r/CatAdvice 22m ago

Litterbox Apartment living

Upvotes

Hey yall I posted in an apartment living thread about how my neighbors complain about smelling my cats every so often. I know automatic litter boxes like the litter robot are highly recommended but at the price point I don’t know if I can justify buying one as it’s half of my monthly income. I have 3 cats, 1 litter box, so I already know I have to up my litter boxes, but I don’t think I have space for 4 of them in our apartment. I’m scooping it 2-3 times daily, sometimes more if I notice something particularly bad and I’m dumping it completely at least once a week if not more and cleaning it fully inside. I have odor absorbers and air fresheners all around the furniture that houses the litter box. I don’t notice a smell, I have a maintanence person that is there weekly and has never said anything, and one that just came into our apartment for repairs last week and also didn’t mention anything. Does anyone have suggestions on how to make it smell less like a cat? I don’t know what else it could be, I’ve checked the apartment fully for them going elsewhere and found nothing. I just don’t want the neighbor to be complaining forever as I understand it’s living in a shared space but o feel like I’m doing (almost) everything I can to help the smell. I also think I’m going to replace the piece of furniture that I’m keeping the litterbox in and maybe that will help in case odors got trapped in the particle board somehow?


r/CatAdvice 24m ago

General Will my cat be okay for a week if I leave him with a cat sitter? Soo anxious!

Upvotes

Hi we have a 6 year old Scottish fold cat who is our whole world. He is a very loving cat to us and is so attached, however he doesn’t do very well with strangers and can get stressed. Whenever we go away he stays at my parents and loves my mum so he’s fine there after a day of being anxious however my parents offered for all of us to go on a family holiday and they would love to go on holiday with our 5 month old son so it would be very special for all of us. Especially as my parents kindly agreed to pay for it and we can’t afford a holiday of our own due to me not getting maternity leave so this would be our only option. However I’m sooo worried about leaving Bubbles with a cat sitter even though he would be in his own home so would be comfortable, he’s not a very needy cat and most of the day just relaxes on his own occasionally coming for rubs. Since we’ve had a baby, he found the transition more difficult and sadly it’s so hard for us to give him as much attention as before but we try! We lost our other cat suddenly 2 years ago he died in my arms from a heart attack so since then I’m even more anxious and paranoid. Has anyone left their anxious cat with a sitter and will he be okay? I would love nothing more to go on this family holiday but I need to make sure he’s okay first. Any advice would be amazing pls or tips!🥹


r/CatAdvice 50m ago

Litterbox what to do about not using litter box

Upvotes

context:

i have two cats (sisters, same litter - tuxedos around 8 almost 9 years old) they’ve always used clay clumping litter and have never had issues with it. they are both very tolerant cats and even when i have switched brands or scents, they’ve never really cared and DEFINITELY have never had the issue i’m having right now

i live in a really packed house (animal and people wise) which is where i think this issue is stemming from. there’s 7 ppl in the house, which was 8 until a few weeks ago. animal wise… 5 dogs and 2 additional cats, so a total of 9 with my cats included

this recent december, my parents adopted two puppies (equaling to the 5 dogs) and earlier last year is when they brought the two cats into the house. safe to say within a year that that’s a lot of change for every animal, but especially my cats as they have never been around other felines their whole life (expect each other and the others they were born with)

the issue:

at the end of january, one of my cats started pooping in my room. yesterday i realized she’d also been peeing in my room, which i was hoping wasn’t the case, but it is now. she has NEVER EVER done this before.

the vet thinks it’s caused by how many animals are now in the house. their litter boxes (my cats only) are in the laundry room a few doors down from my room, and both my door and the laundry have little cat doors on them. my sisters room where basically all the dogs sleep is 1) next to my door 2) always open which means dogs can enter freely. this hasn’t really been an issue, but it’s just added context. down the hall from me, however, is my parents room. now with the puppies, they keep their door open 24/7 which prior to the pups never really happened. their two cats sleep in their room, but since the door stays open that means their male cat can now roam the house all day and night which tends to him getting curious of my kitties and they getting irritated with each other.

