r/CATHELP

My kitten look like that. Is this normal? What should I do if it's not normal?

UPDATE: WE ARE AT THE EMERGENCY VET RIGHT NOW. MY MENTAL STATE IS ALREADY AT ITS WORST BC IVE NEVER DEALT W THIS ANYMORE SO PLESSE BE KIND. WILL UPDATE WHEN I CAN

hi everyone. 3 days ago, i found this red swollen mark on my cats behind that he was licking. from quick research online, i thought it was an anal gland because it was so close to his anus. when i took him to the vet the next morning, they said it’s not an anal gland nor a fistula. they said he might have sustained a burn or an injury from trauma or even potentially a bite from something. they gave my cat oral antibiotics for 10 days & pain medication for 3. the problem is that this swollen black bump keeps growing. i’ve had to shave more and more of his hair since i discovered it. i’ve applied warm compression to it and since his cone arrived, i’ve also started to put triple antibiotic ointment on him, per our vet’s recommendation.

as of now, he has only been on his antibiotic medication for 1 day so we still have to let the antibiotic run their course for a bit before getting super worked up but i’m just growing more and more concerned about how much it’s growing & how much odor is coming out from it (it smells like a really dirty barn on a humid rainy summer day). i have attached pictures of of when we first discovered it (don’t mind it, it’s a bit blurry) & i have attached 2 other pictures of how much bigger it has grown over just the last 24-30ish hours.

i feel so bad not just bc how much pain he is & he looks so so defeated when we put the cone on him (he’s never had a cone before) and what’s worse is that we still don’t know what it is and what the cause is. could someone please look at this and lmk what it is?

to me it looks like trauma from something like maybe he fell or something fell on him. some family members say it’s a bite. we’re not really sure because we can’t even think of an instance within the last couple days where he could’ve sustained an injury like this.

he is 7yo, neutered indoor cat but is really naughty and sometimes sneaks out briefly without our knowledge (that’s why we’re thinking it might be a bite, even though our backyard is fenced).

any help is appreciated.

Two cats found howling outside of my house this morning. Long-haired cat seems to have a more comfortable demeanor (laying down, but breathing quickly) the other one is crouched. I cannot tell if they are hauling in pain or at each other. The long-haired cat almost seems like they are in pain, but does that clicking thing with their mouth when I approach.

Hello everyone
this cat has been coming to our house (I live in Iraq, specifically in Najaf). Her behavior is a bit strange; she doesn't stop meowing and seems upset about something (I don't know anything about cats, and she's a stray). My aunt says she feeds her a lot (I don't really know what she feeds, but it's a kind of help since she doesn't mean much to us or the people here). Her belly looks odd; she seems pregnant, but I think it's probably just bloating because she doesn't seem bothered by me when I'm carrying her, even though I'm a stranger. I need help or advice (Veterinary care is poor in Iraq and generally neglected—no one will care anyway, and I don't have the means to take care of her).

i honestly don’t know what to do anymore.
our little baby has only been with us for 2 days. she’s just a 5-week-old kitten, and when she first came home, she was so playful, sweet, and full of energy.

her previous owner mentioned that there were times she wouldn’t eat on her own, so she would sometimes need to be syringe-fed. we continued doing that whenever she needed it, hoping she’d get stronger each day.

but early this morning, my boyfriend woke up to get ready for work and found her struggling to breathe.
we panicked and rushed her straight to the nearest emergency vet.

after receiving urgent care and being placed on oxygen, she became a little more stable. the veterinarian strongly advised that she be confined so she could continue receiving treatment.

we also received her test results, and our hearts completely sank. she tested positive for three different infections: Feline Coronavirus (FCoV), Feline Panleukopenia (FPV), and Giardia.

we wanted to do everything we possibly could for her, but we were also faced with a reality we weren’t prepared for. the expenses came so suddenly, and we’re already in the middle of managing our bills and finances. we could only ask if we could pay half for now because that was all we could manage at the moment.

we’ve already reached out to her previous owner, but we haven’t received a response yet.
right now, she’s resting at the clinic, and we’ll be visiting her later today.

she’s only a baby. she deserves a chance to recover and experience a long, happy life. please keep our little fighter in your prayers. we truly hope she makes it through this.

