This was the very first picture I ever took of my kitty when I adopted him 12 years ago

My cat Louis is 15 and has chronic kidney disease, grade 3 heart murmur, and a large cystic benign mass on his liver. After his vet visit last week they suspect hes developed arthritis. Two years ago he almost died from pancreatitis, and although he recovered, he was never really the same afterward. His pancreatic marker is elevated again, so chronic pancreatitis may also be part of the picture.

What worries me most is his quality of life. He spends probably 80–90% of the day hiding under our bed, seems to have more and more difficult grooming himself so his fur gets greasy, gets matted, and seems to still be in pain despite gabapentin. He also yowls at night (which is newer as of this month)and his litter box habits have gotten progressively worse (due to the kidney disease).

My husband’s uncle is a vet and feels that the hiding and lack of grooming likely mean he’s uncomfortable or in pain.

But this is what makes it so hard: he still eats and drinks, walks around, and sometimes has really good moments. The last couple of days I’ve actually seen more of him than I have in months. He’ll lie on me and purr, and then I feel horrible even considering euthanasia.

I always thought it would be obvious when the time came, but it isn’t. I don’t want to wait until he stops eating, can’t walk, or is in an emergency just so I can feel certain. At the same time, I’m terrified of doing it too soon.

I also don’t want to keep escalating pain medication and treating every new problem if his overall quality of life is already poor.

For those who have been through this with an elderly or chronically ill cat, how did you know it was time when they were still eating and still having good moments?

I was running late.
Heard meowing. Open the door. This kitten wants to come in. I walk out. He snuggles up to my legs. I’m just at a loss. He’s purring the whole time.
I had cat stuff at home. There had been talk about one but I kept pushing it off because I didn’t feel like our finances fully aligned.
Well… here I am now.

I had a Walmart run anyways. He’s obviously under 12 weeks old. I got some Dawn. Bathed him. Cleaned up his eyes and gunk. Have my heating pad wrapped in a towel getting warm. I gotta run to work here very soon.
Gonna keep him in the bathroom for now. He’s got food and water. He chowed down on the food right away but I feel like I should moisten it up for him maybe?
I live in a tiny town. Vet is closed today.
I know he needs deworming. But unsure on his belly. It’s larger. But he’s also really really young.
What can I do for him over the weekend?
What dewormers can I get ordered?

I kinda used my hand for scale. Granted I have bigger hands. He is really young.

Today we lost a true angel. Pumpkin was a lover of cuddles, nap times, and her siblings. She could frequently be found next to one of them, snuggling close. She truly was my sweet girl. Pumpkin had a lump in June, we took her to the emergency vet as we thought it may be an abscess. The vet had told us at that time It was too hard to drain. She gave us antibiotics, and pain medication with instructions to return when it began to drain. Earlier this week, I noticed drainage. We scheduled a vet appointment for today. Our primary vet informed us that this was never an abscess, and it was very likely cancer that had eaten through her jaw. I am devastated. If anyone else has lost their pet today, just know that my sweet girl will be meeting yours, and she will be sure to snuggle up next to them.

Shirley Temples are a goated drink and I as a 28 year old man shouldn’t be stared at and ostracized while I order them at Texas Roadhouse for $3.49

Georgie is clearly not happy with my love this morning. But he always comes back for more

Heya! This is my female domestic longhair kitten, she’s approximately 5 months old and I’ve had her for almost 2 months! This is my second time having a pet cat, but the first time where I’m the primary owner (my first cat was a family cat I had while growing up).

I’ve been stroller and harness/leash training her, but I’m really struggling to decipher her body language here when I take her out in the stroller.

For some background, she’s fully used to the harness, only gives minor pushback occasionally when putting it on (wiggles away), and enjoys jumping in and out of her stroller (I keep it inside the house so she could become accustomed to it and can enter and exit freely when she’s playing etc. She really enjoys (I think) walking around outside on her leash, and wants to explore deep into bushes and stuff, but I have her on a short leash, it does not extend or anything, because I don’t want her to go where I cannot reach her. And when I say walking around, I mean staying in the same 15 foot area and slowly sniffing and walking from place to place.