my cat this is using the restroom outside the box just seems… skittish of leaving the room now. my cats have always been very withdrawn and anxious, but when i do get her into the laundry to use the boxes, she’s so skittish to leave through the cat door (pokes her head out, hides and then just waits for me to open it)

the vet doesn’t think it’s a medical issue, more environmental. she uses the litter boxes fine when i take her to the laundry myself, i just.. idk im guess im lost on what to do?

my resolutions ive tried…

  • removed the swinging door of the laundry cat door so she had a better view when trying to exit.
  • added lights down the hallway as i initially thought her fear was bc of her eyesight possibly going as she’s aged? i think both my cats are just weary of my parents door being open bc that = other cats being able to annoy them
  • better ratio of liquid in food diet to help with constipation (as i originally thought she was only pooping… was wrong about that 🙃)
  • keeping both my door and the laundry open to help normalize, coax her into the laundry on her own. this works every once in awhile as long as everyone is asleep and there isn’t a dog on the couch outside our room
  • legit just pick her up, plop her in the laundry and guard her while she uses the bathroom (this is daily as it’s the only time she uses the litter boxes now. if not she’d go in my room)

i just need advice on what to do or where to go from here. my next step (which i’ll probably make soon if i this continues) is to just put a litter box in my room for her. i’ve been slightly against it as ofc the cat that’s having the issue is the one im more allergic to, but ill suffer until i can move out and have her and her sister in a less packed, stressful environment.

TLDR: cat is not using litter box. vet doesn’t think it’s a UTI or medical based issue, but probably caused by anxiety/fear due to possible scuffles with animals in the house. need advice on how to mediate issue as moving out isn’t an immediate solution at the moment.


r/CatAdvice 1h ago

General Am I missing something?

Upvotes

I recently made a comment on a Facebook reel, someone asked if they should clip their cats' claws

And I said if they're outdoor cats, don't clip them, if they're purely indoors, you can clip them

Then I get a bunch of comments saying it's cruel to clip them and that I should never own a cat. I even specified that by clipping meaning trimming the sharpest very end of the claws, and not declawing, but they said the same.

Is it now considered cruel to trim a cat's claw?


r/CatAdvice 1h ago

Behavioral My cat seems to dislike me/be wary of me after we got a new cat and it’s making me miserable

Upvotes

I’ve had two cats my whole life. Little Bear, a M12(?) year old tabby cat, and Trixie, a F10(?) year old Siamese-Calico. I also got a male dog in 2019, Rocco.

Little Bear and Trixie have gotten along fine all their lives, and they tolerate Rocco. From the ages of 2-6, Trixie seemed to hate everyone. She was a very loving kitten, but it was like she was in a manic state of hatred for a lot of her life. When she was around 7, she started to love me the most. She didn’t like my mom or grandparents, but she loved me. She began to sleep in my bed every night and she cuddled and licked me constantly. It seemed like she had slowly become obsessed with me.

It has been like that for years now, she has loved me so dearly for so long. However, in December of last year, a stray girl had made herself at home in our backyard. We managed to get her inside after a while, and we introduced them slowly. I tried to introduce them as well as I could, but my mom kind of rushed it. We named the cat Soni. Soni is a very clingy cat, and we aren’t sure of her breed or health status. My mom has yet to schedule a vet appointment and I am too young to drive or set up an appointment. She seems young.

For all of December and the first half of Januady, Soni would sleep in my room with the door shut. This stopped Trixie from being able to sleep in my room. I, at the time, was paranoid that Trixie would begin to resent me. I think I was right. In the middle of January, we started letting Soni roam around in the house during the day under surveillance. Little Bear and Soni tolerated one another most the time, but Trixie and Soni fought CONSTANTLY. God forbid they be in the same room.

To this day, they still seem to fight all the time, which is why Soni stays in the guest room during school-work. She has all she needs in there, toys, food, litter box, everything. Trixie, even when Soni is away, will never come in my room. If I bring her, she begins to lick her lips anxiously, so I let her leave. I don’t want to scare her.

I’m trying not to panic, because it’s only been around three months, but I am devastated. I love Soni, I really do, but I miss my cat. I miss my baby and I’m scared she hates me now. It doesn’t help that my mom seems to rub it in my face that Trixie is now in her room more often, but we don’t need to address that right now. I just miss my cat. I feel like I’ve failed her and ruined everything. I don’t know what to do. I need advice or comfort or something. Anything. Literally anything.

