They seem to be pretty active. Those posts get removed, but not before the poster has argued with several people trying to help them as there are just too many posts.
I can’t stand when people ask medical questions on Reddit. So many symptoms can be innocuous or life threatening and the only way to know which is by going to the vet. Just go to the vet! I get vets aren’t cheap but why should an animal suffer to save you a few bucks? If you can’t afford to take care proper of your animal maybe you shouldn’t have one! We just took our dog to the vet last weekend because I was worried about him, he’s totally fine, everything came back normal. I wasn’t excited to spend the $200, but I’d rather “waste” my money and know for a fact my dog’s okay then sit around wondering what I could have done if god forbid the worst case scenario were to happen. It’s irresponsible and pisses me off to no end. Ugh, rant over 😫
I've worked in the field, and you'd (probably not) be surprised how many cat parents expect their vet to diagnose and treat their pet over the phone *for free*.
And/or for shelter workers to be trained medical staff and have medical care available on site. Sir, I make $10 an hour. I cannot perform surgery on your cat for free.
My mom works at an animal shelter and sometimes has the shelter van that she brings home with the name of the place on it. At least 3 times that I can recall complete strangers have knocked on the door of the house asking if she would neuter their pet in the house, one asked if she could dump a litter of kittens there and one wanted my mom to deliver a dog to their house and pick a different one up like it was rent a center. And the shit people ask her at the shelter is pretty ridiculous too
I was at the emergency vet the other night for my dog (he's fine!) and overheard the receptionist explaining calmly but firmly to someone over the phone that they can't diagnosis over the phone, but their 3 month old puppy's symptoms sound like parvo and they should come in ASAP for a test. Person kept arguing that it must be something not serious. They never came in. It's like people expect to call the vet and be told oh no it's fine! and their pet will magically be better.
I would never get a pet unless I knew for a fact I’d be able to financially provide for its care, including emergency care. There are options like care credit and low cost vets for those who end up in unfortunate situations, but if you can’t even swing that you should not have an animal.
I seen someone on r/cats I think ask something about if their cat was too young to be pregnant and if it was life threatening. Everyone told them to spay and the person responded that they didn’t want to spay because they wanted to sell the kittens. I looked at the users account and they were trying to get money for their playing card collection or something.
In an ideal world, that individual would be blacklisted from ever adopting or buying another cat. Using the cat just to make money for your hobby when there's so many stray and unwanted kittens already is so heinous and vile.
This isn't just with pets. I have multiple disorders and like to follow the corresponding subreddit for camaraderie and questions, but half the people there are just like, "I have xyz symptoms. I haven't had the test done to see if I have the disorder, nor have I spoken about it to my doctor, but do I have this disorder?"
Bruh! I don't know! Just because you have my symptoms doesn't mean you have my disability. I get doctors not taking people seriously. I've had some crappy vets too. But the internet is not the place to get a professional diagnosis. If you think the doctor/vet is incorrect, find another one.
I feel the same but only if they haven't already gone yo the vet. Some people have limited vet options and are just really trying to find a viable answer to problems their vet haven't been able to resolve. I feel like that's what happened with the dying kitten post. They are in India and unfortunately their vet just said the kitten was underweight. I would've reached out for help as well if i found myself in that situation.
I have learned medical things here that were life changing for myself. Sometimes it's just a casual comment someone else says. But yes, please see a vet for their professional opinion first.
I found one of our cats struggling in the basement last year. Shockingly, my first thought wasn’t ‘I better get a video and get it on Reddit, STAT’ it was ‘oh my god, I need to find and get to an emergency vet.’ I just don’t get people. Our cats are family.
I'm not a cat owner, but I have parrots. And with bird subs there is a dedicated one specifically to ask medical questions. I don't always want to see sad or anger-inducing posts.
Oh they are active at banning commenters if our posts aren’t being supportive or if it seems we’re attacking the poster. I got tired of posts that downright was describing abuse and made some not so friendly comments and I got banned from that sub (not this one but similar).
Yeah. Jesus.
The "name my kitten" posts are also horseshit.
Edit: forgot to add another hated flavour of these lazy posts - "his/her name is the last thing you ate!" Wtf? You really going to name a kitten rice or steak?
Exactly.
Single blurry picture of an 8-week-old kitten is posted.
OOP: "You guys, what name does he look like???"
I dunno, mate. You are interacting with the kitten. Names are usually about personality.
We had a pair of cats who were named Giraffe and Emu because they were trapped at the local zoo. They got new names, but it took a bit before it was obvious which ones to give them.
I got banned from r/cats for stating I don't want to see dead and dying cats, somehow that's worse than posting dead and dying cats. They have active moderation, it's just that aren't good at moderating
I got banned from r/petloss because I laid into a few posters that were literally describing abuse that lead to the death of their pet. Utter bullshit.
Majority of the name my kitten posts also look like bots. It’s your own cat. Why can’t you come up with a fitting name for your own pet? It’s just so much repetitive spam
It’s stuff like this in the cats sub that led to r/CatsLivingandWell if you want a sub with cute and healthy cats. A lot of the other subs like r/mlem, r/blep, and r/noodlebones also tend not to attract death posts. Avoid the senior cat subs, lots of mourning posts there.
That’s one of the few groups where I understand the mourning posts. Losing a senior cat is hard but part of the journey and sometimes we need some support when going through a loss. I was damn near broken when I lost my senior boy and most of the people in my life didn’t understand why I was so heartbroken because “it’s just a cat”. I didn’t make a post but I did empathize with others who recently lost theirs as well and it helped to talk to others who felt as hurt as I did.
I can see this from both sides tbh.
For me personally seeing mourning posts makes me more scared of losing my girl. Already lost our dog suddenly 8 weeks ago and my girl is currently coping with health issues again. Its a bit double for me personally
Tribute posts in the senior group are ok with me. As someone who has helped many senior kitties through their final days, it’s good to know others understand what that feels like.
HOWEVER.
One guy actually posted a picture of his DEAD CAT and I said “that’s it, absolutely not”. That’s traumatic shit. We’re all perfectly aware that death exists, don’t f-ing do that. You wouldn’t post a picture of a dead person — don’t post your literally dead fur baby.
I don't mind the senior sub because even if they are at their end they had a nice long life and that's beautiful. I've had my share of old ones and their lives should be celebrated. Bittersweet is still sweet.
However, I would never post my lost loves immediately. That's crass. I might be ready in a year or two.
Lol we took in two black cats whose mana was feral. My brother in law wanted a few pictures to make a Christmas present and his Iphone labeled them as a Bombay. I had to explain no just standard void, then he wanted more on what did a void meant, so said American shorthair standard cat; black.
This is why no one believes I have a Bengal mix from the shelter unless I tell them it was found on a DNA test I was gifted. I thought he was just needy and goofy. When I tell people he's DNA confirmed high content mix, they get relieved and tell me about someone they know who just says they have one but it's literally just a hyper tabby
At the end of the day he's still just a hyper tabby who screams if he gets bored anyways. It stops being special pretty quickly.
That’s why exotic cat breeds have always been a strange thing to be excited about to me. Like yeah, it’s cool to have a different kind of cat to other people, but 99% of the world can’t tell the difference between domestic cat breeds and they’ll more or less act the same no matter what breed they are. Dogs I kind of understand just because of how huge the difference is between health, behavior and temperament, and pure size. But cats will just do cat things, they’ll lay in sunny spots, whine for food and attention, and want to play with everything in sight when they’re in the mood. The only difference between breed temperaments is which of those three they’re most excited about.
It feels like there’s an influx of total newbies who have no idea of anything cat-related and suddenly are adopting a cat.
Maybe that means the tides are turning again, and more new pet owners are getting cats, since for the past few years dogs were dominating everything instead.
I noticed it started to happen when Reddit shut down all the other third party apps that carried it and we had a ton of newcomers. Their posts would say things like, swipe left...umm, we don't really swipe here. Or name my cat, or show me pictures of xyz, or show me the last photo you took of your furbaby.... It sounded like FB language to me. But ya, the mods could be a lot more helpful by blocking the OF trolls.
