Cat tax!! & a rule my cat has made that left me speechless is that he needs to be in the bathroom with me always. He’s either sitting with me or next to me. If he’s not in the bathroom with me he sits outside & waits for me.

edit: omgggg I am gushing right now reading all these replies!!!! thank you soooo much for all the replies (& the reward that was cool as hell) I did not expect this to blow up haha but it brought a smile to my face & truly made my week 100000x better & I hope it made you smile as well:) <3

Cat arrived in our garden yesterday. Stuck around all day without wanting to leave. Kids love him but we really don't want a pet right now in our life. We're assuming he'll still be there in the morning and so we'll take him to the vet to see if he's chipped.

UPDATE: Cat has been taken to the vets. She is a she. She has a chip and lives on the other side of town. The vets are keeping her and will reunite with her owners.

About six weeks ago, I adopted a 1 year old puppy from a local shelter. She was a stray intake, and I was warned she trusts animals far more than she does people. She came with the name Hallie and seemed to recognize it, so we kept it. It turns out the shelter employees were right — it takes her time to trust humans, but she is an instant friend to every animal she meets.

About a week ago we were on a walk, and Hallie laid down on the sidewalk with her tail wagging. I thought she was just being a silly puppy but when I got down on her level, I could see a cat looking at us from underneath a nearby parked car. After some coaxing, a sweet little tortoiseshell kitty walked up to up to us. The animals sniffed each other, and seemed to immediately accept each other as friends. She purred as I pet her, and I could feel she was just skin and bones.

After a 10 minute visit we got up to continue our walk, and the kitty followed us the entire half-mile or so home. Although I love all animals I'm highly allergic to cats and had no cat food on hand, but gave her a can of tuna she quickly inhaled. It broke my heart to have to leave her on the front porch, but I told myself if she was still out there the next day, I would get some cat food and make sure she was at least eating regularly.

Well, the cat never left. She greatly enjoys human affection and happily climbs in my lap every time I come out to the porch. At first I thought maybe her ear was clipped, but upon further inspection it's just a little bit rolled over at the tip, and she has no belly tattoo or spay scar I can see. A couple days ago I took her to be scanned for a chip, and she didn't have one. No one has replied to any of my local and/or neighborhood posts about a potential lost cat. She's very young, and incredibly friendly.

I noticed she had a bit of a belly on her, and worried she was pregnant, I got her into a local vet. She is not (never thought I'd be so relieved to hear "it's just worms"!), but with the number of stray cats in the area it's only a matter of time, so we have a spay scheduled next week. She has made fast friends with both my dog and my human daughter, and my human daughter recently decided to name the kitty Willow. I have a shelf in my pantry now dedicated to cat food, and greatly look forward to spending time with Willow each day.

Here's the crazy part: I've been insanely allergic to cats my whole life. Swollen face, stuffy nose, covered in hives, itchy throat from just the quickest exposure. But after continued snuggle sessions with Willow, the allergies have all but gone away. Even when she makes biscuits on my lap and I can feel her claws digging in, I have no reaction anymore. She will be indoors while she is recovering from her spay procedure, and since she seems so dedicated to domesticating herself, she's welcome to stay.

The only cats I ever had growing up were barn cats, and I suffered the consequences every time I pet them. I've loved cats for 35 years from afar, but have never been able to have one. Who knew all it would take was adopting a dog to have the universal cat distribution system shine favor upon me?

Welcome home Willow, we are so happy to have you ♥️

To start I do not want anyone to judge his previous owner as I do not know the full story.

I adopted a 7 year old cat a few months ago. Tonight I am thinking about his life before my home.

To the person who I believe made hard choice due to changing circumstances. He found a new forever home,. He got the home you wanted for him. Me and my husband have no kids and are crazy cat people. He is loved and adored and gets all the attention he wants. Okay you know that is wrong he wants to be held all the time and you know I have to work and eat. But I do work hybrid! But he is well loved and taken care of.

He has settles in nicely , though sometimes he does not know what to think of our other older cat. He is happy, he is loved and he is safe.

This sweet baby came onto my porch demanding food roughly 2 months ago. We got her to the vet for checks and vaccines multiple times, did bloodwork, checked body temperature, the works.

