The building cat that I’ve fed for over 2yrs came back on my birthday with his cheek-ear bitten off by a dog!
He does disappear often and comes back just the same so we weren’t worried. But seeing him so wounded broke our heart.

He’s just done with surgery! Send prayer 🥺

Is she ok? It didn’t seem like she was actually breathing through her mouth but it’s still weird and she’s never did it before. I would take her to the vet but I’m a new cat owner and I just want to make sure this isn’t a weird cat behavior like them squinting at you.

She’s 7 months old, no health issues, had all her shots, she’s gonna be spayed at the first of November (would’ve been sooner but no vet would spay her before six months and then she had a uti that cost over half a grand and that took priority).

About six weeks ago, I adopted a 1 year old puppy from a local shelter. She was a stray intake, and I was warned she trusts animals far more than she does people. She came with the name Hallie and seemed to recognize it, so we kept it. It turns out the shelter employees were right — it takes her time to trust humans, but she is an instant friend to every animal she meets.

About a week ago we were on a walk, and Hallie laid down on the sidewalk with her tail wagging. I thought she was just being a silly puppy but when I got down on her level, I could see a cat looking at us from underneath a nearby parked car. After some coaxing, a sweet little tortoiseshell kitty walked up to up to us. The animals sniffed each other, and seemed to immediately accept each other as friends. She purred as I pet her, and I could feel she was just skin and bones.

After a 10 minute visit we got up to continue our walk, and the kitty followed us the entire half-mile or so home. Although I love all animals I'm highly allergic to cats and had no cat food on hand, but gave her a can of tuna she quickly inhaled. It broke my heart to have to leave her on the front porch, but I told myself if she was still out there the next day, I would get some cat food and make sure she was at least eating regularly.

Well, the cat never left. She greatly enjoys human affection and happily climbs in my lap every time I come out to the porch. At first I thought maybe her ear was clipped, but upon further inspection it's just a little bit rolled over at the tip, and she has no belly tattoo or spay scar I can see. A couple days ago I took her to be scanned for a chip, and she didn't have one. No one has replied to any of my local and/or neighborhood posts about a potential lost cat. She's very young, and incredibly friendly.

I noticed she had a bit of a belly on her, and worried she was pregnant, I got her into a local vet. She is not (never thought I'd be so relieved to hear "it's just worms"!), but with the number of stray cats in the area it's only a matter of time, so we have a spay scheduled next week. She has made fast friends with both my dog and my human daughter, and my human daughter recently decided to name the kitty Willow. I have a shelf in my pantry now dedicated to cat food, and greatly look forward to spending time with Willow each day.

Here's the crazy part: I've been insanely allergic to cats my whole life. Swollen face, stuffy nose, covered in hives, itchy throat from just the quickest exposure. But after continued snuggle sessions with Willow, the allergies have all but gone away. Even when she makes biscuits on my lap and I can feel her claws digging in, I have no reaction anymore. She will be indoors while she is recovering from her spay procedure, and since she seems so dedicated to domesticating herself, she's welcome to stay.

The only cats I ever had growing up were barn cats, and I suffered the consequences every time I pet them. I've loved cats for 35 years from afar, but have never been able to have one. Who knew all it would take was adopting a dog to have the universal cat distribution system shine favor upon me?

Welcome home Willow, we are so happy to have you ♥️

Source : @proximateo on YouTube

I need to rave about how great cats are.
Genuinely no other species of animal compares to them in my eyes.
They are soft, precious looking tiny creatures that require hardly nothing from you, they are essentially almost self sufficient little things that sit around looking so freaking cute, hardly making any disruptive noise.
The kitty pictured here makes little chirpy noises when she jumps onto / off of things.
Look at her little salmon coloured nose.
My other cat becomes so affectionate specifically only when I am sad and want comfort.
I wish I could have a warehouse or something just to create a cat mansion.
Go appreciate your cats.

My family met her 6 years ago. She came to our home and cried for help, while being pregnant and heavily injured. We saved and adopted her. He liked dark and remote spots, so my room became her favourite place. Then she become my personal cat — my laptop and armchairs were her beloved locations as well. Unfortunately, she got a tumor about 3 years ago and we couldn’t do anything about it — the tumor returned after a surgery and by that moment other treatments were considered as too dangerous. I knew that this outcome is inevitable but still can’t imagine my life without her.
Прощай, Дусенька

Its been 3 days since we said goodbye. I feel so hollow without you. Julian was the sweetest boy I've ever had. Always just wanted love.

I noticed within the last month he was eating less and becoming more lethargic. I thought his asthma was flaring up, and we had just started treatment. He was breathing heavily, and I thought that we just needed some more time for the medication to work. But something in me just knew. I took him on Friday to be seen and left with an empty carrier. Julian's chest was filled with fuild and was squishing his lungs. It was critical.