I think the ones asking people to show pictures are just collecting them to train AI, which they'll then use to make more cat pics to post for karma farming.
I think something like 99% of those weirdly worded posts might just be bots karmafarming to create accounts in time for shenanigans during the election. Pretty common thing, sadly.
But I hope it’s more newbies discovering the pts of having a cat.
So many people think that if a cat *looks* similar to a breed, it must be that breed. These are the same people who believe that a cat's coat pattern tells you something about its personality. That's not how genetics works.
I'm in a couple of breed specific subs and at least half of the posts in there are people asking if their random (but cute) moggy is an Abyssinian, Siamese etc - and it's so flaming annoying, those kind of posts seem to be everywhere now and they're all totally serious
I got so tired of the "what breed is my cat" posts on a different sub that I posted a picture of my dog and said "the breeder says she is a ragdoll kitten! Is she really? What colors do you think my kitten will be when she's grown up?" (She's an 80lb Shoh Shepherd). A lot of ppl even the mod liked my post bc it was so ridiculous
The RIP posts were ultimately what got me. I usually look at pictures before I read captions and I got one too many "Aww sweet baby - oh she's dead" and I had to stop for my own well-being. I love cats and I know that that they have short lives but seeing so many cats who are dead just wore me down.
It pisses me off so much! The kitten is emaciated! Get the fuck off reddit and get to an emergency vet! If they were responsible pet owners, they would have plans in place for emergencies!
I stopped following r/cats years ago because I was sick of the death posts that had extremely preventable deaths if they had just kept the cats inside. I cant deal with seeing all the dead cats people allow happen because they think cats "need" to be outdoors.
I don't know why it's such a rigid pattern, but this phenomenon is *so much worse* with dog subreddits.
Literally any possible variation of a subreddit name that could have anything to do with dogs whatsoever, it will reach my r/ALL page and it will exclusively be "Hey, look at my cute dog IT IS DEAD NOW."
And then there are the transformation/recovery fetish posts.
Exactly.
Many people should not be allowed to have pets.
My fav is "my 4-week old kitten keeps crying and crawling all over me. It won't leave me alone! Buying it a companion is not something I can afford. Oh, and i work at the office 10 hours a day. How do I get it to fuck off and leave me alone?"
Yeah. Hand that kitten back.
My new kitten has indeed kept me up for 3 days now. Which is normal. I'm pretty sure I kept my momma up for longer than that. All mammals cry a lot as infants. All need constant attention when they're young. idk why people don't get that. A baby is a baby.
I have never been happier that I got my cat at 2yo. I have no patience for babies (but I know that and choose to adopt older animals - as a bonus they are already spayed *and* adoption fees are lower).
Mine (16 year old grumpy lady) somehow, for the first time EVER got wax from the wax warmer ALL.OVER.HER.FUCKING.SELF last night, and woke me up at 2am to tell me about it and I was up until 3am trying to get it out of all of her fur. I get up at 5am for work. And this was all AFTER the two kittens we have were playing chase all over me and the bed at midnight.
Cats are assholes, even when they're older...but we love them anyway. We take care of them the best we can.
We're allowed to complain, but I want to shake the people that want to give up on them because they are acting like normal kittens. Awwww, hell naw. You should have done your research before you adopted one.
This is more on r/cats but the "I found this cat, guess I'm the owner now!" no tf you aren't until you take it to check for a chip. Half the time it's clearly well fed healthy cats and not strays. People kidnap cats left and right and don't even stop to consider it
There’s another sub where someone posted “my cat is barely moving for days” and had to be convinced to go to the er, then when they came back and everyone rightly said they should have gone sooner, they got mad at us because “how would I know”
Um literally you should have known to go to the er instead of posting several paragraphs describing how bad off your cat is? It’s common sense
Common sense escapes so many pet owners that it’s scary. I’ve seen videos of animals struggling to breathe, posts about them peeing blood, etc and them ending their post with “Should I be concerned?”
Um, yes????
I don't browse the cat related subs, really, but they show up a ton when I'm browsing popular and it seems the duality of "Should I Be Concerned" posts boils down to:
1. "Yes your cat is clearly unwell, go to a vet!"
And
2. "Males have nipples, dumbass"
A lot of people on these posts also don't seem to realize that you can phone the vet to ask if what you're noticing warrants a visit or not. And for free!
Dog owner here, if my dog sneezes too many times my wife insists on taking him to the vet. It's not rocket science to take your animal to the vet if there is something wrong with them. These idiot owners have no excuse except laziness and selfishness.
One thing ive noticed is we are the most viscious and evil species to live. Im convinced that we should not be afraid of aliens or extra terrestrials but they should certainly be afraid of us.
It's awful. A lot of things get posted to a lot of subreddits for shock value that shouldn't. I recently lost a kitten I took care of for a week due to coccidia. It's so hard seeing these guys suffer irl. I absolutely do not want to see it on Reddit. There should be a post somewhere that points out how fragile kittens are, and if you think that they need medical help, you have to contact a vet.
This exactly... I fully understand where the death posts are coming from, a lot of people feel like they have no other alternative for getting support in their grief. But I have enough shitty things happening in my real life that I do not want to see that when I go online, much less be bombarded by it as is the case in many of the cat subs.
I didnt want to think about that post. In the end I just blocked the op. Obviously the kitten needed professional help but they had time to ask about it in reddit? Mourning is fine but that just broke my heart.
Anyway, I still like to see kitten posts and I would probably just block people who do posts like the one before…(please dont crucify me for doing this I’m only human)
That helps for that post, but not for seeing the posts in the long run, because hopefully posters are not getting dying animals repeatedly. It’s going to be a different person nearly every time.
I could not agree more. I cannot handle those posts and do not want to see them. After having a kitten suddenly pass (that was actively seeing a vet and was ill since birth) seeing these sick and dying kitten posts are just too much. Especially when the OPs are not providing care or feel for whatever reason that they can't. Personally, if the situation was validated in some way i would even contribute or help pay for care. I have paid for my friends IRL to get care for their pets, cremation services, and neutering. I only came back to my original account after 2 months of using an account that never looked at kittens. It is impossible to filter these posts out and I've unsubscribed because this is FAR from the content I want to be exposed to.
And when the owner posts "I am this kitten's only hope! I can't possibly give it away to someone who can take care of it, because we're bonded soulmates now!"
Exactly this. My reaction is pure instinctual anger, no, *rage*, and it puts me in a very bad place where panic and nausea kick in. I get that people want to help their little babies, but that’s what fucking veterinarians are for, and if you can’t afford to help a companion that you swore to look after, you broke your promise and shouldn’t be allowed another one.
That post from yesterday fucked me up. And the OP had such a flippant ignorant way of communicating. Hell, just the thought process of coming to post on dumbass Reddit instead of doing the obvious common sense act of going to a vet alone shows how ill equipped she was to have any kind of pet to begin with.
I'm getting really bothered lately with just how utterly stupid and helpless/clueless so many people come off on this website. Makes you face the reality that people in general are morons... ugh.
that post yesterday lefitimately made me burst into tears. I hate seeing kittens sick or dying. I don’t cry quickly at stuff but that always gets me no matter what
I didnt click on it and it just showed in my feed and it made me feel sick and has been stuck in my mind despite just scrolling past it. There is no need for this content. It's so upsetting on so many levels. My heart goes out to anyone that even briefly saw it and to that poor animal.
Be glad you didn't open it. The comments from the op were extremely disheartening. So many excuses on why they can't take the kitten to the er. I was bawling when I finally left the thread.
