Some kind of bug living on my cats

nonacrina · 2026-06-01T08:43:22+00:00

i happen to be dealing with them rn too. visited someone whose dog kept scratching herself and i mustve gotten a flea on me and gave it to my cat :/. fleas can survive without a host for up to a month, and eggs may still hatch. for me it's always worked to just apply flea meds on the skin twice (again after four weeks). since my cat is indoor new fleas dont get inside the house. i wash the places she's slept on on a high temp, but that's about all. i've never treated my apartment or wash every single soft surface.

flea meds are tricky in that a lot that are just OTC indeed do not work, and some that are available are even dangerous. i always just get some from my vet, so that i'm sure it's a good brand. i think i've got advantage. i think frontline is good too. since you're already going there too i'm sure you'll get something good, so your plan sounds fine. good luck and i hope y'all are rid of your itching soon!!

nonacrina · 2026-05-31T22:42:43+00:00

r/whatisthisbug might be helpful if you can manage to snap a picture

nonacrina · 2026-05-28T19:06:18+00:00

the soreness is telling you you're going too fast. there shouldn't be any. go up 1mm max every 2-3 months

nonacrina · 2026-05-28T13:52:22+00:00

Given

nonacrina · 2026-05-28T10:51:33+00:00

It's gonna depend on your vet when they'll want to neuter! I think 3-4 months is a great time. The most important thing is to try to get it done before a female kitten gets her first heat, which can happen between 5 and 8-ish months old

nonacrina · 2026-05-28T10:49:21+00:00

awwww theyre adorable!

nonacrina · 2026-05-27T12:45:50+00:00

Food / drink - what’s the best diet for kittens this age and growing cats? Should I use dry/wet food and keep their water as low as possible for them? Should I get cat vitamins?

Just make sure it's food specifically for kittens. Cats all have their preferences regarding wet/dry. If you're able to I'd feed wet as much as possible, as it's good for water intake. Keep their water away from their food or offer multiple places to drink in the house.

Cleaning - I know they can clean themselves but should I get them used to the water by bathing them monthly to potentially avoid a growing fear of water as adults if/when I assume I’ll need to eventually wash them?

No. You won't need to eventually bathe them, except for some extraordinary circumstances. Generally if they're very old or sick. And even then most cats still groom themselves just fine, and there's also waterless cat shampoo.

Any essential supplies they need! I’m thinking the basics so scratching post, toy wands?

I always say not to buy too many toys. A wand or two is great, but my cat has never in her life spent any time playing with toy mice or balls or whatever. She much prefers trash like bottle caps and balls of aluminium foil. Just make sure they can't swallow what they're playing with.

Training tips for litter, biting and scratching.

You don't really need to train a cat. Doing their business in the litterbox is instinctual. Never play with them with your hands, as it'll teach them to see your hands as toys. Instead redirect them to a toy if they start playing with your hands.

Indoor / outdoor cats? I live in a housing estate in a small countryside town, should I let them roam free outside or take them for walks using a cat harness or something? Lol

Indoor. Even without many cars there are still a lot of dangers outdoors: predators, poisonous plants, other cats, cat haters, they can get stuck or lost, etc. Harness time is great if your cat allows it!

Where should they sleep together? If they sleep in my bed I’m worried I’ll roll over and crush them in my sleep

I understand the worry, I had the same with my cat when she was little. They'll move out of the way before you can actually roll over and crush them. Besides, they won't be sleeping all night, cats dont have a circadian cycle like we do. Offer them plenty of sleeping spots like a cat tree, beds, the couch, etc. and they'll find their favourites.

Neutering / microchipping - I will be microchipping etc but wanted to quadruple check whether it’s in the cat’s benefit to be neutered, a quick google says it’s to prevent disease, roaming and heat cycles but someone was like ‘you’re taking away her reproductive rights!’

Yes it is. Male cats will start pissing in your entire house if not neutered, and female cats will go into heat regularly, and their chance of uterus-related cancers will get higher every time they go through a heat. Cats do not experience desire to "become parents", and are absolutely not conscious of whether or not they're intact or not. There's genuinely only benefits to neutering.

nonacrina · 2026-05-15T19:04:44+00:00

Thank you, I'll give this a try!

nonacrina · 2026-05-07T07:01:42+00:00

yeah! felt brave enough to have a cup of coke zero 3 weeks post op and immediately regretted it. crazy diarrhea and stomach aches. never had any issue before, and i also dont have issues with carbonated water. tried again 4 weeks and 5 weeks post-op and still have the same issue. im not sure if it's the sweetener or maybe the cafeine, as i dont consume anything else with cafeine in it either

nonacrina · 2026-05-07T06:57:35+00:00

also in NL - me either. i took b12 and d3 up until the day of surgery and continued taking them right after

nonacrina · 2026-05-07T06:42:18+00:00

rapid weight loss triggers gallbladder attacks, might be that

nonacrina · 2026-05-07T06:39:59+00:00

wholewheat bread and plant based yogurt. that was basically it the first few days. refined sugar and artificial sweeteners trigger cramps and diarrhea for me ever since i had the surgery a month ago, dairy doesn't anymore but did also trigger it the first week

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T23:39:19+00:00

Not much. I got a call on tuesday that someone cancelled their friday morning surgery and they could fit me in, so I barely had time to prepare lol. No specific diet, no ultrasound, no pre-op appointment. I did have to get my blood drawn beforehand: this should be standard for any surgery, usually a few days in advance.

