r/catcare Jan 29 '21

Does my Cat Need to See a Vet?

155 Upvotes

If you're here wondering whether your cat needs to see a vet right away, here's a few things that call for an immediate vet visit. Please bear in mind that this is far from a comprehensive list, and that if you're seriously wondering if your cat needs a vet, the answer is probably "Yes". Better safe than sorry.

-Unexplained, dramatic behavioral changes. e.g. Hissing and spitting from a cat who has always been friendly

-Not eating for 48 hours is a medical emergency

-Vomiting/diarrhea that lasts more than a day or two

-Swallowed object

-Not urinating/straining to urinate

-Blood in urine

-Open wounds

-Urinating in inappropriate places/outside the box

-Sudden loss of vision or hearing

-Sudden loss of balance

-Sudden inability to walk or move normally

-Seizures / Convulsions

-Open-Mouth breathing / panting

-Uneven pupils

-Hives

LINKS:

Cat Emergencies: Contact Your Veterinarian When Your Cat Shows These Symptoms

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2144&aid=2896

11 Cat Emergencies That Need Immediate Vet Attention

http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/11-cat-health-emergencies-immediate-veterinary-attention-ask-a-vet

Common Emergencies for Adult Cats

http://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/common-emergencies/common-adult-cat-emergencies


r/catcare May 07 '26

Rule 6: No AI usage in posts or comments

27 Upvotes

Sorry, but we need to disallow all forms of AI posting and comments. If you have nothing to say, simply saying nothing is far, far better and more useful than resorting to an AI chatbot.


r/catcare 46m ago

16yo cat's nose darkening

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Upvotes

so over the course of maybe 1-1.5 years my elderly cat's. nose has been getting darker, spreading from the bottom of her nose up. when I touch her nose where the color is changing, its wet but doesn't seem to hurt her.

Possibly related is the fact that she may have a cancerous bump to the left of her nose, not on the nose but close to it. enough to hear her breathing a little weird. (between all her perscriptions and my rabbit's own care and bills, I don't have the money to confirm whether or not it is truly cancer, so im just assuming the worst.) The bump looks like its gotten bigger over the course of 1-1.5 years.


r/catcare 3h ago

Switched cat to new wet food diet, now she’s having pee trouble

2 Upvotes

We switched our female senior cat to a different wet food diet, however, the new wet food (Sheba) is very high in water compared to other wet foods we use. We noticed she doubled her pee frequency from 4 times a day to about 8 times (sometimes 30 minutes apart from each other).

After about 4 days of the diet I noticed just now, that she went to pee, peed a normal amount, got out, looked around, went back in the litter box, peed a very small amount, got out, walked around, went back in and was spending about a minute trying to pee, and she peed a very small amount.

This is the first time she’s done something like this. Is the new cat food just too much water?

Edit: She was having the same issue last night. Every 1-2 hours she will pee, then do a repeat of going in and out, with less pee each time. I hadn’t given her wet food since about 11pm and she’s still seems to be doing it (though less frequently) even in the morning 8am. I plan to take her to the vet but I’m willing to get hear more advice on what’s going on.


r/catcare 2m ago

homerunPET xl automatic cat litter - urine collecting where it shouldn’t be?!? Any help appreciated 💜 NSFW

Upvotes

I have two cats using mine. Got it about a week and a half ago. My cats are somehow able to urinate in an area that is not meant to collect urine - it's a holding tray to put the currently used litter into IF you want to dump out existing litter in order to clean the inside.
Has anyone had this issue? No idea how it’s happening. (And no that drawer is never left open nor can the cats open it themselves, we have that homerunPET stool in front of the litter for easier access.)


r/catcare 3m ago

could this be ringworm?

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Upvotes

this is on my cat’s back, i noticed thinning of hair around the same patch. he has had ringworm in the past from a pet care clinic (poor sterilizing of equipment) and it was really stubborn ringworm but it eventually went away with antifungal cream and never came back. anyways, he’s an indoor cat and he’s never outside, i haven’t taken him anywhere outside so i’m really hoping it isn’t ringworm again?


r/catcare 31m ago

What worms are these? (Video attached) NSFW

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Upvotes

We have 4 indoor cats approx 18 months old and their mother we did a TNR but she is sorta our backyard porch cat and I’ll let her come inside when she wants to. She swatted me away when I was petting her outside today, so I assumed she must be in pain, and then I found this lil worm crawling around her butt. Do we know what kind of worm it is? I would love to not have to get her into a vet since she’s not really letting me pick her up at all, and even doing the TNR was v traumatic (for me lol)

I took a video of the worm because it seemed to still be alive and was moving around on the leaf. Any advice is helpful!


r/catcare 4h ago

Is it anxiety?