He has already been through so much medically this year and I couldn't bear putting him through a high risk procedure only for his quality of life to only be okay at best. Everywhere I go, whether it is folding laundry or finding his toys in places I wasn't expecting. It's killing me.

Julian loved warm laundry, tubes, and most of all, our afternoon and before bed snuggles. I don't know how to manage the grief I am feeling. Any advice welcome.

My sweet Mimi passed away at 20 years old on 17/08. We were together for 18 years. She was my everything.

Almost two months have passed and I feel like it’s only getting more difficult. I feel so empty without her. My whole life revolved around her, and now she’s gone and I don’t know what to do.

When there’s a moment that I don’t think of her or when a day passes where I haven’t cried, I just feel guilty. Like I don’t care enough about her. I know, it’s stupid.

I guess I just wanted to know how any of you deal with feeling like this. I know she’s not here anymore, but somehow in my head I haven’t fully accepted it. It feels like she is somewhere, and it doesn’t feel like she’s gone.

Small update (I also left a comment but in case it gets lost I’ll also put it here):

Hi everyone, if you’ve commented and you’re reading this, I want to let you know I’ve read every single comment here.

It was just one of those days, I missed her more than normal it was just overall really hard to get through the day.

Reading all your lovely comments was overwhelming, in a good way. Thank you for your support and kind words. It helps knowing people understand what I’m feeling, it helps me to not feel so alone in this. Thank you ♥️

So distinguishable from other black cats.
I’m so sad and I miss him already and I know I will miss him even more in the future.
I remember when it was a dark night I sometimes pull the curtain back to see some beady eyes poking out from the darkness. I look closer and I see that cute little face of his. He always waited outside patiently for me and his face lit up every time he saw me.
When I walk home often from college he’s sometimes hanging about the street and when he sees me he trots over to me for strokes and cuddles.
When he’s not he is waiting for me in the house for me to get home.
He loved sleeping underneath my bed with all the spare pillows and blankets. All tucked up and snug. Looking so cute.
He was always so polite, listening to key words, not as good as most dogs but I can’t blame them they’re cats. He never jumped on food services like tables. He never jumped on beds unless you signaled him to. He waited patiently for food and he really showed how excited he was to see me, especially when i had food. He wouldn’t ever scratch or bite. But sometimes he used to make biscuits so he couldn’t help sometimes pressing his claws in to my trousers when he was happy and purring.
His brother tigger is all alone now. I gave him some tuna as a sort of apology for his loss. I don’t think he knows yet. Tuna was always sooty’s favourite.

I had to say goodbye to my sweet girl Tinky a month ago tomorrow. My family adopted her 13 years ago from our local humane society, she was a little 6 month old kitten who no one had adopted due to her medical conditions, we were told that with her chronic upper respiratory issues we would only have a year with her, she cleared those odds and lived 13 long years.

She had such a huge personality, lots of people say their cats do funny things but Tinky made sure to show you. The moment someone sat down on the sofa your lap was forfeit, didn’t matter if she had never met you or you were trying to avoid her. She was such a great older sister to our other cats, when we introduced both of the cats she never hissed or complained, she just stepped up to show them the ropes.

Around 2ish years ago she was diagnosed with diabetes, she was always such a champ when it came to the needles. In June of this year on the day of my graduation we received the news she had stage 4 kidney disease, despite the odds she stayed our happy little girl. On her last two days she stopped eating despite our best efforts, on the second day we brought her to the vet and made the decision with our vet that it was time.

My house is so much quieter without the sound of her little nose and meows. I hope that wherever you are you know how loved you were Tinky

This happened two months ago and since then my mental state has been very bad. I don't know what to do. Do you suggest that I get another cat or what?

I lost my sweet Nola on September 21,2026 at just 7 years old. I’ve gone back and forth about sharing her story because it’s still so fresh, but throughout her illness, I spent countless hours researching, reading other cat parents’ experiences, and looking for anything that might help her. Those stories meant so much to me, and I wanted to return the favor in hopes that our experience might help even one kitty or cat parent.

I want to preface this by saying I’m not a veterinarian or medical professional. I’m simply sharing our experience and what I wish I’d known.

Nola’s eye diagnosis

In 2023, Nola was diagnosed with iris melanoma in her left eye. She underwent laser treatment, and for a while, things looked promising. Unfortunately, the pigmentation eventually returned and continued to spread.

I consulted four veterinary ophthalmologists, and their recommendations were split 50/50 between removing her eye and continuing to monitor it. I was told that metastasis was rare, and with conflicting opinions from specialists, I made the decision to monitor her eye.

The beginning of her GI issues

In late 2025, Nola started vomiting. What initially seemed like occasional hairballs turned into chronic vomiting, weight loss, nausea, and a declining appetite.

