2 years old (the male is probably about 2) and all gray too, so she seemed like a perfect compliment–an attractive pairing! She lived with 2 male cats and a dog at the house where we got her and she is really sweet to people, so we thought she would fit in.
We introduced them with some care, though we probably could have done it more slowly. We didn’t just shove them in a room together or anything, but we kept her in a room to herself until she seemed a little more comfortable (a few hours) and then we opened the door and let her come out if she wanted and we let our other cat go in for a little while at a time. He was interested in her from the start…tried to show that he was “cool” and he would lay on his side or approach with his chirping noises he makes and all that. Not too much seems to affect our male cat, but she is not so easily adaptable. After a while, a pseudo-equilibrium has been reached. But…
Well, now it is a few months later and they still aren’t really getting along. They’ll hang out mostly separately during the day, but for a period right after breakfast and right before/after dinnertime they will have cat fights. The male seems like a rough and tumble wants-to-play type and she just seems to want to chill out. At these times of day he will constantly approach her and chirp at her and she will growl, ears back, turned sideways, and then they will sometimes swat at each other and make evil panther sounds. They’ll separate for a bit and then do it again…
It is driving us a little crazy and our dog has started to react to the tension as well by barking at them. We put the cats in separate rooms at night so that everyone can get some sleep. We would leave them out to roam the house, but the male needs to get put away at night or else he’ll wake us at all times of the night and we won’t sleep. We put the female in a separate room because otherwise it just seems unfair to the male to have her free while he’s in a room. Though..I don’t know if that matters…she could just be left out as she does not bother us.
It seems like our male is the aggressor in this because he just won’t leave her alone at certain times of day, but maybe he just wants to play? I am half considering getting another cat (but one that we observe to be another rough and tumble wants-to-play type) so that our male will leave the female alone. However, we are very nervous that it won’t work out this way and maybe the two of them will gang up on her or other problems will arise.
We also don’t want to get another cat if it’s more than just our male wanting to play. If he is acting like this towards her out of territoriality or aggression then getting another cat probably won’t fix it, right? What do you think we should do? We’re not the most experienced of cat owners…
Thank you so much,
Heidi
ok i live in a town house where i have 2 friends that have cats that got pregnant by the same male cat anyway 3 weeks ago my first friend had kittens nine of them and there dieing with in days of each other were are down to 4 with one that you can see that is dying the others still look well so looks lke we will be down to 3 tonight i tryed to do mouth to mouth on then but it didn’t work … anyway 4 days a my other friend had her kitten she called me over and said her cat is having kittens but is walking with one comming out and she is not doing anything so i came over and helped her deliver them she did end up cleaning them up but would not go near them and now today we checked on them and there all dead….. could this be cause the male cat is sick? have any ideas why this is happening? i tryed so hard to keep them alive and i want to still try but i don’t want them to suffer what do you think…
My new mother cat had a baby and its her first time but she`s wild so we put her inside cause its going to rain. She had to use the bathroom so I put her outside and she hasn`t came back for her baby boy. What do I do? Please tell my soon.
my female cat who is 9 and spayed, is constantly licking her fur off her back. She has sores and has been on steroids and antibiotics for the last year. We have changed her food several times, but the behavoirs still exist. She is on excellent flea treatment and she eats and drinks well too, as well as using the litter box. She get so many fur balls, she gets sick every day. She ends up wearing an ecollar until she heals then we remove the ecollar and the pattern starts again. i need some help. Please.
Dearest kitties,
I have lived with cats all my life and thought I knew them pretty well (when I was young, I didn’t have friends so I talked to my cats and learned a lot of their language). However, I’m a little puzzled about some behavior my 11-year-old cat Heidi is doing.
First some background on Heidi – my boyfriend and I got her when she was probably just under 1 year old. We adopted her from the shelter because she loved us right away – later we found out that she was afraid of everyone else and they nearly euthanized her because they thought she couldn’t be socialized. We didn’t even know she was shy! She was sick and malnourished, and we think she was a stray for a very long time. But she had been with people at some point, because she knew the sound of a can opening. Anyway she got healthy and, as you might guess, we are very close to her. She is a beautiful green-eyed medium-fur grey tabby with a very fluffy tail.
Heidi is very smart and is one of those cats who seems to understand everything I say. The first time I ever asked her to “get down” off the counter she immediately understood and got down. It has been like this with most things – she usually understands what I am asking and does it. Sometimes she gets rebellious but she wouldn’t be a cat otherwise! She even seems to understand when we have to take care of her health needs, like putting ointment on her skin, giving pills, etc. I have actually seen her start to swat my boyfriend (when he was cleaning up some sores on her chin) and then force her own paw back down!
