This is something my mom and I have wondered for a while now. For a couple years now, whenever we pet her, she begins to lick us. And we both pull our hands away because we don’t really care for being licked by her. So that begs the question… is she politely telling us to stop petting her? Or are we accidentally reacting negatively to her trying to groom us?

I know that cats are usually pretty obvious when saying “no”, but this isn’t a behavior I’ve been able to decipher with my own research. She’s also fairly shy, if that helps with anything.

For some additional context, she began to lick her fur where I was petting her right after I stopped the video.

Additional info: I live in the US and vet care is accessible if needed, she is around 6 years old and is spayed.

TLDR: My cat has been licking me when I pet her for several years now, and I always pull my hand away when she does. I want to figure out if she is telling me to stop petting her, or if she’s just grooming me.

Sorry this video doesn’t really show much but my cat accidentally ate some dawn soap when I was washing her ( bc she has fleas) and ever since she has been gagging. Her body is hot and she makes meowing noise as if shes in pain. Her body seems to be in pain whenever we hold her. Shes breathing loud and sometimes has her mouth open often. She ate a less than usually and drank less than usually. Does Anyone know what this could be? Is it just a regular sickness or something I should take care of asap?

UPDATE: before you guys come at me im at the vet rn and currently waiting as they are monitoring her. PLS STOP SAYING I DONT CARE/LOVE MY CAT.

UPDATE PT2: we made it back home and she is feeling a lot better. She is still breathing a bit loud, but her energy is up and no longer breathing from her mouth. Based on what the veterinarian said she has a fever as well as feline asthma or an infection (which i need to get her checked up again for). They prescribed her medication which would help with the gagging. They also said the secondary issue could be because she has a lot of air inside her lungs which was caused by her panting. My cat is so much better thanks to your guys advice! Thanks for worrying about my cat and giving me helpful advice. Although some comments did make me feel a certain way they did keep me in check and I will make sure to never do stuff like that again. thanks again!

Hey all,

Rescued an abandoned kitten yesterday. I (24M) was wondering if anyone can tell me what this sound (see video) means.

Thanks in advance!

Country: USA
Vet: First visit scheduled in a couple of days
Cat age: 4-8 weeks I think

Me and my bf have been fostering the small cat (now 2 months old, also just adopted him!), Lenin, since he was 2 weeks. The big cat is not ours, but we are taking care of him because his owners (our friends) are planning on traveling and thought it’d be best to give him to someone else for the duration of that. Big cat is 5 years old. Both are neutered, though Lenin only got neutered yesterday so we aren’t sure if he’s calmed down now or if this situation will continue.

I’ll jump straight into the situation. Lenin is very energetic and also was a single kitten and the only cat in our care until we got the older cat about a month ago. It took a week for the older cat to allow Lenin to be in the same space as him without hissing, and now he’s fine with the kitten. However, the kitten will constantly try to attack him. Sometimes the big cat is unbothered and will even play with him for a bit, but the kitten gets very rough very quick and the big cat often ends up trying to get away. He is very gentle and won’t hurt Lenin even when he is being way too rough and very persistent in his attacks. This has lead to the kitten sometimes chasing him around, and I’ve even seen Lenin walk around with a little tuft of the big cat’s fur stuck to his mouth. The big cat will sometimes make that sound in the video while Lenin is going after him. I’m wondering if this is normal or if me and my boyfriend should try to intervene in some way? I don’t think the kitten is doing it to be mean, but this is also the first time I’ve had my own cat (and a kitten at that) and though I try to educate myself I’m unsure on whether this is harmless or not.

TLDR: 2 month old kitten constantly attacking 5yr old cat.

Getting a ride to the ER for the cat bite and finding a vet to look at him after I'm taken care of 🙏

Me:

I'm an adult, 30. USA.

Vet is hard not a lot of vets here do weekends. We live in the middle of no where. We can afford it it's finding one with availability is the issue.

Cat:

5 years old, long hair ragdoll (looking like a long hair Siamese), neutered

I catch my little guy doing this about once a month or so. But I never see a hairball come up.