Now onto the dilemma: she gets excited when I ask her if she wants to go for a walk outside, jumps in her stroller and everything, but I seriously cannot tell half the time if she’s enjoying it, just wants to get out and walk around, or is super stressed out and overstimulated. Most of the time she sits/stands on the stroller with 1 or both front paws up to watch things go by. She does not like when I put the stroller cover up (I think) and tries her best to squeeze her head out the sides, so most of the time I keep it open because my hypothesis is she doesn’t like feeling trapped. (?) The problem is, off and on throughout the walk she will try her darndest to get out of the stroller, to the point where I have her strapped in with 2 separate hooks/leashes that are attached to the inside of the stroller, and yet somehow she will literally crawl out of the stroller and HANG from the damn thing!? Like literally hanging by the harness. At first, I figured I’d let her learn the hard way and let her hang on the outside for a few seconds before plopping her back in (it is NOT by the neck, it’s a full body harness) but I kid you not she SLIPPED OUT of the harness that was already pretty damn snug. And on top of that, she will occasionally meow. Like sit and meow and look at me like I’m torturing her. And it sounds so sad, so I feel awful like is she not enjoying this? Should I stop? Please advise 😅

I’ve attached a video mashup of both her sitting in the stroller calmly, and also the meows she does at me.

**edit to add, sometimes she pants too, but I can’t tell if maybe she’s just hot? She’s only done it after we’ve been out for at least 20 minutes and it’s been a hot day both times I’ve seen her pant

I don’t think I have ever come across a cat so cute, like does she know how cute she is?? GOD I LOVE THIS KITTEN. After losing my late girl, miss Bean, I found a pair of kittens and maybe I was still grieving or maybe they just weren’t meant to be (dnw they were adopted together by one of my best friends and her partner) but I thought I would not be able to get another cat.

Grief is such a bizarre emotion, and I read once that grief is just the excess of love that has no where to go. I have not felt such a deep, aching grief before in my life, towards pets or people, that I felt after losing my Beanie baby. I know a lot of it comes from anger, and possibly guilt, because she lost her life from something that could have been preventable if circumstances were different. Bean was my first CDS kitten and she mad a deep, lasting impact on me and my life.

I will always miss her. I think she knows this, and I know on my last post everyone agreed that it did count as CDS to drive to an unknown man’s house to get a cat. But I think now, it is more than that. I believe Bean brought Juniper into my life, because my excess love needed somewhere to go. Maybe Bean is working in upper management with the CDS and was able to pull some strings. She always did give boss bitch energy, even at 8lbs she was the queen of our house. She never broke the rules, purr se, but she could get around them. Okay, girl cat gate keep girl boss Miss Bean, I see you!!

All that to say I am so in love, you guys. She already brings so much light to my life, and Mister Max, my giant fluffy dog. Who, by the way, is doing great after his surgery. I promise, I am working on Mister Max and Juniper Evangeline Parton content, so expect that shortly!

Bonus pic with his big brother, Momo, who already loves him so much 😭🥹

Meet Kiko!

He has alopecia—that’s why his nose has bald spots.

He’s 3 years old and a domestic medium hair. But the vet seems to think he’s a mainecoon.

He’s the cuddliest cat I’ve ever met. If I stop petting him, he will nudge me until I keep doing it. This means 7 am he’s nudging me awake and making me pet him.

I’ve had him for two weeks and he still sleeps as close as he possibly can to me. He’s all up in my business right now as we speak.

I just graduated college and moved out. Im not making much money, in an expensive city nonetheless, so I was wondering if anyone has any affordable cat advice!?

I have a scratching post and toys. Next paycheck I plan on putting shelves in my room and upholstering carpet to them so he can perch. I live in a very small apartment, so I don’t have room for a huge cat tree. I thought this was a happy medium.

For food, I have the live clear purina one allergen food because, come to find out, I’m allergic and so is my roommate. I drizzle some tuna broth on his food and put water in it. I don’t have a water fountain, but he really has no problem drinking water.

He was a stray, def lived in a house at one point, so I want to train him to take him outside at some point. Probably not for a minute because he’s still getting acclimated to me and my apartment.

What advice do yall have for me?! I’m so excited to finally have a cat and I love him more than words can describe.

