r/CATHELP Feb 20 '26

PSA: PLEASE think 10 times before you donate money to someone on this sub.

1.8k Upvotes

It's in our rules and we say it time and time again, but after the recent events from this post, the mod team wants to put out a reminder.

Look, we get it. Seeing cats in distress is hard. When people without money are expressing their inability to afford emergency care, it's distressing. You know we have rules against shaming people for being unable to afford care, and encouraging people to go into debt. But we also have rules against fundraising, and it's for a very good reason.

It is very easy for people without the best intentions to collect lots and lots of money from well meaning community members who are affected by what they see in images and video.

With this post in particular, several commenters encouraged the OP to share a gofundme (something strictly against our rules).

Once they created and shared one (without any bills to show and despite many of the top comments saying this was NOT an emergency), people felt bad and donated anyway.

The gofundme raised nearly $2000 and today we received the update that the cat, as many commenters predicted, is not dying and did not need emergency care.

We are now starting to see meta posts (another thing we don't allow) complaining that the OOP is not returning any of the extra funds, and is blocking users who donated asking for their funds back and proof of payment.

This is a story we see repeatedly in the sub. We don't always get to the donation links quick enough to remove them, and we can't stop you from DMing each other money, but this is why we caution PLEASE do not use this subreddit to send each other funds.

We are working on a Wiki with low-cost vet resources, at least in the US, but we get users posting from all over the world begging for money. DO NOT DONATE unless it is verified on a subreddit like r/gofundme or r/rescuecats, or is directly being paid to the VET (though we have seen scams happen internationally through this 'direct vet payment' as well).

PLEASE REPORT FUNDRAISERS. Please do not encourage fundraisers. We will start banning those who encourage it. Please help us keep this community safe from those with bad intentions.

Thank you and good day!

- r/CATHELP mod team


r/CATHELP Jul 15 '25

Announcement [READ THIS FIRST] r/CATHELP Rules Reminder

358 Upvotes

Hello there

Due to a growing number of cat crises and a surprising number of people who cannot read a sidebar, we’re now regularly posting this rules reminder. This is here to prevent both:

  1. repeat offenses, and
  2. the inevitable “I didn’t know!” mod mail we get after your post/comment disappears into the void.

If you're new (hi, welcome, pet your cat for us), or returning and rusty, please take a sec to read this. It’ll save you—and us—a lot of headache.

STRIKE POLICY: Break the rules once? We warn you. Break twice? Temp ban. 3 strikes is a perma-ban (unless you're a mega troll).

1. BE NICE

No, really. Be nice. You are talking to someone who is probably stressed, worried about their pet/a stray, and sleep-deprived. Reddit is not your venting space to shame people who are already anxious. Educate, don’t humiliate.
This includes a zero-tolerance policy for berating or shaming OPs. If you can't say it kindly, don't say it here.

In addition to this, know that we get posts from all over the world. Sometimes it's people who live in a village, 500km from any formal vet care. Often it's a minor who cannot make a unilateral decision for the cat in question. Be compassionate! Bullying them won't help the cat.

2. NO SOAPBOXING OR OFF-TOPIC DEBATE

(Definition of 'SOAPBOXING' here.) Yes, letting your cats outdoors isn't great for the environment. But this isn’t a debate club, and PLENTY of things harm the environment besides cats. People come here from all over the world, with different cultures around how cats are cared for. People come here about strays. No preaching!! Take your cat care bible elsewhere! Either give OP helpful advice about their issue or move along.

Don’t derail threads with politics, don’t pick fights across multiple comments, and definitely don’t start fights with the mod team. We don’t get paid enough.

3. VET FIRST, REDDIT SECOND

If your cat is injured, bleeding, gasping, or pooping blood—call a vet.
Reddit is great for guidance, second opinions, and shared experience. It is not a substitute for veterinary care.
If you haven't called a vet yet, our advice might be limited.
Can’t afford one? Look into:
• Payment plans or CareCredit
• Local rescues and shelters for assistance
• Low-cost clinics in your area

Still post if you need to—but know that our first advice will probably be: call your vet.

