Hi, im a 17F and was looking into small animals, and I need some suggestions now. My parents scared me out of the idea of a gerbil(s), so I have looked into the idea of hamsters or even mice but I'm terrified because unfortunately I am a loudmouth and I don't want to accidentally hurt them because I screamed at the TV or whatever, I'm scared of owning a lizard or gecko because I have a chronic fear of bugs (even if freeze-dried) and I don't have a massive space so a guinea pig or a ferret isn't ideal, I'm also not a huge fan of fish because they kinda just sit there I want something to hold and or give affection too, I am willing to try birds again but id like the idea of an easily tamed animal that isn't super loud but any recommendation would be wonderful here! thank you for reading!!

I got a cat the first week of October and after a few weeks, my dog started getting into the litter box to eat the cat's poop.

I switched to an enclosed litter box which stopped the dog for a while, but then she got brave and it's started up again.

I live in an apartment so i can't cut into the door for a cat flap. the other thing is that my dog and cat are roughly the same size, so i'm not sure anything like a door jamb would work. the dog is a bit more solidly built than the cat but otherwise they're similar in size. dog is 4 years old and half shihtzu/half dachshund, if that gives an idea to her size

any ideas? it's just so gross to smell it on my dogs breath when i go to pet her

Hi, I'm looking for some help with the question in the title. My family has a dog, she's 3 years old and very sweet and loving. The problem is my family doesn't take care of her, and between school and work I don't have time to fully take care of her, nor the money because I'm also paying for college.

She spends most of everyday in a dingy cage, and I let her out and feed her and play with her when I'm home but otherwise she just sits in there all day. They don't bathe her very often, and I'll often come home to her having used the bathroom inside the cage because they never let her out. It pains me and it doesn't seem to matter how much I tell them to take care of her.

I told my dad if he didn't want to take care of her, that it would be better for her to surrender or re-home her, and he keeps saying he will even though it's been months and he hasn't done it yet.

I've been looking into it myself, and where I live surrendering her would cost around $100 which isn't exactly money I have but I don't want her to suffer anymore. I'm just wondering, because if I do surrender her they'll do a health exam and behavioral check and all that. I don't know if it's possible, but could my dad be in legal trouble if they found she wasn't in super good health?? I don't know if it'd be better to claim its my dog im surrendering, or make it clear that it's my family's and I'm surrendering her because she doesn't get proper care.

Any help is appreciated, I'm only 19 and not really sure what to do here.

philippines 11/05/2024 scratch by a stray dog

i had a complete dose of anti rabies vaccine 5 years ago. i also had booster 2 years ago. i was scratch by a stray cat yesterday. i should i get a full dose of vaccine or do i only need a booster again? please help me.

My dog ​​was 14 years old when he disappeared. He was already old, he had pain in his joints due to age but he was undergoing treatment. We lived on a farm and one day he left the house as usual and never returned. We looked for him everywhere but never found him. I clarify that we lived on a kind of farm and therefore there was no danger of him being hit by a car. There were very few houses nearby and we had already been living there for 7 years, he knew that area very well. And they have told me that it is normal for them to die away from their family 🥺

I am almost a month into renting. I have two dogs and a cat and at the limit of animals they allow. My house is clean and the sugar gliders will be kept in a cage or in their pouch on me. How do I convince them to allow me to get them?

She has been itching and getting the scabby skin on her back I was reading about online. I think she has ringworm because I’ve treated her with anti tick/ flea products, soothing products and nothing of those types help, it been getting worst.

I mixed her bedding with my clothing last week and this past week I have rings on my groin. Is it safe to assume it is ringworm and start treating her, a cat I think has it too, and caring for the entire home as if this is definitley the cause of our troubles?

I’m tight on money right now.. I feel bad but vets are costly. If I can do something myself it would be preferable

Hey all. We have a 13.5 year old, full blown mutt (we did a DNA test a long time ago and it basically said she’s 5% every broad dog group.)

She’s an absolutely amazing dog. I’ve had her in my family since she was a pup, but my husband and I took her in about 7 years ago after my parents split.