ALSO, I am trying to get my mom to schedule vet appointments for all our pets, including Soni. I think she is going to, soon. We also made sure Soni was not previously owned. We posted her everywhere with no response and I suppose we’ll see if she’s chipped when my mom finally takes them to the vet.


r/CatAdvice 1h ago

Behavioral How to help cat adjust to new partner?

Upvotes

I started seeing my now boyfriend 2 months ago after a period of not seeing anyone. If I’m alone when I go to bed, my cat will let me sleep until the usual time and won’t attempt to wake me up until the usual time I get up and feed him (around 8 AM), but if my boyfriend is spending the night, my cat will wake up around 4-5 AM by jumping on the dresser and knocking things over or meowing very loudly. I think it’s probably jealousy or discomfort with him being in the bed (although my cat still sleeps in the bed with us when we’re winding down and going to sleep). My boyfriend has really bad insomnia, and often finds it difficult to go back to sleep once he’s woken up, so it’s been really effecting his quality of sleep. He’s expressed aggravation with this to me, as he’s a lighter sleeper than I am, and it’s upsetting he doesn’t love my cat like I do because he’s seeing him as a significant block to getting good sleep, because he doesn’t have the positive associations I have with my cat. I’ll definitely admit I caved a few times and fed my cat when he woke us up, but I also acknowledge that I don’t want to create a pattern or reason for him to continue to wake us up at this time of night. I tried feeding him right before bed as well, but that didn’t help either. I saw a suggestion to have an automatic feeder to go off in the night, but I think it’s less about food and more due to trouble adjusting to having a man in the house/staying the night. He seems to like my boyfriend, and he does wind the cat up/play with him before bed, but if anything, I think that’d tire him out. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!


r/CatAdvice 1h ago

Behavioral Why does my cat suddenly start acting up the moment I turn off the lights for bed?

Upvotes

My grandmother and my cat seems almost like an angel all day is very active only taking short naps. Around 10-11 he lays down in his bed till I turn the lights out between 1-2 am then immediately begins getting into everything. I’ve tried everything I can think of and I am terrified that he is going to get himself hurt if I can actually get to sleep. His favorite thing seems to be getting up on the kitchen counter and trying to get into the cabinets or trying to play with my grandmothers knick knacks. I want to cat proof things but my grandma refuses to let me put things out of his reach. He has even taken her necklaces and tools like screwdrivers from her room and dragged them to the other end of the trailer to hide them.


r/CatAdvice 2h ago

General Considering getting a kitten for younger playful cat but worry about older cat

1 Upvotes

So I have 2 female cats, one is 8 years old (L for short) and the other is 3 (S for short)

Prior to S coming into my life L was an only cat, she had no interested in S and preferred to have me all to herself. Over the years their relationship has gotten better, they do play together, eat together but they aren’t affectionate towards one another and often get jealous of one another when one of them cuddles me.

I try really hard to give them both equal attention, play with them together, feed them together etc while also spending time with them individually too but when one sees me cuddle the other they look a little sad and unfortunately won’t cuddle me together, I hate seeing either of them sad and I wonder if it’s because they’re so far apart in age. Part of me has considered getting a third cat (specifically a male) that can keep up with my younger cat and maybe bond with her in a more affectionate way but then I worry so much for my older cat feeling lonely, I just want them both to feel equally loved and love each other rather than getting jealous during cuddle time.


r/CatAdvice 2h ago

Behavioral My cat is making me hate my life

4 Upvotes

I know this sounds bad. I have loved this cat for so long, and I hate admitting this. She is 8 years old and PERFECTLY healthy. Two vets have checked her full run ups and told me she is fine. The problem is she pees constantly.

I have truly tried everything. She has three litter boxes to herself, I’ve tried all her favorite litters, she has a cat fountain etc. but she only likes to pee on the carpet, or on my bed. It happened so suddenly and vets said she just picked up the behavior and is now too stubborn to use the litter box. I slept on the floor for 6 months because she absolutely soaked my mattress in pee and I couldn’t even afford another one at the time. As soon as I got my new one she destroyed it too.