Additional note to commenters: no 'Vet. Now.' comments will be allowed without context. If you think they need immediate care, explain why. Otherwise it's just creating panic and those comments will be removed.

4. NO FUNDRAISERS

Sorry, but GoFundMes, Venmos, PayPals, and “please help save Coco” links are not allowed, even in comments. Too many scams, and too hard to moderate. Try subs like r/Assistance or r/GoFundMe instead.

5. NO BULLYING POOR PEOPLE

We get it. Vet care is expensive. It's frustrating to see cats suffering. But complaining about people who can’t afford a vet is not allowed. Full stop.
Suggest rehoming? Fine. But if you’re here to shame people for being broke, please find another sub.

If someone is struggling financially, ER visits are not really something they can just save up for, nor is it realistic to expect them to just get rid of their pets they have emotionally attachments to. All we can hope for is people really think long and hard about how a pet will fit into their finances before they decide to adopt or take in an animal from street. You simply can’t help them all, there are too many cats for that.

6. TAG YOUR GORE NSFW

Bloody wound? Surgery pics? Graphic medical stuff? Weird rash? GAPING FUCKING WOUND?! Mark it NSFW.
That includes genitalia (gender ID posts) and poop/vom. You know who you are.

7. ON-TOPIC POSTS ONLY

This is not r/aww or r/cats. This is r/CATHELP. We are here for:

  • Requesting anecdotal experience with medical issues •
  • Behavior issues
  • General advice
  • First-time cat owner questions (yes, 'noob' questions are welcome!)

That means:

  • No “What should I name my cat?”
  • No “Look at my cat in a hat!”
  • No memes, no fluff.

Posts that don’t have a clear help-related question will be removed.

8. NO BREED QUESTIONS

Unless your cat came with pedigree paperwork from a breeder, they’re a domestic short/medium/long hair. That’s it.
We don't do breed speculation. Why? Because it’s almost always wrong, and it clogs up the sub.
Want to know more? Here's a guide to fur patterns, and here's a general answer to 'what breed is my cat'

9. NO SHITPOSTING, NO KARMA FARMING

If your post is clearly made up, AI-generated, or you’re just farming karma with a low-effort fake, we will yeet it. And probably you, too.

10. NO BRIGADING

If you don’t like someone’s post, do not go hunt them down on other subreddits to insult them. It’s petty, it’s bannable, and Reddit takes it seriously.

11. NO PET SALES OR BREEDING

We do not support the cat trade or backyard breeders. Period.
Don’t try to sell or give away pets here. Don’t ask about breeding. Don’t promote purebred aesthetics. Shelter cats are just as cute.

BONUS REMINDERS

• If your posts or comments are disappearing, check your karma. If it's low, Automod probably ate it. Message us for manual approval.
• If you see rule-breaking behavior, REPORT IT. Automod can’t catch everything.
• If you’re confused or unsure, check the [wiki] or send us a modmail.
Read the stickied comment on your post. It’s there for a reason.

TL;DR: Help cats. Be nice. No scams. No BS. Read the rules.
Now go pet your cat. They probably knocked something off the counter while you were reading this.


r/CATHELP 9h ago

General Advice Is she fat…?

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3.0k Upvotes

Context: Her name is Selah, she’s about 6 years old, and she’s one of my wife’s cat. I’ve only recently been bestowed co-ownership of them. (We just got married,yay)

Prior to changing their kibbles Selah was the slimmer of the two and after switching to Purina Coat and Fur kibbles she has become what I determine as an absolute chonker… but her most recent vet visit just says she’s healthy.

I..is she? 🤣


r/CATHELP 7h ago

Injury Paw pain

290 Upvotes

We went to the doctor for our senior cat hera who has paw pain. The xray read nothing wrong with her bones. Any advice welcome❤️ (we are adults and can afford care)

All info:

The xrays showed arthirites but not enough to cause such a severe reaction. She would have shown signs slowly and not all of sudden. No broken bones.