I asked the vet if my cat is a girl or a boy, told the vet that the cat is a stray and I don’t know its background. I got reassured that she’s a girl, so we finally scheduled her to get a spay. We got her inside for the night, fasted her, prepared everything carefully for our little princess, brought her in and waited anxiously at home for the call to go collect her.

The surgeon personally called me, asked for my name, confirmed that she’s my cat, told me that something happened, it sometimes happens and he’s sorry. I got so anxious I was sweating and trembling thinking that my cat didn’t make it, but I got told that my little princess is in fact a prince. Turns out he was neutered as a kitten and has a very small wee wee.

I am still recovering after 2 days, and my poor little guy got a full abdominal surgery he didn’t need and I feel so guilty. I had my suspicions and looked at his face multiple times thinking he looks like a boy, but ultimately trusted the vet. He doesn’t like it inside and cries so much for the outdoors life and he has to be kept prisoner because of a surgery he didn’t need.

Beyond shock, I feel just so sad for him. I feel so guilt. Let this be your sign to double check if you have doubts and listen to your gut.

TL;DR: The stray cat that landed on my porch was pronounced female by the vet, took her for a spay, the abdominal surgery revealed he’s in fact a neutered male.

I have had my little Milk since he was a kitten who couldnt open his eyes. He was a rescue, I found him at work. His foot and tail got crushed by something metal, so he has a stumpy tail and back paw. Hes my baby. Yes I have four kittens. But so what? Theyre MY kittens. I have raised two since they had UMBILICAL CORDS and the other two were found less than a week later, les than 24hrs since the first two lost their cords.

Moms been stuck in bed for over a decade, I moved back home to take care of her, and she gave away my baby as a wedding present to my cousin. So now I gotta choose between being the bad guy saying my cousin cant have the kitten he was promised, or giving up my little Tripod. Just wanted to vent. And yeah, im moving out. Someone else will be taking care of my mom now. Im done.

This is Dinah. She is a wonderful cuddle bug and an absolute sweet heart. Not sure if most counties do this, but in my home county all the local government buildings use prison inmates with approved good behavior to do custodial and landscaping duties (also dependent on type and severity of crime to qualify). The animal shelter gets labor from inmates as well and I know that it's so beneficial to their mental health to take care of cats and dogs and help in society, not being strictly isolated.

October, 8 years ago, my husband and I went to the animal shelter to adopt a kitty and were taken aback when we stepped into the cat room and happened upon a prison inmate (didn't know they helped at that time lol).

He said in a thick hispanic accent, 'hey, you lookin' for a cat? There's a really sweet cat in there.' He proceeded to walk us over to Dinah and we knew in an instant. I don't think we ever thanked him as he walked off to go work elsewhere. I hope he's doing well now. He probably helped a lot of pets get nice homes with his recommendations. I think anyone who can appreciate a cat is a good person deep down. He'll never know how he helped change our life and family for the better.

On October 18, 2025, my significant other and I were out of town after attending a basketball game the previous night. We had recently lost one of our two cats to cancer, so we decided to swing by the city’s animal shelters to look for a new friend for our remaining cat. Witnessing the lack of resources and the overpopulation in the inner city animal shelters was an eye-opening experience for us. We decided that we wanted to give a home to a cat who may have more difficulties in getting adopted. At one of the shelters that we visited, we asked the adoption counselor to introduce us to their senior cats and their special needs cats.

Prior to talking to an adoption counselor, I had taken a brief look at the cats on my own. In a corner cell in one of the rooms, there was an adorable male tabby who caught my attention. He had a cute, little bobtail that reminded me of my childhood cat. He was talkative and full of energy, climbing the walls of his enclosure. I thought he would be a good match for my cat, but as a young, outgoing, and friendly cat, I was sure that he would easily find a home. I continued on to the next cage.

When we met with an adoption counselor, she brought us over to the talkative tabby in the corner jail cell. She told us that his name was Pixie and that he was incontinent. When I asked about the cause of his incontinence, she told a story that left us both in tears: That cute little bobtail that I mentioned earlier was a result of tail amputation. He had been tortured and set on fire by a group of children. He had permanent neurological damage due to a tail-pull injury.

Pixie’s story broke our hearts. We knew nothing about caring for an incontinent cat, but we wanted to learn. A vet tech came out to speak to us. She explained his condition in more detail and taught us about what caring for an incontinent cat entails. She recommended that we check out cappybears (another incontinent cat) on TikTok to learn more. She assured us that Pixie would still be at the shelter if we needed time to make our decision.