She was treated for suspected IBD and pancreatitis. Her ultrasound showed abnormalities in her pancreas and intestines, but no mass was identified at that time.

The following months were exhausting. We tried prescription hydrolyzed diets, novel proteins, more wet foods than I can count, steroids, anti-nausea medications, appetite stimulants, B12 injections, and subcutaneous fluids. There were blood tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, specialist appointments, and multiple veterinarians.

We also made adjustments to her feeding routine. Since Nola was frequently vomiting undigested food, I purchased an automatic feeder so she could have smaller, more frequent portions throughout the day instead of larger meals. I was trying everything I could think of to make eating easier on her stomach.

I was constantly researching, tracking her symptoms, monitoring how much she ate, and trying to figure out what else I could do.

Some days she’d improve, and I’d think we were finally getting somewhere. Then she’d stop eating again, and we’d be right back where we started.
Eventually, we got her vomiting under control, but her appetite never fully recovered, and the weight loss continued.

I knew something wasn’t right.

The day everything changed

This is the part that still breaks my heart.

After months of trying different treatments and feeling like we were going in circles, I changed veterinarians because I wanted to explore other possibilities.

I kept advocating for Nola because even though we had managed to stop the vomiting, she was still declining. I knew we were missing something.

I had finally found a veterinarian who heard me and was willing to treat empirically and consider chlorambucil for suspected gastrointestinal lymphoma. For the first time in a while, I felt a little hope that we might have another treatment option.

During that appointment, she did a quick physical exam and felt a hard mass in Nola’s abdomen.

I’ll never forget how my heart dropped.

I had spent months researching, asking questions, trying treatments, and searching for answers. Just when I thought we’d finally found another option, I was confronted with the reality that Nola was much sicker than we’d realized.

I brought her home that day, but she deteriorated rapidly. With her veterinarian’s agreement, I made the heartbreaking decision to let her go peacefully.

What I wish I’d known

We never confirmed whether the abdominal mass was metastatic melanoma or an unrelated condition. I know removing her eye earlier may not have changed anything.

But if I could go back, I would have removed it.

I share this because I wish I’d better understood the potential risks of waiting, even when metastasis was described as uncommon.

If your cat has suspected iris melanoma, please consult a veterinary ophthalmologist, ask questions about the risks of monitoring versus eye removal, and understand what changes might warrant intervention.

Every case is different, and I’m not suggesting everyone should make the same decision. I just want other cat parents to have as much information as possible.

A little about my Nola girl

Beyond all the medical details, Nola was my beautiful, curious, adventurous, smart, sweet and goofy little girl. Her coat was glossy and felt like satin. She loved birdies (fav was the Mourning Dove 🕊️), being outside, stroller rides, and snuggling. She was always up for an adventure, and she made ordinary days so much more special.

As much as I took care of her, she took care of me, too. She was my little companion through so many chapters of life, and I would give anything for more time with her.

To other cat parents going through something similar

I also want to acknowledge how incredibly draining and frustrating it is to navigate veterinary care for a sick pet.

The appointments, scans, ultrasounds, medications, diet trials, financial strain, conflicting medical opinions, and constant search for answers can be overwhelming.

And when they’re declining despite everything you’re doing, it’s heartbreaking. You question every decision and wonder what else you could have tried.

Sometimes advocating means seeking another opinion or changing veterinarians because you know something isn’t right, even when you don’t have the answers.

I’m so grateful for the cat parents who shared their experiences while I was trying to help Nola. If anyone is going through something similar, whether it’s iris melanoma, chronic GI issues, or struggling to get their cat to eat, please reach out. I’m more than happy to share what we tried and what I learned.

If Nola’s story helps even one other kitty and their family, sharing it will have been worth it.

Forever my Nola. 🤍

Said goodbye to my best friend yesterday. He went out purring in my lap. My heart is so heavy. R.I.P. Pow.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for your kind words. You’ve made a tough time just a little bit easier.

Took my girl into the vet to have her teeth cleaned this morning, got a call re complications a few hours later, she was already gone when I got there.

Apparently, after sedating her, while trying to insert the breathing tube down her throat to protect her airway, her throat had an "unusual" reaction, closed and she stopped breathing. The dr tried to get a tracheotmy tube down and apply cpr, but she never recovered her breathing.

I'm sitting here struggling to process how she's gone and over a teeth cleaning. She was just 5 yrs old. I'm trying to remember her best parts and not be angry or sad.

Please send her chin scritches and wish her well where she may be.

Happy birthday Charlie!

Unique odd-eyed look of a street cat from Izmir, Turkey. I’m not quite sure is it Turkish Van or Turkish Angora cat but either way it looks beautiful.

She is 6 months old, and is so so loving already 🖤