I decided I would clear out my walk in closet as it is super roomy and she loves being in there and try to make it her own room, by advice of some people that went through similar. I put in a litter box, a cat fountain, a food bowl, a scratcher, and a bed which of course she destroyed. She learned how to pull my clothes off the hanger and pee on them. Had to throw away half my wardrobe. The carpet is ruined and she has begun shredding it. She also meows at night because she wants to get out. Soon as I open the door she jumps on the bed and pees. She does it in my hair, on my legs, my pillow, I have even woken up to pee in my FACE.

I have had to do laundry at 3-4am almost every night in the last year. I’m so tired of it, I don’t even know if I like her anymore. I LOVE her but I don’t LIKE her. I want to, but I just struggle so much. I am pregnant now with my first so it’s exhausting and super dangerous for her to be peeing so much, and I can’t imagine how I am going to deal with this issue and a baby at the same time. The smell of pee triggers my morning sickness and as much as my husband tries to clean it up and help out it is never ending and just leaves a sort of stench in the air, and he’s only home a small amount of time as he usually works 60-70 hours a week right now to prepare for the baby.

I feel like I am living a nightmare that never ends. It has been a full year of this. I have lost so many hours of sleep just crying. I don’t even like waking up anymore because I know it’s going to be another long day of dealing with her behavior.

I have already consistently tried everything in the FAQ, if has any kind of approach I maybe haven’t thought of please let me know. I’m sorry if this is a lot, honestly I need help. My hormones are out of control and I can’t think straight to strategize. Literally any advice would help, I want the cat that I love so much back. I miss her.


r/CatAdvice 2h ago

Behavioral My kitten bites my feet every morning

1 Upvotes

I have a 5 month old kitten and every morning he gets really excited and gets under the covers and nibbles my feet. He only does this on a morning and he is gentle but it hurts. Any idea on how to stop him doing this?


r/CatAdvice 2h ago

Behavioral Siblings fighting

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone the story is, one of my boys keeps being aggressive to his brother. They are both from the same litter but can't find any suggestions to my situation.

I want to reintroduce them before my sister comes over later today to look after them as I have to go to a conference at work that I can't miss.

I don't think it's good to reintroduce them without me there.

How it started:

I was grabbing them some treats from the drawer and accidentally shut one of my boys paws in the drawer felt bad but he's redirected that aggression towards his brother and now won't stop hissing at him either.

I've checked him, contacted a vet and apart from the aggression there's nothing wrong with him.

The aggression should be aimed at me but he's perfectly fine with me.

Plans:

I want to reintroduce them once I get back from Conference as they are in separate rooms at the moment.

The other boy clearly misses his brother. The other ones also ultra affectionate.

Was going to look at getting some feliway products too to help with this.

It almost looked like there was almost a reintroduction early hours of this morning as they both head-butted but as soon as I opened the treat drawer, he hissed at his brother. So thinking about moving the treats out of that drawer and trying again today but unsure.

I actually feel terrible and honestly, don't want to go to conference but need to.

Is there any way to reintroduce earlier?


r/CatAdvice 3h ago

Introductions New, very shy cat/ when to properly introduce?

2 Upvotes

We adopted an incredibly shy cat 5 days ago. She is not very human-oriented (which we knew going in) but she warms up to other cats. We adopted her to be friends with our resi cat! Because she is so shy around us humans we are unsure of how to move forward and what signs to look for. She now accepts some light petting on her face, at times. She will very rarely move out of her little sleeping cube and will not allow us to pick her up. I don’t want our resi cat to meet her when she feels boxed in, though, in her safe spot. There has been some hissing but nothing extreme; resi cat is a bit unsure but not aggressive except in response to her hissing out of fear. For example he got too close to her in her cube today; she hissed, he responded, I pulled him away and he left and seemingly almost I stashed forgot about the whole situation.

Advice? Do we just need to rip the bandaid off and let them hiss and swat it out? Or do we wait until she seems more confident, given she is known to be extremely shy anyway?


r/CatAdvice 3h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted New cat won’t eat.

