Cats are masterful in concealing when they are in a bad shape. If you do not know the intricacies of your cats behavior, finding out that something is wrong means that things are already escalating.
this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2026
776 points (99.0% liked)
cats
30468 readers
1687 users here now
Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
Rule 1) Be kind
Rule 2) Follow the lemmy.world rules
other cat communities
birds, some cats
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Yeah, I noticed one of our cats using the litter box a bit more than usual, and sometimes he'd use it a second time pretty quickly after the first. Turned out he had a urinary problem.
We have another cat that is in stage 4 kidney disease. Other than how thin he is, you wouldn't know there was anything wrong.
Yeah, regular kidney screening is a must in my opinion, because it's an awful way to go for them. Got a rescue once, only about 3 months old which was kept in awful conditions before. Turned out that her kidneys were already badly damaged when we got her, but we noticed it only a month in and she didn't get older than 7 months, and it was awful seeing her suffer regardless of what we tried :-(
Awww I'm sorry. In our case he's an older cat - we've had him 12 years, but he was already at least a year old when we adopted him.
For now he's doing reasonably well - still grooming himself, still purring, still happy (though he spends practically all day nestled in a corner of my wife's office). We're giving him medicine and fluids via injection every day. The vet has warned us that it's likely his situation will take a nose dive at some point.
I had a CKD cat, if you start struggling with his food, weruva intentionally keeps phosphorus low in their foods, which make them very friendly to ckd cats.
Mine was given 6 mths left after his diagnosis and tests were done, and that’s with rx food and stuff. It was expensive and he wouldn’t eat it, so I did a deep dive into literature about ckd and it turns out unlike dogs and humans for whom limited protein is good, cats need protein or they will die much sooner, so the rx diets being low protein are actually not great. You really just need limited phosphorus.
The levels on the core lines and slide and serve lines are good, you can probably find full breakdowns on their website, and certainly by contacting them, though, if those specific ones don’t do so well.
I had him eating those and I got another 6 years out of him instead of 6 months. My vet asked my secret, cuz we got him back up from his skinny boy weight to a slightly chubby 8 lbs! (Very small cat, 6lbs when I got him)
I can’t guarantee it’ll help, but it might be worth trying.
Weruva also offers a specific line of low phosphorus foods and treats now. I've had no reason to try them out for my own cats yet, so I can't say if they're any good, but have seen them in supplies donated to the rescue I volunteer with.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Dogs can be like that too. We have learned to pick up microchanges in our dogs walking pattern to find out when he hurt his paw. Like dude, just tell us so we can take care of the sharp rock between your toe pads that is causing you to bleed. Wouldn't find out he was sick unless it starts affecting his digestion.
I think everyone is just different. People are comparable to the cats/dogs, slam the shit out of a toe, toe nail falling off and bleeding and not give a shit, but if they get a headache they'll wine like a hell. Then someone else lives with headaches doesn't flinch about it then sees their own blood and faints.
When people have a pissing contest about who has a higher pain tolerance I question who has more insecurities.
I had to rush my cat to the emergency vet because he ate a small dried starfish and it got stuck in his throat.
Don't discount the stupidity of cats.
I hate to tell you this, but I think that's a Gremlin.
That would explain a LOT...
Please don't get wet
rexes are something else!
When I was little we had two devon rexes, both were the most bumblig idiot cats i've ever met <3
He's a cutie
Listen, you. I don't come to Lemmy for jumpscares!
Damn, I have a photo of one of my kittens when he was like a month old. He was like 60% ears. I wish I could find it.
load more comments
(3 replies)
I hate to take my cat the emergency vet a couple months ago, he wouldnt sleep then was complaining very loudly abd was clearly in pain and something was wrong.
So got him in an Uber, rushed him to the very expensive emergency out of hours very at 2am, turns out he was just constipated and the stress from the car ride had already made him shit.
