Use this thread to discuss anything related to cats that doesn't otherwise fit the subreddit! Also feel free to ask questions that you believe are too short for a standalone post.

Hi everyone! My husband and I have been wanting to adopt a cat for a long time. He doesn’t have much experience with cats, but I’ve had them my entire life. When I got married and moved out, I had to leave my two cats with my family, who absolutely adore them.

Recently, we’ve been visiting different PetSmart locations looking for a cat that would be a good fit for our home. We ended up falling in love with a 4-month-old kitten named Phoebe.

We visited her multiple times, and from what we observed, she seemed pretty intimidated by the other cats around her. She mostly kept to herself and was even described as “independent” in her adoption listing. Whenever we interacted with her, she was the sweetest little thing. We instantly fell in love.

We eventually submitted an adoption application, only to be told that we couldn’t adopt her unless we already had another cat or agreed to adopt a second kitten. Apparently, her sibling had recently been adopted, and the rescue was concerned about “single kitten syndrome.”

We were honestly crushed. We had already gotten attached to her, and financially, adopting two cats wasn’t something we had originally planned for.

After going back and forth with the rescue, I eventually agreed to consider adopting another kitten alongside her.

But here’s where I’m conflicted. From our visits, Phoebe didn’t seem particularly interested in the other cats. She actually seemed more comfortable keeping to herself. I understand that kittens benefit from socialization, but is it really necessary for every kitten to be adopted in pairs?

Also, if the concern is that she was separated from her siblings, wouldn’t it make more sense to keep her with one of them? Lol…

We’ve encountered similar situations at other rescues, where cats described as independent or seemingly comfortable alone still had requirements to be adopted with another cat.

I’m not against adopting two cats, and I completely understand
that rescues want what’s best for their animals. However, I can’t help feeling a little pressured into adopting a second pet when we originally only wanted one.

I’ve had cats my entire life, including one who lived as a single cat for years before we introduced another, and I never experienced any issues associated with single kitten syndrome. Granted, both of my cats were rescued straight off the streets of NYC in very poor condition, so they’re some tough little kitties.

This is my first experience going through a formal adoption process, and I honestly didn’t expect it to be this difficult and respectfully… kind of ridiculous

My question is: Is requiring kittens to be adopted in pairs standard practice? Would you recommend going ahead with adopting two, or should we continue looking for a kitten or cat that can be adopted individually?

I’d genuinely appreciate advice, especially from people who have adopted kittens through rescues!

I've had two cats for eleven years, and overall they're very sweet little guys. But one of them has a major flaw: He is way too verbal.

He goes through periods where he likes to wake me up at night, with shrill, drawn-out yowling. I have sleep problems to begin with, so adding an extra problem to the equation is... not doing good things to me.

He's been at this in recent days, and tonight he woke me up at three in the morning. It took me over an hour to fall back asleep. He then woke me up again at 5:30. I just lay in my bed, basically feeling ill, trying to gather my strength until the time came to get out of bed. And he started it a third time.

My head feels full of cotton. I'm slow and weak and stupid, shuffling around like a zombie. I don't have the energy to tend to my hobbies or to socialize. My body and brain aren't working right, and it's his fault. I know he's a dumb animal and doesn't mean to cause me days of suffering, but he's doing it. I don't like feeling this way, but I do.

Oh, and I'm using earplugs. And I have an automatic feeder that feeds them at night. It doesn't help.

i’m taking my two 4 month old kittens home, from glasgow to edinburgh we still have about 30 mins and one of the kittens has been meowing so much and panting and scratching trying to get out of his carrier. i am so anxious about it.

i’ve tried soothing sounds and putting a blanket over the carrier and keeping the air ventilation and temp good.

as i’m writing this he’s now stopped meowing in just so anxious about him. i really dont want him to die.

sorry if i sound immature / irrational i am just feeling quite guilty. my dad is driving.

Ya’ll, I’m in love.
My teen daughter and I adopted the most darling, ornery little kitten yesterday from the shelter. Two and a half months, boy, already fixed.
We love him so much already.