I spent the four-hour car ride home watching cappybears’ videos and reading as much as I could about the care of incontinent cats and tail-pull injuries. My significant other and I discussed how we would manage Pixie’s care. He told me that we could return the next weekend to adopt Pixie if I was sure that he was the right cat for us.

We returned the next day.

If you’re looking to add a pet to your family, please consider adopting one with special needs.

(Shoutout to the vet tech at the shelter. Thank you for educating us and helping us add Pixie to our family. We love him so much.)

Hello everyone, this is a post for me and my cat. This wonderful half maine coon dapper boy is Tigger. For 14 years he has been one of my best friends.

We got Tigger when I was 8, he was the first cat my parents got for me to name and pick out. He was born to a full maine coon mother and a domestic shorthair father.

Since he was a tiny kitten, hes been playful, loving and a massive teddy bear.

He had to grow up beside someone who was 8 and very energetic so he is very tolerant.

For 14 years he has grown beside me and been here through very tough and very wonderful things.

Last saturday he came into my room and I noticed his belly was distended, swollen and hard like a balloon.

We called the vet and they did scans and an xray, he was an amazing little boy and needed no sedation, he let them do everything they needed.

She gave me a phone call initially after the xray and told me all around his organs is fluid and they were gonna do an ultrasound.

They proceeded to do the ultrasound and she prior warned me that this fluid could be caused by things with amazing prognosis and also super bad prognosis, expressing cancer is one of these things.

Not long after she rang me back up, expressing it was not good news. Theres a 5cm lump buried in his liver growing outwards.

She said anything further done such as bloodtests would merely be for information as she said I think we have our anwser.

She expressed that my Tiggy does not know he is sick, he is still alert and happy and its early end stage essentially.

We didn't get an estimate of how long we have as I did not see the point in putting my boy through more stress when none of those tests would help him.

We went and picked him up and I looked at the scans and seeing the lump broke my heart.

We have been doting on him ever since and giving him extra love. But it is heartbreaking, he can no longer jump up on places as effectively, he waddles when he walks, he has slowed down a lot, shows no interest in toys, no interest in catnip, and it is so saddening.

He loved toys and catnip and would go nuts for that stuff, he would find toys, carry them to us and yowl to let us know he caught them, he would also yowl on the unit to let us know he wanted food or biscuits.

Its a struggle to mourn something that isn't gone. We are pampering him while we have him here but I wanted to share about him so more people could know how amazing he truly is, here are some quirks and funny things he has done and testaments to his personality.

He has never bitten or scratched anyone not even on accident.

He has an obsession with a frog toy.

He is also obsessed with wrappers and plastic, loves waiting until you hear or see him with it then will carry it in his mouth and run off like a goober.

He loves cuddles and attention, he will lay across you wherever you are and give you love as if you are the only human on earth.

He still does and always has loved belly rubs, they are one of his favourite things.

He loves yogurt treats.

He is always concerned for our other cats and protects them and loves them all.

He will let you lay your head on him and fall asleep cuddled into him.

He is a scaredy cat despite his size, noises terrify him, fireworks, drills, thunder. Hes a large boy with loud fears.

He is always purring.

He loves food lol but thats every cat.

And lastly. He has saved my life sometimes and comforted me when I have had no one else in the quiet of life and the hardships and when I lost my second childhood cat that was gotten for me, he was there.

This is gonna be a very hard thing to go through, it already is. I lost my second childhood cat 3 years back to cancer too. He has an entire shelf dedicated to him and when my Tigger goes. He will be up there with Casper and tattooed next to Casper's paw on my wrist.

I know many may not read this. But one of the greatest things we have in this life is our furry companions regardless of species.

They give us their forever never knowing we can't give them ours.

If anyone else has gone through this, a terminal diagnosis on your furry friend. I'd love advice and to hear stories of how to cope or to memorise my baby.

If you read this all, thank you. I am happy you also somewhat get to know what an amazing boy my Tigger is. Have a lovely day.

welp… friday night, my husband and i got home from work and noticed he was limping so we started to inspect his paw and try to see if we saw anything unusual and was putting some pressure on his paw so see if he reacted and he had no reactions, we couldn’t see anything either. so we just kept an eye on him throughout the weekend. he was still acting like his normal, crazy self other than the limping but it didn’t seem to getting better so we got him an appointment and took him to the vet today and turns out, he has a “fractured phalanges digit 4” aka a fractured toe! as you can see little boy is not happy about this outcome lol but just wanted to share!
he is very playful and active so knowing he can’t be like breaks my heart but he should be back to it in 5-6 weeks! :’)
his name is toulouse and he is 9 years old!