Update:

Thank you all for your advice. I sent this video to the vet and they think it is asthma. They are calling to discuss it this week. My little guy is doing okay and is currently sitting beside me purring. He is the love of my life❤️

Hi everyone! I have adopted this beautiful queen, Yasmine, approx 5 months ago. We are in England, she is from Bahrain, however she came to us from London where she was with a family for around 8 months. She is nearly 4, neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, dewormer and flea prevention treatment up to date and also spoilt rotten.

She has chronic rhinitis, vet says its very common with adopted stray cats from the Middle East, secondary to early age cat flu or viral infection, etc. So she is a sneezy little queen, some days are worse than others (i cant see a pattern/trigger just yet), sometimes she has lots of snot and tears, other times she is okay and goes days without a single sniff or cough! Cardiac/respiratory health all clear and okay.

However I have noticed now 2 months ago these black spots all over her little face. Started on chin, now its under her eyes, on her cheeks etc. I clean her eyes several times a day (well not her eyes but the tear stains), and I have been using this gel- photo attached- with zero difference to her skin. If i do little scratch under her chin, all these black spots come/peel off.
She is indoors, eats and drinks well, dental all ok too, she gets enzyme gel every day. I brush her every day, de-shed once a week. She has stainless steel bowl and a water fountain that I keep clean.
What is this and how can I help her?? I dont use candles, aromatic oils, air refreshener etc so tried to minismose potential allergen triggers. Interestingly, we went on a holiday to an airbnb for 5 days to a very rural location (we live in a big town now), and her nasal and eye discharge decreased while we were there.
Vet saw it and wasnt concerned at all but at the same time didnt really give any advice.

Thank you!🫶🏻

Remi, neutered 6 y/o male,

Should I be concerned? I know this could be melanoma but I don’t know if I’m just being paranoid or what. I’m 24 from the US, I have not contacted a vet about it but he often gets check ups and just recently got a dental cleaning done. He has been dealing with this head shaking behavior where he itches either inside his ear or on the side of his head. I don’t know if that’s because of allergies or this issue necessarily but it started about 2 years ago when we had to live somewhere with mold for a few months but then we moved.
I’ll definitely have the vet check this out the next time I take him but I’m just worried and wanted to get other perspectives just in case. I can’t afford vet care at this moment but I will be able to very soon in the next upcoming months

They do this daily, my 4 month old and 5 year old (both spayed/neutered) are always brawling but never hissing, its instigated by both sides but mostly the elder. My little tends to run away for a break before coming back to fight. Airplane ears but they are very good with each other mostly, sleeping in the same single bed etc. I hope its just playing and it looks like that to me as she always comes back for more and he is the main instigator.

TLDR cat (15F) eating less and less. Don’t know what to do…feel so worried and stressed but I want to be able to appreciate the time I still have with her 💔

please excuse any typos formatting issues as I’m on mobile. I noticed my cat wasn’t eating much in February and she was diagnosed with gastrointestinal disease shortly afterwards. since then she‘s had multiple vet visits, including with specialists, thousands of dollars spent, and it feels like it’s always been one step forward, two steps back. the issue is she’s just not eating enough no matter what’s she’s offered, not responding to medication much, and she’s eating less and less lately.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried 4 different types of dry kibble, including prescription food, and will be onto a 5th one once the vet approves the prescription. Probably tried over 20 different kinds of wet food flavors across multiple brands and types (mousse, pate etc), also including 4 different prescription wet foods. She will either reject something outright or eat it for a few meals and stop. I’ve had to toss probably half the wet food offered to her. when I can, I bring the food to her multiple times a day to see if she’ll feel like eating at that moment. she has never been food motivated and doesn’t like Churu etc…not that it would be enough to sustain her. she was eating royal canin prescription rabbit kibble pretty well and it seemed to help her weight a little but it’s been untouched the past few days, along with pretty much everything else

She was on transdermal Mirataz and then got a bad reaction so the vet switched her to the pill version which has been difficult to get her to eat. we tried anti nausea medicine, prednisolone, and will try a different nausea med and steroid next. she gets a B12 supplement daily…she used to eat Tiki Cat Silver Comfort pouches without much effort mixed with the crushed B12 pill and recently with the liquid steroid mixed in too, but now it’s even hard to get her to eat that. she used to eat a good amount the meal right after getting Mirataz but it is less effective now and she’s barely eating with it

behaviorally, aside from not eating and drinking more (likely due to the steroid), she is pretty normal. Good energy level until recently. Seems less active the past day or so but maybe I’m projecting. she hasn’t vomited or had diarrhea. Her coat is beautiful and luxuriously soft still…

she has a follow up vet appt in less than 2 weeks and I’ve been in communication with her vet over email/phone about her treatment plan in between visits…so not giving up but things are not looking good