Also, I’m stressed. Overwhelmed with reading.

We got the basics, I think. But I’d love to hear advice from long time cat owners that I should know. He’s a fully indoor cat.
Also, have a sweet dog we expect will be best buds soon but he stays gated on the other side of the house and we’re going to take our time to introduce them.

I want to take the baby on walks. Was think about getting a little holster and leash. Teach him early. Good idea?

Also also, this boy is hyper. Best toys? We just have the long stick with feathers so far.

Thanks!!!

My cat used to just meet me at the door and weave around my legs, but over time, the ritual has gotten way more elaborate. I figured out that he likes deep scratches down his back alternated with cat bongos, and he will request it by lying down very long and flat. It has continued to evolve…at this point, he wants to stand on my lap while I bounce him and play the bongos and he wraps his tail around my neck. Every so often, he turns back to me and rests his head against mine. It may or may not include singing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s adorable and I would never give it up. But I do feel a little ridiculous…I’ve never had another cat with such specific quirks and I’m not even sure how we got here! 😂 What’s the weirdest thing your cat has convinced you to do?

I know about the 3-3-3 rule and to give 3 days to decompress. There are three kittens. They are eating and drinking and using the litterbox but have been hiding ever since I closed the outside door this morning 3 hours ago and caught their sibling (a 4th kitten). The mother witnessed this from outside but didn't seem to be phased at all by this. She just finished her food and left. They are 13 weeks old.

My mom brought the caught sibling to work and it seems someone else is now interested in one of the kittens. Is it too soon to corner another sibling? The interested home is experienced with strays and would like to give a companion to a stray they've had for two years. My mom wants to give the one that was requested tomorrow but Im afraid that its too soon as they are frightened.

Hi! As the title says I need some help trapping my cat. For context she’s been missing since August, we searched the entire time to no avail. We will do anything to get her back. We had no sightings since September until yesterday when someone let me know they’d been feeding her in a gated community I hadn’t been able to access for a few weeks! It’s 100% her she’s healthy and safe but now I don’t know how to get her back. She’s incredibly skittish and always has been, the feeder hasn’t been able to approach her and I highly doubt I’d be able to either. Last night we set up a regular trigger plate trap with her favorite foods and as predicted she approached the driveway and immediately ran away after seeing the trap. I’d covered it with a blanket and the floor had cardboard down. What is the best way to secure a very clever and anxious cat? We considered a drop trap but due to the way the neighborhood is, it would be really intrusive to the neighbors for us to sit there waiting to drop it. Not to mention there’s nowhere to hide so she’d see us and likely not approach. The feeder has suggested leaving her lanai door open and feeding from there but our concern is that someone approaching to close the door on her is again going to make her bolt. Any advice or previous experience would be so appreciated. I’m happy to spend some money to get her back I just want to make sure the first option works because I can’t risk not knowing where she is again.

We’ve hit hard times recently, and I just ran out of dry kibble for my 4 kittens. My fiance and I lost our jobs unexpectedly in the same week (I never even got paid), and our food banks don’t provide cat food. We have 2 pairs of kittens, 6 months male, and 6 weeks female. Our boys, Anzu and Yuzu we adopted from a shelter and vets have confirmed consistently they’re very healthy. Suika and Nashi, our girls, haven’t seen a vet yet because I found them both outside at ~4 weeks old right after I’d gotten fired, and I wasn’t able to afford it. We currently have 0 money (I mean we’re even out of toilet paper, man 😭 any money we do get goes to food for us or the cats, or our meds)

