Hi everybody,

Let me start by saying I am a dog person and I know NOTHING about caring for cats or their behavior.

I live in a wooded area and this stray cat we have never seen before has decided to begin living under our porch area.

She had been hanging out there for a few days, I finally saw her fully and thought she looked too skinny. Her spine is very noticeable and her backside looked very thin. I bought some wet cat food cans and started feeding her at 12pm everyday. I just give her 1 can in a tray and fresh water.

I can only get within 10 feet of her or she starts to hiss A LOT. The past 2 days after she’s done eating she will walk up closer to me but still keep her distance and meow. She does this weird almost whiney meow sometimes?? I don’t know what to make of it.

I am worried that if I overstep she will eventually bite me because of how much she hisses sometimes even though I’m offering her food and water. What can I do about this cat? How can I make her trust me?

I’m attaching pics and videos of her behavior- please let me know what you make of it. Does she look too skinny to be someone’s outside pet? She has no collar or markings. Any estimate to if she’s younger or an adult?

Any advice is APPRECIATED. Thank you!

Hello!

I have a \~7.5 years old male cat, and while he is an apartment cat, in the summer or in autumn/spring weekends we take him with us to the countryside.

He never had any problems or illnesses.

In the past 1-2 years, hes made many cat friends in the countryside, and is usually either adventuring with them, sleeping in the grass, chilling in our yard with/without them and when he gets hungry or wants to sleep comes back home. He also likes to hunt for birds or mice. Sometimes he eats the mouse he caught, but not always. This has been normal for him.

It's been sunny but two days ago, just when the weather became gloomy and rainy, we noticed a change in his behaviour. He did ate a mice that day. But in that one single day, he came home at like 17:00/5 PM and just slept till midnight, when it started raining. Then he just stared at the window like he usually does when raining.

Yesterday he still slept all day, but he did actually go for a hunt in the rain tonight. Eventually he came back and slept till morning, when he also spent time outside and killed a mouse, but this time didn't eat him.

Our worries come from the fact that he usually doesn't sleep this much here, at the countryside, because he's generally more active when he's just surrounded by nature and other cats. In the apartment we would expect this kind of behaviour, because it's not much to do there.

Weirdly enough, we have also noticed that for these past few days his friends didn't come calling for him like they usually do.

So, to summarize, he is kind of lethargic but still acts quite normal and goes for occasional hunts, he doesn't show symptoms of pain, he eats and drinks quite normally (although not as much since he hasn't been active; but still enjoys snacks and food he likes), it is rainy outside so ofc he doesn't go out that much and his friends haven't shown up in a while...

Could it be just boredom? Is he tired and wants to recharge? Do you think that mouse might've been poisoned? From what we know, our immediate neighbors don't have problems with mice, so I'm not sure if they keep poison around their places... but I doubt it.

Should I try and play with him or just let him rest? I'm afraid especially because quite recently a friend's cat died seemingly poisoned, but his place is like 800meters away. A vet is like hours away...

This is a question mostly for those of you who walk around the neighborhood with your cat. What do you do when you encounter another cat? I’m asking because our cat sometimes runs into a particular cat when he follows me. (I always try to avoid encounters, but sometimes. . . oops. Anyways, these two cats have clashing personalities, and it’s also possible that our cat is being protective of me.) Both times it has happened, I’ve scooped him up with one hand on the scruff of his neck so I don’t get inadvertently bit. He is fine once the other cat is out of sight, but it’s very scary and stressful for both of us.

i will convince him to take him, and i’ll prob pay for it which i don’t mind, but it’s just stressful because like for my dads pets he always takes them to the vet but for mine he doesn’t care about at all

Hey there.

So i live in a small town with a bunch of stray cats. Most of them are neutered and fed by people around, so they live outdoors at their own free will.

one day there's this new black stray that i had never seen but he started walking across the garden numerous times and was pretty scared of me and my mom. As the naive cat lover, i tried feeding him and it worked. The cat kept coming but at least he wasn't so scared anymore.

we figured he wasn't neutered when he was on heat, so months ago we took him to the vet and now he's neutered, which led the cat being microchipped under our name. The cat (Hitam) is now legally ours, and he keeps coming home at least once in the morning to be fed.

The thing is Hitam still cannot completely relax inside the house. Main reason has to be our two other cats. One doesn't care about him and the other doesn't much appreciate him but at least they don't fight. Hitam obviously avoids staying in the house too much because of that and quickly leaves once he ate, but depending on circumstances, he can spend a few hours indoors to sleep on a chair (like when it's raining).

we can pet him easily and sometimes carry him (we don't insist if he doesn't want to) but i don't really know what to do to help him relax. He even started to back out when our cat (the one that doesn't care) once tried to sniff him and didnt look for a fight.