I'm literally sitting on the floor because I currently cannot stand due to this asshole. His name is Pinecone and he has a death wish. So basically my house has weird windows where the whole thing hinges outward on one side. Every window has a screen except one for no apparent reason. My partner accidentally opened that one a crack. I'm sitting on the couch trying to unwind after a stressful week and out of the corner of my eye I see this numbskull literally smashing his head into the window to get it to open wider. Then he happily flings himself out towards a third story drop onto paving stones. Literally not an ounce of trying to not fall. I manage to grab his back legs and yank him back. He has the audacity to resist, as though I'm taking away his wet food rather than saving his life.

I get him back inside, he's fine, I'm hyperventilating, whatever. Problem is I have a neurological disorder that's triggered by stress, among other things. So a few minutes later I'm trying to make dinner and fucking keel over, half blacked out with my face god damn freezer. My saint of a partner helps me and I sit on the floor for a bit, pass out again, and then start seizing. Luckily just my arms and upper body but still SEIZURES over my god damn CAT hurling himself out a window. He's lucky he's cute. Please tell him he needs to stop trying to die or he'll kill us both. And don't worry my partner is putting a screen on right now.

I gotta tell you about my little cowcat Nila.

Back in May I decided to adopt two kitties from the shelter to fulfill my lifelong dreams of having cats of my own. Browsing the shelter's website I found her... a tiny cat with big terrified eyes, trying to make herself as small as possible, and seemingly very untrusting of this very big world. I saw her and I just wanted to take her home to my quiet and cosy flat and protect her and make her feel safe and show her that humans aren't so bad.

She was there with her three brothers, they'd all be found as kittens a few months earlier. On the website there was a picture of her as a kitten, too. I decided to take her and one of her brothers home.

Her brother, Taavi, quickly turned into an absolute cuddle bug.❤️ Nila on the other hand didn't take long to accept my presence but touching was still out of the question.

Then over time she stopped running away whenever I walked past her. She started to come closer and even sleep in my room. Then she began rubbing herself against my legs.

After two months she allowed me to carefully touch her as she was rubbing against my legs.

And then, a few weeks ago, she was lying on my bed, grooming herself, and she seemed so calm and relaxed, and I reached out and gently began to pet her.

She's currently lying curled up on my bed with her back touching my leg. When I reach out to touch her she doesn't flinch but closes her eyes and starts purring.

Looking back it's unbelievable how far she's come. Part of me always hoped that she would become cuddly at some point but I didn't want to be too hopeful. I would've been okay with her to remain distant as long as she felt safe and content.

But she ended up trusting me and mow she's so cuddly and affectionate and she's lost that terrified look in her eyes.

I love this little kitty so much and I'm so happy she's decided to trust me.

By the way: I obviously love her brother just as much. ❤️ But he came out of his shell after just a few days and became super cuddly, so I never really had to worry about him. 😊

PSA: Get your cats’ anal glands checked! Especially if they’re fat!

So yesterday I was surprised to find some gray liquid that appeared to be sprayed on my table. It smelled like an atomic bomb. Absolutely vile. I called the vet and they confirmed that it’s probably anal gland liquid. We made the appointment for today.

The vet expressed the glands and SO MUCH stuff came out. He said the “liquid” is supposed to look like pee. It was gray and looked like wet cement. Same consistency. The vet said had we come any later, they would’ve burst which would mean surgery. He also said Piksel (my cat) must be having a lot of problems when going #2. I said “impossible. I always check her litter. She has the biggest poops and doesn’t show any pain.” He then informed me that big poops just means that she is holding it until she can’t to avoid the pain.

I am so grateful and glad she’s ok now but I can’t believe it. I thought I was such a hands on, careful mom to her. She has been having big poops for years. I just thought it was because she’s fat. Who knows for how long she’s been suffering in silence. I never even thought about it until she finally sprayed it to show me where it hurts. Feeling soo much guilt.

Please remember that cats are experts at hiding their discomfort. Get them checked and trust your intuition!