Heidi has always been able to go outside but is very street smart and takes good care of herself for the most part. However, about 6 years ago she went missing for 2 weeks and came back with her pelvis broken in 3 places. She recovered but lost her ninja powers. She seemed ok for another few years, then I noticed that she was falling when she tried to jump on things. X-rays showed she has arthritis and bone spurs, particularly in her lower back. So I give her glucosamine and take care when handling her. These days she lives in an upstairs apartment and can’t go outside.
Now for the problem – Heidi tends to bite, and it is increasing. She will sit in my lap purring and then suddenly bite for no apparent reason, sometimes quite hard. And she really seems angry when she does this, like she is really upset. She will either keep biting or she’ll jump up and leave in a huff. The reason I told you all about her injury and arthritis is that the only thing I can think of is that she is in pain, and too much petting hurts her back. I know she loves me very much – we are very bonded.
Another thing is, my boyfriend has come and gone a few times, for up to a year at a time. I know she hates the disruption. And last year her companion Cassius had to go away because he was a very sick kitty and had a tumor – ever since then she seems to have separation anxiety and cries at the top of her lungs when I leave. Unfortunately I leave all the time, because I travel for my job. So now my lovely Heidi is a senior kitty with pretty bad separation anxiety and arthritis who bites me a lot. (I still love her though!) Do you have any suggestions?
What causes a cat’s fur to stay wet after they groom themselves? The cat also has a fishy smell on her breath. (She doesn’t eat anything fishy.) Thank you! :)
Dearest kitties,
My cat won’t use a scratching post, no matter what. She prefers to sharpen her claws on a chair, and up until now I have usually just had a “sacrifice” piece of furniture that she can rip up…I’ve just been lucky so far that she has not decided to use anything nice for this purpose. However, I just moved to an apartment where I have limited space, and although I brought her claw-sharpening chair with us I’d just as soon get rid of it actually. I only brought it for her, but it’s taking up space. Also there is a couch here that I don’t own, and I CAN’T let it get all scratched up and ruined…but she’s showing a tendency to start scratching it now.
The scratching posts I’ve tried her on before were second-hand, so I thought maybe it just bothered her that they smelled like other kitties. I bought a sisal rope scratching thingy…but she won’t touch it. I put catnip all over it and she liked that, but as soon as the catnip was gone she lost interest. She’s smart enough that I think she knows what I want, but she refuses to cooperate (which is unusual for her).
She has always been able to go outside, but now we’re living in an upstairs apartment and she has less space because she’s stuck inside. I would like to buy or make her some sort of climbing tree to expand her space, but I’m afraid she won’t like it either since she’s shown no inclination to use anything designed for cats that I’ve ever given her before. I gave her a couple of different soft fluffy cat beds when she got arthritis and I noticed that she wouldn’t lie down on any hard surfaces, but she hated those too.
It seems like a lost cause, but I thought I’d ask the kitties. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, and many purrs and head-bumps to you!
@ Emily Peat – Have you looked inside your cat’s mouth? Your cat could have tooth decay or gingivitis that is causing both a bad smell and excessive salivation. That could lead to serious problems, so best to have it checked.
Two years ago, we had a group of feral cats that camped out under our house. One of them, a small black cat, adopted US. When we first brought him in, he sneezed often and was really skinny. We took him to my vet, and he treated him for a respritory infection. We nursed him back to health and he began growing. We fell in love with him. After about a year, one night we found him laying on the floor, when we tried to play with him, he would look at us and meow but would not stand up like he usually did. When my husband picked him up, he was limp. Since it was late at night and we do not have any 24 hour vets, we decided to put his bed in our room and take him to the vet in the morning. The next morning, we woke up to him meowing, running, and jumping like nothing had happened. We assumed he may have been bitten by something and gave it no more thought since he was clearly back to his old self. Four or five months later, my husband comes to tell me that something was wrong with Lil Bit. I followed him into the livingroom where he lay still like he had the first time. Only this time he was opening and closing his mouth gasping for breath. We scooped him and put him in the car to take him to the vet. I noticed during this time that his front legs were in perfect function but his hind legs were dead. The nearest decent vet that we have is about 25 miles away. Our Lil Bit died before we made it there. We brought him back home and buried him. Now I am haunted with the wonder of what happened and if there was anything we could have did to prevent it.
I have a 10 year old tabby that recently started pooping next to her box. We have had her since she was 3 months old. I don’t know why she is doing this. Nothing has changed in the home. She has a littermaid so the box is always clean. Is this a sign of old age or another behavorial problem? Thank You
My cat Toby can’t seem to make any mewo sound. He is a very vocal cat and I noticed yesterday that his mouth moves but know sound comes out. He is eating and drinking, grooming himself. He is acting normal except for the mewoing. If you can sugest anything I would appreciate it. I miss hearing his mewo.