I guess this post is maybe more trying to get help for me than her. I want to be able to enjoy the time we have left together but I feel so awful and guilty that I’m just stressed and worried all the time. she’s 15 years old and has lived a full life so logically I know it is likely her time to go soon but it’s like I’m mourning her while she’s still here. I want to push the negative feelings aside and just take in each moment I still have with her and try to make more positive memories but my mind is so clouded with anxiety and grief. She doesn’t appear to be suffering but my heart is filled with pain. I don’t know what to do.

Hi all, new here. My fiance and I have two cats who both have had 8 teeth extracted in the past, and one has full blown stomatitis now and needs all teeth extracted. The other one isn’t as bad yet but should also get a full mouth extraction. They are ages 4 and 8.

We’re in Maine, and our local vet dental specialist quoted us upwards of $12k for both cats. We simply can’t afford that, we could probably manage up to 6-7k but even that is chewing up most of our savings.

We’re searching around for other people who might be able to do it for less. I hate the idea of not getting them the best of the best care, but we both have student debt that also needs paying.

Any thoughts on if 12k is normal for two cats, or if anyone has any recommendations I’m all ears!

My cat Miyuuki's(10 y/o, spayed) nose started losing color about a month ago... vet says she isnt anemic but im unsure if I should be concerned with the change.

She has an appointment next friday for her asthma and a limp but im wondering if its something I should bring up as well?

Hello

I'm usually good at knowing if my cats are playing or genuinely fighting but Shrimp (orange, female, around 4 or 5 months, rescue) is a new addition. She's been here for a month or so. Is she fighting with Zoe, 1 year old ish, female?

Hi there, me (28) and my boyfriend (28) just adopted a cat for the first time. He is a big old boy of 14 years. We've just had him for three days and the first two he was really interested in us and wanted to cuddle a lot. But after I came home from the gym (I showered at home right away and put on my clothes from the day before) I sat next to him and he suddenly jumped up and ran away to the opposite side of the room while making loud noises. The same scared noises he made on the car ride home... He hid in the corner for a while and we decided to leave him alone for a bit. Today he seems a little less scared, but still not as comfortable as he was before.

He has been eating, peeing and pooping well, but as a first time cat parent I just wanted to ask if we can do anything to help him and/or if we should be worried.

Should we leave him alone more? Or just hang in the same room? He is a very social cat and likes humans a lot, especially if you're the one giving him food.

(We made sure the inside of the crate is safe, no sharp things are sticking out and we put his blanket from the shelter on top of another towel for comfort)

Hello, today he was doing well and acting normally, but I fell asleep. When I woke up to give him his feeding, I noticed that he wasn’t moving much and refused to nurse. Then, four hours later, I noticed a mild tremor in his legs. He’s still lethargic and isn’t playing like he normally does.
I thought it might be because his room was cold, but I had the AC set to 25°C, which made me confused.
For reference, his body is warm, he’s urinating normally, and he also had a normal bowel movement. Does anyone know what could be causing this, or has anyone experienced the same thing before?

TLDR: Ollie, 16 1/2, has a heart murmur and suspected megacolon/spinal injury. Vets prescribed Meloxaid and Lactulose but advised it could affect his kidneys eventually. I can’t afford major treatment for him and don’t know what is best for him now.