Hi i have his brother, the tiny ginger shit who ate an entire packet of freeze dried chicken, could not stop vomiting, emergency vet run where there was a rush on, he was hooked up to monitoring and fell asleep while we waited, two hours later woke up, let out a HUGE fart and was fine.
let out a HUGE fart and was fine.
How I wake up every day
So relatable
load more comments
(2 replies)
My old childhood cat was very lethargic, on her last legs, barely moving, and not eating, so my parents rushed her to the vets on a Saturday.
Conclusion, sore throat.
Medication, cat painkiller.
Now she's fine.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Cats are glass cannon rage monsters while dogs are tanky.
Depends on the dog. Boxers for instance reach a certain (relatively young, for most dogs) age and just... break down, at a genetic level. Cancer everywhere.
My sister is on her third boxer. I don't know how she does it considering they rarely make it past ten years.
Ten years is fantastic for a boxer (and probably a fortune in vet visits); if I recall correctly they start breaking down at around 6 or 7 years old.
It's tragic, because other than that they're great dogs for children.
I've been home for the last few months so I see my cats a lot more. My vet was very impressed at my last appointment when she was concerned my cat lost weight. I'm like yeah, this bitch has been spitting out her thyroid pills when my bf gives them to her. I noticed because she was going pee more, screaming for food more, sleeping more, and her fur wasn't soft like normal.
Vet was shocked I was that observant. She's going to be shocked in a few weeks at the other one's appointment because I think he's ready for some Kitty drugs now too. No one else has noticed but I've seen the up tick in stretching, the longer calculations before a jump, the occasionally avoiding the litter box, and him occasionally tripping over his back feet. I'm about to have 2 cats costing me $80/m in arthritis shots 🙃
A shorter sided litter box is on my to do list today.
Have you tried cosequin treats/supplements? Our 15 year old fussbucket started not wanting to jump up on things a year ago. Vet recommended giving them a try for starters, and we have seen a significant improvement in her.
Interesting, how long before you noticed significant improvement in mobility?
load more comments
(2 replies)
I have with my dog but not the cats. They did nothing for any of our dogs unfortunately.
I feel like it's just harder to observe the cats generally, at least mine. He's asleep somewhere from like 8am to 4pm. He'll change positions throughout the day and then nap somewhere else. Then he relaxss from 4-9pm, with a break for dinner, of course. Around 1-5am is when he thrives.
My mother's cat had hyperthyroidism and she gave her the medicine in her ears. Rubbed it in, absorbed through the skin was much easier than pills. Usually.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I know what you mean with the arthritis shots. Mine started his a few years ago at 3.5 years old, and developed a couple of chronic digestive issues that led to $ at the vet and pet store. The fucker is expensive, but worth every penny.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
Except sometimes it's, Peanut Butter cup jr caught a bee and now her paw looks like a boxing glove.
This rings so true. With cats it is almost always the tiny change that gives it away, like eating a little less or sleeping in a different spot, while a dog will usually make it pretty obvious something is wrong. I think that is why cat owners end up watching every little habit so closely.
load more comments
(1 replies)
This is so not representative of me.
was it one of those 6v bricks?
Group 31 12v AGM deep cycle.
The problem is that you accidentally got a whale as a pet instead. Common mistake.
Guess that explains why he'd only go on road trips with me when I'm driving the Ferd Fteenthousand.
NSFW-ish due to a few seconds showing textbook-style illustrations of male genitalia (slightly modified). SFW if W stands for whale though.
I always make sure that my videos are safe for whales.
oh boy, can't wait for next Truckuary!
Dang, Trucktober is almost over and I hadn't re-watched this yet!
I used to have a dog who would eat anything. Except chili pepper, as she eventually learned.
Scissors, though? Totally food.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Cat 100%
My cat limped one day, limped less the second, slept for an entire third day, presumably in pain, then was fully ok the fourth
Lil' dude played mind games with my wallet that whole week
load more comments
(3 replies)
view more: next ›