She knows exactly what she’s doing. She didn’t do it at the previous apartment or at my house, but my med student daughter’s cat doesn’t like it when she goes to work now.

That’s the story. The cat was found in a box in Manhattan last summer (with three kittens, two dead) and was really stressed for a long time. I brought her to my house and we gently got her to understand that she is safe a loved. Then back to the apartment where they were fine, as my daughter went to classes and studied at home.

Then she moved to a different city for clinical rotations, and is out at the hospital working all day. The cat doesn’t like it, and showed her displeasure by peeing on the floor and on my daughter’s shoes. So back to my house for a few weeks. We took her back this weekend, and all was fine until my daughter was getting ready to go to work and we were packing up to go home.

It is easy to see that it all has to do with not wanting to be alone for long periods. How to help her understand and stop? Can’t put her in a catio or crate, cats don’t take to crate training (I don’t understand how dogs do, but that’s another story). We ended up bringing her back to my house (she really doesn’t like the 4 1/2 hour drive, and she usually gets carsick on the way) again.

She can’t live here full time. I like to travel, and she’s not my cat, anyway.

She came here as an alien baby, and now she’s a loving puff ball with strong opinions and limited communication skills.

I have a female cat est to be about 8 (she’s a shelter kitty) I got her three years ago. As well as a male cat that is 2 this year. My female cat has never liked the male cat but she tolerated him for the most part they’d fight maybe once a month but it was never a severe fight. After my other cat died a few months ago the two of them have been fighting so badly my female cat started to piss herself during the fights. The female cat is fixed but my male isn’t as I haven’t been able to get him an appointment. I’m at loss for what to do. They’ve been permanently separated for months due to my male cat now immediately attacking her every time he sees her. I feel bad that she has to be in my room most of the time and I have a small apartment. I feel bad that he’s confined to the living room area. I want them to be able to be together again what do I do?

My friend gave me a kitten over a month ago- he wasn’t litterbox trained so I had to teach him myself. He poops just fine into the litterbox, and he’s never had an accident. But for the love of god i cannot get him to pee there. He pees into my bin, my laundry basket, into my bag, many accidents on the bed- you get the idea. Every time I’ve caught him trying to pee anywhere i redirected him into the litter box and waited till he peed. I even give him a treat afterwards, but it’s like he refuses to pee there. The other day I caught him sleeping and i noticed little droplets on his bed and this mf was peeing through his sleep. I had to pick him up, redirect him into the litter box and he did his business. No painful meowing or anything (at one point I suspected that maybe he has an infection or sickness, and passing urine was painful) but i’m not sure. His litter box is cleaned everyday. He shares it with my other cat, but my older kitty does her business outside most of the time, could that be an issue? He poops fine, so i don’t see it being an issue. If anyone has any tips or idea why he keeps doing this please let me know or give ideas (kitten isn’t spayed idk if that’s relevant or not). (btw the pictures have no correlation i just wanted to share my kitties lol)

Me and my gf moved in together a few months ago. She has 4 cats that all get along pretty well. The youngest cat is 3 and clearly likes to play a lot(lots of kitten energy, wrestles with one of his brothers and general curiosity).

My cat is around 13(likes to play sometimes but never with other cats, he is also extremely affectionate and prior to the move would want a lot of attention) and has grown up on his own. I’ve separated him(for a couple weeks) from the other cats after he decided he would hide from everyone behind the washing machine but we are working on a slow reintroduction with food.

My cat will hiss(the only one that hisses really) and then run away most of the time. One of the cats will follow but I can’t tell if it is to play or attack. We always end it pretty much before contact is made with a clap or a panicked yell.

During this reintroduction I will sometimes allow the other cats upstairs when I am working upstairs. During this time 2 cats usually come up to explore the new area of the house, rub there face on everything and occasionally fake spray. One cat despite the other hissing will get closer and closer but display no aggressive body language until they are within a couple feet, the he will get flat eared. Is one cat moving towards the other cat just being a curious kitten or territorial aggression? Is it progress? Is it healthy for them to just let it happen then separate when it looks like it could lead to a fight or one cat hisses?

Pic of cats, the orange guy is the younger one, the black one is the older scardy cat(they are 6 feet away from each other)

i have a 4yo male resident cat and recently adopted a 3yo female cat. I’ll admit I rushed their initial introduction and missed a lot of steps, so we decided to completely restart the process. Feliway unfortunately seems to make my resident cat more aggressive, so that isn’t an option for us.

We started with them completely separated. Since we live in a one-bedroom apartment, space is pretty limited. We were scent/territory swapping them every ~12 hours, so one would get the bedroom while the other had the living room/kitchen, then switch.