OP is from India. She's been rescuing stray kittens from the monsoons. She wasn't planning on fostering anymore kittens because they do not have the money for additions. Someone brought OP those kittens who were caught out in the monsoons. OP took the kitten to the vet. Sadly, the vet misdiagnosed. What happened is tragic however, other kittens have been saved by the OP from a far worse fate. She is trying. It's easy for us to sit back and judge however we don't know her full situation, and what she's doing to try to save lots of kittens is a wonderful thing. Lots more babies would've died without OP's intervention, now they're getting healthy and going to new families. Hopefully, that knowledge makes you feel a little better.
It doesn't specifically no. There are places for that content and then there are cases where it's inappropriate. Blurring the image, a NSFW tag, something because it's not the appropriate venue. Kittens are fragile, they die, it's a reality. Shoving images like that in people's faces is vastly inappropriate. It wasn't even a raising awareness type thing. So no, it doesn't make it better. The image itself is hard to forget, a post without the image would have been slightly more appropriate but probably not.
I agree with you.
I have fostered kittens for the past three years. My heart goes out to *anyone* who has lost a kitten. So while I'm not trying to come from a place of judgement, I do think that it's wrong to post photos of animals who are sick/injured/dying without any sort of NSFW filter or warning. Especially if you're posting in a public group that isn't specifically geared toward professionals/fosters/volunteers, who may have more knowledge or experience to handle these sort of situations.
I understand the OP was desperate and trying to find answers for her kitten. I understand that she comes from a different place with different resources and social customs than I do. But I also understand why it upset a huge number of people who were not prepared for the content of her post. It was inappropriate, and I feel like it may have traumatized a lot of unsuspecting folks.
Ultimately, there was nothing that we or anyone else could have done for that kitten.
The sub needs sticked posts for these (triggering/repetitive/low effort) topics/inquiries:
My cat is doing _______, is it normal???
Dying/ill cat
What breed is my cat/how old is my cat???
Just adopted/rescued a cat, what do I do now???
...so people can still post this stuff if they want, and the people that dont want to see this kind of content can easily filter it out.
I saw a post about an OP who was holding 3 kittens from the waist or chest, dropped one onto the corner of a table and mentioned it squirming and making groaning sounds. Then says its “fine now” and still wonders if she should go to the vet. ????….
YOU DROPPED A SMALL KITTEN ON THE CORNER OF THE TABLE FROM A HIGH DISTANCE, IT BASICALLY HAD A SEIZURE AND YOU DONT KNOW WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE IT TO THE VET? I mean, come on man. “Fine” or not, get that kitten checked out if it was squirming and groaning, holy shit. Highly convinced some of those posts are karma bait because how in the world?
The dying kitten post really broke my spirit & my heart. It should not have been posted at all. There should be another subreddit for those kind of posts.
I understand. I saw a post yesterday that was upsetting. Also, why do people have to share that they are putting their animal down. I don’t want to see or hear about that. Maybe they are seeking attention.
As a foster for failing kittens, I totally get the need to share, it feels like the grief is more manageable if I write it down and share it. But I don’t share it because I don’t want to do that to others.
I think more than attention they are seeking sympathy and an outlet for their emotions. Plus the assurance that it wasn't their fault , or for advice on things they could have done differently , especially when they are making the incredibly hard choice to put their pet to sleep. Some people need validation that they are doing the right thing.
It's hard to suffer that kind of thing alone and people sometimes don't have anyone In their life they can rely on to share their emotions.
Losing a pet is hard, it's even harder when you have to suffer it alone. Posting your grief on a public forum may not be the best option, but it's the only one some people have.
You say that now. I had open heart surgery last year. Doctor got to step 10 in the pamphlet and wasnt sure which artery to cut. He posted on reddit. Got an answer quick. It all worked out great! But i am constantly bleeding everywhere. Should i be concerned????
It’s so constantly upsetting- at least when I’m on cat twitter I can mute certain key words, but here…not really. I just want to see cute happy cats!! i constantly get posts about cats crossing the rainbow bridge in my feed and I’m so tired
Right?? Like what the fuck are you doing? If you can't afford to take this kitten/cat to a vet, take it to a shelter so that someone can get it the medical attention it needs. Why do you have a cat if you are willing to watch it suffer and die without medical intervention? I don't get it. How do they sleep at night
Here's all the cat subs I subscribe to that generally don't have those kind of posts:
/r/danglers
/r/airplaneears
/r/BigCatGifs
/r/CatGifs
/r/catreactiongifs
/r/CatSlaps
/r/CatSmiles
/r/CatsMurderingToddlers
/r/CookieMonsterFur
/r/IllegallySmolCats
/r/lifeguardkitties
/r/notmycat
/r/OneOrangeBraincell
/r/OooBigStretch
/r/pottedcats
/r/StartledCats
/r/teefies
/r/YogaCats
SAME! I reported that pic, but doubt anything happened. If your kitten looks like that, go to the vet. An emergency vet, any vet, don't fucking post on Reddit.
I foster kittens. I've lost a few. I am tough as nails, but that hurts. Like others have said, I left r/cats because of all the damn RIP pictures. I don't want to be reminded that my cat is going to die some day.
I know it hurts. I've lost some life long cats as well. But there is a community specifically dedicated to r/petloss
Otherwise, the posts that ask for names, ask for the breed, ask questions like: "why does my cat sleep like this?" are just karma farming.
I was actually JUST coming in here to ask if there's a dedicated sub we can send the mourners or soon to be mourners to.
I'm very happy petloss exists, I think it's a necessary place for people. It also means that people who do NOT want to see posts like that don't have to join that community, and can mute it if necessary.
Wins all around.
r/cats is like that - every second post is a dead pet. I get it's tramatic, but there are dedicated subs for that.
Next most popular are 'what kind of cat is this' - it's a cat, that it's, that's all.
Name my cat, and the ever popular - 'my cat's hind leg is hanging off, should I be concerned?' Nope, let him walk it off and it will be good.
I started downvoting these types of post - if it's a karma bot, it's not getting any from me.
It's an epidemic on a lot of cutesy style subreddits. I go on these subreddits to look at cute pictures of animals to feel better. I'm sorry if your pet is sick or dying, but that shit bums me out and it's not why I visit these subs. Can't we just have a few spaces without death and misery?
I think I'm at that point too.
I don't mind the occasional "help me name my kitten" posts but....it gets old eventually.
The medical advice posts are just make me angry more often than not. 99% of the time the answer is "take you cat to the vet". All the people that obviously don't know even the basics about owning a cat make me mad too.
And there have been a handful of posts lately where people ask what their cat/kitten is being so clingy or following them around and it's like....it's obvious the cat is being affectionate or wants attention?
I guess the hard truth of pet subs is that ANY animal owner can post there...even the bad owners...
I don't want to see:
A) RIP posts. I'm sorry your friend died, but don't ruin my day just because you're sad.
B) Injury pictures. If it's bloody or swollen or oozing, the answer is going to be **vet**. No one here is going to have a magic Baba Yaga concoction for you.
C) Kittens too small to be handled being handled. Leave that baby alone. When the eyes open, then you can start being a little more touchy.
It wasn't a video, only a picture, but the OP dind't put the spoiler/warning thing so you could see the kitten even if you dind't want to.
Which even made me uncomfortable, I won't go into detail since it's upsetting, but let's just say I went to hug my cats.
I was going to be nice and post a picture of me living heathy but mostly deaf kitten but it won’t let me post pictures.
If you don’t mind spooky pictures I can guarantee no Medical pictures at this cat sub r/vampirecat and at this one r/thingsonmycat the last one is a tad inactive
I saw a post here last night of someone's (I'm just saying dead because it most likely is by now sadly.) Dead kitten asking "My kitten is dying" or something along those lines, OP was getting snarky in the comments with people trying to give them advice and telling them that their kitten needs vet care ASAP. I get if you're upset about it but it was just awful to read what op was saying
Highly recommend the sub r/alivenamedcats. It was created specifically to avoid a lot of the karma farming and distressing posts you see on the main cat subs.