We have a tricky situation that’s destroying me internally. I feel like I know what I need to do, but idk if it’s the right move or what.

She’s been having slight shuttering type episodes for a few months. She’ll be fine but then out of nowhere she’ll start elaborately twitching. She seems to mildly zone out when it happens, but nothing too long or destabilizing. She also had been having issues with going down our wooden stairs. But we recently added carpeted stairs treats and she hasn’t seemed to have any issues since.

Today though, she had a big seizure. It was absolutely terrifying. It started with her acting like something was chasing her, her back legs were giving out, we were able to get her to lay down and hold her through it. She was foaming at the mouth. She ended up pooping. And it was just very chaotic. Lasted about 3-5 minutes. My mom tapped in to help my husband so I could call the vet.

After the episode, she became very aggressive. She went after our other dog (uncharacteristic move, they’re literally best friends), and then started coming after me growling after trying to break things up. That was a different type of terrifying. My husband managed to get a leash around her neck and we eventually escorted her to our vehicle and took her to the vet.

Long story shorter, because of her medical history, our vet thinks it’s safe to assume she has a tumor in her brain that has been getting progressively worse. She thinks seizure medicine would be a temporary bandaid on a much larger issue. Sounds like brain surgery would be the only real solution which we just cannot afford, plus she’s almost a 14 year old dog.

She gave us a time frame of 2-3 months, mayyyyyybe 6 if we’re lucky. But she did warn us things will get progressively worse. More seizures, more frequent, more aggression afterwards, etc.

The hardest part though, is this feels wildly urgent. I’m pregnant and the due date is literally this Monday (day after tomorrow) plus we have a 3.5 year old child as well. This would maybe feel manageable to wait and see, but the aggression afterwards was so alarming. I genuinely don’t know how I would handle things if she had an episode while I’m home with a newborn and a toddler while my husband is at the grocery store or whatever.

When she’s not in seizure mode, she seems perfectly fine. It’s so hard to figure out what to do. If she wasn’t aggressive after, we would maybe try to wait it out with some anti-seizure meds, and buy her a little time. But the combo of aggression and newborn on the way LITERALLY any moment makes this decision feel super urgent like we need to make a decision and move forward either way like TODAY.

Ugh. Thoughts? Words of encouragement? Should we do this? We so weren’t ready for this so soon and it’s been a very upsetting day.

Thanks in advance for all who participate in this thread. 🫶🏻

Looking at Winnix with Plasmawave or similar, need help though

So I have an 18 yr old cat, and im looking for a purifier to help near the litter box, no im not spending 700+ on one with Coal pellets.

I heard plasmawave helps, the issue is I also heard it’s deadly for animals because of Ozone or some sht. So I need help in this area, pretty much can somebody guarantee this air purifier won’t kill my elderly cat? Maybes and idk won’t work

Or what’s the next option? I heard AP just push the smell around, but PlasW helps with that, and yes litter is scooped every other day for the jerks that will post

me and my partner are looking adopt a puppy and a kitten and we’re wondering if there was a specific timeline on getting them. Should we get them at the same time? Does age matter? We just want them to get along as well as possible

I need some recommendation or advice about top pet grooming products, for both dogs and cats. Thanks

Me (26m) and my Girlfriend (25F) moved into an apartment early this year and we are now at the point where we would like to bring in a furry friend. Here is the current lifestyle we have.

• Apartment allows pet's (obviously lol)
• Girlfriend works at a dog/cat daycare and her boss allows no charge for employee pet stay during her shift
• I work in trades so I am gone 5 days a week
• girlfriend is part-time so usually works 3-5 days a week.
• we both work early morning shifts 6am to 3pm
• We both could lose some weight and not sure if it's good to base getting a "dog" for this exact purpose

We both love dogs and cats but do not know what is easier or better for our lifestyle and what breed's we should be aiming for. we do know a small dog or cat is the baseline for what we are going off on.

can you fellow pet owners/pet lover's help us narrow down our options.