He's an unfixed male cat. I have a spayed 15 (f) cat he harasses and attacks. Now he attacks and bites me completely unprovoked to the point of drawing blood. I've had to start locking me and my elderly cat in my room while he hollers at the door trying to get in. Help!!!!

Hi all, I am 22, living in the US and i recently(7/2/2026) got a cat from a pet rescue organization. And i have been noticing some concerning stuff! He is about 3 years old, neutered, suuuuppppeeeerrrr sweet, not all that playful or anything. Since i got him a couple days ago, i dont think he has drank water or eaten anything. If he has eaten, it hasnt been nearly enough to notice. I did see him take a couple bites when at the shelter, but I have only seen him eat like 2 treats at home. I have the same food he ate at the shelter (iams, orange bag). and i tried giving him some cheap wet food. Another thing i have noticed is his breathing. I am having a hard time figuring out if its abnormal or not. It just seems forceful sometimes to me. He doesnt do much either, sleeps mostly. Doesnt hide. He also did bite my friend really bad, and they had to go to urgent care and get on antibiotics. This seems like it was their fault, as they got excited and picked him up and overstimulated him with pets/love. I can afford vet care, but i also have like crippling health anxiety. I wanted other opinions and stuff before i made any firm decisions, especially because i am not made of money! If more info is needed please ask, and thank you for your time :')

Recently I’ve adopted a kitten from a friend who was going to get rid of it but I didn’t really think about my old cat

Some info:
Kitten age is unknown but estimated it’s only a few month
Old cat is 14-15 years old
Old cats been neutered
Both cats are female

Old cat is roughly 14 years old and grumpy to almost everything new and I didn’t really take into consideration of her getting along I thought like our last cat she’d get along right away but that isn’t the case and I just need tips on how I can get the two to atleast tolerate eachother

Our old cat is a cuddly softy I have never seen her be aggressive or anything towards other people really only our dogs when we first had them but she got used to those quick like a week or so and she’s always been an inside cat

I’ve probably done a bunch of the no’s when I brought the kitten home she instantly took a liking to me and won’t leave me alone she has to stay in my room where old cat stays most the time food is separated and because of the kitten the old cat is very stand off ish but still comes to cuddle occasionally

We're driving to Florida for vacation, flying back... currently in Brunswick, Georgia. On the way to Orlando. It would be very difficult for us to take this cat in. We found her in the grass outside of a Circle K. Anyone know any good shelters around the Orlando area, that would take a kitten in? There's practically nothing open on a Sunday night. We might be able to get (or sneak) her in the hotel for a day or two until we know a place is good.

Saw these two cats at the zoo and they were just walking back and forth for like 5-10 minutes. Are they stressed out from all the people watching them? Maybe their enclosure is too small?

I (20) USA, noticed my neutered male cat (1.5) with strange red markings on his inner mouth. Can someone pls tell me what this could be?

Hi, I’m a first-time cat owner. I found this kitten outside my work and decided to take him in. He’s about 12 weeks( I think, I haven’t taken him to the vet yet) old and has been with me for a few days now, but he keeps running away and hiding whenever I try to pet him or even if I just walk past him.

He’ll only let me pet him occasionally, usually if I catch him when he’s half asleep. I’m just wondering if this is his personality and he’s just not a very affectionate cat, or if he’s still really scared because he used to live outside and isn’t used to people yet. I’d be sad if this is just his personality because I really wanted a cuddly cat, and I know I can’t change that.

Has anyone else experienced this with a stray kitten? Does it usually get better with time?

So my cat had an emergency spay because she went unspayed for a long time. This is not my fault as I did encourage my family to spay her but they didn’t listen and I am unemployed so therefore have no income.
She had an infected uterus.
What’s that green yellow stuff? Are her stitches open? I’ve already messaged my family about the issue but no response yet.
This is in the USA, have not contacted vet because I don’t know what vet she was taken to. The cat is 1 and a half years old I believe?

Update 1: We will be taking the cat back to the vet tomorrow, 8 AM, as that’s the earliest we can get there. She did not have a cone and I believe she licked herself open. I will update some time tomorrow.

