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Litter, water, claws and boredom — where most cat problems begin.

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CatsMariayesterdayMy cat started vomiting little amounts of watery brownMy cat started vomiting little amounts of watery brown. She’s puked around 6 times now but was moving fine. I’m just worried because I have no funds and it’s just 12:36am. I have no place nearby that is open overnight and especially that’ll take her if I don’t leave them with something1 replyNo vet yet

CatsPet parent12d agoCountry: Ukraine Cat: Murka, 12 years old, mixed breed, female, weight 4.1 kgCountry: Ukraine Cat: Murka, 12 years old, mixed breed, female, weight 4.1 kg. Mammary gland masses have been known since at least July 2024. Cytology dated 17 July 2024 described a mammary gland cyst, but also identified cells consistent with a mammary adenoma undergoing malignant transformation; histopathology was recommended. As of August 2026, Murka has two mammary gland masses, approximately 0.5 cm and up to 1.5 cm in size. Repeat cytology dated 6 August 2026 showed that one mass is most consistent with mammary adenocarcinoma. The second mass has cystic changes; no signs of malignant epithelial neoplasia were identified in the examined sample, but malignancy cannot be completely excluded. In July 2026, urinary tract abnormalities were also identified. Urinalysis dated 12 July 2026 showed marked leukocyturia and a urine specific gravity of 1.025. A urine culture from the same date identified Enterococcus faecalis. Murka is currently completing a prescribed course of Marfloxin. On repeat urinalysis dated 2 August 2026, urine specific gravity was 1.030, leukocytes were +++, and microflora was ++. Kidney function is also a concern because Murka has been drinking a large amount of water for a long time, currently approximately 400 ml per day. Blood chemistry dated 12 July 2026 showed creatinine 91 µmol/L, urea 11 mmol/L, and phosphorus 1.9 mmol/L. SDMA dated 2 August 2026 was 16.84 µg/dL, with the laboratory reference range up to 18.2 µg/dL. Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed in August 2026. Total T4 dated 2 August 2026 was 71 nmol/L, with the laboratory upper reference limit of 60 nmol/L. Treatment with Thyrozol (thiamazole/methimazole) has been started, and T4 and other laboratory parameters are being monitored at our local veterinary clinic. An echocardiogram was performed in 2024. Before possible surgery, we plan to repeat the cardiac examination and measure blood pressure, considering Murka’s age and newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. The main purpose of this consultation is to assess anesthesia safety and determine how Murka should be stabilized before surgery. We would like to understand how safe general anesthesia would be after stabilization of hyperthyroidism and treatment of the urinary infection, taking into account possible underlying kidney disease and the need for an updated cardiac assessment. We would especially like advice regarding which parameters should be stabilized before surgery, which examinations are necessary for proper anesthetic risk assessment, what type of anesthesia and which anesthetic medications would be preferable for a patient like Murka, what monitoring should be mandatory during surgery, how perioperative fluid therapy should be managed, and how Murka should be monitored during recovery from anesthesia.0 repliesNo vet yet

CatsNate14d agoNail trims: how do you actually do it, or did you give up?Serious question. Some people have a two person system, some do one nail a day, some pay the vet every single time, and plenty of people just let the cat win. All of those are real answers. What actually happens in your house?0 repliesNo vet yet

CatsPawsRx Team14d agoWhat litter setup finally worked in your house?Box type, litter type, how many, and where you put them. This is the most common cat problem there is and the fix always turns out to be oddly specific to the house. If you solved it, say what you changed. If you haven't, say what you have already ruled out.0 repliesNo vet yet