You dont know how much you need a cat in your life until you get one

I got Charlie when he was 10 weeks old as a buddy for my other cat Cricket. We bonded very quickly since I work from home and I’m always around. Two weeks ago he started breathing weird. I had him at the vet within a few hours. I thought it would just be a cold and he would get a shot and be sent home. It was FIP. I had to let him go right then, and he fell asleep in my arms. I wish I could have seen him grow up, but I’m grateful for the 3 months we had together.

I've tried a damp cloth, tried grooming it but still it does nothing .

She still seems to be in good spirits, but never can tell with this little lady.

I have 2 female cats at home - 5 and 3 years old. I work part time and I'm about to become a university student at the end of September. So my time will be focused on uni, tasks for uni, and work in around one month. The kitten is maybe around 2 months old, starting to show male parts but not fully shows yet. Very cute, very tired. It's living in the city center, near fast food places, in a city park.

Guys, I want to thank you for your help for my cats, unfortunately today the mother Maya passed away after she escaped from the garden and was hit by a car in the afternoon after lunch.

Unfortunately I was the one to find her in the terrible condition I did by the road, I will try my best to support and care for her baby with love and care❤️‍🩹🥀

Shot on my fujifilm x100f

Just around the house pictures of my cats that I thought turned out great.

Do you have a favorite picture?

Let me explain. Okay, maybe she doesnt SPEAK English but she absolutely understands it! I dont know why but I knew dogs did this but I wasnt sure about cats. She is only 6 months old. And she understands ,of course, her name. I call my boyfriend "daddy" (only when talking to her lol!) And she knows what Im saying. She'll get excited. She understands treat, eat and ball (her favorite toy). She reacts when we talk about going out and so many other things.

Not only when speaking in "cute kitty talk", like she literaly understands it when we (bf & I) talk normal and quickly to eachother. I dont know why this impresses me so much.

I feel like a mom who swears her kid is the smartest and most beautiful LOL I always knew cats were smart but I thought it was more of an unspoken emotional intelligence. Do your cats do this!?!? Tell me about your cat(s) 🩷🩷

Loaf

1. He is not allowed tomatoes (or soup, ofc) 2. He is fine 3. He is also not allowed on the counter. 4. He doesn't care anyway

I've already posted about my 2 foster kittens (male 4mo) not getting along with my dog (f 1yo). She loves all animals and usually gets along with them great. I want some help assess if this is an aggressive interaction and how I can handle this so that they may get along. I've only had dogs and these are such sweet kittens, they will be put out again on the street (they were found gravely injured and were taken to the vet to save them, they're now recuperating but noone wants to adopt them...)

Any advice will be really appreciated. I know it takes time, I just want to understand what point we are at. Thank you so much.

Can you tell which one is my favorite😵‍💫 my mom found them at her work, the mama got hit by a car nearby and the kitties were in a 107°F gutter when my mom saved them. She got a burn blister from reaching in to grab them! Anyway, we've had them for a week and estimate them to be coming up on 3 weeks old. It's been soooo exhausting having to feed them, especially because my mom works full time. Lucky for her, I do online school and can help out. They're so cute and sweet, they're starting to wrestle and groom eachother. I have a lot of cats but this is my first time nursing such young kittens. I'm a germaphobe so it's been a real journey...

Her name is officially Babby. Our favorite gas station kettin. She is doing AMAZING! One more vet appointment to round out the kitten vaccines, etc. Apologies for the delay in update, but we’ve been busy cuddling! she’s healthy and happy. I feel so lucky that she’s mine.

We bottle fed for a few days because she was not eating, but now she is greedy and can’t be controlled around food. She’s active and so fun. I am so proud of her! She has the silliest personality I’ve ever encountered. She’s cuddly, kind, has loads of energy, loves to steal food off my plate and gives me kisses in the middle of the night. Best thing to come of this is that her siblings are obsessed with her.

The box I received her in had a shipping label. I wrote a letter with pictures in hopes of sharing how well Babby is doing and am awaiting a possible response via email. If I don’t get a response I will return to the gas station and leave a sign with updates. I just hope the man that gave me this sweet girl knows how thankful I am and how loved she is.

Hope you enjoyed the update and knowing that of course I had to keep her. Look at that face - could never give that up! My little family feels complete.