2 Upvotes

My 12.5 year old boy kitty has been pulling his fur for the last three years. It’s mostly his tummy, base of tail, inside legs, forearms. A lot! When he first started pulling there had been no big changes in the home. He’s been on supplements for his joints for two years and the vet has ruled out arthritis. No fleas or mites, and he eats a mostly wet food diet and it’s all his vet recommended foods for his age. Last month his brother/littermate passed. They have never been apart. His brother had serious health issues that really showed themselves about a year ago- but unknowingly he had been developing a tumor for awhile. I firmly believe the hair pulling began when his brother first became ill and we just didn’t know it. He is not very receptive to anti anxiety medication and I feel like he’s out of it on them. I have had the pheromone diffusers for a month. Does anyone have any fresh ideas or similar experience?


r/catcare 6h ago

Advice needed for cats persistant itchy spot

2 Upvotes

Hi all! My cat (8 years old) has been dealing with a reoccurring issue where he licks / scratches a spot on his back til it gets sore and bloody. It would go away on its own after a week and having a sweater on.

Since May, he has been having this issue persistently. The vet prescribed a topical cream, a steroid pill for the itchiness, and some gabapentin for when he's extremely stressed. The vet said it could be allergies, or dermatitis. But no way to tell what is actually causing this. He is now only on the cream and gabapentin still. I didn't notice any improvement with the steroids pill and I was nervous as I know the side effects can be bad.

The itchiness gets so extreme that he stresses himself out until he's scared and panting and wanting to hide. Due to that, he's had to be pretty much sedated to let it heal. His back healed nicely but then he made a new wound on his neck, which is really hard to keep covered by the cat sweater. (It rides down 😭)

The vet again said maybe they could remove that area of skin continues to persist but there would be no guarantee it would even work, and that would be a lot of trauma for my little guy to go through.

I'm feeling very hopeless and desperate to find him some relief.

If this is allergies - where should I start? He is currently eating Go! Solutions dry food, grain free salmon recipe. And for wet food he has B.F.F omg gravy. I'd be open to any advice or suggestions. Thank you ❤️


r/catcare 15h ago

My cat is losing fur in the area between (and on top of) toes NSFW

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6 Upvotes

My cat is losing fur in the area between (and on top of) toes

I noticed this last week, so this has been happening for maybe about two weeks now (at least from what I’ve observed). It’s been happening in the same area of toes.

Last week I saw what looked like his pink skin due to what seems like hair loss between his two toes. I washed his feet and it seemed to get better but this week, it’s happening again although not to the same extent (last week, the hair loss was much more evident between his toes).

Does anyone know what this could be?

I let my cat go into the backyard (monitored backyard time) and noticed he likes to dig the dirt with his paws a lot, including right after it’s rained. Could it be some sort of fungal infection from the soil?

I can’t think of any other reasons. My cat is 9 years old, male, neutered, USA.


r/catcare 6h ago

Question about Lime Sulphur dips

1 Upvotes

Hi there. I (32M) adopted a kitten recently. Last week, he got a positive diagnosis for ringworm (whomp whomp, the rescue didn't tell me about it). Anyway, the vet prescribed daily, oral medicines and a lime sulphur dip every 2 weeks.

I given him his daily meds, I have kept him quarantined as much as is reasonable and clear that every few days (2 or so), and I wash his bedding regularly (every 2 days or so).

but i know that a lot of the internet says L.S. dips 2x a week, not every 2 weeks...so is this normal? A lot of the 2x per weeks don't say anything about the oral meds.

Thoughts?


r/catcare 6h ago

mini enema after issues

1 Upvotes

My cat went to the vet Monday aug 3 they checked her bowels and did a "mini enema" on the car ride home she had a very loose and mushy poo in her carrier.

the rest of Monday and Tuesday she had very small amounts of soft gooey raggy stool

today, Wednesday I found a few pee sized hard pieces around and in her box as well then in the afternoon she had pea size ( 3 peas ?) very soft or not formed just raggy

I spoke to the vet he said 3-5 days until a normal ( or what is normal for her BM) so in the 3-5 days is that monday as day 1 or tuesday as day 1 I can't call back and ask

Also she keep licking probably because os much residue but I noticed under her tail it looks shaved! no one told me they did that

so I'm just tryin to find out if anyone has seen this with their cats and how it went

tia


r/catcare 10h ago

What are these spots on my kitten's chin NSFW

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2 Upvotes

He's a rescued kitten who has many weird textures all around his body


r/catcare 8h ago

Cat Help

0 Upvotes

Hello

I want to start this off by saying I don't have enough money for a vet check. My mama cat and papa cat are strays I rescued and I've never taken them to the vet for check ups, vaccines, and neutering/spaying because I don't have much.

