The CatMD Library — Read your cat. Decode their personality. Live well together.

Read your cat

Cats can't talk, but they're saying a lot. The vocabulary of tails, ears, whiskers, eyes, and posture — and how to read what your cat is feeling without guessing.

Body language fundamentals

The five channels every cat owner can learn to read: tail, ears, whiskers, eyes, and posture. With a printable cheat-sheet at the end of each.

9 min · cat tail meaning

Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat's Tail Is Telling You

The tail is the most readable channel a cat has. Seven positions, what each one means, and the body-language combinations that change everything.

10 min · cat body language

Cat Body Language: Ears, Eyes, Tail

Cat body language meaning, decoded. What ears, eyes, whiskers, tail, and posture each tell you about how your cat feels — with a quick chart.

9 min · cat sounds meaning

Cat Vocalizations: Meow, Chirp, Purr

Cats make 21+ sounds, but use about 8 daily. What each means, why adult cats meow almost only at humans, and how vocalisations shift with age.

7 min · why does my cat meow at me

Why Does My Cat Meow at Me? 9 Reasons Explained

Adult cats meow almost only at humans, never at each other. The 9 reasons your cat meows at you — hunger, attention, illness — and how to tell which.

9 min · cat meowing at night

Why Does My Cat Meow at 3 AM? How to Sleep Again

Cats meow at night for 7 reasons — hunger, boredom, attention, senior cognitive change, hyperthyroidism, pain, frustration. How to fix it.

9 min · why is my cat meowing so much

Why Is My Cat Meowing So Much? Causes Explained

Cat meowing more than usual has 6 causes — attention-seeking, hunger, medical, anxiety, senior cognitive change, hormones. How to tell which.

8 min · meow translator apps

AI Cat Translator: How Meow Translation Apps Work

AI cat translator explained: how multimodal apps use audio, body language, and per-cat memory to interpret meows. Compares MeowTalk, CatGPT, CatMD.

8 min · cat body language reader app

How Cat Body Language Reader Apps Work (6 Seconds)

How AI cat body-language reader apps analyze tail, ears, eyes, posture, and motion in a 6-second video to read your cat's emotional state.

10 min · ai cat health apps compared

AI Cat Health Apps Compared: Features and Use Cases

Honest comparison of the leading AI cat health and translator apps — Tably, MeowTalk, CatsMe, CatMD. What each one reads, where each one shines.

8 min · cat zoomies

Cat Zoomies Explained: Why Cats Sprint at 3 AM

The science of cat zoomies — burst-energy circuits, post-poop dashes, evening predator-cycle, and when it's worth checking with a vet.

Your cat's personality

Cats have personalities the way humans do — five-factor, measurable, life-shaping. The science of cat archetypes and why your Maine Coon and your friend's Bengal are nothing alike.

The Feline Five

The research-validated personality framework for cats — five traits, recognisable archetypes, practical implications for how you live with each one.

11 min · cat personality types

The Feline Five — the science of cat personality

Cats have personalities like humans — measurable, stable, life-shaping. The Feline Five framework, the 9 archetypes, and what each means for you.

The good cat life

Enrichment, environment, routines. The architecture of a life that lets a cat be a cat — endorsed by the AAFP and ISFM, the people who write the welfare guidelines vets follow.

Environment & enrichment

How feline vets think about a cat-friendly home: the 5 pillars framework, multi-cat dynamics, and the small changes that turn a stressed cat into a relaxed one.

12 min · happy indoor cat

5 Pillars of a Happy Indoor Cat

The AAFP/ISFM 5 Pillars — feline vets' welfare standard. Five environmental needs, what each means in practice, and a 15-minute home audit.

11 min · multi-cat household

Multi-cat households — the science of getting along

Most multi-cat homes have low-grade conflict owners miss. AAFP-backed resource design, the introduction protocol, and body-language signs to read.

11 min · how to introduce a kitten to a cat

How to Introduce a New Kitten to Your Resident Cat

The slow-introduction protocol vets actually use — separation, scent swap, visual contact, supervised meetings. What to do if it goes wrong.

9 min · why does my cat bite me

Why Is My Cat Biting Me? Play, Fear, and Redirected Aggression

Cats bite for very different reasons. How to tell play aggression from fear, redirected aggression, and pain — and what each one needs from you.

Health & triage

When something feels off. Vet-sourced, plain-English guides to the symptoms cat parents Google at 2 a.m., grouped by body system — emergencies first.