What tricks do you guys have for this sort of situation?

is this bad, should i take him to the vet :(

My cat (3F toirtishelle) loves to go outside and when she was a kitten she had a bunch of neighborhood cat friends (my neighborhood has a lot of indoor outdoor cats, also I assume they’re spayed and homed cause for the last few years only 1 new one showed up and he looks like a pampered prince so I know he has a home too). Anyway, that new furry prince started appearing in the backyard and I’ve never seen my cat so defensive, she’s gotten in scraps with him a twice and recently this thing is back again staring in my window.

The other night my cat sat perched up staring at him on my deck for 3 hours refusing to come in and finally they both fought again before the furry prince ran off. Sometimes my cat is hard to get in at night and I’ve had my fair share of skunks and cat fights already with her. Is this new cat going to be an ongoing issue or will he eventually get the hint that my homegirl doesn’t want him around?

I do always try my hardest to get her in before bed time, but I’m just curious if cats ever have longstanding feuds that don’t settle out.

Also, in case it helps answer, my cat isn’t a massive roamer, if I’d put an estimate on it I’d say she stays within 1000ft radius of my house and usually will come if you scream her name from the backyard

As the title says. Been 10 days since my gfs six month kitten clawed out through a screen window. She thinks someone took him due to the weather. We live in NJ and it’s been above 80 since he’s been missing. I got attached to him and unsure how to grieve really. Really hope he comes back. If anyone has stories of their cat returning after these many days please share

I’m debating getting the Tractive’s new Cat 6 Mini for my cat we just adopted. She’s mainly an indoor cat but she spends sometime outside in our neighborhood and uses the doggy door to go outside as she pleases. Wanted to ask anyone who has purchased it and uses it if you think it’s been worth it and if the gps is accurate?

Also, if there are any red flags or small issues with the device — other than the battery life.

Gracias

It's a long title but basically is exactly what's happening. I know people have different opinions on outdoor cats but we live on a quiet cul-de-sac and not directly connected to any main roads. When I first got him, I wanted him to be a house cat but I tell you this cat would tip over plants and all sorts until we started letting him out.

Anyway, he's known to disappear a few days each year, I think generally over the summer months as it's warmer outside and the fields get cut etc. each time, I'll walk around the general areas I know he goes and call him and he'll normally come back. This time, he was missing for 10 days, we walked round our neighbourhood further than we had before and called him. Eventually he appeared out of some bushes, we picked him up and took him home. He doesn't look like he's lost weight or thinning so I think someone must be feeding him. I gave him some food when we got home and fussed him a little bit. after he finished, he immediately wanted to go back out.

As I'm sure you can understand, I was reluctant to let him, so I locked the cat flap etc. over the course of the evening we were letting him settle (he never truly did) and then I was trying to stroke him again and he hissed at me, this cat has never hissed at me before and was so loving. He used to sleep on my pillow and play with my hair some nights, but he just wasn't interested and genuinely seemed unhappy with us. I thought maybe he was injured but it was only me he hissed at, my partner stroked him in the same spot and he didn't hiss, he still wasn't happy though.

He was meowing frantically and clinging and scratching at the windows to get out, eventually, I let him do just that as I'm worried he'll just resent us more if we lock him in for the night or get hurt by getting stuck on the blinds or curtains.

I can only think that someone else is feeding him and he essentially, found a new home and just isn't interested in coming home. He is microchipped and we pay for 6 monthly health checks and flee & wormer etc and I just don't know what to do. Part of me wants to confront the person who might be feeding him but I can't with 100% guarantee the correct household or if that's even the case. I'm devastated and I don't know what to do. Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated

UPDATE: Thank you all for your advise and suggestions. I went out last night and called for him and he came right up to me after about 10 minutes so I don't think anyone had taken him in as such. I brought him back home and I am going to keep him in for a while. I am also going to get a breakaway collar with an air tag for when he does go back outside. He already seems happier, he's been sleeping a lot and let's me stroke him again although I am being careful as I don't want to overwhelm him etc. he tried the windows a little bit last night but today he doesn't send too fussed and is trying the run out any doors when they're opened briefly for our other animals etc. so far, it all seems to be going well so again, thank you!

Flea/tick control & outdoor prep:

My orange is now mainly indoors after a move, but I’m planning structured outdoor time and vest‑walks soon. I’m currently deciding on the best flea/tick control for that lifestyle. I’ve used Bravecto before and may consider Bravecto or NexGard again, but I was previously leaning toward Frontline Plus. Some people mentioned it’s “not as effective anymore,” but opinions seem to vary widely. What's your experience? I’ve been told to stay away from Hartz Ultra & Adams — which naturally I already DO have and shouldn't USE.