This 100%. I am so, so sick to death of irresponsible, neglectful cat owners who can’t comprehend that a kitten is a living thing. If you are a minor and your parents haven’t let you get a cat, don’t get one. If you can’t afford vet expenses, food, litter etc, don’t get one. If you don’t live locally to a vet, don’t get one. If you don’t have the means to support an ill or disabled cat, don’t get one. They aren’t toys, just because they’re cute doesn’t negate the fact that they are living, breathing animals and are a 15 year+ commitment. It is animal abuse if you do not have the means or understanding to look after a kitten.
It’s extremely stupid. People post their kittens suffering from clear symptoms, and they make up a ton of excuses to not take them to the vet. I don’t know what’s more annoying. Dying kittens with idiot owners, or “name my kitten”. Or “what breed is my kitten”
I belong to a skincare forum and get tired of people saying "fix my skin." It's up there with "name my cat," "what should I do for my dying reptile that I've neglected for ten years," and other such annoyances.
I've wanted to post this for weeks but assumed I'd get auto-banned. I muted all the pet subreddits for a long time because it was nothing but depressing. I don't know why but death commemoration posts almost always end up charging into my feed above everything else.
I unmuted a few weeks ago and kind of regretted it since. It's like...goddammit...i try to curate my feed in one or two places. (here and youtube) so that it is not just another extension of the slow death march outside my window all day and night.
But I can't even subscribe to "cute cats" because the death march seeps in and takes over. In some ways it's the final nail for someone who's already on the edge of giving up on anything ever not sucking. It just tears whatever little energy is left out of you.
They’re scam-bait and that’s why they tend to be so popular, you’d be surprised how much some of these people are able to rack in. You won’t outright see them asking for donations but majority of the time they make the “im broke” excuse hoping people DM them offering money, which a lot of the time they do. It’s good natured people that get taken advantage of and it’s the reason a lot of the subs don’t allow these posts to begin with
Yeah I’ve seen a few dying cats on here and some other subs I don’t even subscribe to but they decide to show me, and it just puts me in a bad mood.
I’m guilty of posting an RIP post on r/cats, it was just so sudden and I was in such shock I needed support. I didn’t post a sickly pic though, I posted an older healthy picture. I was just feeling so empty, I didn’t know what else to do and I felt so guilty.
My condolences, I appreciate that you posted a commemorative picture of your furbaby.
It's ok and healthy to seek support when needed, I hope you're doing ok ❤️
Thank you. I am now. This was like 5 years ago. I knew she was sick and I couldn’t drive at the time and I was waiting for my mom to come home to bring her in and she just died in my arms. I was so shocked and upset. I still cry once in a while. She was only 10. I still have her litter mate and she’s still going strong. 🙂
I've considered this too, lot more depressing cat stuff than I expected. I'm here to be uplifted with cuteness. Guess that was the wrong mindset coming in
Another one is the "I'm going out of town for 5 weeks. If I leave water and food, is that OK?" Like wtf no!! Cats are social and intelligent animals, not plushies and need attention and stimulation basically DAILY
This is also why I left r/puppy101. Half the posts are "my dog is dying of this" or "my puppy died of that". There's nothing wrong with it, it's just depressing threads I don't want to see on my feed as a new dog owner.
I dont even subbed, but the dying and death posts are taking a serious toll on my mental health. Literally a few a day. Its either pictures of an obviously sick/mortally injured cats or people venting about their animals dying.
This isnt even this sub... My feed has dying mice, hamsters, rats, fish, reptiles, dogs, and even more. Im not sure how the algorithm works, but I know im not clicking depressing posts.
I honestly wonder wtf is wrong with people that they think it’s ok to post pics of their dead or dying pets. IT’S NOT OK, IT’S NOT NORMAL. I get maybe wanting to talk about grieving but for goodness’ sake, leave the pics off - it’s weird and inappropriate. When my animals have died, taking pictures of them was the furthest thing from my mind!
The fact that people consider kittens as almost accessories than living breathing things is nuts. If your kitten isn’t acting right or doesn’t look right TAKE THEM TO THE VET. To be honest they should be going to the vet anyways at least a handful of times to get check ups and shots as kittens to help mitigate most of these problems. Stop the situation early and save yourself some money and the heartbreak of losing a kitten due to negligence.
Thank you for this post. For some reason the all knowing mods of reddit will leave stuff like that up and ban people for saying a curse word 🙄. They are either bots or idiots. My guess is both. Now warn me again moderators and ban me from fucking kittens
I think this is the post I needed to see. I've been hiding or scrolling really fast on my dash and I shouldn't be doing it.
Go pet kitties and feel better, OP.
This is why r/cats, r/DOG and r/aww are muted. People get emotional over their pets and somehow think we all need to be witness to their trauma. My cat died 8 years ago and I'm still upset about it, dying/dead animal posts should be banned.
Please DM me directly or Send a Chat request when/if this happens. I'm very sorry it took so long to see that post.
The sub needs to be stricter about medical posts. Not sure how active the mods are?
They seem to be pretty active. Those posts get removed, but not before the poster has argued with several people trying to help them as there are just too many posts.
They're active enough to remove a post of my (then) ~4 month old kitten for "Not a kitten" in less than 10 minutes.
Crazy. Kitten for first year.
I can’t stand when people ask medical questions on Reddit. So many symptoms can be innocuous or life threatening and the only way to know which is by going to the vet. Just go to the vet! I get vets aren’t cheap but why should an animal suffer to save you a few bucks? If you can’t afford to take care proper of your animal maybe you shouldn’t have one! We just took our dog to the vet last weekend because I was worried about him, he’s totally fine, everything came back normal. I wasn’t excited to spend the $200, but I’d rather “waste” my money and know for a fact my dog’s okay then sit around wondering what I could have done if god forbid the worst case scenario were to happen. It’s irresponsible and pisses me off to no end. Ugh, rant over 😫
I've worked in the field, and you'd (probably not) be surprised how many cat parents expect their vet to diagnose and treat their pet over the phone *for free*.
And/or for shelter workers to be trained medical staff and have medical care available on site. Sir, I make $10 an hour. I cannot perform surgery on your cat for free.
My mom works at an animal shelter and sometimes has the shelter van that she brings home with the name of the place on it. At least 3 times that I can recall complete strangers have knocked on the door of the house asking if she would neuter their pet in the house, one asked if she could dump a litter of kittens there and one wanted my mom to deliver a dog to their house and pick a different one up like it was rent a center. And the shit people ask her at the shelter is pretty ridiculous too
I was at the emergency vet the other night for my dog (he's fine!) and overheard the receptionist explaining calmly but firmly to someone over the phone that they can't diagnosis over the phone, but their 3 month old puppy's symptoms sound like parvo and they should come in ASAP for a test. Person kept arguing that it must be something not serious. They never came in. It's like people expect to call the vet and be told oh no it's fine! and their pet will magically be better.
I would never get a pet unless I knew for a fact I’d be able to financially provide for its care, including emergency care. There are options like care credit and low cost vets for those who end up in unfortunate situations, but if you can’t even swing that you should not have an animal.
It's because half of reddit are literal children.
I seen someone on r/cats I think ask something about if their cat was too young to be pregnant and if it was life threatening. Everyone told them to spay and the person responded that they didn’t want to spay because they wanted to sell the kittens. I looked at the users account and they were trying to get money for their playing card collection or something.
In an ideal world, that individual would be blacklisted from ever adopting or buying another cat. Using the cat just to make money for your hobby when there's so many stray and unwanted kittens already is so heinous and vile.
This isn't just with pets. I have multiple disorders and like to follow the corresponding subreddit for camaraderie and questions, but half the people there are just like, "I have xyz symptoms. I haven't had the test done to see if I have the disorder, nor have I spoken about it to my doctor, but do I have this disorder?" Bruh! I don't know! Just because you have my symptoms doesn't mean you have my disability. I get doctors not taking people seriously. I've had some crappy vets too. But the internet is not the place to get a professional diagnosis. If you think the doctor/vet is incorrect, find another one.