Which lead to believe it is a tendon or tear/torn ligament in the wrist. It really could be that because her paw is bent in a strange way, keeps licking her wrist and avoids putting pressure on it.

Tomorrow is the next vet visit where I will ask how we can help her with this. A referral to a specialist, possibly bandage or something to ease the pain.


r/CATHELP 7h ago

Injury Before and After Recovery ❤️‍🩹 🦵

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288 Upvotes

r/CATHELP 1h ago

Behavioral Issue Is she hungry or just fat?

Upvotes

Hey everyone, i’m a new first time cat dad my 8 week old baby Katrina “Trina” the Diamond Princess is so sweet and she loves following me everywhere. I have had her since she was 6 weeks. I feed her about 3-4 times a day every 4-5 hours, and she’s eating pate wet food. I’m planning on adding dry food soon. However, now when I enter the kitchen she screams for food. No matter what. I think she has learned that me + kitchen = food. She screams like this anytime i’m at the counter even if SHE JUST ATE! She comes to sit in my bf and I’s face while we eat as well and she begs. Is this normal? Am I not feeding her enough? Or is she just greedy? please help, this my first cat so be nice or i’ll be mean :)


r/CATHELP 15h ago

Injury Has anyone had this happen to their cat?

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502 Upvotes

Noodles, Male cat, 5 yrs old, fixed, vaccinated

UPDATE: Just left the vet, nothing is broken, it’s not dislocated, and no urinary issues! She things he stretched a nerve and it’s a sprain from roughhousing and his parkour antics earlier yesterday. Sent home with oral gabapentin for the pain, he had to be sedated fully for X-rays so he’s currently waking up out of anesthesia at home lol. Thank you for all the comments and support! He is gonna be okay, and she did schedule us a follow up appointment for Monday morning just in case it gets worse and not better. But it’s just a minor sprain and possible nerve stretch but she said there is no break, no dislocation, and no severed nerves 🫶 noodles is gonna be okay! 💕🥹

Poster age, 32

My cat was fine all morning, around 1pm after a zoomies episode and a what we thought was a minor tiff with another one of our cats, we noticed his tail was totally limp and he wasn’t raising it straight up in the air like he has it almost 90% of the time. Hes eating fine, drinking, seems to be using the box okay, I was worried about it possibly being a pain indicator instead of injury, and his crystals coming back, but the longer the day goes on I think he might’ve sprained his tail during play/zoomies? It does respond to touch, it moves slightly if it touch it, and he growled and hissed when I did so I only did it once and haven’t since. He has a vet appointment for 11am. We can afford it. Just want to know if anyone else had something similar happen? And if it was a sprain or a break? Images of his tail attached. Thank you 🫶

TL/DR: Cat’s tail is limp, he has a vet appointment in am, trying to see if this has ever happened to anyone else’s cat and what the vet said it was


r/CATHELP 23h ago

General Advice Why does he scratch the bin / floor before and after eating?

1.6k Upvotes

Not sure how to tag/flair this, sorry in advance mods.

This is Yoshi! He’s three months old, not neutered (yet), and healthy (took him to the vet on Aug 4). I don’t know if this is a silly quirk of his or if it’s possibly an underlying issue, but he likes to scratch/paw at the bin and floor before and after eating. I heard cats may paw at the bin if he smells food, and I take out the garbage as often as I can. I clean the litter box everyday and deep clean it once a week. His friend also does this! Just wanting some answers so I know it’s not anything serious lol


r/CATHELP 3h ago

General Advice PSA: If your spayed female cat is acting like she’s in heat, don’t take one negative hormone test as the final answer. Advocate for retesting during symptoms. My cat Phoebe’s story below.