CatsNate15d agoCats hide illness so well that weight is basically your only early warningA dog that feels bad acts like it. A cat that feels bad goes and sits somewhere, and looks exactly like a cat sitting somewhere. That instinct is why so much feline disease gets caught late. Chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes and dental pain all develop over months and the cat compensates the entire time. By the point behavior changes in a way you can't miss, it's usually well along. Weight is what moves first and it's the one thing you can actually measure at home. Half a pound off a 10 pound cat is 5 percent of body weight, the equivalent of a 9 pound loss on a 180 pound person, and you will not see it under fur. So weigh them monthly. Stand on a bathroom scale, note it, pick up the cat, stand on it again, subtract. Write it down somewhere you'll keep. That's the whole practice and it'll find things a year before you'd have noticed them any other way. Worth watching alongside it: drinking noticeably more, or bigger clumps in the litter box, which points at kidneys, diabetes or thyroid. Eating well but losing weight anyway, which is the classic hyperthyroid picture in an older cat. Hiding more than usual. Stopping grooming, or overgrooming one particular spot. And no longer jumping onto things they used to jump onto, because arthritis is massively underdiagnosed in cats and cats basically never limp. On water, since it connects. Cats came from desert animals and have a weak thirst drive, so they run mildly dehydrated on dry food, which isn't doing kidneys or bladders any favors over a lifetime. Wet food moves the needle more than any fountain does, though plenty of cats do drink more from moving water. Put the bowl away from the food and use something wide and shallow so their whiskers aren't hitting the sides. Senior cats, meaning around 10 and up, want bloodwork annually even when they look perfect. That's how kidney disease gets caught while there's still something useful to do about it.0 repliesNo vet yet

CatsPawsRx Team15d agoIf you have a cat, never let lilies in the houseThis is the one plant worth being absolute about, because there's no safe dose and there's a real clock on it. True lilies (Lilium, so Easter, tiger, Asiatic, Oriental, stargazer) and daylilies (Hemerocallis) cause acute kidney failure in cats. Every part of the plant is toxic. Petals, leaves, stem, the pollen, and the water in the vase. A cat that brushes past a bouquet and then grooms pollen off its own fur has been exposed. Chewing one leaf can be enough. The FDA and the vet schools all land on the same timing: treatment started within roughly 12 to 18 hours of exposure is what saves cats. Past that the kidneys are often already gone. Early signs are vague and start within a few hours, so drooling, vomiting, going off food, hiding, generally acting flat. Then they can look like they've recovered, which is the trap, because that's exactly the window where the kidney damage is happening quietly. If you think there's been any exposure at all, don't wait for symptoms. Go, and bring the plant or a photo of it so it can be identified properly. Not every plant with lily in the name is one of these, for what it's worth. Peace lily, calla lily and lily of the valley are different plants with different problems, still not cat food but not the kidney failure ones. Peruvian lily isn't a true lily either. If you can't tell which you're looking at, treat it as the dangerous kind. Practical version: tell people not to send you flowers with lilies in them. Most florists will substitute without blinking if you ask. It's a small thing to ask for and it's probably the highest value item on the whole cat proofing list.0 repliesNo vet yet

CatsPawsRx TeamJul 17Cat peeing outside the litter box? It's almost always one of these three thingsThis might be the most common cat problem there is, and people jump straight to "my cat is mad at me." Cats don't do revenge. Here's the actual checklist, in order: 1. Medical. Rule this out first, always. UTIs, bladder crystals, and idiopathic cystitis all cause box avoidance because the cat associates the box with pain. IMPORTANT: if you have a male cat straining in the box and producing nothing, that's a potential urethral blockage and it is an emergency. Not a tomorrow thing, a right now thing. Blocked cats can die within a day or two. 2. The box itself. The standard advice from vets is one box per cat, plus one extra. Two cats, three boxes. Scoop daily. A lot of cats hate covered boxes because smell concentrates in there and they can't see an exit. Location matters too, nobody wants to use a toilet next to a roaring washing machine. 3. Stress. New pet, new baby, moved apartments, construction noise, even rearranged furniture. Cats are routine animals and stress shows up in their bladder more than anywhere else. Cornell's Feline Health Center has a really good free writeup on this if you want to go deep. Whatever you do, don't punish them for it. Punishment adds stress, and stress is often the cause. You end up in a spiral.0 repliesNo vet yet

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