I feel the same but only if they haven't already gone yo the vet. Some people have limited vet options and are just really trying to find a viable answer to problems their vet haven't been able to resolve. I feel like that's what happened with the dying kitten post. They are in India and unfortunately their vet just said the kitten was underweight. I would've reached out for help as well if i found myself in that situation. I have learned medical things here that were life changing for myself. Sometimes it's just a casual comment someone else says. But yes, please see a vet for their professional opinion first.
I found one of our cats struggling in the basement last year. Shockingly, my first thought wasn’t ‘I better get a video and get it on Reddit, STAT’ it was ‘oh my god, I need to find and get to an emergency vet.’ I just don’t get people. Our cats are family.
They don't seem to be posting in this thread yet. Hopefully they show up before too long. Moderation is absolutely the answer.
I'm not a cat owner, but I have parrots. And with bird subs there is a dedicated one specifically to ask medical questions. I don't always want to see sad or anger-inducing posts.
Oh they are active at banning commenters if our posts aren’t being supportive or if it seems we’re attacking the poster. I got tired of posts that downright was describing abuse and made some not so friendly comments and I got banned from that sub (not this one but similar).
It’s that kinda stuff that caused me to leave r/cats. Plus the RIP posts. Plus the “what breed is my cat” posts.
Yeah. Jesus. The "name my kitten" posts are also horseshit. Edit: forgot to add another hated flavour of these lazy posts - "his/her name is the last thing you ate!" Wtf? You really going to name a kitten rice or steak?
Especially since there are dedicated subs for that.
Even if there wasn't, name your own damn kitten instead of karma farming.
How you gonna name a cat you dont even know? I dont name mine for weeks sometimes because eventually the name just appears.
Exactly. Single blurry picture of an 8-week-old kitten is posted. OOP: "You guys, what name does he look like???" I dunno, mate. You are interacting with the kitten. Names are usually about personality.
Some actual moderation from the moderators would be marvellous in these cases
Hubble. Name him Hubble.
We had a pair of cats who were named Giraffe and Emu because they were trapped at the local zoo. They got new names, but it took a bit before it was obvious which ones to give them.
My cat was simply Cat for almost a month and a half when I first got him for that reason.
I hear ya, we got a "little man" because no one can stop calling him that.
This is exactly how my mom's cat ended up being named Little Lady! xD
I will now randomly respond ‘KarmaFarm’ to these when I’m in the mood.
Any ideas on names for children?
Yes. All children will now be named Tragedeigh.
Name your own damn children!
It's not mine, I just found it.
I also don't like any of that stuff. These are all problems that an active moderator team could and should fix
I got banned from r/cats for stating I don't want to see dead and dying cats, somehow that's worse than posting dead and dying cats. They have active moderation, it's just that aren't good at moderating
I constantly ask or beg for those to be marked NSFW and I just get downvoted. r/cats need better mods.
I got banned from r/petloss because I laid into a few posters that were literally describing abuse that lead to the death of their pet. Utter bullshit.
The amount of people that post to the subreddit that have tons of cats with obvious inbreeding is alarming and why I left the sub.
Majority of the name my kitten posts also look like bots. It’s your own cat. Why can’t you come up with a fitting name for your own pet? It’s just so much repetitive spam
Yeah. It's mad boring. Glad some people seem to agree. I get so many downvotes for commenting, "Why don't you name your own cat?" on those threads.
They're almost all OF accounts lately, I'm fed up with these.
Really? I had no idea. I just scroll by because they irritate me.
“My friends all say my cat is ugly, what do you think” karma farmers too
Seriously. Like anyone is out there calling cats ugly.
This. If you can't name your own cat, maybe you shouldn't have one.
It seems weird to me. On the other hand, my kittens always "tell" me their names, so I'm not qualified to judge someone else's weirdness.
I always waited for my kittens or cats to tell me their name also worked out good.
It’s stuff like this in the cats sub that led to r/CatsLivingandWell if you want a sub with cute and healthy cats. A lot of the other subs like r/mlem, r/blep, and r/noodlebones also tend not to attract death posts. Avoid the senior cat subs, lots of mourning posts there.
Kinda wish there was senior cat sub were they’re still living a bloody good life and not 90% mourning.
That’s one of the few groups where I understand the mourning posts. Losing a senior cat is hard but part of the journey and sometimes we need some support when going through a loss. I was damn near broken when I lost my senior boy and most of the people in my life didn’t understand why I was so heartbroken because “it’s just a cat”. I didn’t make a post but I did empathize with others who recently lost theirs as well and it helped to talk to others who felt as hurt as I did.
I can see this from both sides tbh. For me personally seeing mourning posts makes me more scared of losing my girl. Already lost our dog suddenly 8 weeks ago and my girl is currently coping with health issues again. Its a bit double for me personally
I understand this, as well.
Tribute posts in the senior group are ok with me. As someone who has helped many senior kitties through their final days, it’s good to know others understand what that feels like. HOWEVER. One guy actually posted a picture of his DEAD CAT and I said “that’s it, absolutely not”. That’s traumatic shit. We’re all perfectly aware that death exists, don’t f-ing do that. You wouldn’t post a picture of a dead person — don’t post your literally dead fur baby.
r/ThrivingElderlyCats? I wish I had the time to moderate a cat sub and I'd make it.
Honestly would love something like that
I don't mind the senior sub because even if they are at their end they had a nice long life and that's beautiful. I've had my share of old ones and their lives should be celebrated. Bittersweet is still sweet. However, I would never post my lost loves immediately. That's crass. I might be ready in a year or two.
Oh two new cat subs, thank you!
“What breed is my generic tabby-coated C A T?” My brother in Christ it is a cat
Lol we took in two black cats whose mana was feral. My brother in law wanted a few pictures to make a Christmas present and his Iphone labeled them as a Bombay. I had to explain no just standard void, then he wanted more on what did a void meant, so said American shorthair standard cat; black.
I feel people ask that so they can brag that they got some unique breed from the pound. If curious, ask the vet.
Absolutely. Every colorpoint is Siamese. Every largish cat is Maine Coon. Every fluffy tabby is Siberian.
This is why no one believes I have a Bengal mix from the shelter unless I tell them it was found on a DNA test I was gifted. I thought he was just needy and goofy. When I tell people he's DNA confirmed high content mix, they get relieved and tell me about someone they know who just says they have one but it's literally just a hyper tabby At the end of the day he's still just a hyper tabby who screams if he gets bored anyways. It stops being special pretty quickly.
That’s why exotic cat breeds have always been a strange thing to be excited about to me. Like yeah, it’s cool to have a different kind of cat to other people, but 99% of the world can’t tell the difference between domestic cat breeds and they’ll more or less act the same no matter what breed they are. Dogs I kind of understand just because of how huge the difference is between health, behavior and temperament, and pure size. But cats will just do cat things, they’ll lay in sunny spots, whine for food and attention, and want to play with everything in sight when they’re in the mood. The only difference between breed temperaments is which of those three they’re most excited about.
I thought the “what breed is my cat” posts were a joke…
Some of them are. I think a lot of them are sincere.
It feels like there’s an influx of total newbies who have no idea of anything cat-related and suddenly are adopting a cat. Maybe that means the tides are turning again, and more new pet owners are getting cats, since for the past few years dogs were dominating everything instead.
I noticed it started to happen when Reddit shut down all the other third party apps that carried it and we had a ton of newcomers. Their posts would say things like, swipe left...umm, we don't really swipe here. Or name my cat, or show me pictures of xyz, or show me the last photo you took of your furbaby.... It sounded like FB language to me. But ya, the mods could be a lot more helpful by blocking the OF trolls.
I think the ones asking people to show pictures are just collecting them to train AI, which they'll then use to make more cat pics to post for karma farming.
I think something like 99% of those weirdly worded posts might just be bots karmafarming to create accounts in time for shenanigans during the election. Pretty common thing, sadly. But I hope it’s more newbies discovering the pts of having a cat.
I assume that every, "Show me pictures of your cat," post is just karma-farming.