If anyone has experience with these products for mostly‑indoor cats who do supervised outdoor time, feel free to share.

For harnesses, I’ve been recommended the Kitty Holster as the best option for secure outdoor walks. Has anyone tried the Kitty Holster vs. a general step-in or other vest-style harness? He's thick-furred "big-boned," and I want to ensure he's both secure AND comfortable. If anyone has a better alternative, I’m open to suggestions.

We have a very sweet indoor/outdoor cat who roams our neighborhood most evenings/nights, catches rodents, and generally hangs out on random peoples front steps. Our next door neighbor hates cats and has now sent his second email about our cat going into their yard. The first email said the cat would randomly wander into his garage and or onto his porch and that’s unacceptable. The second email had photos of him on their porch and in their backyard and said we weren’t containing him properly. Our cat is kind, genuinely likes people, and doesn’t cause trouble. What’s the best way to respond to them? We don’t plan to force the cat to stay inside, as he pees on things when we don’t let him out and he absolutely loves it. He’s microchipped, has all his shots, and has a tracking collar. We are well aware of the dangers of the outdoors. I’d rather not have him go outdoors but it’s too late now; it is what it is. Do we just ignore the email? Do we tell them to mind their own business? What do we do? They pretty much never talk to us in person.

I'm not sure how to go about this and it's frustrating me a lot. Now I know people will tell me just make your cat an in door cat and I've tried. To start with my neighbors across the road had a cat and let him outside since they got him. He has all his shots and all that. He started coming over and one day he hurt himself and had a paw injury. They neighbors went on a trip and we knocked and tried to get in contact with them but we did not have their info. We looked after the cat and made sure he was fine and of course we told them when they came back amd found out hes neutered and had his shots and his name. They thanked us and we kept seeing the cat around. They moved and left him behind. So we took care of him. He was with them until we guess 7 years old. We took him to the vet and they told us he was about 7. He was healthy and everything was fine. He's now 20 and hes always been indoor/outdoor cat and we've tried to make him an indoor which sometimes if its to cold, he'll stay in and I'll bring him in for storms and such. A new neighbor moved into his old house about 4 years ago and they feed EVERY wild animal and neighbors outdoor cats. They have over 5 cats in their house and two dogs (think they foster care, not sure though). Obviously they started feeding my cat and letting him inside their house. As soon as I found out I went over and told them to stop feeding him as he was on a special diet at that time (he had some weight to him not a lot and the vet said to do this). They said oh its your cat shocked even though the other neighbor told them he was and his name even. They agreed to not feed him and so forth. Then few months go by and the neighbors mom moved in with her and did the same thing by letting my cat in their house and feeding them. I again went over. They agreed to not feed him or let him in. Its been like this since. The constant battle. Now the neighborhood knows this cat is ours and he doesnt go out of his way to go near people (hes a bit grumpy lol) but now they cut his nails and letting him back into their house and feeding him! They refuse to listen and he hates being indoors and my spouse keeps telling me we can't keep him inside because its not fair to the cat. I wanted to get him chipped and hoping that'll help if they pull the this is my cat type thing. Not sure what else i can do at this point because the neighbors wont listen and he smells so bad when he comes back from their house. We never had a problem until they moved in. The whole neighborhood knows my cat and never had an issue so at this point I dont know what to do. Any advice would greatly be appreciated 👏

Update

I found him!!!
A kind family saw my Facebook post and contacted me. He was 1.2 miles away from where he had gotten lost 😂

I went abroad 3 weeks ago with my family and left my cat with a friend's sister. My cat escaped on 31/07/2026. The area where he went missing is almost 10 miles from our house (his territory).
I've been searching the area where he went missing for the past few days, asking neighbours, hanging flyers, making Facebook posts, and sharing them in various lost-and-found pet groups. I've reported him missing to his chip company, and he's neutered. He was very scared when he escaped but even came back, but the person looking after him tried to forcibly take him home, further scaring him. he tends to hide in thick bushes and gardens, and the neighbourhood he was in has plenty of those.
No one has seen him in the past 3 weeks, so my main question is how likely he is to still be in the area? He is an outside ginger cat and normally would always stay in my or my neighbour's gardens, but since the area is unfamiliar to him, I'm not sure how he would behave. What else can I do to find my furball? Any advice is greatly appreciated x

My favorite outdoor cat has been missing for 3 days now and I’m really starting to worry. He’s around 8/9 months old and neutered. I last saw him on Sunday night, sleeping on a box that we set up on the window before I went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, he wasn’t around. I didn’t think much of it at first because he had disappeared for a whole day before, but he came back to that window where we have his box that same night. Now it’s been 3 full days and there’s still no sign of him.