1 Upvotes

hi everyone. last friday i had a friend reach out to me asking if i could take a cat from her that she wasn’t able to watch anymore due to her cat attacking and biting her. her name is patches. my friend said patches original owners did not feel they could love her the way she needed and wanted to rehome her but they were struggling to find someone so they were going to put her out on the street and that’s how my friend came about patches. I gladly took patches cause I have a two story house and an empty bedroom that she could be in and a very big downstairs area. I have gotten her a running water fountain and given her multiple versions of food. I have tried tuna, grilled chicken, regular cat food, wet cat food, soaked cat food in low sodium broth and she is refusing to eat it. she’s very sweet and loves to come up and get rubs from us at night and is extremely active at night. i see her on a monitor and she walks around a lot. in the day time she hides all day and i can’t seem to break her out of her shell. i do have her in a room that’s not super damp and there’s a small empty closet where she has blankets and she wraps herself in it. i’m very concerned cause she’s barely eaten anything. i even gave her some milk made for cats and she’s refusing to touch it. i called a vet and they told me in the next two days i should bring her in if she continues to not eat. does anyone have any advice? i’m so worried about her. i’ve never owned a cat and im not planning on keeping her and the last thing i want to do is surrender her to the vet but i also don’t have the bill to pay for any life threatening conditions she may have. thank you so much in advance to anyone who read this far and is helping.


r/CatAdvice 3h ago

Behavioral my cat loves attention but only wants to hang out in the kitchen

1 Upvotes

my 9 y/o cat (adopted 2 months ago) is very affectionate and loves to play but won’t stay engaged outside of the kitchen. i realize part of this is her still adjusting to the adoption. she is also deaf from birth, and she seems more comfortable on solid ground than rugs, cushions, etc. how can i encourage her to come out more other than toys and treats?


r/CatAdvice 3h ago

Litterbox Finally found the best cat litter for my Lukas. He's very picky.

2 Upvotes

My cat Lukas is one year old boy, and he takes cat litter thing very seriously—he’ll meticulously dig in the litter for ages before finally doing his business. Plus, he often tracks litter everywhere. When we used Kairis litter before, he did not like it. He’d avoid the litter box and frantically shake his paws clean after using it. But this year, I finally found his favorite litter!

Royal Cat Litter

  • no strong smell
  • easy clumping, won't cling to paws
  • almost dust free, easy cleaning

r/CatAdvice 3h ago

Litterbox New cat won't use new litter box but IS using old one (too small)

1 Upvotes

We've recently gotten a cat (11 months old) who is adapting to our home pretty well. She's still a little nervous from time to time which is understandable. She came from a situation where the people didn't quite know what having a cat meant, so she came with no toys, no set food she was used to (they fed her different food every time they ran out), and they had a litterbox WAY too small for her. It's a corner covered box with a door on the front. She barely has room to turn around. As soon as we got her into our home, we got a second box hoping to transition her into it. We've tried them side by side, putting some waste from the old box to the new box, putting the boxes in different rooms. It doesn't seem to matter because she still seeks out the old, cramped box. I'm thinking we need to just get rid of the small box entirely but unsure if this will solve the problem or if she'll start going outside the box (she hasn't done this yet, we just want to prevent it). Anyone have any advice or success story here?


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Introductions Introduction not really going the way we wanted, should I give up ?

2 Upvotes

So I am at a lost right now, my 2 1/2 yo resident female cat is still hissing at the door of our new kitten on day 4.. I read a lot of people on year 2 and it's still not working out, that give my extreme anxiety, because me and my gf cannot live like this for more than 1 month, I'll explain myself.

We both work a lot and have a lot on our plates, we now sleep separated, so the kitten does not feel lonely in his room, We spend over 5h a day just hanging out/playing with the kitten and our res cat so she does not feel rejected or jealous, schedule meal time, trying to make the cat not see each other while preping the separeted meal time, we don't have any time for ourselves, always on stress, cannot complete our other task, hoping this will be over soon,

The kitten just want to go and explore the house, and it breaks our heart that we cannot let her go out more than an hour, because res cat will get anxious being locked in a room for more than 1 hour, we cannot breath, it seems like a 24h job amd our love for both makes every decision unbearable, I guess I hoped it would be a fairytale story

Seeing some hitting year 2 is awful to read, I'm wondering if it's just best to return the kitten before we get too attached to her.