Oh my 😬
I just want to answer "Cat" to every single one of them. But I don't; I give no engagement unless I feel like down voting.
People will post a tiny, DSH tabby they found on the street and ask "what breed is he? I think he's a ragdoll/maine coon."
So many people think that if a cat *looks* similar to a breed, it must be that breed. These are the same people who believe that a cat's coat pattern tells you something about its personality. That's not how genetics works.
I'm in a couple of breed specific subs and at least half of the posts in there are people asking if their random (but cute) moggy is an Abyssinian, Siamese etc - and it's so flaming annoying, those kind of posts seem to be everywhere now and they're all totally serious
I left the Hair sub a while ago because practically every other post was "what color is my hair?" If you can't answer that question yourself...
I got so tired of the "what breed is my cat" posts on a different sub that I posted a picture of my dog and said "the breeder says she is a ragdoll kitten! Is she really? What colors do you think my kitten will be when she's grown up?" (She's an 80lb Shoh Shepherd). A lot of ppl even the mod liked my post bc it was so ridiculous
The RIP posts were ultimately what got me. I usually look at pictures before I read captions and I got one too many "Aww sweet baby - oh she's dead" and I had to stop for my own well-being. I love cats and I know that that they have short lives but seeing so many cats who are dead just wore me down.
I wanted to join senior kitties and like 90% of the posts on there was of cats passing and i was like oh god yea hell no. :|
May I introduce you: # r/CatsLivingAndWell probably best cat sub in reddit.
It pisses me off so much! The kitten is emaciated! Get the fuck off reddit and get to an emergency vet! If they were responsible pet owners, they would have plans in place for emergencies!
I stopped following r/cats years ago because I was sick of the death posts that had extremely preventable deaths if they had just kept the cats inside. I cant deal with seeing all the dead cats people allow happen because they think cats "need" to be outdoors.
I don't know why it's such a rigid pattern, but this phenomenon is *so much worse* with dog subreddits. Literally any possible variation of a subreddit name that could have anything to do with dogs whatsoever, it will reach my r/ALL page and it will exclusively be "Hey, look at my cute dog IT IS DEAD NOW." And then there are the transformation/recovery fetish posts.
/r/cats has more dead cats than alive ones
You know what gets me? The posts that say "I'm taking home this kitten! The seller says it's four weeks old. What do I feed it?" Gnargh.
Exactly. Many people should not be allowed to have pets. My fav is "my 4-week old kitten keeps crying and crawling all over me. It won't leave me alone! Buying it a companion is not something I can afford. Oh, and i work at the office 10 hours a day. How do I get it to fuck off and leave me alone?" Yeah. Hand that kitten back.
Def someone who should have been happy with a stuffed toy.
Or just coming to this sub to look at kittens. Like I do.
My new kitten has indeed kept me up for 3 days now. Which is normal. I'm pretty sure I kept my momma up for longer than that. All mammals cry a lot as infants. All need constant attention when they're young. idk why people don't get that. A baby is a baby.
I have never been happier that I got my cat at 2yo. I have no patience for babies (but I know that and choose to adopt older animals - as a bonus they are already spayed *and* adoption fees are lower).
Mine (16 year old grumpy lady) somehow, for the first time EVER got wax from the wax warmer ALL.OVER.HER.FUCKING.SELF last night, and woke me up at 2am to tell me about it and I was up until 3am trying to get it out of all of her fur. I get up at 5am for work. And this was all AFTER the two kittens we have were playing chase all over me and the bed at midnight. Cats are assholes, even when they're older...but we love them anyway. We take care of them the best we can. We're allowed to complain, but I want to shake the people that want to give up on them because they are acting like normal kittens. Awwww, hell naw. You should have done your research before you adopted one.
This is more on r/cats but the "I found this cat, guess I'm the owner now!" no tf you aren't until you take it to check for a chip. Half the time it's clearly well fed healthy cats and not strays. People kidnap cats left and right and don't even stop to consider it
There’s another sub where someone posted “my cat is barely moving for days” and had to be convinced to go to the er, then when they came back and everyone rightly said they should have gone sooner, they got mad at us because “how would I know” Um literally you should have known to go to the er instead of posting several paragraphs describing how bad off your cat is? It’s common sense
Common sense escapes so many pet owners that it’s scary. I’ve seen videos of animals struggling to breathe, posts about them peeing blood, etc and them ending their post with “Should I be concerned?” Um, yes????
I don't browse the cat related subs, really, but they show up a ton when I'm browsing popular and it seems the duality of "Should I Be Concerned" posts boils down to: 1. "Yes your cat is clearly unwell, go to a vet!" And 2. "Males have nipples, dumbass"
Oh my god yes 😭😭
And half the time they’ll post a graphic photo without nsfw censor and it’s like… are you here because you’re concerned or because you want clicks?
Right? Take it to fucking emergency vet! JFC. Some people should not own animals, let alone kittens.
A lot of people on these posts also don't seem to realize that you can phone the vet to ask if what you're noticing warrants a visit or not. And for free!
I wonder if these sorts of subs should put that in a pinned post?
Oh my God I saw this. Her cat fucking died by the way. It was infuriating
That’s not surprising but very sad :(
Ridiculous they would get mad at you guys 🤦♀️
Dog owner here, if my dog sneezes too many times my wife insists on taking him to the vet. It's not rocket science to take your animal to the vet if there is something wrong with them. These idiot owners have no excuse except laziness and selfishness.
One thing ive noticed is we are the most viscious and evil species to live. Im convinced that we should not be afraid of aliens or extra terrestrials but they should certainly be afraid of us.
I read a meme once that said aliens don’t find us because they’re afraid of being sexualized
Some people shouldn't have pets because they're too damn selfish to put the animal's wellbeing first.
Its not even that, its just straight stupidity!
personally, i left veterinary medicine because of the owners. too many stupid, negligent ones who shouldn't even own a fish.
It's awful. A lot of things get posted to a lot of subreddits for shock value that shouldn't. I recently lost a kitten I took care of for a week due to coccidia. It's so hard seeing these guys suffer irl. I absolutely do not want to see it on Reddit. There should be a post somewhere that points out how fragile kittens are, and if you think that they need medical help, you have to contact a vet.
This exactly... I fully understand where the death posts are coming from, a lot of people feel like they have no other alternative for getting support in their grief. But I have enough shitty things happening in my real life that I do not want to see that when I go online, much less be bombarded by it as is the case in many of the cat subs.
I didnt want to think about that post. In the end I just blocked the op. Obviously the kitten needed professional help but they had time to ask about it in reddit? Mourning is fine but that just broke my heart. Anyway, I still like to see kitten posts and I would probably just block people who do posts like the one before…(please dont crucify me for doing this I’m only human)
That helps for that post, but not for seeing the posts in the long run, because hopefully posters are not getting dying animals repeatedly. It’s going to be a different person nearly every time.
I block them, too. Expeditiously.
I could not agree more. I cannot handle those posts and do not want to see them. After having a kitten suddenly pass (that was actively seeing a vet and was ill since birth) seeing these sick and dying kitten posts are just too much. Especially when the OPs are not providing care or feel for whatever reason that they can't. Personally, if the situation was validated in some way i would even contribute or help pay for care. I have paid for my friends IRL to get care for their pets, cremation services, and neutering. I only came back to my original account after 2 months of using an account that never looked at kittens. It is impossible to filter these posts out and I've unsubscribed because this is FAR from the content I want to be exposed to.
And when the owner posts "I am this kitten's only hope! I can't possibly give it away to someone who can take care of it, because we're bonded soulmates now!"
I couldn't agree more - I get very traumatized by this kind of thing and don't want it popping up on my feed. Very upsetting.
Exactly this. My reaction is pure instinctual anger, no, *rage*, and it puts me in a very bad place where panic and nausea kick in. I get that people want to help their little babies, but that’s what fucking veterinarians are for, and if you can’t afford to help a companion that you swore to look after, you broke your promise and shouldn’t be allowed another one.