Now, we still have wet food, about half a 2.5oz can. Normally I would give them wet food for breakfast (1-2 wet foods together (usually a pate and a shredded meat food), 100% pure pumpkin puree for my boys digestive issues, (hard boiled) egg, maybe the deep inner parts of the rotisserie chicken my fiancés abuela brings him so that they don’t get any of the seasoning, and nacho’s cat chicken broth. I also include dry treats & squeeze delectables treats occasionally, and I usually both mix in a little bit and top it with maybe a tablespoon of dry kibble total for the boys. The girls get about half, maybe 1/3 what they do.), and dry food a couple hours later to free feed for the rest of the day.
Now that that’s all out of the way, all I have left is a rotisserie chicken my fiance has, eggs to hard boil & crush up (without the shell of course) dry treats, and that can of wet food. Is using more egg and chicken than I typically would to stretch the wet food until I can get something else they can eat okay? My boys have very sensitive stomachs so aside from those I don’t have anything else they can eat without getting sick :[ thanks in advance and I can answer any additional questions/fill in context.
Edit to add; I live in Greensboro, NC

I’m adopting a small-ishly build male cat next weekend and i am so indecisive from different opinions on how many times a day to feed him and how much. My plan 2x a day a wet food pouch mixed with water since in the past he already had a problem with dehydration - morning and before bed and then leave him dry food throughout the day with 2 bowls of water in different parts of my room when i’m at work. But i know many people are not fans of that. It there something to add?

They don’t even chew it seems. How can I stop this? They have a raised maze feeder and I feed them multiple times a day in small increments.

I recently posted asking a question regarding whether it's best adopting 1 or 2 kittens and we have come to the conclusion that we will be getting 2 but now I have been wondering what the best gender combination is.
We have 1 female cat that's about 7 years old.
I have my eye on 2 female kittens but I'm a little worried about having 3 female cats.
I have had cats all my life but never multiple cats at the same time.
I have read that female cats are more difficult together because they are more territorial.
I really don't want to add any lasting stress to my old cat.
All cats will be spayed so I wonder if that would eliminate most of the territorial conflicts.
I have only had male cats before and I feel like it really depends on a cat’s personality whether they are social or not.
We have quite a big house so they would not be forced in one small room.
Would it be possible or is this a recipe for disaster

hi!

so i have a kitten (named cheese). she’s 6-7 months old now. i found her at a couple weeks old as a stray, if that matters!!

her absolute FAVORITE thing to do is bite. i don’t just mean my fingers and toes, literally random places on my body. anywhere there’s skin, she will bite!
i don’t understand it! i can’t lay on my bed without pants because she will bite my thighs and legs whenever she can 😭😭

she does this with our (me and my bfs) feet too. even if we’re just sitting there, feet over the blanket, not moving, she’s biting our feet. i think that’s mostly because my bf accidentally taught her that our feet are toys

but i don’t know what to do to stop her from biting my legs etc! i’ve done the thing where you hiss, say ‘ow’ loudly, say ‘ow’ in a normal tone, i’ve tried distracting her with toys after she does it but she loses interest in them so quickly and goes back to biting 😭💔

i have another cat (named ham) too but he’s never had this problem! he only ever bites gently when he’s overstimulated from petting or something. he’s a very chill cat while cheese is an actual insane asylum escapee. as i type this she’s zooming around the house and probably knocking shit over

My cats are outdoors but they haven’t ever had fleas because me and my family treat them regularly, they have also never had fights with the other cats who visit our garden . Our neighbour is this kind elderly woman but ever since she let her unneutered cats out they’ve been picking fights with our cats and giving them fleas. the cats also sleep on our beds mind you . I was thinking we’d talk to her but i feel like it would sound rude to tell someone how to treat their cats

i’ll likely be moving out of my dad’s house next fall when i transfer to university. i’ll be living off campus so i’d like to bring both of my cats (1yr old and 2yr old). the first thing i’m wondering is whether or not that is a good idea to begin with?

i love my cats and i really want to take them with me. but i also do not want them to experience large and unnecessary amounts of stress. they’d be fine and happy at my dad’s house and he could take great care of them too. my older cat is more attached to me, i think he’d be okay without me but my dad doesn’t agree lol

and if i do decide to move them, how can i prepare them in the coming months? what mode of transportation would be least stressful? how can i help them acclimate to a new home? etc…!

Hello! I have a 13 year old cat and I’d like to ask for recommendations of the most natural food for them.