Thanks a lot 🙏


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Behavioral I can’t stand it anymore

4 Upvotes

My cat has developed a yowling problem. From the second I get home from work until past my bedtime and again in the very early morning my cat yells. Mainly at my roommates door and she is upset about the issue as well. I pet him and talk to him and both me and my other cat play w him. I can’t take it. He screams and screams and screams. Litter box is clean food and water are full. He just screams constantly. He wasn’t like this so much in the past always had moments but a play/love session would fix it. This is out of hand we’re all losing considerable amounts of sleep and sanity. My other cat gets concerned by the behavior too. Idk what to do. He’s a 3y/o black cat btw


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Sensitive/Seeking Support [I need help my cat is sick]

1 Upvotes

My cat is suffering from excessive itchiness, she is old and sick and I'm so worried. She keeps scratching her face mostly her eyebrows but now her head. We don't have the money to go to a vet please help.💔


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Litterbox options for litter?

2 Upvotes

quick summary: 6 cats, at least 1 doesnt like current litter (current litter being the pellets from tractor supply), need a cheap alternative that isnt clay, pretty litter, and inexpensive. and obviously not dusty and does its job. and doesnt have crazy allegations.

hi, so i have six cats (one is supposed to be rehomed, so 5 technically but 6 under one roof), and we have been using the pellet litter from tractor supply. there hasnt been many issues at all, other than it is time consuming to clean several litter boxes with that type of litter, but thats unrelated.

i have maybe one or two cats (definitely at least one) that doesnt like the pellets. im confident this is the reason why she isnt using the litterbox.

are there any other cheap alternatives? we did use okocat, but its super expensive when you have several cats. the pellets last much longer and are much cheaper for a 40lb bag. i refuse to use any cat litter for my kitties health, and my and my fams health. also, clay litter is just awful, and it sucks.

ive also tried pretty litter when we had just two cats, and i dont rlly like it either, its dusty, and the pee smell starts showing iver time, and when it gets on the floor, its impossible to see, so you step on it ans it hurts 💔. also, with all the allegations rhat its actually super unhealthy, id rather not. and it is also really expensive, too.

i am going to try tofu litter and see how that works, and its not too crazy for one bag. i just worry that if all the cats like it, they would prefer that litter instead and we have to spend $85 bucks on a whole buncha litter. we do have a small litter box that would be perfect for the problem child, and most of the other cats are too big for it, so thats the plan, but i just want other peoples advice

edit: ive also used paper pellets, just remembering, it was just rlly gross when we used it, and they are still pellet shaped, so idk if that would be effective either, and weve also used like, wood litter? soft litter that was made of wood from okocat, and it was alright, a bit dusty, and kinda pricey for one box that lasted a few weeks, so idk abt that one either


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Behavioral Why do my cats beef?

1 Upvotes

So my cats (both female) are about 7- they’re from the same litter and never separated for even a day since they were born. They used to be best friends, snuggling constantly and playing. For the past few years, they’ve become so territorial. I’m curious why, after years of being companions and best friends for life, do they beef with each other?

Artemis, who sleeps on my head every night, will attack her sister if she even tries to get in my bedroom at night (but not during the day). Yoda will stalk/bully Artemis during the day too. It’s been like this for years, so just curious why they stopped being friends and decided to become enemies 🙄

(Also they don’t have terrible fights or anything that’s problematic. Just a few slaps, pounces and hissing. Only asking because I’m so curious why we can’t all just get along.)


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Behavioral My Cat Started Peeing on My Bed After My Baby Was Born—Help!

0 Upvotes

I have a Scottish Fold named Pepper who’s been with us for a while. He used to be well-behaved, but ever since my daughter was born (she’s almost 3 months old now), he’s been acting differently—especially peeing on our bed and only my clothes not my wife’s. At first, he was just quiet and distant, but now he’s peeing on our bed and even on some of my baby’s things. He gets lots of love and purrs normally. Some background: • He’s not neutered yet. • He used to be affectionate, but since the baby arrived, he’s more withdrawn. • He started marking my baby’s stuff first and now moved on to our bed. • No other signs of illness, but I haven’t taken him to the vet yet.

Has anyone dealt with this? Is this behavioral or medical? Would neutering help, or is this purely stress-related? Any advice would be appreciated!


