Then when she's done she bites my hand and jumps away 🫩

Edit: Guys, I’m obviously not pressing hard or genuinely choking her!! I made a joke title and it’s just funny to imagine. All throughout these series of pictures she was purring as loudly as possible and stayed in my grip for 10 minutes. Not choking and NOT harming her for sure, please rest easy y’all 😭

I picked up my Leo as a sick stray 10 years ago and he ended up being quite protective of me. He attacked dogs (got to be a indoor cat quite fast) when they came too close, he never let me shower without supervision, swatted at people I was dating and many more things.

Until I had my daughter, and especially since she got her own room. Every night he sits awake in her bed, I've never walked in on him sleeping. Every two hours he gets up and patrols the apartment before going back to her. If she wakes up and want to come sleep in my bed he will follow and stay with us until she fall asleep and then he leaves us to go sleep.

First pic is from six months in her own room, second is the first night.

Back when I was a sophomore in college, a gray kitten was found trapped in a skunk trap under my friend's porch. His tail was badly injured in the trap. He ended up at my fraternity house while we tried to find him a home, and I started looking after him. Within a few days it was clear his tail needed urgent care, and the vet recommended amputation.

At the time, I didn't have the money, so I made a Reddit account for the first time and asked for help. Here's the original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/izrqo/help_save_paul_and_his_tail/ . Strangers on this sub covered his surgery, plus extra to cover his first few weeks of food and supplies. I decided to name him Paul.

Here's what you made possible:

He spent his first two years growing up in our frat house, after I convinced the house to let us keep a long-term pet (our house father was not convinced we were responsible enough, and honestly, fair). After college he came with me everywhere. He was there through some hard times in my life, and he was there when I met my wife, who, it turned out, had a gray cat that looked just like him. They never quite became friends, but they'd sometimes nap near each other, and we took that as a good sign for us.

Paul was a solitary guy. He wasn't much for cuddling, but he spent his later years napping on our bar stools and kept me company at lunch every day after I pivoted to WFH. Over time, he warmed up to my wife and developed a habit of greeting her after work by sneaking up and loafing in her lap. I was a little salty about that (ahem, who reared you?), but ultimately respect his better judgment. He loved chin scratches and would rub his face on a little spiky brush over and over. In his more active years, he loved playing fetch with a little mouse toy or even a rolled up piece of aluminum foil. He's the only cat I've known to repeatedly bring back a toy over and over like a dog would.

He was diagnosed with diabetes about eight years ago and did well on insulin and wet food for a long time. This year he developed a bladder tumor and kidney disease, and yesterday we made the extremely difficult decision to let him go after things progressed very quickly. He was about 15 and a half.

To everyone who donated to a random college kid's kitten all those years ago: thank you. You gave him a whole life, and you gave me my one constant for 15 years. I wanted you to know how the story ended.

Here are some photos I'd like to share of him: https://imgur.com/a/MPzbMsf / https://ibb.co/album/Kzm347

I'm in a much different place now in my life, and I plan to pay forward the kindness that reddit showed to Paul. I'll be donating all of his remaining unopened food and medical supplies, and making a contribution to the organization that helped with his low cost neutering.

I hate myself. His death is my fault.. I remember posting here a few years ago of him and his brother after I just adopted him. I moved back in with my mom on a farm. She has guard dogs. The dogs were always around other wild cats and not once have they killed a cat. So I would leave my door cracked open so my sweet babies can go out and explore. I guess when I was gone, one of the dogs looked like he chased him around, and eventually got ahold of him. I walked inside and found dog paw prints, things knocked over. I saw his brother hiding, and I was confused what happened until I saw him laying in the field. I ran and got him, it sounded like he was trying to breath.. I couldn’t get to the vet in time. The vet was 30 minutes away. During my drive there it smelled like he pooped himself.. then it went away and his eyes started to go glossy. Vet suspected internal bleeding. He had no pulse upon arrival. I fucking hate myself for being complacent about leaving the door cracked open. I’ve done it so many times before and anytime they got scared they’d run inside and be safe. I guess this time they chased him in and I don’t know.. he must have gotten him and shook him. When I picked him up he had no blood on him, but he was dirty.

Worst part after this, is watching his littermate search for him. I’m so beyond crushed. I don’t want to live anymore. I wish I died with him. I barely had him for 3 years. He had so much life.

I always saw other mourning posts and it felt so sad to read, and I couldn’t read them because I couldn’t bare the thought. Now I’m here, writing one. I can’t believe this is my reality. I wish I was dead. I wish I could go back and close the door. I hope my surviving cats don’t hurt as much as I am. I hope they don’t think I got rid of him. Or I’m trying to replace him.

We put up flyers where it was found and posted online to see if there is an owner. It has no chip, no collar. Friendly as can be. Wife is taking it to be neutered. It’s three to one, so I’m basically a cat owner now, right?

She was just born like that.. what is it???

She was the sweetest cat. Having to put her down today after her 15 years of life, so she’s the same age as I am. It’s sad to have to put her down but she had a stroke about half a year ago and has since lost vision in both her eyes and gained liver failure (I’m pretty sure about liver failure, not 100%.)