Hi, sorry for my English as it is not my first language. I'm 16F, currently in Pakistan till December/January. I have had a black cat for about 5-6 months. I know I should not have gotten her because I was not staying permanently in this country, but there was a kid giving this black cat and he told me 'my family do not want this because it's black, if you don't want it, I will simply leave it on the road, alone'. My heart just could not leave the poor cat alone so I took it home. From then on me, my little sister (14F) and my mom (42F) took care of the kitten. We trained her in a way that she would go outside and when she wanted she could return home. Now the problem is that my cat got pregnant and gave birth to four kittens on 16 August 2024, I loved them with all my heart and took care of them all but soon as time went on I realized how I had to start rehoming them. I looked and looked and looked for anyone to take even one kitten but because they are black no one even looks at them. Today, there was this lady who asked if she can have one kitten, I was overjoyed and told her 'of course she can'. But when I told her they were all black, she was disappointed. She still took one kitten which I'm very grateful about. But the remaining 3 kittens and their mom. No one is taking them. My own family is joking that I should just leave them at the road and that they can live on their own. They even went as far as to say I abused these poor animals, they only belong in the streets not in our home. I have been crying non stop the whole day because I can not imagine how they will suffer. Is it bad if I beg God that if my cats don't have a good future I'd rather them die right in my arms? Can someone please tell me it's okay? I'm losing my mind and I wish I could die with them or just go back in the past. Please read this and spread this as much as anyone can.

I noticed I accidentally left a bag of cat food out that was opened last night and this morning my cat has been having explosive diarrhea after she starts sprinting around and meowing. I also noticed she threw up once and it was chunky. I’ve not seen any blood in her poop or vomit yet.

Are these normal signs after a cat has been overeating?

Not sure if I’m in the right place. I (22f) laid my 15 year old dachshund mix to rest this past August. I’ve looked into rescuing a dog recently and just want to discuss it all.

My girl was Bella, she had lung cancer and then a collapsed lung, reason for putting her to rest. She was full of life and excitement up until the day she went. It wasn’t planned and happened quick when we found out how bad she was. I’m just struggling to move on and think of having another dog in her, our house. Towards the end it was just her and I living here. I hate coming home without her excitement to see me. I feel the guilt of everything I didn’t do. She’s been with me since I was 7 and now I live by myself. It’s a whole new life for me. I don’t know one without her. I just need some words of encouragement and hope, I guess.

This dog I want to adopt is a Staffie mix who was found emaciated on the street, he’s 3 and he’s a real chill boy from all I know. I want a friend and know I’ll take good care of him but then I have doubts that it’s too much because it’s not a small task or life alter. God could come down himself and grant me bliss but without my girl it doesn’t exist! Nothing will replace her and I understand that. I believe I want to take in another dog to 1 save him and show him a nice life and 2 to have a companion while I (try to) recover from the loss of my babe. Thanks for reading

In need of suggestions! I've found a cat post Helene. My assumption is she lost her home during the flood/storm. I found her a day after the hurricane constantly meowing in the woods. 2 weeks passed and she's found my exact home. She consistently shows up at the same time AM/PM to be fed. I want to help her and see if she has a chip, and if not, home her. Before she was too fearful to let me near her, but was always curious. Now she lets me pet her while she's eating. Any suggestions on how I can help get this cat inside so I can take her to the vet? She has a tick on her neck.:(

I live on the second floor and the stairs seem to scare her too much to follow me inside. She's afraid of any slight noise and hides the second she's done eating. She's staying right by my home at the evening time when there's not so much commotion.

Story time about Cashew the Sneezy!

Back in 2009 and prior my family had two sibling cats, Cashew & Chloe. I'll try to attach pics at some point! They didn't live with me growing up but eventually we took them from my sisters dad's house and brought them to live with my parents, sisters and me. They were already older, how old, I'm not sure but young enough to be around for quite some time.