Hi guys,
This is my boy Ollie, albeit a much younger photo of him. He’s sixteen and a half now and has recently been struggling to manage going to the toilet due to constipation. We first took him to the vets in March where he was prescribed Lactulose, which seemed to work for a little while though it was hard to balance when he needed it as he seemed to go through phases of constipation/diarrhoea. It was also at this appointment that I found out he has a heart murmur. Since March, we’ve noticed he’s had three more instances of extreme constipation all of which only seem to get worse. On Sunday, he was struggling with it from 7am-10pm that evening. He was walking around crouched, lifting his back legs so he was only walking on his front two and yowling. We gave him the max dosage of Lactulose (maybe a little over the max) and as much water as he’d take to help. It got to the point where he was laid on the front drive exhausted, barely moving and breathing very slowly. His rectum was also wide open but nothing coming out. We called the out of hours vets and they said to monitor him and if he started panting or if his heart rate increased rapidly, to bring him in. Thankfully it didn’t and he was able to pass the stool (it was literally the length of him, I’ve never seen anything like it). We got him inside and in his basket but I could tell he was still in pain and exhausted, his rectum stayed open with stool leaking out for the rest of the night. By morning, he was up and eating again. I got him a vets appointment for this morning (they weren’t able to see him any sooner) and the vet said she suspects it’s megacolon or a spinal injury but would need an x ray to confirm which I couldn’t afford as I’ve just in the last month graduated university and don’t yet have a job/reliable income. Instead, we decided to treat him with pain medication, Meloxaid and Lactulose although the vet warned me that Meloxaid is likely to affect his kidneys if used long term so it seems like it’s more a case of treatment to make him comfortable rather than treatment to fix him and we also spoke about reviewing in a month and deciding whether the kinder thing is to put him down.
I really don’t know what to do from here. I’m unable to afford major treatment for him, and I worry that with each time he’s undergoing these episodes, they’re getting worse and could result in him having a painful death. At the same time, he’s my baby, my childhood cat and the thought of putting him down prematurely breaks my heart. I’m just hoping for some advice on the situation, or to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.

PLEASE READ TILL THE END!!

I have three cats (all female and spayed)

13 yo (siamese cat) , 12 yo (black cat) and 5 yo ( white tabby) .

We found our 5 yo on the street when she was a few months old and she's been with us ever since.

We seperated them until she was vaccinated, gave them time to adjust, made them smell each other's stuff before meeting etc.

In the beginning, 5 yo wanted to be close, but she also kept attacking them. And now 13 and 12 yo hates her.

I asked vet multiple times thinking we did something wrong. However, she said this is how my 5 yo character is. She is known for doing crazy stuff.

I want my 12 and 13 yo to walk around freely in the house with no fear. They are already old and now my 5 yo keeps disturbing them. I also want my 5 yo to be at ease, i feel like she feels the need to attack others to show her dominance.

I thought of finding 5 yo a new home, but im afraid they will abondon her since she is very active and not affectionate. Also, we love her so much.

Letting her roaming on the street to relieve her energy is also not an option. We live in a very crowded area where cars pass super fast.

Is there anyone who had a similar problem or any suggestions? I'm open to do anything for them to get closer.

Ps: We're aware getting a new cat when other cats are adult is not a great idea. However, she was so young and extremely sick. She couldn't even stand by herself. We couldn't leave her to die. Also, my older cats wanted to be close to her but she caused this problem.

Hey everyone this is Mittins. I'm new to cats so I'm just learning certain quirks still, and maybe this is one of them. To preface she does drink normally also so i am not worried about her hydration. I used to have a gravity water bowl she did the same thing I thought maybe there wasn't enough room for her whiskers so I got this fountain and she only drinks from the side where it pools (she doesn't like the fountain) so I'm about to go back to a wide & shallow bowl gravity for her. Any thoughts or opinions?

Thanks in advance!:)

F28

USA

she's approx 4 years old

Spayed

I can pay for vet care if needed

TLDR

Mittins sometimes drinks by dipping her paws into water and licking it off. (She also drinks normally) is this just a quirk?

The first kibble he eats normally but the other two he spits out.

Age: 3 years

Gender: male

Neutered: yes

He's always done that and it's very wasteful, he refuses to eat the crumbles if it's been in his mouth.

I think maybe the kibbles are too big but I know he eats most of them normally and it looks very intentional, not like they fall out on accident.

I'm guessing he's just being silly and it's a quirk of his but if somebody has a tip on how I can stop him wasting so much food it would be nice.

Edit: I checked his mouth and I think it looks okay, there are some tartar and I will contact the vet for a dental/mouth check!

Edit 2: We're booked for a dental check this Friday. Thank you for taking time to comment!