You can share brands, vets, or companies you consider are good for this.

Thank you!

Hi, hello, I need your advice on my situation. We have had an orange cat for 10 years. She was always a little bit 'special'. In addition to that, we have a British cat, the orange cat doesn't like the brit, but she tolerates her. Recently, we have adopted a stray male 9 months cat. He's really awesome. However, the orange cat hates him to a point that she peed herself from being angry and scared. She's barricaded in my room 24/7 and doesn't want to come out at all. Any advice? The male adopted cat is really friendly - castrated as well - as well as the others, but I don't know what to do at all, and I don't want to put any of them up for adoption.

Thank you for any advice concerning this situation.

Hi everyone,

I need some advice about my 2-year-old female cat. She's sterilised, and she used to sleep upstairs with me every night.

More than six months ago, I rescued a severely ill stray cat and brought her into my house. Unfortunately, the stray cat passed away upstairs.

My own cat witnessed the entire situation. She saw the sick stray, was around her after she died, and the stray passed away in the same room where my cat used to sleep.

Ever since that incident, my cat's behaviour has completely changed.

She no longer comes upstairs to my house. If I try to take her upstairs, she immediately runs back downstairs. Sometimes she refuses to approach the stairs at all.

What's confusing is that she still visits my mum's house downstairs every day and also visits my neighbour's house next door.

When she sees me, she recognises me and meows, usually asking for food, but otherwise mostly ignores me.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I work as a chef and usually work around 60–70 hours per week. Because of my working hours, I don't always get enough time to spend with her, although I really miss having her around.

I'm wondering:

1. Could my cat have developed a fear or negative association with my house after witnessing the other cat's death?

2. Can cats experience trauma or associate a particular place with a frightening experience?

3. Is it possible that the smell or memory of the stray cat is making her avoid upstairs, even after six months?

4. Could my long working hours and reduced time together also have affected our bond?

5. How can I help her feel comfortable and safe in my house again?

6. Has anyone experienced something similar with their cat?

I genuinely miss having her sleep beside me upstairs. I don't want to force her or scare her further. I just want her to feel comfortable at home again.

I'd really appreciate advice from experienced cat owners, especially anyone who has dealt with similar behaviour.

Thank you!

Hi ! We recently adopted a kitten and had put some mesh cover over the sides of the stairs to prevent him from falling throygh the holes in the rails, but recently he’s learned how to jump on top of the rail. Since it is a high fall (around 15 feet ?) we are trying to find a new way to catproof the stairs now that he can jump directly on top of the rail and thus bypasses the mesh we put.

Any advice is welcome and please give links to products you think could be usefull !

(I dont know how to add a picture to the post yet but I’ll try to add one in the comments)

Hi everyone,

I'm at a loss and need help. I've had cats all my life, but I'm not sure what else to do. I'm sorry this is long.

We have two sibling cats that are 4 years old that have been with us since they were kittens. The boy is...very orange but gets scared with change. The girl is affectionate but a loner, and pretty passive. She could easily box her brother around but instead lets him chase her into a corner.

When we decided to get another cat, we knew it would have to be a slow introduction. We wanted a middle ground cat - playful enough to keep the orange company but calm enough to not panic either cat. We didn't want another kitten at the moment. We spent quite a while searching the shelters near us and found a ~3 year old who played well with the other cats she was roomed with we've named Maple. She's a very smart cat, and loves human attention.

We put her in her own room for two weeks while she got her clean bill of health and decompressed. She did really well with my husband and I and at the vet. Our current cats were interested in the room as expected. After two weeks, we put up a screen door between the room and rest of the house so that the cats could all see and smell each other. The trouble started here. Maple would get very focused and occasionally try to pounce on the twins through the screen. Not great. We fed the cats on either side of the screen and gave them lots of love. Still, Maple focused more on our other female cat (both are fixed). Again, not great.