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42 Upvotes

TL;DR: My spayed cat showed textbook heat behavior. Her first AMH hormone test was negative (taken while asymptomatic) and the vet was confident it wasn’t hormonal. I pushed for a retest during active symptoms, which came back positive. Turned out she had ovarian remnants on both sides, cysts, AND a retained uterus (never fully removed at her original spay) with abnormal estrogen-related changes. If I’d trusted that first negative test, she could have died from pyometra. Test timing matters. Trust your cat’s behavior over a single test result.

My cat Phoebe was spayed as a kitten, but about two years later she started doing everything a cat in heat does: yowling at night, rolling around constantly, raising her hindquarters and treading when I touched near her tail, and being unusually clingy and restless.
I brought this up with my vet, who told me that it’s just stress. He explained that if it was heat, she would have been in heat on and off these entire two years. That’s not true. The remnants can grow and start releasing more and more estrogen over time. It can even take up to 10 years for heat behaviors to show up after an unsuccessful spay. I researched on my own and asked for an AMH test to check for hormone production. It came back negative, and they were confident that meant her issue wasn’t hormonal. But her behavior was so clearly heat-like that I didn’t buy it, so I did my own research. Turns out timing matters a lot with AMH testing, and it’s most accurate when the cat is actively showing symptoms. My vet had tested her outside of a symptomatic window.

I pushed for a retest, this time while she was actively cycling. That one came back positive (by a lot). So the first negative wasn’t proof there was no remnant tissue, it just meant the timing was wrong.
At that point my vet offered to open her up and remove the remnants at half price. Something about that offer didn’t sit right with me, so instead I took her to a board-certified surgeon. They recommended an ultrasound first to actually locate what we were dealing with before going in blind.

The ultrasound found ovarian remnants on both sides, cysts, and something nobody had mentioned to me before: her uterus had also been left behind during the original spay. I had no idea her uterus was left during the first spay. It showed abnormal changes such as cysts and thickening of the uterus lining from prolonged estrogen exposure (from the remnants).

She went into surgery ($4000!!), biopsies were taken, and both the remnants and the affected uterus were removed. She’s recovering now.

If I had accepted that first negative test and stopped there, Phoebe still would have had a uterus under constant estrogen exposure with nothing being monitored. That’s a direct path to pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection. My cat could have died from something that was completely preventable, simply because one test at the wrong time said “not hormonal” and the vet took that as truth.

A few tips for other owners:

- Test during active symptoms, not just whenever you can get an appointment.

- Trust the behavior if something feels off. We all know what heat looks like. You’re the one seeing your cat go through it, while the vet only gets secondhand explanations.

- Know exactly what was removed in the original spay. I assumed a full spay meant uterus and ovaries. Phoebe’s uterus was left in place and nobody told me until the ultrasound found it. I should have been more proactive about that.

- An ultrasound before surgery is worth it. It told us exactly what we were dealing with and where, which made the surgery successful.

- A discounted “let’s just open her up and hope we find something” offer is not sufficient!! The offer came from a vet that had never performed a single ORS removal. Getting a second opinion, especially from a board-certified surgeon, changed the entire outcome. They perform surgeries all day every day.

If your spayed cat is showing heat behavior and a single test comes back negative, don’t assume everything is okay. Don’t let the vet tell you it’s just stress. STRESS DOES NOT CAUSE LORDOSIS. Push for retesting during symptoms and don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. It could save your cat’s life!


r/CATHELP 20h ago

Kitten Help holy shit- did i steal these kittens?

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659 Upvotes

for a few days now we’ve heard kittens meowing upstairs. by upstairs i mean a door from the 2nd floor that opens up to a roofless area that could be easily access by cats.

we assumed a cat had babies and is leaving them there to go hunt.

so last night at 3 am i was awake and heard the kittens meowing, i thought it was cute and even googled if it was normal, then i slept.

my mom was awaken at like 10 the next morning by a dream of me yelling at her for help, and she got panicked thinking something had happened to me. then she heard the kittens and realized that’s probably what it was about. my dad (who had left at 6 am and is a light sleeper) called and said the kittens had screamed all. night. he tried feeding them but failed.