Hello everyone! I would like to say that I adopted a beautiful little angel named Athena today. She is a 2 year old domestic shorthair female. I recently signed up for a program that helps veterans adopt animals (Pets for Patriots) and I was approved 2 weeks ago and on Sunday I found this adorable cutie up for adoption. The program works with shelters around the country and I was able to get a 30% discount off of the adoption fee and I’ll be getting a $200 Petco gift card. I am so excited since I haven’t had a cat since around 2005 when I was in the Army. She’s still getting used to her new environment and hasn’t left her pet carrier yet, but I’m hoping she’ll adjust well!

Hola a todos, escribo esto con total desesperación para pedir cualquier consejo, orientación o ayuda para salvar a mi gatito de 4 años.

Tuve que llevarlo de urgencia a la clínica y lleva 3 días hospitalizado. Los veterinarios confirmaron que su uretra está gravemente lastimada y rota, por lo que se está filtrando líquido hacia su abdomen. Me dijeron que necesita con urgencia una cirugía exploratoria para encontrar por dónde sale el líquido y reparar su uretra; sin este procedimiento no va a sobrevivir.

Tengo 19 años, soy de Ecuador y gasté lo último que me quedaba en el bolsillo solo para pagar su ingreso de emergencia y estos tres días de hospitalización. Ahora que necesita esta operación de inmediato, me he quedado completamente sin fondos. Me parte el corazón saber que su vida depende de una cirugía que no puedo costear por mi cuenta.

Cualquier guía, información sobre fundaciones, organizaciones de rescate o fondos de ayuda es bienvenida. Si alguien necesita más información o detalles de su estado médico, estaré pendiente respondiendo todos los mensajes. Muchas gracias de corazón por leer y por ayudarme a luchar por él.

For a few weeks we've noticed a stray kitten hanging around our house. It wasn't very often at first but one day we decided to put a can of food out and shortly after the can was empty. We did this a couple more times and he started hanging around more knowing there was food. We put a little house out for him and he even started using that. That being said it's about to start getting really cold where I live, and I know a kittens first winter isn't often survived, so we decided to trap him and take him to a shelter so he could live a long happy life.

Fast forward to today, we actually managed to trap the little guy. I felt so bad betraying his trust but I kept telling myself it was for the best for him long term. We took him to our local shelter. They said they couldn't take him because they only serviced a specific city, and even though we live 2 blocks away from that city, they refused to take him because we technically weren't residents of the city and he wasn't trapped in their city. Semantic bullshit.

So we found out which shelter our city is partnered with and take him there. We called ahead of time and they said everything would be fine. We show up and naturally, now they can't take him because he's in a trap. They refuse to take in any strays that are in a live trap and only TNR them. However if they were in a carrier they'd be able to take him. Ok cool, I brought a carrier on the off chance we had to take him back home anyhow because they were out of space.

We go out to the car and in the process of moving him from trap to carrier he wriggles free and bolts. Gone in 10 seconds flat.

I'm absolutely devastated. He's in an unfamiliar area, miles away from where we trapped him, with no idea where he's at or what's around, and I've never felt like a bigger POS. I'm so upset cause I was let down by the system at every fucking turn just for trying to do a good deed. I'm even more upset because he would have been better off if I had never interfered with his life.

I'm not even necessarily sure why I'm posting this. Maybe just to see if anybody else has had a similar experience to see how they moved past it. I'm trying really hard to forgive myself right now but I can't. Pics from when we caught him earlier and I was more hopeful for how things would turn out.

I'm currently staking out an area where he ran. I have no hope that he's still around but I feel like I have to do something.

I found a whole sub for people who hate cats. I don’t think those are normal humans. They call cats flea bags and vermin and say kittens are ugly with bulging eyes and everyone agree with each other. I was so terrified I needed to talk to someone. God please don’t ever encounter me with someone like that😭

My male cat is basically a social worker, he keeps bringing home kittens in need!

This is the second time he's done this. With the first kitten, it was summertime, and the poor thing was extremely shy and hard to catch, so we weren't sure if it was just a neighbor's cat roaming around. That one ended up hanging out on our balcony for three weeks while we figured things out.

This new kitten was a completely different story. My cat brought her over and was literally nudging her along and grooming her, just like a mother cat encouraging digestion.