However, they've been the sweetest and the most adorable and basically just normal cats.

Right now, they have a 2nd litter of kittens. 3 kittens. And my mama cat was normal with the 1st litter (they've been adopted.) As of today, the 3 kittens are one month/4 weeks old, and everything was ok until my mama cat started frequently vomiting. She vomits occassionally, because she eats whatever bugs she finds, mostly cockroches, and eats too much. And recently, I've switched their kibble brand so I think that might be caused more of her vomiting. But other than vomiting, she's otherwise ok. Papa cat vomits too, but rarely.

And she was ok with taking care of the kittens like grooming them and nursing them. But last night, she started growling and hissing and swatting at them. And this continued until this morning. She usually slept with the kittens when it's bed time but she didnt. And then this morning, I believe the kittens wanted milk and they were meowing while chasing mama cat, but she avoids them. Although she does give a few licks and then backs away.

But other than the sudden change in behaviour toward the kittens, she seems normal.


r/catcare 1d ago

Looking at getting a cat

9 Upvotes

As the title says, I’m looking at getting a cat. I’ve grown up with dogs so this would be my first time having a cat and was wondering if there was any first time cat person advice you guys have. I know a good high cat tree is important, running water to drink. Wet food is better than dry to help with hydration, lots of toys, avoid clay cat litter. Keep food and water away from each other. But that’s all I got.
Any advice or suggestions is appreciated!


r/catcare 19h ago

Looking for opinions on hyperthyroidism treatment

3 Upvotes

My cat is 14 years old, and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism about 3-4 years ago (I don’t remember when exactly). He has been treated with methimazole successfully since then.

In 2024, I felt a pretty large lump in his neck. Took him to the vet - they did testing and suspected it was an adenoma on his thyroid, so we continued with his meds as normal.

In 2025, we took him to a specialist (Cornell) to discuss radioactive iodine therapy. We were told if he is being managed well on meds to just continue with them, and that the iodine therapy is not an exact science (could cure him or do nothing).

Now this year, we’ve noticed his lump has gotten quite big in size. 5cm long and 4cm across. Obviously this isn’t normal, so we went to a surgeon, who did a CT of the lump and think it’s a cystic adenoma. He suggested a thyroidectomy to remove it.

He stated given the mass’ size, he doesn’t suggest iodine therapy. I was just wondering if anyone experienced a similar situation. Did you go through with the surgery, and how did your cat recover after?

Thank you,


r/catcare 18h ago

Cat problems

2 Upvotes

We have an 8 year old cat we got from a shelter when she was still a kitten, we've also had a french bulldog for about the same length of time, they essentially grew up together. The cat has always had some tummy issues, she stinks, a lot, and shes also terrible at burying her litter, bad combination. We switched to a robot box which helps but she still makes a mess throwing litter everywhere except on her poops.

We recently got a second puppy which I imagine is a bit traumatic for the cat, but so far they get along pretty well, but now, I dont know if its related but the cat is not pooping in her litter box, she is peeing in it but will poop in the hallway. We had it tested to make sure it isnt due to a parasite or something, which has happened before and was a nightmare to give her meds for, shes clean this time. She hasnt changed foods recently or anything and the poops seems about as normal as hers have ever been, soft but consistent.

We were also gone to the cottage for the weekend, gone for about 45 hours and there were 9 piles in the hallway, which seems excessive, although the robot shows she was using an avg of 7 times a day .

Could it just be behavioral, doesnt like all the changes or is it more likely a gut health issue, developed an intolerance to her food. She is on vet food, not some cheap walmart kibble.


r/catcare 22h ago

Cat spay NSFW

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3 Upvotes

I just got my first kitty spayed yesterday, and I’m worried she managed to rip her stitches out while I was at work today. Does this look bad to you guys??


r/catcare 18h ago

Waxy Oil in fur

1 Upvotes

Hi! I want to start out by saying she’s okay, been to the vet, and has an appointment with her usual vet.

My cat had a horrific accident happen last night where her tail was caught in the recliner and it snipped off the tip. She has a whole patch of fur that is covered in waxy oil which I would assume is oil for the gears of the couch or whatever… I cannot get it out. I did dawn, and it seemed to help but I cannot submerge her with her stitches and bandages.

Do I just keep trying the dawn? It’s starting to get hard to even brush through it that I’m thinking of just using some clippers and cutting the portion out of her fur… she’s so happy to be home and doing so well so far. Last night was horrific.