Chloe was the stereotypical cat, slinking around looking for attention yet swatting at you and darting the second you touch her. Always sleeping on my dog-lover dad, making sure my dog couldn't be within 5 feet of him lol. She was a beautiful sweet dark tabby cat and she loved her brother Cashew, as well as my sister and brother-in-law. To my knowledge my mom was the one who picked the two of them and brought them home, but my sister is the Snow White equivalent when it comes to cats; she loves them and they LOVE her! Cashew was different from his sister, though still as aloof as a cat is, he soaked up the attention and was much more affectionate and "lovable" than Chloe would ever let on.

What also made him different from Chloe was his incessant allergies! Every so often he'd have a sneezing fit...not reverse sneezing like most pets, but actual human sounding sneezing fits. On top of that he'd sneeze once or twice regularly, the entire time I knew him. He never panicked and would return to normal after every sneeze and it was honestly very cute despite having to wipe boogers and snot from his face like a toddler every so often hahaha

I personally never knew if he was sick or if he had allergies or maybe just a chronic sneezing condition but I'd love to know more if anyone has any info to share. He was perfectly healthy other than his sneezing!

He lived a good long life and even though he wasn't my cat nor did I know him for long, I sobbed like a baby when we had to put him down. He was a weirdo and adorable and we loved him, RIP Cashew ❤️

We adopted a 1-2 year old neutered male French Bulldog mix 12 days ago. We found him on Petfinder, and he came with good reviews—his foster home said he was friendly with cats, kids, and other dogs. He lived in a foster home for about a month with two kids, one dog, and two cats, and he’s both crate and potty trained.

In our home, it’s just me, my partner (we both work from home), and our two cats: a 3-year-old, 15 lb neutered male and a 2-year-old, 7 lb spayed female. To ease the transition, we’ve kept the cats mostly separated from the dog. However, our male cat occasionally sneaks into the dog’s space, observing him from a top the kitchen cabinets or a gated area. We're trying to minimize these interactions until our dog can respond better to commands and control his prey drive.

We've started weekly obedience classes with him, and we work on training for about 30 minutes daily (broken up into 3- 10 minute increments). We also walk him every day, give him plenty of playtime, and are working to correct habits like jumping on people. For the most part, he’s a happy, healthy dog. Our vet thinks he might have some Pitbull or Boxer mixed in with the Frenchie based on his size.

This is our first dog in 15 years, and I’m starting to wonder if our home is the best fit for him. He’s sweet and friendly, and I want to give him a good home, but there are some behaviors that have me concerned:

• Separation Anxiety: He whines whenever we leave the room, even for just a few minutes. Since we work from home, he’s constantly seeking our undivided attention, which makes it hard to focus on work.
• High Prey Drive Toward Cats: He seems very interested in chasing our cats. Although we try to distract him when he fixates on them, he’s very focused. Once, he even got out of his space and chased our smaller cat under the bed.

When I reached out to his foster mom about these behaviors, she said that in her home, he’d usually just hang out with the other dog when he got bored. She also mentioned that he was sort of a couch potato and also knew when to leave the cats alone. Why is this behavior changed for us?

I’m worried he might need the company of another dog to keep him happy, or maybe he’d thrive in a household with children and more activity.

I truly care about this dog, and it’s hard to even consider rehoming him. But I also don’t want him to become depressed without a dog buddy or accidentally hurt our cats. How long did it take you to know if your new rescue was the right fit? Is 12 days too soon to tell, or is it possible that he would be better off in a different environment?

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! (Cross-posted on r/dogs as well)

I worked at an ER Vet for a while. One thing that’s relatively common is people bringing in pets that clearly have ingested some form of THC. We can usually tell right away and so we will gently ask “Is there any way the pet could have accidentally ingested THC?” Usually this is met with “no” so we take the pet back, do testing and get confirmation that the pet is high.

Miraculously after showing owners the results we will hear stuff like “Well I guess my aunts friends lawyer was over recently and could’ve dropped something”. A lot of the time, it ends up coming out that the owner knew the pet ingested THC but didn’t want to admit it.

I know it seems embarrassing but accidents happens and honestly half the vet techs at your clinic are probably stoners. The more info we have the easier and quicker we can treat your pet.