Edit for some additional info: I am a disabled 19 year old with no source of income (yes I’m trying to apply for SSI but it’s a long and hard process; Im currently in court trying to overturn their decision to deny me.) I live with my parents. We struggle financially and so my family is quick and easy to dismiss things like this (though I’ve repeatedly told them that it could become more expensive the longer we wait to fix the issue.)
We did not take this cat in willingly. I live in SC and my state has weird laws about taking in strays, so we were unable to surrender her to someone who could better take care of her.
If it was up to me, I would take her in to the vet now and assume the debt myself but I cannot and I risk getting kicked out if I go behind my parents back like this. I am trying to talk to my mother who is more reasonable about this than my father but she is away from home. I’m doing what I can to try to help, please do not harass me in the comments or try to make me feel guilty about this.

Edit 2: PLEASE READ
this is NOT my cat. I live with the people who own this cat. I cannot stress that enough. I was looking for advice on if it was infected or not and clearly it is, thank you to the people who were able to help me figure that out. If you can’t keep your rude and unnecessary comments to yourself then don’t bother commenting at all! we didn’t choose to adopt this cat. this cat ran into our garage and, as i’ve stated in MULTIPLE comments, my states laws are weird about surrendering animals. If this was my house I would’ve gotten rid of the cat as soon as I could but this is NOT my house! If i surrender the cat now, i risk being kicked out by my family.

Edit 3: For all the people suggesting i let her outside or try to give her to the humane society: NO! I cannot! there are cameras all over my house because of my paranoid mom. I will be caught.

2 month old male kitten keeps ripping off it's skin it has been 3-5 days since it started The Vet gave it injections and a cream and said it has Calicivirus and it's just removing "dead skin" although as you can see in the image half of it's right jaw got ripped off :( the cat eats and it's really active, is this recoverable I'm scared it won't recover and it's gonna have a slow suffering death any advice to what we should do would be appreciated the first image is before we took it to the vet and the second image is after and if it's unrecoverable should I put it down

2 months old.

Eats wet food(tuna based) and dry food but doesn't take any interest in chicken meat. I am trying to transition to homemade food(obviously the meal will be supplemented and balanced) based on chicken but this guy doesn't seem to show any carnivorous behaviour like tearing pieces or happily indulging. He just licks, takes small nibbles(can't eat piece bigger than an ant) and goes about his day.

Edit :- I'm not forcing anything on this little shit guys, I just had some doubt regarding his weird non obsession with meat(of any kind) in general as I've previously cared for street cats and am just a accustomed to their behaviour.

Sometimes it’s a lot more aggressive than this, but it happens when I’m doing nothing. Most of the time, she will continue to bite if I stroke her or not. She’s never broken the skin, but the prospect of it freaks me out.

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me on my last post and reassured me. I was so worried about little Mikey, but I'm happy to announce he's now eating and drinking like a horse, approaches me for cuddles, and LOVES to play.

Mikey finally used his box and began eating about 30 hours after bringing him home. He still hid whenever I came into the room, but late Friday evening he began to explore around the room while I browsed Twitter.

Mikey was really favoring hiding in our bedroom drawers, so we removed the ones low to the ground to encourage him out of hiding. On Saturday morning I managed to lure him out of hiding with a temptations treat, but I found something he liked even more.

My other cat, Ponyo, has a worm on a string toy that she loved when she was younger. I borrowed it and decided to try it with Mikey. It's like magic. Mikey will hear it and come running to hunt! I used this as a tool to get him to be comfortable getting close to me. I eventually got him to play consistently in my lap, and after some play late last night, he fully accepted me petting him!

This turned into a long cuddle session in my bed, where he followed me up and curled up on my chest. He came out this morning without any food bribery, and he's even beginning to start to warm up to my partner. We can't wait to see his full personality come out!

Thank you guys again for reassuring me and letting me know I wasn't failing this little kitten. All I want is to give him a good life and plenty of cuddles, so to see him begin to trust me is all I wanted.

I found it near hay bales this morning, I tried to look for the mother and no sign of her,I heard it yesterday as well but I didn't think it could be a kitten, have no idea what to do with it and there's no vet for cats nearby