Several villagers mentioned she had been wandering around crying for help over the last couple of days, so she was definitely looking for humans. Because she trusted my cat, she seemed to trusted me instantly too, she let me pick her up right away, cuddle her, and tuck her into my jacket.

Since it's getting cold now and she was so trusting, we wanted to act fast this time. We did a quick walk around the village to check if anyone was missing her, and when no owner was found, we placed her directly with a local who wanted a cat again!

Has anyone else's cat ever brought home and adopted stray kittens like this?

Also what do you think how old she is?

Everyone say hello to Sergeant Pepper!! Now before I start, I do want to clarify Sergeant is a 100%, purebred Barn Cat and has the papers to prove it (the papers are straw).

Sergeant has always been the most perfect cat. She greats guests at the door, loves to cuddle, is chatty and just hilarious; has more personality than fur if that's possible. For about the first year of her life, she had no issues using the litter box, nothing behavioral or seemed stressed in any way. Truly living her best furry life.

Fast forward to just past her first birthday, I moved us from my mom's two story condo with a back yard, halfway across the country to a small studio in Seattle; about 500sq ft (this is important later). The second we arrived at our new place, she started peeing outside the litter box and had blood in her urine. I'm not joking, it was within 5min of putting her in the apartment. Of course, I swept her away to the vet the next day assuming it was and UTI from the stress of the move (totally reasonable!), and she would go back to normal once she adjusted!

Narrator: she did not go back to normal. She would have "Flare Ups" about once week a month for years. I tried everything and anything this sub, my vets and God has to offer for advice to help her; feelaway, more litter boxes, cleaning them more often, different litter, ALL OF IT! I was totally torn apart as she was obviously in horrible pain. Multiple vet trips to multiple vets and specialists with absolutely no answers besides pain meds when she is having an episode.

About two years ago, I moved into a larger apartment with my partner (~750sqft). The flare ups continued but did taper off a little after our move. This time we tried different anxiety medications and taking her for walks in the hallways after she expressed interest (maybe she needs more enrichments? Who knows!!). Again, they were less frequent but they were still happening. I felt totally helpless and like a horrible cat mom. I decided this was just Pepper's version of a chronic illness and we would do our best to offer day to day comfort through anxiety and pain meds for as long as she will be with us. It was hard to accept I couldn't make her healthy but I wasn't going to try to rehome her or put her down; it was not even an option to me.

Cue Sergeant and I's third move together; this time to a 1,110sqft townhouse with lots of windows, 3 sets of stairs, and a patio. Our original studio would have fit in the bedroom alone; it felt totally luxurious. There was a lot of carpet so I bought an industrial level of carpet cleaner and pee pads, hoping to preserve the carpeted areas as long as possible, kept up on all her very specific routines and medications. Ya'll. This diva has not had a single flair up since we moved in (9months).

That's right folks, after 5 years of cleaning cat pee off of and out of everything imaginable, vet visits, medications, new toys, new litter and boxes, I even hired a pet psychic to see if they could ask Pep directly what was happening and it turns out she was just mad we were poor 😂😂.

Obviously, I regret none of it but just so on brand for this little princess to take two steps into my first studio and go "Oh this simply will not due". Im sure this won't be helpful to most as people typically can't move into a bigger place because their cat might "need" it, but I hope it gives some other cat parents a giggle!!

TLDR: After 5 years of UTIs and peeing outside the litter box, my cat stopped because we finally found a place big enough to make her happy.

So some initial context; before my late brother passed I told him to send me lots of orange/ginger cats. Just heaps and heaps of cats, just a pile of cats and I’ll know it’s a sign from him that he is around. He loved his cats but had a particularly strong bond with his soul cat named Ginger. Since his passing a year ago I have had many inexplicable moments involving his memory and the sudden appearance of orange or ginger cats. One such occurrence was right after his passing I felt prompted to visit the local dollar store at the shops. Felt like I was forgetting something but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. As I stepped up to the window I saw an entire display of at least 2 dozen identical orange ceramic cats. The sudden need to remember something at the shop disappeared with that.

So this afternoon upon finishing work I suddenly had the urge to go to the park to do some meditation or spend some time grounding as I’ve been trying to get into the practice. I’d decided I was going to have a nap but the motivation to get dressed and leave the house came over me.

As I’m walking into the park I’m praying and just generally seeking guidance - which direction I should take to sit, or where I can look for guidance; When I suddenly honed in on a particular point in the park.