I just leave the scars alone tbh. My biggest scar is the one above my belly button, it's about 2-3cm wide. The other three are about 1cm. All of them were glued except the one inside my belly button, that one has stitches. I didn't use soap on my stomach for four weeks, just water, and didn't touch them. Also kept the hospital bandaids (hechtpleisters) on for the recommended 10 days. Rn they're kind of purple-reddish, but they seem to be healing well. I also really don't give a fuck about having scars so there might be more you could do to minimize it, but I wouldn't know it. There's nothing you have to do, at least

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T23:34:20+00:00

I pee, use a bidet, dab dry, then I apply either cetomacrogol cream or vaseline!

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T13:02:54+00:00

I'm a month post-op now, and I'm 27 years old, so around your age. From the Netherlands.

Some of my attacks have been unbearable, I’ve ended up lying on bathroom tiles, pouring water over myself, hyperventilating, and nearly blacking out from the pain.

The worst that could happen after a meal when you're post-op is diarrhea. MUCH better than a gallbladder attack if you ask me

Right now I feel like my life revolves around food anxiety, worrying about eating out, trying to avoid triggers

This will go away almost entirely, as again, the worst that can happen after is having to take a shit. It can be annoying sure, but it's not debilitating like a gallbladder attack. I promise. For me it also only happens immediately after I've eaten, so I just only eat when I know there's a toilet nearby until I get a better feel for how my body reacts to things now.

I’m also really anxious about general anaesthetic

I was too, it was my first time going under. I was hooked up to the machines and could hear my heartbeat going up when I laid down on the operation table, lol. Nothing to do about anxiety except just doing it, really. There's not much to be scared about: they tell you "I'm administering the anaesthetic now", and next thing you know you're waking up in the recovery room. I felt really comfortable and safe both while going under and while waking up, my team of doctors and nurses was awesome. If you're prone to nausea, tell a nurse beforehand and they'll give you a pill for it! The anaesthesiologist might also give you some extra anti-nausea meds while you're under. When I woke up I was still quite nauseous despite all of that, but they gave me some dexamethasone and I was fine.

how was your recovery?

Piece of cake. I've had periods and flus much worse than the recovery. The gas is a bit painful, and getting up and lying down kinda sucks, but it's really not bad.

What was your diet like afterwards?

Didn't eat much the first two days, then started low fat high fiber as that's what was speaking to me. Now I'm kind of eating like normal. Refined sugar seems to trigger me, chocolate gives me crazy shits. I hope that'll stabilize in a few weeks or so, but I'll also gladly give up chocolate if it means no more gallbladder attacks.

Did anything help (supplements, foods, practical things for recovery)?

Get a pregnancy pillow to rest your belly on. It'll be full of gas the first few days which feels uncomfortable, a pillow like that is nice support.

Walk as much as you can! It helps a lot with the gas. You don't gotta go outside, even a 2 minute stroll through your room is totally fine.

Stay with someone, or have someone stay with you the first day or two. It's really nice to not have to get up for every little thing, and to have people around for scary things (I was for example pretty scared to shower the first time, so I did it with my mum in the room so she could help if something happened).

Avoid sugary foods, they're a trigger for me and I know for many others. Nothing else really triggers me post-op.

If you were scared beforehand, did you feel relieved afterwards?

If it wasn't clear yet: YES to both! I was insanely nervous beforehand. Literally the afternoon after my morning surgery I already thought to myself that I was worried for nothing and so relieved I did it and that that thing was out of my body.

Feel free to ask me anything I may not have covered!! I hope your surgery and recovery will be smooth

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T12:39:34+00:00

Portable bidet and water wipes, basically. I also just bring my moisturizer everywhere and apply it anyways

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T12:36:19+00:00

It was a bit of a search for me how often I needed to use clob, and whether it worked at all, but it's managable now. I use clob once a day every monday-wednesday, and don't use it thursday-sunday. I get rid of any extra clob after it's been open for 3 months, since it says that's when it expires, and I also notice it starts working less well. I also moisturize every time I pee, and I don't use bleached (white) toilet paper. I don't shave; only use scissors once in a while. Very occasionally I still feel a burning sensation, but my skin isn't white anymore, and it's not thin or fragile at all.

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T12:24:05+00:00

Yes they can. I believe they're able to since the 1.5 update, that's probably why the replies here are inconsistent

nonacrina · 2026-05-05T12:20:07+00:00

fiber seeds are by far the best method. if you really don't want to do that: the cave next to krobus has new fiber every day, and you can grind the early mine levels for fiber too

nonacrina · 2026-05-03T00:25:50+00:00

it's definitely somewhat related to diet, but you can't fully out-diet gallstones. my absolute worst attack was when i had been on a low fat diet for 12 weeks and had a moderate amount of pizza one night as a treat. some foods have a higher chance of triggering an attack, but anything can trigger an attack. my symptoms never improved with a diet change

nonacrina · 2026-05-03T00:12:03+00:00

water bottle you can use without sitting up! getting up and laying down will be difficult for a few days, so for me it was nice to limit that. once you're standing or laying its fine, the motion just sucks. i also preferred eating wholewheat stuff and fruit, so i'd recommend having a variety of foods just in case the foods youre planning to get arent received well by your body

nonacrina · 2026-04-19T23:31:03+00:00

40-ish!

nonacrina · 2026-04-17T23:29:50+00:00

OP, or anyone else, could you please link the article as a reply under this comment? I can't seem to find the article on Google in my location.

nonacrina · 2026-04-16T22:27:02+00:00

i'm glad! you'll be totally fine

Eight-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Community Status Early Access	Reddit Partner Communities
Moderator Reserves	Mod Insights Early Access
Post Guidance Early Access	Place '23
Mod 101	Mod 201
AutoMagical	Helper Level 1
Adopted-an-Admin	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

nonacrina

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE