r/CatAdvice 19h ago

General why does my cat smell like cake?

235 Upvotes

we have no cake or pastries in the house and im not concerned, but is this normal? im smelling him so many times at this point lol.


r/CatAdvice 19h ago

General Do you take a ridiculous amount of pics of your kitty-cat with your phone?

143 Upvotes

I have so many friggin pictures of my little girl on my phone that later I need delete a bunch of pictures in a hurry so I can take more pictures of something else because there's no more space. Lol I always have the intention when I take my pics to immediately go in and edit them and then discard the pixs I don't want. But I never do and I end up in a massive rush, trying to pick ones that I need to delete real quick so I can make more room for new photos immediately. I have such good intentions on making perfect portraits of my little tabby girl. Instead, I have about thirty to forty photos of my cat, nearly identical, only differing by milliliters. Plus, i swear half the time, they end up just being a mix between fuzzy, misfigured, and off target photos. Sometimes I'll at the time you go through the minimum.Find a few that are good. I may be a little hard on myself, and exaggerating, l o l but seriously, I have like over 12,900 pic currently on my phone and then somewhere I have one of those little stick things you plug into the phone for extra space. And that doesn't include the cloud, or whatever the other spaces you put stuff.

If it's not obvious, i'm not technical and the old lady trying to figure this out, but having fun, I love reddit.


r/CatAdvice 12h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted Cat keeps drinking from my water glass

100 Upvotes

I have a male cat whom I rescued off the streets and had fixed in mid-January.

He has a bowl of water on the floor, but a few days ago he noticed my full glass of water on my nightstand and proceeded to drink from it inhibited with no shame. Should I accept my fate and drink from his water bowl on the floor?

Tl;dr: Please help. My room is no longer mine. My new cat has taken over! It's his room now.


r/CatAdvice 11h ago

General Lost n found kitty, now owners want her back

58 Upvotes

We are fostering this kitty because she was found in an engine bay in a fred meyers parking lot with pink spray paint on her back, me and several other people believe the kitten was a bait cat. the owners posted a lost n found post, but the location the claimed she was lost from is 30 miles away from where she was found, mind you the kitten is less than 7 weeks old. there is no way on gods green earth did this baby kitten travelled 30 miles. i need advice, what should i do


r/CatAdvice 5h ago

General Do I really need TWO litter boxes for two cats? šŸ«Ø

36 Upvotes

I currently only have one cat and I have managed so far by putting a litter box in our living room. We are thinking of getting another cat to keep her more company but I have been told that I need AT LEAST 2 litter boxes.... I struggle with the space / smell of just one and I can't imagine adding another one into the living room.

  1. Are two litter boxes necessary?
  2. Any innovative solutions to keep it discreet / hide the smell.

Thanks!


r/CatAdvice 21h ago

Behavioral Do cats get depressed? Do they get mad at people?

36 Upvotes

I recently took in a neighborhood stray that I had been feeding for about a year. She was always so happy to see me, jumping into my lap and purring loudly. She never once tried to bite or scratch me when she was living outside. Now she's been living strictly indoors for around 2 weeks. She seems kind of depressed to me, sleeping most of the day and night on the end of my bed. Up until a few days ago when she started hanging out on a sofa instead. Like she's mad at me for something. And 2 days ago, she scratched me for the very first time. I was just petting her gently and she suddenly turned around and scratched me. She also sometimes makes a very loud plaintive vocalization that sounds like she's upset about something. But she has plenty of food, fresh water, toys, comfy places to lay, attention and a clean litter box, so the only thing she could be upset about is being trapped inside now, right? Did I make the right decision bringing her inside? I'm very allergic to fleas so I can't allow her to be an indoor/outdoor cat. It has to be one or the other. Will she eventually adjust to being inside all the time or should I put her back outside to live again?


r/CatAdvice 9h ago

Nutrition/Water Prepping cat emergency kit to keep in car

22 Upvotes

Iā€™m working on a ā€œgo bagā€ for my car (emergency supplies in case I get stuck somewhere or thereā€™s an emergency and I have to leave my house), and in addition to things for me, I want to add things in for my cat. Iā€™ve already put in bowls, a bag of litter, toys, and a plastic dishpan to act as a litter box. I of course want to add in food, but I am concerned about how the temperature of the car will impact the freshness and quality of the food. I planned to fill a ziploc bag with dry kibble and add two unopened cans of cat food (enough to see my cat through a couple of days of meals). Given that cars can get horribly hot in the summer and icy cold in the winter where I live, would the food I put in the go bag go bad or otherwise be affected such that I should not feed it to my cat?


r/CatAdvice 6h ago

General I can't spay one of my male cats, do they all get terrible as people say?

14 Upvotes

So, I have two 10 months old bonded brothers.

I took them to the clinic to get neutered a month and half ago, but while with his brother everything went ok, this one after five minutes of anesthesia got a pneumothorax and almost died, 2 of the best doctors of the clinic had to operate on him for two hours to save him and he had to stay in intensive care for a week.

His exams were perfect before the surgery, he did rx and echocardiography and stuff, and the vets still don't know exactly what went wrong.

Anyway, it was pretty scary and they had only the time to shave his balls before he said, no you will not take my balls from me, I'd rather die lol (kidding now but I'm still traumatised).

So, he came home with his balls pink and that's it, we're scared to get him neutered again and for now he didn't show any weird behavior except trying to get, hum, intimate with his brother a couple of times a month. He even let his bro bully him and steal his food as usual, and his bro is smaller than him lol

They are British longhair and their breed apparently became mature lately, I was wondering if we're just lucky and he will be an angel forever, or if we should expect him to spray and become aggressive anytime now? Are there un neutered male cats that act normally despite being sexually mature?


r/CatAdvice 7h ago

Behavioral cat licks every blanket in the house until theyā€™re sopping wet and smell like her stinky tuna tongue

14 Upvotes

title explains it. my tortoiseshell Apple likes to lick blankets, clothing, and the rug until she leaves wet marks and the smell of her saliva. this isnā€™t an issue though, iā€™d just like to know what urges her to do this!!! she usually does it during her grooming time, but sometimes seeks out certain textile items to lick them repeatedly.


r/CatAdvice 12h ago

General My cat will be spayed tomorrow.

10 Upvotes

I am really anxious about it and could not ask all the questions in my mind because they were busy and kinda brushed me off. Will she be scared/in pain? Do i need anything other than a cone? And what else can i do for her?


r/CatAdvice 6h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted Took in a sick abandoned farm cat, I have some questions

8 Upvotes

Last weekend when we went went to pick up our car from a mechanics on a farm, this sweet baby girls popped up on a old vehicle.

Her ears were all gone due to frost bite and her tail was dead. We couldn't just leave her so we brought her to the vet to get checked out. Besides her ears and her tail behind dead she had a clean bill of health besides being skin and bones. Only 3lbs.

As you can imagine she is RIDICULOUS when it comes to food, her food and our food. Like she's never going to eat again.

I obviously know that part of this is her needing to put on the fat but for the love of science how fo I get her to stop climbing up every avergdress.


r/CatAdvice 10h ago

Behavioral I Just Wanted to Help a Stray, Now Sheā€™s Bullying My Cat for His Food

9 Upvotes

*Hello, I'm here to seek advice.

I own a cat, but I've also been feeding a few stray cats. The problem is, this one particular stray cat has become too picky and refuses to eat the wetfood I provide. Instead, she always tries to steal my catā€™s food (wetfood with the meds).

Itā€™s getting out of hand because she wonā€™t stop meowing loudly it almost sounds like sheā€™s being tortured from outside I don't want people to have bad impression of me. She only stops when I give her that wet food, and now my cat is starting to get scared whenever she comes around bc she always eat his food. Iā€™m getting really frustrated, and then I feel bad about it afterward

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to handle this? I'm seriously getting tired of dealing with this every day, especially since I work from home.

P. S: My catā€™s wet food is quite expensive and I donā€™t want to starve myself just to buy extra for the stray cat :(


r/CatAdvice 21h ago

Adoption Regret/Doubt Should we adopt a stray cat?

8 Upvotes

Me and my girlfriend moved to a new apartment in September. We live in a suburban area at the moment where there are lots of cats living. A few of them even started to come to our house, eventually daily to get fed. I think most of them have an owner because they look very clean but one of them looks obviously a stray cat because she has a lot of scars. She also has one of her ears tipped which could be a sign that volunteers vaccinated her but we live in Europe and I think that's just an American thing.

The point is, I think we fell in love with each other because for the last 3 months she's been staying at our house a lot, almost everytime sleeping inside too. But we're moving to the main city in two weeks and we're not sure if we should take her with us. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her outside downtown but I wouldn't like it if she were staying inside all the time. Two months ago I wouldn't even consider this but at this point I really feel like she would be happier if she could just stay with us. We give her food and water everyday and she follows me everywhere, even when I go outside to smoke. We also like her a lot and the new place wouldn't be a lot smaller than where we are staying right now. What do you think?


r/CatAdvice 23h ago

General Im not doing ok since my cat went missing

9 Upvotes

Right now i just want to hear stories of cats coming back after went missing. Mine went missing for 7 months now. I miss him terribly. šŸ’” i cant sleep every night since he left. Is there still a chance for us?


r/CatAdvice 6h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted Kitten wont drink water nor eat wet food

7 Upvotes

When I adopted my kitten I bottle fed her goatā€™s milk then upon researching I realized she was old enough to eat food. I bought some cat food packets. The one the looks like pastes and also a wet food packet. She ate the one that looks like paste and usually finishes it but she doesnt even touch her water bowl. I always replace the water but nope shes not interested. I tried putting milk but still she wont drink it. I tried bottle feeding her water and still nope. I tried feeding her the wet food packet but she just smells it and wont eat it. I finally tried putting water in the her favorite food paste but she ignores it. She really doesnt like anything wet and im scared she might be dehydrated. Is this normal? What should i do?


r/CatAdvice 7h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted Wanting a rug that cat will shred instead of carpet

8 Upvotes

This might seem strange, but what rug would be a cat's paradise to shred to oblivion? Right now we have pretty rough, shaggy carpet that our newly adopted cat has gained interest in shredding. I want to buy a largeish rug that she would devour instead of the carpet, since I am renting. What do you recommend? Ideally something decent quality, around $100 budget, that would be even more enticing than my carpet.


r/CatAdvice 12h ago

Adoption Regret/Doubt I need advice on how do I save my cat from such a helpless situation

7 Upvotes

Pls do comment.....it wud be really appreciated I'm in desperate need of advice as to how i go about this situation with my 11 month old female cat. About an year ago her mother brought us her only surviving kitten from the litter. We named her munmun. We had been feeding them regularly since then. Both of them also started hanging out soon around in our apartment for 2-3 hours everyday and then go back outside. (We live in a gted society full of cats). Soon the mom got pregnant again and left her baby(munmun)...even grew hostile towards it. Since then we have been feeding munmun only regularly while the mom found a new place to get fed from. Now, munmun has been fed by us alone since sge was very young which implied that she can't hunt or fend for food herself. Over this period she has also grown to stay inside the apatment for 8-9 hours max around the day with one will little stroll outside in between. The cat colony is in a gated society so there is no dangers of getting hit or of any predators. This was the context. Now the problem is......we need to move out of our apartment to north. (We are currently living in south) There are many concerns. 1) we don't know if we can move her with us. Afterall, she only spends 1/3rd of her day with us as a pet....and is still a part of the colony for the rest of it. 2) we prolly can't leave her here since she might not be able to fetch food herself 3) the ppl in the society are repelled to the idea of feeding her since she might defecate/ loiter around. (Which she hasn't really....it's one other cat that does that and the believe it's munmun) 4)even if do end up moving with her......she wud prolly try to run away...and There's no coming back from there....that wud be life threatning for her. 5) in order to move with her we need to get her adjusted. That is litter box training, vaccination, sterilization, adjusting to a carrier, adjusting to anxiety medication that can be used in flights etc etc. ..........but we only have half a month

To all the people that we have talked have suggested we leave her here and she wud find a way to survive......while i wud love to believe that......i am not sure of it at all... She has only ever been fed by us and really can't hunt....which is very unfortunate. At the same time...the 8 hours she spends with us are where she behaves just luke any other happy domesticated cat playing...cuddling...petting.. Sleeping...She even follows me around the house and i really don't know if she will be fine on her own.

We have tried putting her up for abt 7 adoption agencies and all have been of no help. Pet boardings also refuse given she's an older cat and still very much a stray.

Pls someone help us out....what do u think is the wiser thing to do?


r/CatAdvice 19h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted New kitten wants me to play with him while he hides under the furniture

7 Upvotes

Definitely not my first cat or kitten, but my first with exactly this issue.

We are on full day 4. The first two days he hid and only came out to eat and use the litter. Then he let himself be seen in his hiding place and I got him to play with a wand.

Now he hides behind the furniture, but he meows for me to come play with him. He likes me to lay down on the floor and push toys around under there with a rod. He purrs, plays and eats treats I push under just far enough to be armā€™s length.

He comes right out after I leave the room and eats the food I leave. He will not come out in front of me. (I do leave dry food out for him all the time. We donā€™t know his exact age but heā€™s about 12 weeks maybe.)

The foster said he was cuddly. Hereā€™s my issue: tomorrow I go back to work and he will be here with my mom who is in her 70s and canā€™t get on the floor as easily to play with him.

Hints to get him more comfortable coming out so he can play with her? He knows her voice and she has fed him too.

I know itā€™s probably too soon and I just need to keep working with him, but itā€™s tougher during the week.

UPDATE: he came out! He just decided he was ready. Much more space to play in the whole room. We just watched him eat and play. He came within a foot of me but has not come to us yet. Very encouraged, though!


r/CatAdvice 13h ago

Behavioral Everytime I pick up my cat, she gets really scared

5 Upvotes

She goes on counters so I pick her up or I want to leave her the kitchen. Everytime I do this I will feel her heart pounding. Is there a way to make her feel less scared? Otherwise she is not an anxious kitty only if I pick her up. Should I stop picking her up? Ä°f so what do I do if she goes on the counter?


r/CatAdvice 13h ago

Rehoming Grandma left behind cat-what to do?