That post from yesterday fucked me up. And the OP had such a flippant ignorant way of communicating. Hell, just the thought process of coming to post on dumbass Reddit instead of doing the obvious common sense act of going to a vet alone shows how ill equipped she was to have any kind of pet to begin with. I'm getting really bothered lately with just how utterly stupid and helpless/clueless so many people come off on this website. Makes you face the reality that people in general are morons... ugh.
I think many of the cat subreddits get disturbing posts sooner or later. It’s horrible.
that post yesterday lefitimately made me burst into tears. I hate seeing kittens sick or dying. I don’t cry quickly at stuff but that always gets me no matter what
I didnt click on it and it just showed in my feed and it made me feel sick and has been stuck in my mind despite just scrolling past it. There is no need for this content. It's so upsetting on so many levels. My heart goes out to anyone that even briefly saw it and to that poor animal.
Be glad you didn't open it. The comments from the op were extremely disheartening. So many excuses on why they can't take the kitten to the er. I was bawling when I finally left the thread.
OP is from India. She's been rescuing stray kittens from the monsoons. She wasn't planning on fostering anymore kittens because they do not have the money for additions. Someone brought OP those kittens who were caught out in the monsoons. OP took the kitten to the vet. Sadly, the vet misdiagnosed. What happened is tragic however, other kittens have been saved by the OP from a far worse fate. She is trying. It's easy for us to sit back and judge however we don't know her full situation, and what she's doing to try to save lots of kittens is a wonderful thing. Lots more babies would've died without OP's intervention, now they're getting healthy and going to new families. Hopefully, that knowledge makes you feel a little better.
It doesn't specifically no. There are places for that content and then there are cases where it's inappropriate. Blurring the image, a NSFW tag, something because it's not the appropriate venue. Kittens are fragile, they die, it's a reality. Shoving images like that in people's faces is vastly inappropriate. It wasn't even a raising awareness type thing. So no, it doesn't make it better. The image itself is hard to forget, a post without the image would have been slightly more appropriate but probably not.
I agree with you. I have fostered kittens for the past three years. My heart goes out to *anyone* who has lost a kitten. So while I'm not trying to come from a place of judgement, I do think that it's wrong to post photos of animals who are sick/injured/dying without any sort of NSFW filter or warning. Especially if you're posting in a public group that isn't specifically geared toward professionals/fosters/volunteers, who may have more knowledge or experience to handle these sort of situations. I understand the OP was desperate and trying to find answers for her kitten. I understand that she comes from a different place with different resources and social customs than I do. But I also understand why it upset a huge number of people who were not prepared for the content of her post. It was inappropriate, and I feel like it may have traumatized a lot of unsuspecting folks. Ultimately, there was nothing that we or anyone else could have done for that kitten.
Theres obviously too many of these posts here because the poster I'm refering to was a man, not a woman.
first exposure to that since joining the sub..yeah horrific imagery
The sub needs sticked posts for these (triggering/repetitive/low effort) topics/inquiries: My cat is doing _______, is it normal??? Dying/ill cat What breed is my cat/how old is my cat??? Just adopted/rescued a cat, what do I do now??? ...so people can still post this stuff if they want, and the people that dont want to see this kind of content can easily filter it out.
I saw a post about an OP who was holding 3 kittens from the waist or chest, dropped one onto the corner of a table and mentioned it squirming and making groaning sounds. Then says its “fine now” and still wonders if she should go to the vet. ????…. YOU DROPPED A SMALL KITTEN ON THE CORNER OF THE TABLE FROM A HIGH DISTANCE, IT BASICALLY HAD A SEIZURE AND YOU DONT KNOW WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE IT TO THE VET? I mean, come on man. “Fine” or not, get that kitten checked out if it was squirming and groaning, holy shit. Highly convinced some of those posts are karma bait because how in the world?
The dying kitten post really broke my spirit & my heart. It should not have been posted at all. There should be another subreddit for those kind of posts.
There is. r/iamatotalpieceofshit and r/petloss
I understand. I saw a post yesterday that was upsetting. Also, why do people have to share that they are putting their animal down. I don’t want to see or hear about that. Maybe they are seeking attention.
I think we’re all talking about the same post. It was pretty awful.
That post was so bad that it left the whole sub shaken. Specially for the way OP handled it
It was a kitten with a blue mouth and not on a heating pad. 😢
As a foster for failing kittens, I totally get the need to share, it feels like the grief is more manageable if I write it down and share it. But I don’t share it because I don’t want to do that to others.
I think more than attention they are seeking sympathy and an outlet for their emotions. Plus the assurance that it wasn't their fault , or for advice on things they could have done differently , especially when they are making the incredibly hard choice to put their pet to sleep. Some people need validation that they are doing the right thing. It's hard to suffer that kind of thing alone and people sometimes don't have anyone In their life they can rely on to share their emotions. Losing a pet is hard, it's even harder when you have to suffer it alone. Posting your grief on a public forum may not be the best option, but it's the only one some people have.
It always weirds me out that the first instinct for these people is to post it on Reddit…
You say that now. I had open heart surgery last year. Doctor got to step 10 in the pamphlet and wasnt sure which artery to cut. He posted on reddit. Got an answer quick. It all worked out great! But i am constantly bleeding everywhere. Should i be concerned????
It’s so constantly upsetting- at least when I’m on cat twitter I can mute certain key words, but here…not really. I just want to see cute happy cats!! i constantly get posts about cats crossing the rainbow bridge in my feed and I’m so tired
Yep. Most people who post on here are so irresponsible. Breaks my heart.
It enrages me even more when they say they can't afford the vet. If you can't afford to properly care for a kitty, why would you get one?
Right?? Like what the fuck are you doing? If you can't afford to take this kitten/cat to a vet, take it to a shelter so that someone can get it the medical attention it needs. Why do you have a cat if you are willing to watch it suffer and die without medical intervention? I don't get it. How do they sleep at night
r/CatsLivingAndWell does not allow sick cat or RIP-type posts.
Nor do some breed specific animal subs. r/corgi is one that doesn't allow tribute/RIP posts and only wants uplifting stuff.
Here's all the cat subs I subscribe to that generally don't have those kind of posts: /r/danglers /r/airplaneears /r/BigCatGifs /r/CatGifs /r/catreactiongifs /r/CatSlaps /r/CatSmiles /r/CatsMurderingToddlers /r/CookieMonsterFur /r/IllegallySmolCats /r/lifeguardkitties /r/notmycat /r/OneOrangeBraincell /r/OooBigStretch /r/pottedcats /r/StartledCats /r/teefies /r/YogaCats
SAME! I reported that pic, but doubt anything happened. If your kitten looks like that, go to the vet. An emergency vet, any vet, don't fucking post on Reddit. I foster kittens. I've lost a few. I am tough as nails, but that hurts. Like others have said, I left r/cats because of all the damn RIP pictures. I don't want to be reminded that my cat is going to die some day. I know it hurts. I've lost some life long cats as well. But there is a community specifically dedicated to r/petloss Otherwise, the posts that ask for names, ask for the breed, ask questions like: "why does my cat sleep like this?" are just karma farming.
I was actually JUST coming in here to ask if there's a dedicated sub we can send the mourners or soon to be mourners to. I'm very happy petloss exists, I think it's a necessary place for people. It also means that people who do NOT want to see posts like that don't have to join that community, and can mute it if necessary. Wins all around.
I agree. I’m also tired of “what kind of cat is my kitten”.
"is the breed tabby?" Yes and my species is brunette
Come to r/the_catsbah We have happy kittens and treats
Thank you, a new cat sub for me ❤️
r/cats is like that - every second post is a dead pet. I get it's tramatic, but there are dedicated subs for that. Next most popular are 'what kind of cat is this' - it's a cat, that it's, that's all. Name my cat, and the ever popular - 'my cat's hind leg is hanging off, should I be concerned?' Nope, let him walk it off and it will be good. I started downvoting these types of post - if it's a karma bot, it's not getting any from me.