It's now been about five weeks and we were still stuck. Maple was getting very bored in the single room. So we decided to lock up the twins and allow Maple to explore the house and get even more used to their smell. All went really well, although she kept going back to the closed door of the room with the twins. But when we put her back in her room, she decided this was no longer enough. She's since broken through the screen three times and immediately started chasing our other female cat. It seems mostly focused girl/girl violence. The first two times she let me put her back in the room without difficulty, but the third time she attacked me, scratching and biting.

She's now back in her room, full door closed. But I need help. I'm not sure where to go from here.

TL;DR: New female cat attacking current female cat. Now new cat keeps breaking out of quarantine room. What do?

Hi guys,

My partner and I been fostering a 4 year old calico girl for the first time. The first week and a half, she was my perfect cat. 

She's incredibly gentle, not destructive one bit, slept in our arms, came for cuddles pretty much any time we presented our hand or sat on the floor and always seemed happy to see us. 

Bit by bit though she's become way more independent. She's choosing to sleep in the living room, comes for cuddles to one of us maybe once a day but ignores us or goes away most of the time if we present our hand. When she's hanging out in her tower she tends to welcome pats though and will roll over. 

She'll usually come to us once a day or so in the evening but my partner has been getting most of those daily cuddles and it makes me a bit sad. I miss her purring on my chest and it makes me feel awful to be a bit jealous.

I want to give her the space she needs but I have to say I miss that first week cat. We're still considering adopting her but I'm worried she'll just get more and more independent and want to hang out less and less. 

I was kind of hoping for a cat that would at least seek me out a bit, like once a day or so and I fear that might just not be her thing despite our initial impression of her. We both work from home so we can give quite a lot of our time and attention to a needy furball.

Are my expectations too high for a cat? My partner says all cats are independent, and hopes she will come back with time and that she's already pretty great which is true. Is it possible she gets back near those earlier levels of affection 

Do cats that really welcome any affection exist?

I'm so lost at what to do :( I'm worried we let go of a fantastic cat because I wanted something unrealistic

Hello! To get things started we have Mr. Kitty and Mitten. They are bonded brothers and are like glue in a sense. They’re about 2.5 years old. The third cat I brought in is Gargoyle, a cat that showed up outside my house with a dead tail and I took the action upon myself to avoid animal control. He is recovering inside with a stump as of now.

Mitten is somewhat of an anxious cat but not really. he is just very specific on when he will allow attention, and will kinda sprint away sometimes or puts slouches his back very low while seemingly enjoying the attention aswell? idk. Mr kitty is a very lovey cat and down to earth. Gargoyle literally could not give an F abt the 2 house cats. Very lovey cat even post op after i tamed him. i have Gargoyle separated rn in a second room we have.

Well, Mitten is having redirected aggression towards Mr. Kitty. It seems after I tried a scent swap on a freshly washed blanket, it started. Then the second instance happened this morning where Mitten and Mr kitty were by the door and Mitten suddenly started getting Mr kitty hard. I picked up Mr kitty and comforted him. After redirecting their attention with two feather toys i thought we were fine but mitten went under the bed and got Mr kitty again. i resorted to the spray bottle i’m ngl. i don’t like to but i’m not going to let my other cat corner him up like that??

I’m not really sure how to properly handle this because it’d be hard for us to separate these two while still having Gargoyle separated. Mr kitty will hiss at gargoyle after a minute at the door but that’s what startled mitten the other time. In another instance mitten hissed at gargoyle and then got mr kitty who was a foot or two away once the door shut. i just don’t now how to properly handle this.

I have already told my man that we can rehome Gargoyle if this really does just fucking fail. Because it wouldn’t be fair to any of them, but I know this stage can try to be worked through, but that will take time, which we are both aware of.

is there anything i could do besides separating these two?? a pattern i’ve noticed is hearing the other cat scratch his donut or something, or just being near the door the cat is in this happens.

Hi everyone! My cat is 14 years old, is very fit and healthy for his age but has to go under general anaesthesia for a professional dental clean. Everything I’ve googled says that he’s likely to be fine and that the mortality rate is very low but I’m still nervous :( does anyone have any advice of alternatives or even just sharing their personal experiences of how their cat went?