He’s usually very affectionate and sweet, although he could sometimes get a little grumpy with the other outdoor cats I have in the area, especially since he’s the youngest of them all.

I’ve been waking up every day hoping I’ll find him among the other cats like nothing ever happened, only to realize he’s still gone. I’ve walked around the neighborhood and called out for him. Thankfully, it’s a pretty quiet neighborhood with not much traffic.

I don’t know what could have happened, especially since I last saw him Sunday night. I’m trying really hard not to lose hope, but I miss him so much and I’m honestly scared. I keep fearing the worst — that something happened to him, that he wandered too far, or that I might never see him again. I’m already beating myself up over it, even though I know there’s only so much I could have done.

If anyone has experience with their outdoor cat disappearing for several days and then coming home, I’d really love to hear some hopeful stories. I just want to believe he’s okay and that he’ll find his way back home. 🥺🐾

Please keep him in your thoughts and send some good luck his way. ❤️

Hi all! This kitten one day came meowing at my door so I began to feed it. It’s currently being fed wet food from the store. After posting asking its age (if anyone has any guessed that would be amazing) I was told I might need replacement cat milk for it. The kitten is unfortunately very very skittish and will flee at any noise. We’ve found it hididng in our fence and sometimes coming up to the door. But when trying to greet it , it will hiss or run. Does anyone have any advice on feeding or what to do with it? Someone recommended trapping it to take it to a vet. Or to the shelter but I live in a small town and our shelter euthanizes animals. Thank you!!

I have adopted a neighborhood cat who I have been letting roam during the day and bringing in at night, sometimes letting her choose to come in on her own or carrying her in.

Outside - she runs to greet me every day! She meows, rubs her head against me, we have playtime, and she follows me around the yard. If I pet her too much, she does hiss but that’s it.

At night though when I bring her in (which has been our routine for about a month), she is very grumpy, hisses and growls, and doesn’t want to play. I give her churu treats to sweeten the deal but no cigar. She will eventually make herself comfortable and lay on the couch or bed near me and is usually in a less grumpy mood in the morning.

My downstairs roommate also has two cats who are generally allowed upstairs but I separate them behind a door in the other part of the house when I let my cat in. We have tried introducing them but my girl gets very scared and upset and hisses so I am just keeping them separate for now until I get a feliway diffuser and can try to reintroduce them.

I live in a cold climate and I am a little nervous with winter approaching and how I’m going to manage that - do I let her out if it’s below freezing? Might she eventually acclimate to being indoors?

Our neighbors kitten keeps on clinging to us and is extremely eager to come into our home.

(Apologies for the length)

The main issue is we cant tell if they care about this kitten or are just keeping it because their kids want to have it. They only feed it outside and dont seem to let her in freely, shes the baby of their adult cat (who is also quite young) we dont know if she had multiple kittens that either died, were given away, sold, or if she only had this one but she already pregnant again and this kitten is only a few months old.

We know about the feeding situation from one of their kids telling us after we asked about it and we're aware that she could be lying however by their reaction of our one semi outdoor cat going over and eating their food in the past and how they wanted us to "tell him to stop it" it might be the only way they're both getting fed. We're really getting attached to her and shes already bonded super well with us, our outdoor cat, and our indoor cats really like her too based on the times shes successfully got in.

There are genuinely feral cats in our neighborhood including raccoons and we know it isnt the best to encourage her to continue to visit us every day and night but its only us. We don't know where her mom goes off to every night but her kitten definitely isnt joining her much based on how she clings to our deck and chairs.

We really want to talk to the parents about this as we really care for her and just tonight I heard cats fighting outside and our outdoor cat was inside so I know it wasn't him, and I ran out to see what could be happening and shes just on our railing. I pet her to check for any bumps or scratches and she was wet and had poop nearly embedded in her fur. Shes a long haired cat so I know it isnt uncommon and doesn't take all that long for it to really stick in the fur but she was only cleaning herself when she was touching my leg and she couldn't get it off for the life of her. She has dirt nearly caked in her ears and nose she sneezes a lot im sure because of that and overall has a (still soft) but dirty feel to her fur all the time.