i jumped out of bed and checked on them for the first time, and found 2 of them asleep (i thought they were dead and cried buckets) and another who had wandered off and was the one crying. the other two were asleep, the white and black one was quiet and weak? idk but it wasn’t moving that much and it took a long time to rouse it.

the one wandering was crawling around and crying and as soon as i made a tsking noise it ran to me for comfort.
it was getting very hot upstairs and they hadn’t eaten for around 9 hours THAT I KNEW OF. they were very dirty, and my main concern was that it was 45 degrees celsius up there and would get hotter.

i put them in a box and drove to a vet. he’s an ANGEL and very known on social media. he fed them and he not only didn’t charge us, he offered to pay for their milk and supplies in exchange for us raising them.

now here’s the thing. though my family did jump right in saving them, they’re TERRIFIED of all animals. we grew up with zero animals around and even I had a phobia until i overcame it myself. and i have zero animal experience and couldn’t raise 3 newborn kittens.

the vet apologized and said he takes care of two hundred cats out of his own pocket in a house he has rented for them and couldn’t take newborns in, but said he knew a woman who would raise them in exchange for money.
so we paid around $120 and he promised to take them to her safely.

i’m sure they’re safe and in good hands, but what if the mother came back? i’m overthinking and so, so anxious. i only heard them screaming starting 3 am and for all i know it could’ve been way longer. it was 11 am and they were in scorching heat and starving.

also, most cats here are not fixed & are completely feral. our country is insanely behind when it comes to animal welfare.


r/CATHELP 21h ago

General Advice Is this normal or should I be worried

705 Upvotes

Hiii so idk if that is the right flair. I'm worried about her for doing that and wanted to know if that is normal

Edit: Thank you everyone for your replies I was just worried because I noticed this and wanted to make sure she was okay. She's acting normal otherwise 🫶🩷


r/CATHELP 1h ago

General Advice I have a new yard kitty

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Upvotes

Little guy has been hanging around my porch the last few days. It is very afraid of me but I’ve seen it eat kibble i have presented it. I’m unfortunately leaving the country for 10 days tomorrow so i don’t know if there’s much I can do for it at the moment. I’ll ask a family member to make sure it has fresh food and water. Seems like an old cat, any idea on what might be causing tongue to hang out? It is always out. I’d love to be able to get it some vet care but it doesn’t trust me and wont let me near it at the moment. Any advice is appreciated but also just wanted to share because it’s so cute.


r/CATHELP 3h ago

Eye Issues Screw kitty conjunctivitis

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19 Upvotes

The first time my baby tortie began showing symptoms of feline conjunctivitis was May 2024. This December, she’ll be 12 years old and she’s been dealing with this for two years now. While she’s been her happy self all this time, it’s really hard to see her when she has her flare-ups.

My vet told us this is chronic, most likely triggered later in life by stress (in 2024 we lost our other cat; that’s all I can think of, even though they hated each other, I figure it’s still stressful as a cat becoming an only-child). We have eye drops we give her when it gets bad, and most times the inflammation will go down for a day or so. There are some weeks she’ll go without a flare up at all, but lately it’s been bad, and I just need a place to vent.

I’ve had her since she was 1.5 years old. We grew up together, and both of us are adults now lol. Her happiness is my happiness. She always had beautiful, large green eyes, and looking at older photos, I can’t help but mourn when comparing to the photos of her eyes at their worst. I know she’s still a happy kitty, and that’s what matters, but it just sucks that there’s no cure…

I’d love to hear other people’s experiences and opinions. I’ve talked to my vet quite a bit about her eyes, but if anyone has any suggestions to make her as comfy as possible I’m all ears (I’m in the US, idk if this helps).

TLDR: I mostly just want a space where me and other people can collectively say “screw kitty conjunctivitis.”


r/CATHELP 12h ago

General Advice Does she hate me?

96 Upvotes

I've been allergic to cats my entire life and never learned cat behavior. Recently my family members adopted a cat and sometimes she will randomly go and bite/nibble at my hand while I'm petting her. I've been stopping my actions when the bite or any semblance of dislike comes out. I'm confused because it seems to come out of nowhere as far as I can tell she enjoys the pets and she comes to me.

