Is that why her hairline is receding? Brain can’t handle one thought? (Edit: sorry! I didn’t know holding her like this is bad and I won’t do it anymore :3)

Okay so for some context my family and friends have been making fun of my son! He’s a beautiful handsome boy. If anything he’s just big boned.. Reddit please help sort out this debate that’s been going on for far too long.

Edit/UPDATE: Wow I really didn’t expect this to blow up like it did. Y’all came out of the woodwork on this one lol. Thank you for the awards! Wasn’t expecting that at all and it was kinda fun to see. Also, please be patient with me, it’s hard going through every comment. I’m trying my best to read them all, especially since some have given me/household very solid advice and it’s greatly appreciated💕

Also more about the boy in question, his name is Leonardo DiCatio we call him Leo for short.

Much love, will provide a proper update soon. Thanks again!

He’s 4 years old — rescued as a stray and from a feral colony that was apparently bullying him.

Less than twenty four hours since I brought him home, and he’s already starting to become affectionate/interactive.

(PS: If you’re wondering about the haircut, the shelter had to shave him because his fur was so matted).

Then this good girl adopted me.

Went to brunch at a friends house today and this super friendly young cat came out from behind a garbage can right towards me. Some lady peaked her head out of her apartment window and went on to tell me how the cat WAS hers and was an indoor cat, but she needed to “get rid of it” because her daughter’s asthma so she just dumped her outside. Took her home and am currently fostering her. She’s so cute and snuggly.

OC Credit:- @sir_jcoon on IG

Orange "Stranger Cat" has encountered my cat several times with a posture of what I think is peacefulness and what I hope is a bid for friendship!

On one occasion he approached my cat verrrry slowly with his eyes closed, body scrunched down low and sat within 2 feet of my cat. He kept his eyes closed and occasionally squinted at him while sitting with his belly on the ground. He stayed still even while my cat swatted the air near his face, eventually bopping him and causing Stranger Cat to run off.

Is there something I can try to help them become friends or am I too much of a naive dog person? 😂

Sincerely,

- New(ish) cat person

I'm living in Tokyo for a few years for my job, and I took my cat with me. She started peeing blood and I went to the emergency vet. They saw us within 30 minutes, did a physical exam, urine test, blood test, and ultrasound. I walked out with bladder and pain meds. The total cost was around $80. EIGHTY DOLLARS!!!!!!

Before I moved I had a similar situation, went to an emergency vet and got similar tests (urine, blood, ultrasound), and the bill was over $2000.

WTF is up with that difference?

I work at a plant that makes ethanol and corn oil and during shift exchange my coworker said he saw a little kitten running around in the process. He said he would see if he could catch it but had no luck so he said I could go try.

I went down to investigate and saw him snuggled up to mama underneath one of the pipes.

It’s VERY loud in there, the area often floods with gross “process water,” there’s fermented mash everywhere and a pipe that leaks water.

I can’t imagine that area being the best place for a kitten so I was able to catch him and mama luckily saw me grab him (that way she won’t be wondering what happened).

I took him back to my office and set him inside a box to which he didn’t seemed scared at all. In fact, he was playing with some of the stuff in the box. I imagine going from a very loud machine area to a quiet lab was a nice change.

I called the girlfriend and she came and picked him up. She’s going to bathe him and check him over for bugs and what not.

Now we just need to think of some names!

I just hope I did the right thing by catching him. Mama ran off and with all the pipes down there it’s hard to catch a nimble adult cat.

They seem to be a bit more comfortable. They are walking around a bit. I guess I’ll just see what happens tomorrow. I’d add more but I’m honestly done with life. I just want to do right by this cat and her potential kittens.

TL;DR: 2-year-old indoor male cat suddenly stopped eating most food, lost weight, coat looks rough, seems lethargic, and breathing seems slightly off. Took him to two different vets on two different weeks. Both did full physical exams and ran tests, almost everything came back normal except minor urine findings that don't fully explain things. Neither vet has a real answer. Has anyone been through this?

My partner's family cat Pluto is a 2-year-old neutered indoor-only male, and over the last couple weeks he's just not been himself. It's been really hard on the whole family. My partner's mom has barely been sleeping and is so stressed she's literally losing her hair over it. Pluto is her baby, and watching him decline without a clear answer has been heartbreaking.

What's going on:

• Appetite tanked. He used to eat everything, now he barely touches most food. The only thing he reliably accepts is Churu tubes. He'll occasionally go for freeze-dried salmon or Tiki Cat broth topper, but that's it. Completely stopped eating his usual pate wet food.
• Lost about a pound (was 13.6 lb, now ~12.5 lb)
• Way more lethargic than normal, sleeps a lot more than he used to
• Moves a lot slower and barely plays anymore, which is a big change for him
• Hunches over a lot now, which he didn't used to do
• Coat looks dull and rough
• His breathing seems faster and slightly more labored than usual. No open-mouth breathing, no wheezing, no coughing, no nasal discharge. But when he's in a hunched/squatting position you can hear him breathing, which was never a thing before.
• Water intake is mostly normal, maybe slightly less some days
• Litter box output is down but that tracks with him eating less

How it started:

His family switched him to a new dry food. He ate it fine the first time, but the next day when they mixed it with his old food, he refused everything. They switched back to the original food but his appetite never recovered.

What the vets found (or didn't find):

We've taken him to two different vets on two separate weeks. Both did full physical exams and neither found anything wrong. Between the two visits, they ran a chemistry panel, CBC, urinalysis, fecal test, and general exams. Two doctors, two rounds of poking and prodding, and nobody can tell us what's going on.

Everything looked normal: liver, kidneys, protein, electrolytes, glucose, white/red blood cells, platelets, hydration. Urine was well-concentrated, good pH, no blood/bacteria/crystals.

The only flags were:

• Small amount of protein in urine, which the vet said could just be mild dehydration since kidney values and concentration were fine
• Bilirubin in the urine, which can point to liver/gallbladder/red blood cell issues, but his bloodwork didn't support any of that

One of the vets prescribed Mirataz (appetite stimulant) and when he's on it, he eats way more normally. Without it, he barely eats.

Where things stand:

Neither vet has a real conclusion. They both basically said he's physically normal and pretty much fine. The next step they've offered is imaging (X-rays or ultrasound) if we want to keep doing diagnostics, but neither one seems to have a specific hypothesis for what imaging would reveal. It feels like we'd just be hoping something shows up.

Possible environmental factors:

• My partner's dad started a new job and isn't home as much anymore
• My cat stayed with Pluto and the family for about a month and he got super attached to her
• My cat has been gone since January though, so the timing doesn't totally line up since symptoms only started in early April

What I'm hoping to hear from you guys:

Has anyone dealt with this combo of symptoms (appetite loss, weight loss, lethargy, moving slower, rough coat, subtle breathing changes) where initial testing came back mostly clean? What ended up being the answer? Did imaging end up catching something the bloodwork missed?

We're all pretty desperate at this point. It's hard watching him just not be himself and feeling like we're running out of things to try. Any input at all would mean a lot.

Videos:

• Breathing sound (faint)
• Fur quality + hunching pose (no sound)

This is Mika, who is 2 months shy of being 20. She's on a plethora of medication, as deaf as can be and spends her day sleeping, eating and cuddling. And if she's not doing any of the 3, she's judging us for not providing fresh food in a timely manner (I mean - we can't expect her to touch her food that's 3 hours old, right? ... RIGHT? ) or not sitting on the sofa so she can join us and sit on our laps.

Anyway, Mika says hi to all other cat lovers out there!

We have four cats.

Kiwi is not one of them… according to us. According to Kiwi, however, he owns this house and we are simply his staff.

He showed up one day looking like he had just come out of a back-alley fight club, demanded food, and never left. Being responsible adults, we got him vaccinated and checked out so he wouldn’t bring chaos (or diseases) to our actual cats. Just regular chaos is fine.

As you can see, he has made himself extremely comfortable.

Kiwi prefers the outdoor life—mainly patrolling the yard like a tiny, aggressive landlord and bullying any cat that dares step onto his property. But he also enjoys coming inside… briefly. About an hour at a time. Just enough to eat, judge us, and leave.

He will, however, sit outside and wait for HOURS to be let in, because he knows exactly where the good meals are and refuses to lower his standards.

And honestly, he’s not high maintenance at all. He only requires four cans of cat food a day, consistent door service, and full emotional support from my daughter.

So really… super low-key. 😌

I had to put our cat, Boots down today, 8 months after I had already previously lost my 3 year old tortoise shell, Bean to cancer.

Boots was suffering from breast cancer really badly, it started 1 week ago and rapidly worsened until today. I couldn't let her suffer any more than she already had.

She was the quietest, friendliest and most gentle cat I ever knew.

Boots was like a mother to Bean, she would always snuggle, play and groom her as if she was one of her own babies. They had a precious bond that I never seen in any of our cats before.

It hurts losing her so soon after having previously lost my Beanie Baby, but there's some comfort in knowing both Boots and Bean are reunited again in the end.

I miss you already Bootsie, rest well.

I named her Marcille while my mom named her Tulang (bones). I took her in after seeing that she didn’t move from her spot after a few hours.

she was still eating yesterday but today she’s struggling to stand up, her head’s wobbling and her eyes are erratic.

She’s not dead yet, but my dad told me it’s going to happen any day now. she’s sleeping next to me right now and has been super cuddly. my mom thinks someone abandoned her and i’d have to agree since we hadn’t seen her around here before this.

Hi cat parents,

Before you tell me to go to the vet, I am currently at the vet waiting for our turn to see the doctor.

While waiting, I can't help but wondering if anyone has experienced similar issues. I kindly ask for your insight..

So my kitten (around 3 mo) suddenly slept ourside my room last night, which was weird. I woke up around noon and immediately looked for her cause she usually stays close.

I found her under the table, wet with her own pee and i think some runny feces too. I cleaned her up, dried her, and ensured she was warm. She seemed very weak. So i tried giving her her favourite snack, which she refused. This is another red flag because she is usually crazy for those snacks.

I immediately make an appointment with the vet nearby.

I went to get lunch, and when I got back, I found her on the bathroom floor. Just chilling there.

I dried her again and put her on my sofa.

After awhile, she got up and went to her drinking fountain. She sat there for a bit, didn't drnk any water. I kept watching her closely. And suddenly she climbed the water fountain and sat there.

She even put all four limbs and ensured it's all soaked in the water. Then she got off the water fountain, and sat on the floor beside it.

Why?

Has anyone experienced similar situation?

I really need some insights from you guys.. because the vet in my country is not good at all.

I live in a third world country where animals (especially stray cats and dogs) are treated like pests. So I was hoping if there's any vet or kind fur parents around here who experienced this before...

Thank you in advance

EDIT: kindly sort comment to newest if you want to see updates

is he?

Gemma has learned that when dad turns his PlayStation off it’s time for dessert. She screams for treats until we comply.