Denise
Hi Rebecca. We wrote an article a couple of months ago about retraining a scratching kitty. You might try a few tips from that article. Also, why not try giving your baby some more vertical space? We just learned about Catty Stacks, a reasonably priced and apartment-friendly way to get your kitty some vertical space without breaking the bank.
My 17 year old, female cat has a growing, bleeding sore under her chin. The vet tried to squeeze it, the groom swears it’s a wart. I’m trying to figure out how to stop it from bleeding , she scratches it with her paw when she grooms herself, but otherwise it doesn’t appear to bother her at all. Any suggestions?
I’m exhausted…..
I have 3 fixed male indoor-only cats. 2 are 10yrs old and have been together for all of their lives. 1 is 7yrs old and he has been with them for the 7 years. All of my cats co-existed peacefully. Of course there was always my dominant large 10 year old who ran the house. He has always kept the other cats and humans in check. They never eat people food, they have never gone anywhere except the litter box and they all follow me around the house.
Until we moved 1 month ago. We moved a half hour away. While trying to get him in his carrier he hid in the cupboard under the sink and fought me pretty hard. I did get him in his carrier by grabbing his scruff . They all were hating the drive and letting us know loudly but that’s normal of course. When we got to our new home I let the dominant cat out first and discovered that he had urinated on the way. The poor thing was all wet. Once he was out, I wiped him down with a towel and I watched him and he seemed to act as he has in the past in a new place. Ran around exploring and rubbing himself all over everything. A couple minutes later the other 2 were let out and acted like normal cats exploring new surroundings. I felt a lot of tension between the 7 year old and the dominant cat. My 7 year old is bigger at this point, a very solid cat.
During the 1st night in the new place, I woke up to the sound of cat fight. I got up and broke up what I assumed was my dominant cat reminding the other 10 year old that he was the dominant one. 2nd night yielded the same thing…. awake again to the catfight. On the 3rd morning I noticed urine in an empty laundry basket. I cleaned it and assumed my cat was telling me he wanted the carriers out of site (they were stacked right next to the basket). Next morning same thing, urine in the empty laundry basket. I got rid of the cat carriers and filled the laundry basket with some things that would prevent him from jumping in.
The next day I noticed one of them had defecated under the dining room table. I then realized I hadn’t seen my dominant 10yr old around very much. I started paying closer attention and realized that he was running between the cabinet under the kitchen sink and the cabinet under the bathroom sink. I also noticed he wouldn’t come near my bedroom. This is totally strange for him. Over the next 2 days I realized that the 7yr old had taken over. He owned the bedroom and the spare room (where the litter boxes were!) and wasn’t letting the dominant cat do anything freely.
Now I’ve moved a litterbox to the dining room. I’ve made 2 eating areas. I am unemployed and waiting for my school to start so I’m home most days. He won’t come out of the kitchen sink cabinet unless I open the door all the way and stand in the kitchen while he eats/drinks. He won’t stay out unless I barricade the door so he can’t get back in. My 7yr old watches him like a hawk. During the night he stays up and makes sure he doesn’t leave the cupboard. The few times he has caught him out he has punished him by running right up and biting him. My oldest cat is now so scared to get caught out in the open that he doesn’t know what to do.
My 7yr old isn’t aggressive at all with people or the other cat. He just seems to have it out for my now weaker 10yr old. If I’m not here, and lately even if I am, he’s too scared to go to the litter box and has taken to hiding between the dining room benches.
I know he’s not using the box because he’s afraid of the other cat. I know that’s why he doesn’t come in my bedroom after 10 years of roaming free. I just don’t know how to fix it. I feel like moving here is slowly killing my favorite kitty. It makes me so upset. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I have a cat around 7 months old that seems to have problem landing when she jumps off a high surface.She usually sounds like a squeeze toy thrown against a wall when she jumps down from a surface, around 1 m high.My cat is usually very vocal.My cat has not been in any accident or fall.Could there be something wrong with my cat’s forearms?Is this ‘squeeze toy’ sound she makes when landing anything to worry about?,i have had many past cats and they do not seem to have this problem.
My cat’s nose has been white/pale for a while, usually her nose is pink and her mouth too. She is not as active as she used to be, and she is only 8yrs old, i know its not young, but not old either. Can someone please tell me what is up with my cat?!
Thank you
I currently own two dogs (a boxer, 1yr & 3mo and a mutt, 1yr & 6mo) and a 3 year old Orange Tabby that I adopted around the same time as the puppies. I have noticed that my cat has been very clingy lately and it’s certainly not because she doesn’t get enough attention! I have been thinking about adopting a kitten for her to spend time with! I was wondering what your thoughts were on this? I am a little skeptical on how my cat will react. She is very welcoming when other dogs come into the house and has always been surrounded by dogs but she has never encountered another cat. I know that cats can sometimes be very territorial so I would appreciate the feedback!
Thanks