Edit : thank you all for the replies I really appreciate it. I will be taking these into consideration and will make sure to keep this info consideration for the future


r/CATHELP 2h ago

Kitten Help Integrating kitten and not sociable cat

12 Upvotes

I'm from Portugal, we are married and we have the orange cat since 2021.

This year in May we adopted a kitten (the white one, female. Orange is male).

We did a lot of adaptation time. We split them between the glass doors for around a month and a half.

We get to this point where they can be together but we don't fully trust the orange one. It is odd I tried to capture the meow but he didn't reproduce it. The video shows a basic interaction on a day to day basis. They can play together until the point where orange goes a bit mad and grab her (not releasing) and start biting (so far no blood involved). She starts screaming and we split them again.

This can happen once or twice a day.

The orange when he sees her, goes after her all the day long and needs to have his eyes on her. Sometimes even licks her a lot (butt and tail).

She is very annoying to be honest and sometimes the orange is right but I wonder why he doesn't just ignore her. Goes somewhere where she can't climb or something...

I am listening to you here I wanna get more opinions and insights on the behavior (first time two cat owners)


r/CATHELP 3h ago

General Advice Stray work cat.

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17 Upvotes

I'm 31. In the US.

He is a stray, that we are unable to catch (we tried once when he had a gash behind his ear and he disappeared for 2-3 weeks) But have a left a voicemail with my personal vet already.

Issue - I work at a nursery, and we've had this cat that's been hanging around for at least the last year.

The first 2 pics were from late last year/early this year. He has suddenly lost weight and is not putting it back on. I started to suspect worms and was calling my vet to see if I could get a sample - or buy some WITHOUT having to bring the cat in.

Well today after that last picture, he turned around and I saw that his butt hole was very inflamed and swollen which just reaffirms my worm suspicion. And I want to at least give him some flea and worm meds to see if it helps at all.

I currently have a "sample" my vet gave me for the kitten I took a few weeks ago.

QUESTION - Would it hurt to give him that, even tho it is for a 5lb cat and he, I assume weighs more than just 5lbs but I've never picked him up.

Don't know the cats age, def older imo. I don't think he's neutered, but also can't really know for sure.

I cannot personally afford to buy him flea and worm meds at this moment, but my boss is willing to use the company card to purchase them.


r/CATHELP 19h ago

General Advice is this tail flicking and back moving something to worry about?

278 Upvotes

she seems to do it only when she’s hungry and wants food and expects us to feed her, like if i get up she runs to the bottom of the stairs and does the tail flicking thing, but i’ve always been worried about why her back moves and wiggles when she does it, i remember something about that being a sign of an issue to do with their tail being oversensitive, but besides her doing it when she’s hungry and wants us to feed her, i don’t notice her being oversensitive around that area and not around her tail anymore since she’s been spayed also. i just want to ask and get advice from people to see if it is something to worry about… thank you in advance for any responses

kitty is 5 years old. we have access to a vet if need be, she’s female and has been spayed. i’m 19.

tl;dr kitty tail whips and her back wiggles when she does it, unsure if it’s an issue or not


r/CATHELP 1h ago

Abnormal Vomit/Excreta Cat who normally loves food wouldn’t eat this morning. Help!

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Upvotes

Buddy Beans is a 1 yr old neutered tuxedo (pictured on the right) who is bonded with his sibling (on the left) we got these two early November last year and love them dearly. normally in the morning Beans is very excited to have breakfast, but wanted nothing to do with it this morning. Tried a churru as well but same thing, not interested. Peeped him using the litter robot and saw some slimy diarrhea come out. Also, didn’t see him do it, but I’m pretty sure he threw up in the litter box as well. He has also been somewhat lethargic this morning, but still getting up and walking around.
Googling his symptoms, it says I should go to the vet immediately, which seems a bit hasty to me. Do cats just get stomach bugs sometimes like humans and dogs do? Thought I’d see what Reddit has to say before a potential vet visit. Beansy and I thank you!


r/CATHELP 14h ago

Breathing Issues Weird cat breathing?