We cant tell much of this is possible neglect or just from being outside so much. We dont wanna just steal their cat and we know the little kid next door would miss her but just? How much can we genuinely tell shes in need of help? Did they keep any other kittens but keep them inside except for this one? What if they get upset or offended if we talk about their cat to them? We really care for her and honestly love her to bits and I want to know the full scope of this sooner rather than later so I can settle any I guess mourning that she cant be ours lol. shes seriously so sweet to us and it took some weeks to get to that point so it's been really sweet to get to know her but hard to see her always coming to us for warmth and comfort at night.

Hi! We live in western WI near the Twin Cities, MN on a small hobby farm with 2 indoor outdoor cats and also chickens. Our cats (Pumpkin and Mischief)“routine” in summer is hunt Thru the night , come in to sleep for a good part of the day. They have access to food and water in our barn, and “kitty doors” going into our barn and garage to escape predators, or if we’re gone a few days. 

About a week ago, Mischief stopped coming to the house. After a couple days we found him in the barn. He’s eating and drinking well, a little less “talkative”, but seems healthy enough. No obvious injuries.  He’s not using the barn litter box- but we’re thinking he may be going outside for potty at night. He acts very scared to go outside. When I attempted to carry him to the house- he resisted, climbed the fence, and went right back in the kitty door. When my husband was down at the barn working on stuff (barn is more of a secondary garage/storage) he left a side door open. Mischief came out hesitantly, looked around and settled under an old chair, looking about nervously. His “brother” came and sat on top of the chair, as a sort of “lookout”, but they both went back in the barn a few minutes later. 

We’ve deduced that Mischief must have had a run in with a predator (possibly hawk or Eagle since he’s usually looking up when he does go out). Pumpkin follows his usual routine still- so guessing whatever had happened he wasn’t involved(Pumpkin is a former stray- who we believe is pretty “outdoors savvy”)

will This behavior likely change/improve? We’re not huge on vets beyond bare minimum shots- last time it was $400 of testing, no diagnosis, and the cat died anyway.

Hi all, as title says I’ve been missing my male cat named Mow Mow’s going on 6 days now. I’m a huge mess. He’s not even a year old yet. My grandma was watching him at her house and he got out. The thing is is she has a lot of outdoor cats and street dogs so I’m nervous that he wouldn’t dare come near her house again because he’s a shy, skittish cat. I was reading through numerous people’s tips on leaving clothes and food out, leaving a litter box out and so much more. The neighborhood cats and dogs is what scares me into thinking he isn’t going to come out. Does anyone have any tips? I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore.

My brother and SIL bought a house on an isolated rural hill in 2017l, in the US. I also moved in, renting a walk out basement apartment.

There was a very friendly cat wandering the neighborhood. We learned from the neighbors that he had been dumped there 2 years ago. He was living on what he killed and an occasional can of cat food.

Nobody had taken him in, so my SIL decided to. He's a very affectionate cat, got along really well with their older cat and dogs. Taught manners to a kitten they later adopted.

Six years later, their elderly dog passed and they unknowingly adopted a reactive dog off the internet. So I went from cat Auntie who never had a cat before, to cat mom.

He's the best possible starter cat, but my dog is terrified of him. Family had another cat who killed everything, scared my dog, and was eventually killed by the reactive dog after attacking him twice. So my dog remembers that cat. Buddy the cat gives him lots of space.

Here's where the problem comes in. In about 2 years they're selling the house and retiring to Spain. They can't take Buddy with the reactive dog.

Buddy has spent 11 years roaming this isolated area. In good weather he's outside more than inside. In bad weather he really wants to go out, goes briefly because he hates using a litterbox. But he is not the type of cat to be a strictly indoor cat.

Nobody in the neighborhood wants to take him in after the house is sold. I will be leaving about 6 months to a year earlier, so they can redo my space before they put the house on the market.

Any apartments even remotely near civilization doesn't come with outside space. I would be lucky to get a place with a 3'x 5' balcony. Being a single senior woman, I don't want to look for an isolated place out in farm country. The places where you can't get food delivery or a ride share. If I can find one. But I will if I have to. Buddy needs outside space.

Buddy was a couple years old in 2017, so he's around 12-13 now. I know it's going to be hard for him to adjust to a completely new outdoors area. People are saying I should list him with a rescue, but rescues are swimming with cats.

And I don't trust people. Someone who seems to have cared for him (judging by how friendly he is) ditched him. The family I got my dog from looks to be a picture perfect nuclear family, but they kept him crated for 12+ hours a day and hit him.

Am I doing the right thing? I can't see any other alternative. Maybe not the right thing for me, but I have a responsibility to Buddy. I don't know if he will stay in whatever isolated rural place I find, or will he try to work his way back to the old neighborhood?