There is a whimsical little pond and stream set up that I haven’t spent enough time at (because, being so close to the road, the park is actually quite loud despite the serene environment that the council has attempted to foster.) so I meander over to this particular spot, spotting some ducks along the way; a group that looked particularly whimsical, as well as some natives and other birds flying overhead. Perfect set up to sit, listen to some peaceful meditation music and just enjoy the scenery. I was even taking pictures of the ducks and enjoying their particular poise and symmetry.

At some point after this much to my surprise I glance over at the other side of the stream and spot a Literal Pile of Kittens. Perfectly posed. Sitting just out on the rock face by the stream, completely out in the open as if they’d been placed there on a platter, ripe for the picking of some opportunistic predator.

I could tell almost immediately that these kittens had pretty clearly been dumped. They were clean, healthy and dumb. No colony kitten is sitting out in the open like that without starting at the first sign of movement.

So of course at first I sort of sit there in awe. Bc they’re fuckin adorable kittens??? Eventually some passer bys walk past so I bring their attention to them, because of course I am going to share the whimsy of a Literal Pile of Kittens. A pair of young boys eventually come by, much determined to catch the at least one kitten. So after overhearing one half of a very dramatic conversation I realised there was no way I was going to stop these boys from disturbing them, and potentially dispersing them if they were unsuccessful.

Now for some additional context I live in a small 2 bedroom flat with my husband and we already have two very well looked after indoor cats. They eat better than we do. We do not have a third (or, as it may be; fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh) cat in the budget. But I did not want to risk the kittens running off onto the main road or somewhere even more dangerous for them. So I urged the boys to leave the kittens until I could cross the highway to grab one of our cat carriers to put them in so we could find alternatives for their current environment.

So I did as I promised, and whilst the boys did manage to catch and remove one, taking it home before I could supervise, we did eventually catch the other 4. Now there were 2 Orange boys and 3 others; 2 torties and a tabby. The boys took one Orange and another lovely young lady took the other Orange boy. Whilst all the hubbub of this situation was occurring a crowd did amass with a number of children sharing that there were kittens in the park. One young girl entirely unprompted decided to tell me she has a cat at home! His name is Ginger.

Anyway so this is the story of how I now I have three kittens in my bathtub, and my ghost brother sent me to go fulfil several soul contracts.

Additional fun facts: my husband and I had been joking about dressing as Freya and Odr for Halloween as I have red hair and seemed easy enough... I had been musing about how I would acquire several cats for my costume. I suppose I mused a little too close to the sun. Also this happened on a FRIDAY so, thanks for that, Freya 🥲
Xx

Anyway if anyone wants a kitten and lives in southwest Sydney hit a girl up 🤣🥲

I just want to spread the word because this pisses me off so badly. I don't understand why there isn't overt labeling and I'm seeing more pets get harmed by minoxidil.

I use minoxidil and understand the benefits of it, but i do not have any animals living with me. I make sure to wash my hands well before interacting with any cats outside.

I'm hoping when someone googles or researches minoxidil this will pop up.
We need to get companies to be explicit about warning labels.

Here is a change. Org link i found, maybe we all can sign it
Thanks

Yesterday I took my cat to the vet because she kept making vomiting movements but nothing came up. Turns out she had the flu and her throat was all swollen, we got her some pain meds and she’s luckily feeling better. The wet also took a look at her teeth and noticed she had one that likely had to get operated out because it’s cracked. I’ve had my cats for 5 years and I haven’t taken them to the vet unless they’ve been unwell. I feel like I’ve failed them. I should’ve taken them to a yearly appointment even though they haven’t shown symptoms of being sick, but I haven’t. I’ve been a student and low on money most of the years I’ve owned them, so that hasn’t helped but that’s no excuse.

I feel SO bad for nothing checking their teeth. Why didn’t I notice? She has been hurting and I’m the one who’s supposed to speak up for her if anything is wrong. I’ve scheduled an operation to get the tooth removed/and have her teeth cleaned asap - I’ve also scheduled to have my other cat get his teeth cleaned + checked out as well.

I’m deep in a depression pit right now and I feel like I’ve failed my babies. I love them as if they were my children and this is the worst guilt I’ve ever felt💔 I don’t know what to do other then cry. I think all this also made me realise I will have to live without them one day. I can’t stand the thought.