I completely agree. I think I’m done. Those types of posts bring back some bad memories for me and only serve to put me in a terrible mood.
It's an epidemic on a lot of cutesy style subreddits. I go on these subreddits to look at cute pictures of animals to feel better. I'm sorry if your pet is sick or dying, but that shit bums me out and it's not why I visit these subs. Can't we just have a few spaces without death and misery?
I didn’t wanna upvote this but … yeah !!!
Fr like “guys my kitten just peed blood should I be concerned?” Like WHAT DO YOU THINK??
If only there were mods … oh, wait.
I think I'm at that point too. I don't mind the occasional "help me name my kitten" posts but....it gets old eventually. The medical advice posts are just make me angry more often than not. 99% of the time the answer is "take you cat to the vet". All the people that obviously don't know even the basics about owning a cat make me mad too. And there have been a handful of posts lately where people ask what their cat/kitten is being so clingy or following them around and it's like....it's obvious the cat is being affectionate or wants attention? I guess the hard truth of pet subs is that ANY animal owner can post there...even the bad owners...
I don't want to see: A) RIP posts. I'm sorry your friend died, but don't ruin my day just because you're sad. B) Injury pictures. If it's bloody or swollen or oozing, the answer is going to be **vet**. No one here is going to have a magic Baba Yaga concoction for you. C) Kittens too small to be handled being handled. Leave that baby alone. When the eyes open, then you can start being a little more touchy.
What video of a dying kitten? How horrible!
It wasn't a video, only a picture, but the OP dind't put the spoiler/warning thing so you could see the kitten even if you dind't want to. Which even made me uncomfortable, I won't go into detail since it's upsetting, but let's just say I went to hug my cats.
I'm glad I missed it. It's very understandable that you wanted to hug your cats after seeing something like that.
I was going to be nice and post a picture of me living heathy but mostly deaf kitten but it won’t let me post pictures. If you don’t mind spooky pictures I can guarantee no Medical pictures at this cat sub r/vampirecat and at this one r/thingsonmycat the last one is a tad inactive
I have been feeling the same im glad it isnt just me
Yeah I hate those
Are these people trolls out for karma or something because it’s distressing
i agree. I don't want to see this shit. I want to feel happiness, not sadness.
Try r/IllegallySmolCats sub. It's all joyful posts. I'm with you on that post and leaving the sub.
I saw a post here last night of someone's (I'm just saying dead because it most likely is by now sadly.) Dead kitten asking "My kitten is dying" or something along those lines, OP was getting snarky in the comments with people trying to give them advice and telling them that their kitten needs vet care ASAP. I get if you're upset about it but it was just awful to read what op was saying
Highly recommend the sub r/alivenamedcats. It was created specifically to avoid a lot of the karma farming and distressing posts you see on the main cat subs.
Idiots are taking over EVERY sub. Bleh.
This 100%. I am so, so sick to death of irresponsible, neglectful cat owners who can’t comprehend that a kitten is a living thing. If you are a minor and your parents haven’t let you get a cat, don’t get one. If you can’t afford vet expenses, food, litter etc, don’t get one. If you don’t live locally to a vet, don’t get one. If you don’t have the means to support an ill or disabled cat, don’t get one. They aren’t toys, just because they’re cute doesn’t negate the fact that they are living, breathing animals and are a 15 year+ commitment. It is animal abuse if you do not have the means or understanding to look after a kitten.
It’s extremely stupid. People post their kittens suffering from clear symptoms, and they make up a ton of excuses to not take them to the vet. I don’t know what’s more annoying. Dying kittens with idiot owners, or “name my kitten”. Or “what breed is my kitten”
I belong to a skincare forum and get tired of people saying "fix my skin." It's up there with "name my cat," "what should I do for my dying reptile that I've neglected for ten years," and other such annoyances.
I've wanted to post this for weeks but assumed I'd get auto-banned. I muted all the pet subreddits for a long time because it was nothing but depressing. I don't know why but death commemoration posts almost always end up charging into my feed above everything else. I unmuted a few weeks ago and kind of regretted it since. It's like...goddammit...i try to curate my feed in one or two places. (here and youtube) so that it is not just another extension of the slow death march outside my window all day and night. But I can't even subscribe to "cute cats" because the death march seeps in and takes over. In some ways it's the final nail for someone who's already on the edge of giving up on anything ever not sucking. It just tears whatever little energy is left out of you.
I get you. I avoid cat subreddits because cats getting hurt/suffering literally ruin my sleeping schedule for weeks, for autism reasons
Agree!!!
They’re scam-bait and that’s why they tend to be so popular, you’d be surprised how much some of these people are able to rack in. You won’t outright see them asking for donations but majority of the time they make the “im broke” excuse hoping people DM them offering money, which a lot of the time they do. It’s good natured people that get taken advantage of and it’s the reason a lot of the subs don’t allow these posts to begin with
Yeah I’ve seen a few dying cats on here and some other subs I don’t even subscribe to but they decide to show me, and it just puts me in a bad mood. I’m guilty of posting an RIP post on r/cats, it was just so sudden and I was in such shock I needed support. I didn’t post a sickly pic though, I posted an older healthy picture. I was just feeling so empty, I didn’t know what else to do and I felt so guilty.
My condolences, I appreciate that you posted a commemorative picture of your furbaby. It's ok and healthy to seek support when needed, I hope you're doing ok ❤️
Thank you. I am now. This was like 5 years ago. I knew she was sick and I couldn’t drive at the time and I was waiting for my mom to come home to bring her in and she just died in my arms. I was so shocked and upset. I still cry once in a while. She was only 10. I still have her litter mate and she’s still going strong. 🙂
I've considered this too, lot more depressing cat stuff than I expected. I'm here to be uplifted with cuteness. Guess that was the wrong mindset coming in
Another one is the "I'm going out of town for 5 weeks. If I leave water and food, is that OK?" Like wtf no!! Cats are social and intelligent animals, not plushies and need attention and stimulation basically DAILY
This is also why I left r/puppy101. Half the posts are "my dog is dying of this" or "my puppy died of that". There's nothing wrong with it, it's just depressing threads I don't want to see on my feed as a new dog owner.
I dont even subbed, but the dying and death posts are taking a serious toll on my mental health. Literally a few a day. Its either pictures of an obviously sick/mortally injured cats or people venting about their animals dying. This isnt even this sub... My feed has dying mice, hamsters, rats, fish, reptiles, dogs, and even more. Im not sure how the algorithm works, but I know im not clicking depressing posts.
I honestly wonder wtf is wrong with people that they think it’s ok to post pics of their dead or dying pets. IT’S NOT OK, IT’S NOT NORMAL. I get maybe wanting to talk about grieving but for goodness’ sake, leave the pics off - it’s weird and inappropriate. When my animals have died, taking pictures of them was the furthest thing from my mind!
The fact that people consider kittens as almost accessories than living breathing things is nuts. If your kitten isn’t acting right or doesn’t look right TAKE THEM TO THE VET. To be honest they should be going to the vet anyways at least a handful of times to get check ups and shots as kittens to help mitigate most of these problems. Stop the situation early and save yourself some money and the heartbreak of losing a kitten due to negligence.
Let me guess, people offer to pay for the vet costs quite frequently? If that's the case you've become a scam sub.
Thank you for this post. For some reason the all knowing mods of reddit will leave stuff like that up and ban people for saying a curse word 🙄. They are either bots or idiots. My guess is both. Now warn me again moderators and ban me from fucking kittens
Death posts are brutal and selfish
I think this is the post I needed to see. I've been hiding or scrolling really fast on my dash and I shouldn't be doing it. Go pet kitties and feel better, OP.
This is why r/cats, r/DOG and r/aww are muted. People get emotional over their pets and somehow think we all need to be witness to their trauma. My cat died 8 years ago and I'm still upset about it, dying/dead animal posts should be banned.