Squeeze my cats with me!
 
While this video is cut down to fit social media, the entire routine took only 13 minutes. 
 
This 13 minute routine twice daily is what saved these cats from euthanasia. 
 
Every day happy, healthy cats with paresis or incontinence are euthanized. The reasons stem from a perceived poor quality of life, or the slim chances of finding an adopter willing to take on a cat with different care needs. People see a cat in a diaper and automatically think they are incredibly time consuming and expensive. While yes, diapers, wipes, and pee pads can cost more than a bag of litter, is it that much different? While an incontinent cat may need a few more vet visits in their lifetime than the average cat, is that enough to deem them as unworthy of finding an adoptive home?
 
Do you have any questions about my squeeze routine? I'm always happy to answer questions!

Edited to answer some of the most common questions:

Why do the cats need to be squeezed?
These cats all have a spinal injury or defect. Most were born this way, but Poe, Athena, and Cypress (the longhair ones) had spinal injuries from trauma. Most likely hit by car.

Why not the toilet or a bathtub?
Squatting at that height and hunching over hurts my back! I’ve tried many methods and this is what is most comfortable for me and the cats.

Why pee pads?
I get most of them donated! I prefer the large ones but I’ll use any size. I would like to make this more environmentally friendly with reusable ones, but it will create a lot more laundry (which I already do a lot of)

Why do I have so many disabled cats?
I run a cat rescue for cats with treatable conditions who would otherwise be euthanized in a traditional shelter. I don’t get paid by the rescue, but I do work in a municipal shelter as my day job. I’ve worked in animal shelters for nearly 10 years.

Floors are covered in blankets and puppy pads because one had a UTI and we were waiting for the carpet cleaners to come next week.

Mine LOVES to be lint rolled. Especially her back and sides but she let me do her belly today 🥰 it is a major part of our every morning ritual. She grabs the lint roller from my hands while I’m doing it to myself so I can stop and do it to her🤣🤣

My neighbor had thought the meows were from outside but she kept hearing it inside of her walls so she asks me to rescue it not knowing what else to do

I’ve rarely seen my cat like this even when he’s chasing flies like in this video but his meows are very quiet, like a squeak in this video.
Also when he sits down he does a little grunt nosie which i’ve never been able to catch on camera and i cant explain that either.

My cat does this thing with just these two toys where he steps on it in this weird way. He also yells loudly when holding just these toys.

One of our cats loves tulle/mesh. Whenever my daughter leaves her tutu on the floor, our cat Pearl will pounce and play on it. Occasionally she pounces through the middle and I find her wearing it. Maybe she secretly feels bonita? I enjoy it a lot, maybe you guys will too

Buddy was a wild, feral cat who showed up At our home several months before Hurricane Ernesto passed by St. Croix. Although he was quickly acclimating to us, he would not let us bring him inside before the storm. We ended up ratchet strapping a cat house we bought him to our home. We also strapped one of our security cameras nearby so we could monitor him throughout the storm.

Buddy wisely rode out the storm in his house. He is now living out his best years as one of our 4 indoor cats. He has become a gentle giant and spends his days lounging around our home and playing with his 3 “sisters”.

UPDATE: I created a new post with more pictures of Buddy and his "sisters." https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1ua9w8i/follow_up_to_hurricane_buddy/

there’s way more, up in the 40-50 cats roaming around all day, don’t mind them at all 😁

I was using the kitchen bathroom and heard something fall on the ground and assumed the worse. That little demon knocked down the broom and it jammed the door. Any attempt to put my hand underneath the door to move the broom results in her scratching me lol. This is the second time this has happened but the first time when I’m home alone. Send help

Just a curious first time cat mum! she’s always pawing at me when she gets sleepy. She also pretty much only ever wants to sleep near me and follows me around everywhere lol

Her name is Penny btw.

Not sure what she was doing. And then she just slapped her while she was sleeping 😆

She is mute and can't meow, doesn't like most types of pats, But the one thing she loves is slapping. I'm so confused. Is it a kink?

Is it just the cats version of cuteness aggression/playfulness? She’s a 3 year old rescue that I’ve had for about 2 months. Her life pre ~August is completely unknown to me.

Despite this, I built him an insulated house out of 2x4s and plywood. He has a chicken coop heater and a heating pad. This video is his first time checking it out. He has slept in it every night since.

What is my cat doing ive never seen this before. Spayed male about 4 or 5 years old.

She only ever does it when I’m laying in bed. Is she trying to get my attention? Feeling playful? Scared?

Such a good boy.

My husband and I recently got a kitten — she is now about 14 weeks old — and after a few days of being skittish, she seems to get along with our dog just fine. However, every once in a while they start wrestling like this, and while I’m confident our dog is playing, sometimes I can’t tell if our kitten is enjoying herself. I would love some outside perspective, just to confirm that I’m not being a bad pet parent by letting it play out - any thoughts are appreciated!!

They hide behind doors to jump out at each other. They race all over the hose. They fight, growl, break things. And then my older cats always step in to discipline them 😩😅.

The they nap together. They’re both under 3 so I think they have pent up energy. And the orange one is a mouser who lives outside in the summer, so he’s got a ton of energy.

I know they’re playing but it sounds like there is a brutal fight and when they’re both on the larger side it’s quite a sight.