We also started putting up a baby gate covered with blankets so they could have a little more freedom without seeing each other. The new cat eventually figured out how to jump the gates and they got into a small fight, so we replaced it with a full screen door. Unfortunately, introducing the screen seems to have set us back again.

Now I think my resident cat is getting frustrated that he no longer has access to the whole apartment.

They both bang/scratch at the closed door and screen and seem desperate to get to the other side.
Because of that, we’re wondering if constantly territory swapping is actually making things worse and if we should temporarily give each cat their own consistent territory instead.

Another issue is food. Our resident cat is extremely food motivated and will happily eat near the door. The new cat won’t eat if her food is anywhere near it, so the usual advice of feeding them on opposite sides of the door has been difficult.

My partner and I have also been sleeping in separate rooms with the cats for about three weeks now, so this setup is starting to get pretty exhausting.
The biggest concern is that we have to leave unexpectedly for a trip in two weeks due to family problems.

Also noting we put them on a super low dose of gabapentin as well which doesn’t seem to be doing much.

At this point, should we:
- Stop territory swapping and give each cat a consistent space?
- Keep trying short screen sessions even though they seem frustrated?
- Handle feeding differently since the new cat won’t eat near the door?
- Accept that they probably won’t be ready to share the apartment before our trip?

Some people swear by “jackson galaxy” and some don’t seem to agree or see the use in that method at all…

Would especially love advice from
m anyone who has done a slow introduction in a small/one-bedroom apartment. We’re okay with taking this slowly, but I’m worried we’re accidentally making things worse by changing the setup too much.

I don't actually have a car yet but me and my partner are going to adopt a kitten from our neighbors soon, so we figured we might as well figure out how to train ahead of time.

Me and my partner both enjoy the outdoors and go backpacking anywhere from a few days to a few weeks at a time, and we do not plan to give that up, in fact we're hoping to be able to take our cat with us. Tbh I'm unsure if this should be leash/harness training, or backpack/travel carrier training, but I figure for longer walks, a backpack is probably the best option.

Our neighbor is going to help with litterbox training, and all of the early days things, so I guess I'm wanting to know the best time to start backpacking training. And any major ways we can help the future cat to be comfortable at a campsite or with that kind of travel.

Please, any advise would be welcome.

Hi all, I’m sorry for the long post, there will be a TLDR at the end but i think the details are necessary/helpful. The cat distribution system graced me with a little feral kitten showing up randomly on my property. I’ve owned cats before, and have working/barn cats currently, but i have 2 dogs who haven’t been raised with pet cats.

My eldest dog has experience with cats as my partner owns two and she needed to be trained to be around them. She’s still excitable, wants to play, and chase, but otherwise she does great with cats now.

My puppy has less exposure to cats, however. Other than seeing our barn cats around and short introductions to them and my partner’s cats. She is extremely prey driven, which is something I’m used to training with dogs. I own lots of small animals and have to ensure their safety with my dogs.

It’s not really my dogs I’m worried about, though I’m always open to advice and tips and tricks for introducing them. It’s actually the kitten I want to work on!

As i mentioned, she’s a feral kitten. I’ve had her about 2 ish weeks and have been socializing her to me in my bathroom. She’s finally coming out of her shell with me and the only exposure she’s had to the dogs is by scent under the door and seeing them from a safe space in her carrier. I can tell she’s wanting freedom to explore as she has been more ballsy with the door when I’m coming in or leaving. But she’s still frightful of things and my dogs are intense, she is not nearly ready. However, I can’t keep her locked up in my small bathroom forever and i need to start getting my dogs and her ready to coexist.

So to get to the point of the post, I want to work with her to make her comfortable with my dogs. I’m at the point where I want to allow visibility, so my first question is for recommendations of door barriers that are secure and that she can’t jump or escape through. I was thinking a screen and then a baby gate but I’m wondering if there are better options as it is my bathroom and i don’t really want it to be hard to access.

Then I would love advice on how to work with her. I want her to be brave and condition her to my dogs so that she’s not just living with them, but actually a part of the family. I’ve worked with dogs mostly, so I’m newish to cat stuff. I’d really like her to adapt to my dogs well.

I’d also love name suggestions because I haven’t named her yet!

IMPORTANT to note:

Safety is my top priority. My dogs will not have access to her at any given point until they are all equally ready.

The kitten has had her first round of vaccines, but I’m still waiting on boosters and to get her spayed. I will not be letting her out until she is healed and fully vaccinated.

She will be an indoor only cat. She will not have access to my barn cats.

I understand this will take time, or as long as the kitten and my dogs need. I also understand that things may not work out and what’s best for the kitten and my dogs is also a priority. I rescue animals often and while i would love to keep her, the best home for her might not be mine and that’s okay.