Emergencies — minutes matter

Time-critical situations where waiting until tomorrow can be the difference. Recognise these patterns fast.

6 min · cat lily poisoning

Cat Ate a Lily? What to Do Right Now (Vet Emergency)

Lilies cause acute kidney failure in cats within hours. The 6-hour window, which 'lilies' are actually toxic, and step-by-step actions before the vet.

6 min · cat urethral obstruction

Cat Straining to Urinate: 48-Hour Vet Emergency

A male cat straining in the litter box with no output is a life-threatening emergency. Here's why, what to do, and how to tell it apart from constipation.

Digestive & appetite

Vomiting, anorexia, and weight changes — the most common reasons cat owners call a vet, and the patterns that distinguish "monitor at home" from "go now."

5 min · cat vomiting

Cat Vomiting: Vet or Monitor at Home

Cat vomited once, twice, or many times today? A clear, cat-specific guide to which vomiting is an emergency, which can wait, and what to tell your vet.

6 min · cat not eating

Cat Not Eating: Timeline and Red Flags

Your cat hasn't eaten for 24 hours — or three days. What it means, when it's dangerous, and what to do before the vet visit.

7 min · cat weight loss

Cat Losing Weight: CKD, Hyperthyroidism, Diabetes

A cat losing weight — even with a normal appetite — is almost never healthy. How to tell CKD from hyperthyroidism from diabetes, and which labs to ask for.

Urinary & litter box

The litter box is the single most underrated diagnostic tool in feline health. How to read frequency, blood, straining, and behavioural changes.

5 min · cat litter box changes

Cat Litter Box Changes: What They Mean

Your cat's litter box is the best home diagnostic tool you have. How to read changes in frequency, clump size, stool, and color.

Respiratory & eyes

Breathing patterns, sneezing, and eye discharge — overlapping anatomy means these symptoms cluster together. The decision tree for URI vs. something worse.

5 min · cat breathing fast

Cat Breathing Fast: The 30 bpm Rule

A sleeping cat's breathing rate should stay under 30/min. Above that — especially in Maine Coons, Ragdolls, and Persians — can signal early HCM.

6 min · cat sneezing

Cat Sneezing: URI, Allergies, or Something Worse?

Most cat sneezing is benign — but a subset hides chronic infection, nasal foreign bodies, dental disease, or tumors. How to tell which is which.

4 min · cat eye discharge

Cat Eye Discharge: URI, Ulcer, Herpes

Clear, yellow, or green eye discharge in cats usually means one of three things. How to tell them apart — and which is a vet emergency.

General wellness signals

Cats are evolutionary prey animals — they mask weakness. These are the subtle full-body signals that often appear before any organ-specific sign.

4 min · cat hiding

Cat Hiding: Normal or Illness Sign?

Cats hide when they're stressed — but also when they're sick. How to tell the difference, and when hiding becomes a vet visit.

5 min · cat lethargy

Cat Lethargy: What It Means at Different Ages

A lethargic cat is never 'just tired.' What lethargy signals in kittens, adults, and seniors — and when it becomes an emergency.

4 min · cat gum color

Cat Gum Color: Pink, Pale, Yellow, Blue

Gum color is one of the fastest checks of feline health. Pink is good. Pale, yellow, or blue is an emergency. Here's what each color tells you.

9 min · do cats hide pain

Do Cats Hide Pain? How to Read the Signs in Your Cat's Face

Cats often hide pain. Here's how to read the five facial signs (ears, eyes, muzzle, whiskers, head position) using the Feline Grimace Scale.

7 min · cat not jumping

Cat Not Jumping? Pain, Arthritis, Aging, When to Worry

Cat stopped jumping onto furniture, stairs, or counters? It may be more than age. What reduced jumping means and when to call a vet.

6 min · cat grooming less

Cat Grooming Less? What a Rough Coat Can Mean

A cat who stops grooming may be stressed, overweight, aging, or in pain. Learn what reduced grooming can mean, what to document, and when to call a vet.

9 min · cat suddenly affectionate

Why Is My Cat Suddenly Affectionate? 7 Reasons

Sudden affection isn't always sweet. Sometimes cats seek comfort because something feels off. The 7 causes and how to tell which one.

By life-stage

Kittens are not small adult cats. Senior cats are not weakened versions of themselves. Each life-stage has its own care priorities — here's what changes and when.

Kitten development

The first 16 weeks shape who a cat will be for the rest of their life. The socialisation window, the milestones, and what owners can do at each stage.