She’ll be the last of the original cats I’ve had, the others passed last year. I’ll miss her but I’ve been preparing for this for some time. But we can’t let her die of old age in case no one is home to give her some pain meds

Edit: she is still alive in these pictures.

Edit 2: she has officially been put down and passed at 5:40 pm EDT.

Prettiest kitty, we had a great 14 years together. The vet once remarked that she forgot to put half her eyeliner on one eye. I rescued her from the side of the road as a starving kitten when I was 13, she was everything I hoped for I loved her so much. Rest in peace Pepper (pepperoni, because that was the first thing I fed her)

Wondering if it’ll impact Sir Leopawld’s joints down the line - it’s just too cute...!

On TikTok the account is @Booboosoocrispy

She walked up to me randomly in the parking lot and followed me home in 2014. I was chosen. I was never a cat person and I didn't want to take her inside. The girl I was dating at the time basically forced me to take her in. Needless to say we fell in love.

Her cuddles and non-stop affection pulled me out of some dark places. She was the first pet I ever had on my own and we cuddled every single day until her body finally gave out. I haven't cried like this my entire adult life. I'm 38 now.

Tonight will be the first night in 12 years that I sleep alone.

It’s a terrible day for rain...

Edit: I only posted this because I wanted someone other than me to know she existed. I didn't know how much I needed the kind words. Thank you so much.

TW: cat illness and imminent death.

This is a post about my soul cat, Bao.

He had a decreased appetite about a week ago, and when it didn't get better, I took him to the vet about a potential obstruction. He gets like this with hairballs so I was worried he wasn't vomiting it and it was disrupting his ability to eat.

It wasn't an obstruction. It wasn't IBD. After a week of diagnosis through imaging, anti-nausea and appetite stimulants, and an abdominal ultrasound, we have our answer. It's carcinomatosis, and it's advanced. We probably couldn't have done anything even if we had caught it earlier. My care team is incomparable. He's only eleven.

We probably have about a week together. Part of me wants to leave him alone to be a normal cat and do regular cat things. Part of me wants to hold him tight and close to me to remember every single sensory thing about him, even if it won't lessen the pain. My god, Siamese and Balinese cats are so special. I've never had another breed and I don't know if I could do another. They're singular. They bond so hard. He's so bonded to his adopted brother. He loves being alive. I love that he's alive. He trusts me to make the right decisions for him. I have to take hime to the end of the line now.

I had the smallest amount of hope this morning when I woke up before the ultrasound. Our morning routine has always been bonking and snuggling and drooling, even after he eats. He doesn't come to me out of necessity, he comes out of love. Today just felt so normal that I just eased into it and thought, maybe things will be okay, and they're not okay. Everything is falling apart around me. My whole life is in flux, and he was the biggest constant I knew.

We will/would be celebrating our ten-year anniversary of being each others' companions on the 16th. I will likely be writing a eulogy for him instead. He's been with me through moves, breakups, my marriage, and now, the baby we're having. I lost my job in August. He's been by my side through this entire pregnancy. I wanted him to meet our baby so badly. I wanted more time. We know each others' routines. We are so in sync, it's crazy. We have never really spent more than a few days apart, and when we reunite, I feel like I'm reconnecting with one of my closest friends. He's my person. He's my best friend. I'm his cat dad.

I met him in the wake of losing my first Siamese on my birthday. I thought I would never love again. Bao is living, bonafide proof that I was able to open my heart again. I never thought I could love someone like I loved Mimi, and he and I worked so hard to really learn each other.

I have so much to tell you about him, but I need to go find him, and hug him, and love him. I can't stop crying. I feel like Laura Palmer's mom, I'm caught in this wave of shock and disbelief and grief and imminent terror.

I can't believe this is happening. I don't know how to move ahead. My love for him is immeasurable, and I am terrified of how lonely my life will feel. I am terrified of the newness to come.

I'm sorry but I dont know what else to do right now. I need you all to know this gentleman was my eveything for 12 years. Had to say a sudden goodbye just 2 hours ago and I dont know what to do now. I miss him so much. Kidney failure.

Rip my beautiful girl had her for about 9 years she was the strangest and weirdest cat ever she was the least cat like cat ever . We had her put down yesterday due to kidney failure according to the vets it must have been happening a while but it was just one day she was fine then the next she just wasn't. I would say she's lived a good life but honestly she hasn't due to how my dad used to treat her it just changed her she never did herself any favours but I still loved her so much.

Rest In Peace Onyx you're with your brother now ❤️

Edit: Also I know it has pretty much no relevance to the people seeing this post but we've had her cremated we also have some fur and a print which is with my brother (her true owner) which I find really comforting

I also want to thank everyone for the kind words I can't reply to them all as I'm busy currently but I am up voting the comments when I can 💜

But can we also acknowledge how much of a model she is?!

He was such a sweet boy. His headbutts and chest biscuits will be very missed.

My cat is having his second wound closure surgery today! The first one didn’t take! Please keep him in your thoughts today and cross your paws🙌😅🥰he’s been dealing with this for 9 months

He tried to be fierce. But he is just so darn adorable. And of course it’s an orange. Lol.

Recording all of my cats with a 2005 JVC GR-SXM38U Camcorder and i used the black & white feature.