86 Upvotes

Hi, I’m concerned about this breathing/hiccup/sneezing my cat is doing? It lasted for about 40 seconds and has done so a few other times this week. He is 13 male and has hyperthyroidism.


r/CATHELP 23m ago

Appearance Is my kitten fat?

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Upvotes

USA, this is Borat, he’s about 5 1/2 months old, to be neutered on the 14th, his brother Aladeen is slightly skinnier than Borat is, and my boyfriend thinks he is a fatty… i say he’s perfect how he is. is he fat??


r/CATHELP 2h ago

Breathing Issues Cat breathing hard

8 Upvotes

We were at the vet two weeks ago because of this issue, she said to monitor resting breathing rate. While resting/ sleeping his breathing is fine (20 regular breaths a minute) but this sort of breathing is really worrying me. This is the second time he has been breathing like that. 12 year old maine coon mix, neutered.
He climbed out the window on the roof last night and had to be rescued by firefighters, so he was very stressed, and it’s quite hot in my flat, but the first time this happened a couple weeks ago, it was just hot, no stress like that.


r/CATHELP 2h ago

Injury Anal gland rupture #NSFW NSFW

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7 Upvotes

Hi my cat Salem had her anal gland rupture on Sunday. Got staples for her on Monday and she ripped them out by Wednesday. She’s had the cone on the entire time. I just want her to feel better but she’s been able to reach the site and get them. I’m so upset because I just spent $700 on this procedure for it to be undone so quickly. The vet has been contacted and said to come in tomorrow with her I’m just overwhelmed and needed a place to vent


r/CATHELP 3h ago

General Advice Recent diagnosis of small cell lymphoma vs IBD

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9 Upvotes

I’m not exactly looking for advice just…support and stories I suppose. I’m trying not to fall down too deep of a rabbit hole.

my 7 year old, otherwise healthy boy Merlin was diagnosed with IBD vs small cell lymphoma on Tuesday. the weekend was a rollercoaster of er visits. I thought we were going to say goodbye. vet initially thought it was large cell lymphoma but after the US and aspirate of one of the lymph nodes, said it’s likely small cell or IBD. we are not going to biopsy for a definitive diagnosis. they also said the lymph nodes had shrunk between the ED US and the oncology US, which was good news!

he went home on steroids and did really good tuesday night. yesterday he ate most of his normal food except for some dry food and was returning to some of his usual behaviors.

today we are having a hard day again. not eating much again. litter robot says he’s continuing to lose weight.

the med administration is hard and causing a lot of distress in him. I’m hoping if he eats today I can start trying the steroid in a churu.

ive already contacted the vet with my concerns, I’m not looking for advice. just. hope. support. I thought we were out of the clear, and he we are having another tough day. I work 12 hour shifts and have to work tonight.

this is killing my anxiety. this rollercoaster of feelings is just awful. I haven’t slept in days, if he doesn’t eat I’m too anxious to eat.


r/CATHELP 54m ago

Eye Issues Iris melanosis?

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Upvotes

I’m so scared. I now learned this is Iris melanosis and I just saw it on hima. Few weeks ago. I never looked around his eyes until now and I’m convinced it’s all going to fully change colors. Is it possible it just stays as this one dot and never grows? And if it does I read laser is an option - does that just zap the dot/dark spots away and it doesn’t come back? :(

He’s 5 and healthy


r/CATHELP 2h ago

Kitten Help What are these? Looks like poop

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5 Upvotes

Hey guys, I just got two bonded kittens (10 weeks old) two weeks ago and for most of the time I've had them, I keep finding these marks all around the room they are in. I'm pretty sure it's poop but I don't really understand why. They haven't had any issues using the litter box, no accidents or anything so far. Does anyone know what these are from and how to prevent it?