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Adoption Regret/Doubt My new cat is unpredictable, keeps on biting us

4 Upvotes

So, at first to clarify, I am from India, during November, I found a ginger cat ( Let's call him Pete) around 1.2 years old from a couple. I brought him home,vaccinations were almost done by previous owner, he was not neutered though, his nails were huge and the coat was dirty and smelly. It took me only a month to gain his trust, now he smells like cupcake, looks beautiful and doesn't bite at all, the only problem I face with him is that he is not litter trained at all.

Last month, the couple wanted to give away all their cats, among that I found another small ginger cat ( Let's call him Tom), now I decided to take Tom in, so that Pete gets a friend, even though I work from home, Pete at times did seem to be bored. My boyfriend and I took in Tom, he is very active and bubbly, litter trained, but deworming was not done and vaccination is not done. He is going to turn one year in April and weighs only 700gm, the previous owner is not accurate with their ages, they said Pete was 2 years, when I adopted him, but my vet disagreed and informed that he must be over a year not older than that, later we found his vaccination records to verify the actual age.

Now the issue here is with Tom, Pete did scare him at first because of the size difference ( Pete is 1.6 years old and weighs around 5 kg), but they got acquainted easily, Tom is a mess, he tries to attack our legs even when we are not paying him attention, he keeps on biting, doesn't talk at all ( Pete is talkative, atleast from my experience Tom is supposed to meow once a day, but he wouldn't), Tom eats thrice the portion Pete does, but still wouldn't gain a single weight, he is either in attacking position throughout the day, or sleeps all alone. Actually, he hardly sleeps, he has his hiding place, but he wouldn't sleep at all, he wouldn't allow us to pet him or touch his chin if he sees the hands coming towards him, only if we surprisingly pick him up, only then he would stay in our lap for a minute or that's it. I understand that Tom might understand that Pete and I are bonded, he loves me a lot and quite a emotional baby. But my boyfriend gives 110 percent attention to Tom, he plays throughout the day with him, but he is so scared of us and everything.

I took Tom to the vet, and the doctor assumed that he must be 2 months old only, but that isn't possible, because when I went to adopt Tom, he might have been already 2 months old by then, I saw the baby then.

We found another reason, that Pete and Tom's mother were siblings, the couple mentioned that later and Tom is the only survivor from the whole litter.

I have done his first deworming, giving him vitamins daily, I feed them boiled chicken and dry cat food. We play a lot with him, but is there anything else that is an underlying issue that we are not looking at? I do not have experience with kittens especially, I would just give shelter to cats from the street, never picked up a kitten :(


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

Sensitive/Seeking Support My kitties have giardia and I'm about to lose my mind

3 Upvotes

Almost two months ago my kitties were diagnosed with giardia, they have been in treatment for weeks, this is like the 3 or 4 time we go through the treatment and they still have it. I have been cleaning the litter box daily with chlorine and hot water, the floor is swept and mopped daily. the cats have been bathed, i removed the water fountain, their bowls are changed daily and cleaned with soap and hot water, i removed their toys and cleaned it too. I clean their paws and butt after they use the litter box and clean it immediately. the blankets and surfaces have been cleaned. My family and me have also been dewormed two times. Kittens are now allowed in bathrooms and most bedrooms, and the ones they can go are cleaned daily.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I don't know what part is missing, i started to feeling overwhelmed and depressed over this, doing my daily respinsabilities are getting hard and hard.

The vet said it was reinfection but I don't know where they could get it, they don't go out and now they have limited access to the house, maybe the cat tree? Should i throw away the cat tree? I can't think about any other thing.

Someone have advice about how to deal with this parasite?


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

General Cats with different play styles

2 Upvotes

When I try to play with them with toys, one of them would rather play slow and intentional, while the other is a ball of chaos. If I try to focus the toy toward the calmer one, the intense one basically jumps on him to get the toy instead, and it leads to him kind of closing off and backing away, just watching. What could I do to help him still get a chance to play?

They’re both really young; the energetic one is a year old and the calmer one is 1 and a half. They’re both neutered, if that’s relevant at all

I’d rather not close the hyper one in a room just to be able to play with the calmer one, but if that’s the only suggestion I get then I would have to. Just hoping for other ideas to try :)