What a weekend for Miss Ellie, my spunky 12-year old. Due to severe, erosive arthritis in one of her hind legs, she had a planned joint fusion surgery on Friday. It’s a pretty nasty surgery that requires weeks of severely restricted activity, but, when it heals, she should have a pain-free leg.

We followed all of the post-op instructions: kept her crated, made sure her splint stayed dry, etc. The challenge arose when it was time to give her liquid Gabapentin. I swear, trying to give this cat liquid meds that can’t be mixed in a Churu is like wrestling an alligator. (I did tell them this when I picked her up Sat morning, but as per usual, I don’t think they believed me).

Sunday night rolls around and it’s time for the Gabapentin. My brother-in-law thought he might be up to the Herculean task. He tried the old wrap-her-in-a-blanket technique, but alas, even in her heavily medicated, weakened state, she resisted and she was STRONG. Let’s just say there was a lot of yowling, twisting, and the majority of the Gabapentin ended up on the blanket. I felt certain that this must have been very painful for her and I felt awful.

I was right. After that, she started yowling like I’ve never heard her yowl before. She was thrashing herself all over inside her crate. It was like something out of The Exorcist.

I drove an hour to the ER vet; after ruling out seizures, they decided it was likely a side effect of the Zorbium given to her after the surgery. I asked if it could be a problem with the leg that had just been operated on, and they thought not. Furthermore, she had peed in her carrier on the way there and since the bandage shouldn’t get wet, I thought they should change it. They didn’t. They did prescribe a strong painkiller/sedative, which kept her calm the rest of the night.

Monday morning. I call the place who did her surgery to tell them what happened. They had me bring her in right away to change the bandage…and discovered she had broken her leg! I cried, I felt so terrible. They said it’s due to her old lady bones, which are brittle and therefore can break easily.

They tell me it will require another surgery. I try not to have a heart attack at the thought of the expense, but the girl’s gotta have that leg fixed ASAP. Fortunately, the surgeon didn’t charge me full price. He basically had to create a Frankenleg with metal plates and screws and giant sutures, but all went as well as it could and she came home this morning.

She’s a champ. She’s been through a lot over the years— emergency surgery after eating a binky, pancreatitis, ups and downs with IBD, but two surgeries so close together is nuts. Here’s to hoping the recovery goes smoothly and her quality of life significantly improves as that leg heals.

Just over a month ago, this stray showed up around my house one night after I got home from a night out bar hopping. I had seen he was very skinny, but when I tried to approach him, he had gotten scared and ran off.
Every night I’ve left a can of moist food out for him on the lid, mashed up for him to enjoy. He eventually got more and more comfortable with me as I tried to get closer, to where I could pick him up and he would just sit on my shoulder like a parrot, or lay in my arms like a little baby, or sit in the garage with me when I’m working on my truck, or would wait outside my door for me to get home and recognized my car. Because he wasn’t comfortable coming inside until a couple of nights ago, I set him up a little hotel outside. But last night had gotten extremely cold, so I brought him inside and all night he was just cuddled up with me in bed.

Turns out this little fella has been missing for almost 2 months, just under a year old, and goes by Spotty. I found his owners this morning, and after sending me videos of him playing and seeing him get excited watching them, I knew they had to be his owners. The husband came by earlier, offered me a reward but I respectfully declined to take it because the amount of joy seeing them reunited was more rewarding than any dollar amount could’ve brought. He was a good cat, and I’m so happy to have helped make a happy ending possible.

The moral here, I don’t think it’s hard to be a good person. It just requires some effort, and putting someone above you.

She’s very unwell so not allowed outside (she loves a stroll in the garden). I had a knock at the door earlier today from someone claiming to be part of a young offender rehabilitation program and trying to sell me some items. I felt really bad for him even though I’ve never bought from anyone selling door to door before and normally say no immediately. I eventually was going to buy something when she came dashing towards the door. I had to quickly close it and apologise that I can’t buy as I can’t risk my cat going out. I did a quick search later as something didn’t feel quite right and it showed this seller was likely part of a gang which scams people and was also scoping out houses for burglars 😭 I informed my neighbor and turns out the police had received multiple calls about him in the area. I’m so glad kitty came just in time. If I had ended up buying I was at risk of being targeted by this gang again in future who would see my house as an easy target!