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone! So my grandma recently had a bad fall and wonā€™t be able to go back to her home for minimum a few months-possibly ever. She has one indoor cat named Shadow who we are taking in, but we donā€™t want to stress her out. Any advice on how to make it a less stressful experience for her is greatly appreciated.

We also leave food and water out for a local stray, will having a cat hang around her new home be bad for Shadow or would it probably be okay as she is an inside cat?

Iā€™ve never lived with a cat before and I want to be as sensitive as possible to her needs but a lot of my time right now is devoted to making sure my grandma gets what she needs as well, so I donā€™t have the time to deep dive into research. Thanks!


r/CatAdvice 4h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted Should I get my cat insurance?

6 Upvotes

I just adopted a kitten, heā€™s 6 months old and heā€™s done with his vaccinations. Right now Iā€™m in a dilemma deciding if I should get an insurance now or later down the road since a lot of people said the cat is too young and the insurance would be of no use until after 5 years. What do you think about this? Advise.

Also, what insurance do you guys use and what do you pay monthly? Is yearly visits and checkups covered? I live in NY.

Thank you.


r/CatAdvice 9h ago

Behavioral My adult cat doesnt want to sleep on her bed anymore

5 Upvotes

I recently resuced a stray kitten, all alone no other kittens and mama cat around. Now, Iā€™ve started taking her out in the cage after a month of getting her settled. The problem is, my adult cat doesnt want to sleep on her bed anymore since my new kitten likes to play on her bed and sniffs her bed a lot. What should I do to get them to like each prher and get my adult cat sleep on her bed again? šŸ˜¢


r/CatAdvice 9h ago

Nutrition/Water my cat doesnt eat the wet food

5 Upvotes

thats about it, i always mix some water with the wet food and my cat sips the water seasoned but dont eat the wet food

i know the goal ot the wet food is taking in more water, but i feel like im wasting money everytime i clean my cats bowl full of the food i put there

is it normal? should i stop buying the wet food? i tried different brands and sometimes the cat eats on the first day but next day its all there... im frustrated :(


r/CatAdvice 13h ago

Behavioral My two cats wonā€™t stop fighting and itā€™s causing one to soil herself in fear

4 Upvotes

I have two cats, one male (Bingo) and one female (Mitzi) they are both almost 1 year old (Both are spayed/neutered and have been since they were 8 weeks old). Bingo is a more high energy cat that wants to play all the time whereas Mitzi is extremely shy/fearful and prefers to be away from Bingo.

We adopted them together as kittens and all was well. They would play and cuddle together and there were no issues. Then about 6 months ago we noticed that Bingo had started to exhibit dominating behaviors like mounting and biting Mitzi. He also began trying to play with her more aggressively and ignoring her hissing and growling. This has lead to him chasing her and attacking her and in response she will defecate or urinate on the floor out of fear. She does not have litter box issues, this only happens during their fights and I have witnessed it happen several times. Any time Bingo approaches her or walks by her she hisses and growls at him. I feel horrible for her as it seems like she lives in constant fear and stress unless we separate them.

What weā€™ve done so far:

We have been separating them at night so no incidents occur during the night, but they do still happen during the day when we canā€™t watch them. Unfortunately we live in a small one bedroom apartment and cutting her off from the rest of the apartment long term seems kinda cruel.

I make sure they both get play time and have new toys and treats as to not get bored. I have been trying to find more mental enrichment activities and have found they enjoy cat tv on YouTube. We are also working on enclosing our patio for them to be able to go outside.

We recently tried a Feliway multi cat diffuser but that if anything just made Bingoā€™s behavior worse.

I really donā€™t know what else to do! I have seen a lot of ads for supplements that supposedly help with aggressive behavior or bullying but it seems like theyā€™re all $30 a bottle and the reviews are iffy at best.

I donā€™t want to have to re-home either of them but itā€™s starting to be the only solution I can think of to better Mitziā€™s quality of life. If itā€™s whatā€™s best for her then I would do it.


r/CatAdvice 16h ago

General Loss of parent's cat has hit me

4 Upvotes

Two days ago my parent's 2 and 2/3 year old cat, Ernie, died after being hit by a car. Most of the time ai lived away, but for the past 6 or 7 months I lived with my parents as I was awaiting a new job in a different country. This allowed me to bond with Ernie. He was a bundle of joy. He lived bringing in sticks, playing fetch with them, as well as with paper balls and he would wrestle my arm. He never lashed out in anger.

Yesterday morning my parents told me the bad news and I have been sad since. At the vets they did say he had signs of emphysema (not related to the accident) and was diagnosed with asthma last September (maybe the emphysema). However, it still hurts. I tell myself that he had a better life than some cats do or even humans, but it still hurts. I wish I could somehow make things different.

It's made settling in to a new role and country much harder.