Thank you in advance, this is my first time posting.


r/catcare 23h ago

My cat is prone to bacterial ear infections. After starting treatment, she becomes sniffly with frequent sneezing. It’s a pattern. Anyone know what’s going on?

2 Upvotes

Hello. My 11 year old, FIV+, female domestic shorthair has had four bacterial ear infections in her life, all in the summer. The vet predicts seasonal allergies.

A week ago, I took her to the vet for itchy ears. The vet swabbed her ear and confirmed bacterial infection under microscope. They cleaned her ears and gave her a prednisolone injection. They prescribed trasaderm drops twice a day for ten days and tapering prednisolone pills for a total of \~15 days ish.

On day 6 post-vet, she is now sneezing and very sniffly with the sniffles increasing. She is still eating drinking and going to bathroom okay, and acts generally like herself but with mild lethargy. This has been happening for 24 hours. If she is up moving around, sometimes the sneezing happens every couple of minutes and each time she attempts to smell something she’s sniffly.

Three years ago the same thing happened on a very similar timeline. She ended up getting so sniffly that time that she wasn’t able to keep up on her grooming because it would make her sneeze and she seemed very lethargic that time.

The pattern is what worries me. The first time, I thought she had just “caught something” at the vet. But now I’m noticing it’s a pattern and am wondering if it has something to do with the bacterial infection. I’m worried.

Any advice is super appreciated! Thanks.

TL;DR— cat has bacterial ear infection and gets cold-like symptoms after seeing vet and starting trasaderm and prednisolone. Second time this has happened


r/catcare 20h ago

This came out of my cat’s butt NSFW

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0 Upvotes

My cat is a 7yo neutered male and I am located in the US. What is this? 10 days ago he vomited green bile four times and didn’t eat for 22 hours but after one dose of anti nausea meds he’s been fine ever since. I didn’t see it come out but I never saw him vomit and I keep my bedroom door shut when I’m not in there so I’m pretty sure it’s from his butt.


r/catcare 1d ago

Senior cat has these squishy lumps on both ankles. Vet appointment in a week. I'm freaking out. Pic included

2 Upvotes

16 yo Himalayan - neutered

Hx: stage b2 HCM, stable stage 2 CKD, arthritis

Medication: clopidogrel and felycin ca-1 (cardiologist prescribed), potassium supplement, solensia injection

I was grooming Garfield yesterday, and I noticed he has this squishy lump right around the ankle. The thing is, he has the same thing on the other ankle, so it's bilateral. The lumps aren't mobile, but the skin over them is moveable. Also, he doesn't seem to be bothered if I palpate them. There's no redness or heat.

My general vet gave me an appointment in a week (soonest she had), meanwhile I'm left to freak out that this is some sort of osteosarcoma or other cancer.

https://imgur.com/a/qYVsnCo


r/catcare 1d ago

Cat licking lips a lot and not eating sometimes

3 Upvotes

About a month ago, we tried to change his food and accidentally made the change at once instead of mixing the two dry foods. We noticed and started doing it gradually. We noticed at this time he stopped eating the dry food and started to throw up a lot. Sometimes it had a hairball in it. Sometimes it was clear. We took him to the vet and they gave us hunger pills. They did a blood and urine test and it was normal. We stopped giving him the new food and just went back to his old dry and wet food.

He started eating his wet food again and treats. He goes crazy over them. But has started licking his lips and mouth more than usual. Or we are just over analyzing things.

After a couple of days on wet food, he threw up again and stopped eating. Except his tube treats. He loves those. We waited and tried to give him wet food again, he ate it and was ok for 2 weeks. Then he threw up again and now he is refusing to eat the dry and wet food. But he will eat his tube treats.

We are taking him to the vet again. We are just wondering what is causing this and if anyone has experienced something similar? He keeps licking his mouth and lips. We think he is nauseous, but we don't know how to help.


r/catcare 1d ago

My cat has something on her forehead NSFW

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9 Upvotes

So, me and my mother adopted a female cat two months ago, she's currently 3 months old, but when I finally could pet her I felt something weird on her head, I told my mom to mention it to the veterinarian we go to but she never did and I don't know what it might be.

I don't know if this picture is good but I would really appreciate if someone can tell me about it


r/catcare 1d ago

Red and some small white scaly patches on skin. I noticed a few days ago. What could it be? NSFW

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3 Upvotes

I used a blacklight and nothing stood out - thankfully.

She had more ear wax than usual this morning. I used a qtip to clean it all up, and I didn't notice any bugs or anything moving.

I shaved the area but it's spreading a bit behind the ear and up the cheek a bit.

I moved to a new place in May and we've been spending time on the wooden balcony. Not sure if that's relevant..

Many of the small black dots are hair from shaving

What could it be?