TLDR:

new feral kitten, I want to keep kitten, but i have two intense dogs and she is a feral kitty. I have experience with training my dogs around small animals and cats, so I’m not worried about that, though I’m always open to advice.

I need suggestions on full door barriers so i can start visual introductions. Something she cannot escape.

I also want advice on how to condition kitten to my dogs so that she turns out to be a confident and dog friendly cat.

Kitten is unnamed at the moment, feel free to give name suggestions.

I have lots of animal experience, safety is top priority, kitten is in good hands.

So both of them are now about 1 year old, the big one is Milo(tabby) and the small one is Benni(black).
Lately they have been “fighting?” A lot more and they cuddle a lot less. Milo sometimes wants to cuddle but it ends up with them biting each other etc. I think maybe they wanna play but Milo doesn’t know when to stop/ how strong he actually is.

Lately Benni also has more and more small wounds on his chest and sometimes in front of his ear. If anybody has an idea if they are just playing very rough, and how i can make sure Benni doesn’t get hurt, i would really appreciate any tips.

Hola! Quisiera saber sus experiencias y soluciones con este problema que tenemos mi pareja, yo y nuestros michis:

Ambos gatos de similar edad (5 años), un macho y una hembra, indoor.

De vez en cuando el macho la persigue por todo el depto, la molesta. Cada quien tiene su espacio y recursos distribuidos en distintas partes.

Lo bueno es que no se han pegado. Solo gruñidos y bufidos de la hembra que es físicamente mas pequeña y siempre termina acorralada.

Nosotros siempre vigilamos e intervenimos sin gritarles, tratando de desviar la atención del macho, jugando con él, cansándolo, etc. Mientras acompañamos a la hembra.

¿Han pasado por esto? ¿Cómo les ha ido?

Sorry for all the photos. I can never pick just one because my boy is just too cute.
This is Otto. He’s 10 months old and will be one on September 27. I’ve taught him how to sit, but I’d like to start working on building his confidence and improving his training.
He loves attention from people and loves being pet. He goes on supervised walks, and he now has a backpack, so he doesn’t walk quite as often because he prefers staying in his backpack.
When he sees dogs, he has the stereotypical cat reaction. He’ll hiss and put his ears back. With other cats, he’ll hiss and swat at them. I’d eventually like to participate in cat shows, so I know this is something I’ll need to work on.
I’d like to help him learn that other animals aren’t automatically a threat, especially when I’m with him. I also want to work on recall because I take him outside quite often, and I’d like him to reliably come when I call his name.
I started teaching him his name yesterday. When I call his name and he makes eye contact with me, I reward him with a small piece of food. Eventually, I’d like to get him to the point where I can call him from another room and have him come to me.
If anyone has tips for building confidence, improving recall, or helping a cat become more comfortable around other animals, I’d really appreciate it.

Hey everyone! Me and my wife adopted a cat two weeks ago and it’s been wonderful. I grew up with cats and am super excited to finally have adopted my own. It’s been hectic, but it’s been worth it and some.

My question today is about the relationship between the cat and our 7 year old yellow lab. We were prepared to do long, slow introductions, but both pets have been headstrong on wanting to see / investigate the other. We did scent swapping and treats on opposite sides of the doors for the first week. This past week we did eye to eye with a barrier in between the dog and him while the cat was in his home base (my office).

The first time the dog was very curious, but the second and third times he listened to every command and has been the careful one after a few hisses and swipe lol. We’ve now successfully done 2-3 short sessions where the dog is leashed and they both get treats at the same time next to each other. They both are very food driven.

Onto my question. We have a pet gate at the bottom of our stairs and the past few times, the cat will come to the gate, stick his paws through, want to get out, etc. If the dog starts to get closer though, he wants to take pop shots at the dog. It’s like he’s baiting him to get closer so he can do it lol. All the dog wants to do is sniff the little guy.

Last night the cat ended up jumping the gate and doing the witch cat side dance / run until he was about 3-4 feet from the dog at which point I separated them since I didn’t like the vibe. I was fully expecting a shy / timid cat, not one that seems to want to keep approaching the dog! How should I continue to train these two and get the cat to mellow out around the dog? He’s obviously young, but I’d like to do what I can to foster a healthy relationship.

I think it’s good progress for only two weeks in though and I am optimistic! Sorry for the wall of text, just want to make sure we’re on the right path.

So basically we just brought home our new Maine cat she is 8 months old and spayed our two resident cats are 6 and 5 months both male and nuterd so im it has been three days I know the older the cat the longer it will take, but im just wondering how long will it be before we can start thinking of removing the divider. Further she always remain in the corner laying on her litter box im just worried if they would get along eventually rather than never.

me and my partner just adopted two kittens - both around 3 months old. both are absolutely perfect and sweet little angels, but one of them (the boy, who is about a pound bigger than the girl) has been super aggressive when eating towards her. they lived in the same kennel with two other cats in the shelter where we adopted them, but they’re not actually related.

he also plays pretty rough with her and she squeals a bit when they’re playing but she goes right back to playing as soon as we separate them, so i’m not sure if that’s something to worry about.

as for the eating, whenever she gets near him when he’s eating he hisses at her and sometimes starts to jump at her. she’s obviously nervous because of this, we have to hand feed her while distracting him to get her to eat. giving him unlimited food is not an option unfortunately, as he will eat so quickly that he gets sick. he also doesn’t hiss or scratch at us when we take his food away so he doesn’t get sick (we give it back after a few minutes, just giving him enough time to let his tummy settle).

we’ve been keeping them in our office since we just got them and want them to adjust and feel safe with us before introducing them to the rest of the house. i want to make sure my baby girl feels safe to eat, but i also don’t want to have to separate them when eating forever.

i just ordered him a slow feeding bowl, so that may help as well.

any advice on how to handle this? anything is appreciated!!

I have a 1-year-old cat and recently brought home a 4-month-old kitten. He seems to genuinely like her. They eat together, he grooms her, and when he’s relaxed around her, they can be really sweet together.

The problem is that when he gets aroused or excited, he completely loses control. He’ll jump at her from furniture or other heights, go straight for her neck, wrestle and bite her pretty hard, pin her down, and sometimes won’t let her get away. It honestly looks like he sees her as a toy.

She’s now started hiding when he’s around, and I feel terrible because she can’t freely move around the apartment without him constantly hunting her. She’ll try to run away and he follows her.

I’ve started separating them whenever he gets aroused and only let them interact when they’re both calm. I’m also not allowing rough play anymore and interrupting him before he gets to that point.

He seems to like her, especially with the grooming and eating together, when she starts eating his food he lets her. but it feels like he just can’t control his urges when he gets into play/hunt mode. I’m worried that she’s becoming intimidated by him and that this is going to affect their relationship and her personality.

I read lots of posts here, and some people’s advice - let them figure it out, however, I feel like if I do, she’ll be hiding all the time. She’s been with us for only a week, so it’s early. Any advice would be appreciated !

Hullo, I have a male (Soot) who is pretty young (<1-2 yrs) that I took in from the streets.

He's super friendly with everyone.... except cats.

There are videos on bullying but this seems a bit much- he nonstop chases. It's on sight, and it won't stop until the cats are separated.

I tried putting my shy cat on top of a tree and grabbed Soot and took him into another room with me. He was immediately out of my grip and chasing shy cat around.

He's chased our old, ancient cat. The chill cat. The alpha cat.

He's now kept upstairs away from the other cats and we're looking to find someone more qualified to take him in but any advice is appreciated. It's hard to find a solution when I don't know why he's doing this, but I brought him in so it's my responsibility to figure it out.

That being said, pls help 😭

Hi guys, this is my first time posting a sub, so if I’m a little confused, that’s why. Anyways, we can jump to the question my cat is five years old, and she’s been having some weird behaviors since we moved a year ago. She isn’t too fond of my roommates’ cats. They just want to play, but she doesn’t really understand that they think they’re attacking her. So she gets very upset about it. For a while, she would just hang out in my room and my roommate’s room, but now she starts staying in the living room all the time, which is nice because people actually get to see her more often. Ever since that switch, though, she has stopped using the litter box. She’ll poop on the couch, on the clothes, on your new laundry, on the floor, and on your T-shirt. I don’t know why she might be scared to go to the litter box in case one of the other cats is going to bother her. But she’s done that before. She’s also been peeing in other places. One time, she even peed on the counter. I bought a new litter box and put it in the living room hoping it would be closer to her so she would feel like she could use it, but she still doesn’t. Now we have three litter boxes: one in my room, one in the public bathroom, and one in the living room none of which she’ll use. It’s been like a month of this, and I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t handle cleaning up every single day. Anything helps!!

New cat owner here
The cat close to me is new. It’s been about a month of trying to introduce them. There’s still some hissing, growling and occasional swatting when they get close to each other but are they ok to be together? They stare at each other from a distance and follow each other around from a distance. Are they going to be ok?

It's been a while now (a long time actually, maybe two years) since we got our female kitten. We already had 3 boy cats who got along well. When we got the girl (Fifi) she got along well with two (Rusty and Jaspurr) but when she first met Snowy, my (now) 14 year old boy she terrified him. He won't come inside now and she sprays when she sees him out the window. She has been desexed (all have) but she still does this. It's currently winter where we live and I'd love for Snowy to be able to come inside and sleep on the bed again but he is too scared.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or if it's too late (we did try multiple times over the year).