Please safely secure all drugs or smoking accessories. Even just the butt or a q-tip used to clean a bong can lead to THC intoxication.

Signs of THC intoxication in dogs and cats: Wobbly/unstable, excessive drooling, lethargy, urinary leakage, tremors and slowed respiration rate.

So, I came home from work this morning and went to take the dog out for his walk. He was about to do his business, and, well, everything came out; prolapse.

It went back in on its own, and I went to the store to get him some things. Came home, and it wasn't pretty.

Being Saturday, I can't get him in to a vet until Monday. Any suggestions on what I can do? He is visibly distressed, and I feel completely helpless!

Hi all! We just adopted a sweet pup yesterday, and she and our resident cat are thankfully doing great together. Definitely still need to warm up to each other a bit more, but they're going up to each other and tentatively trying to figure out how exactly they're supposed to play with that other four-legged furry creature, lol.

Currently, the cat's favorite game is chasing the dog's leash (keeping the pup leashed for now as a precaution until we feel 110% confident with her around the cat), and the dog's favorite game is stealing the cat's very small toys.

I don't mind at all if she plays with the cat's toys or if the cat plays with the dog's toys, but my biggest concern is that the cat toys may pose a choking or other health hazard for the pup given their small size. So, any tips as to how to train the dog not to touch the cat toys?

Thinking that overtime we may just swap out the super small cat toys for somewhat larger cat toys that won't pose the same risk as the little ones do, but our cat is still a kitten atm and loves her little toys.

Bonnie needs a foster or adopter who can be patient with her as she has fears of leashes. She would do best with someone with a backyard or who has experience with dogs who are fearful outside. Inside the home, she has no fears and is a complete sweetheart.

Bonnie is a 10-month-old, lively, 40lbs chocolate lab mix who absolutely adores both people and other dogs. She’s always ready for playtime but equally loves to curl up for a good cuddle. She’s great with cats, making her a wonderful addition to multi-pet households! Bonnie is crate trained and making excellent progress with potty training, showing her eagerness to learn and be the best girl. If you’re looking for a loving, social, and smart companion, Bonnie would love to meet you!

All basic supplies are covered by the rescue!

If interested in adopting or fostering, email contact@linusrescue.org!

Please help me create peace in my household! I introduced a new male kitten 1 year ago to my 5yo female cat. There is still hissing, swatting, chasing. The younger one is social and playful and often hunts the other one down, and even traps her in the litter box. We introduced them slowly in the beginning but they still are not getting along. The fights are not violent, just a swat or 2. Any tips to help them peacefully coexist? Thank you so much

Ok so I’ve been staying with my friend who has 2 calico cats 1 male 1 female both about 1.5 years old. The cats got fleas over a week ago and it’s bad. You can see the little critters jumping around and moving around on the cats. The cats are also acting super weird……they look like and are acting like paranoid meth addicts.

Anyways….. she just finally put some coconut oil on them (after a week of infestation) but I still see the fleas moving around. I’ve done a lot of reading and I’m trying to push her to give them a bath and use some dawn and she’s really against it.

What do you all think?

I have a pretty close friend that has a cat. Usually when I visit they’re pretty sweet but don’t go out of their way to play with me or anything. Yesterday I went over and the cat kept cuddling me and rolling in my lap. I didn’t wear anything different than usual so I’m not sure what I did. What can I do to repeat this experience?

Hi so I live in a house with just me and my grandma I'm 19 years old and we have 4 dogs and 2 cats they have had fleas for a while now we've tried the topicals and pills I vacuum too but the infestation will not go away and my mom refuses to take them to vet we don't have money to either we are poor and it's really starting to get bad and affect me. I have bites and scars all down my legs and I feel so guilty and bad for the cats and dogs because they are scratching all the time and have scabs. My grandma works every day almost so has no time to fully keep up with all of the animals but refuses to part with any. It's really making me stressed out and depressed and I have no idea what to do anymore I don't want the animals to struggle but we really don't have money to take them all to the vet and my mental health is really just deteriorating does anyone have any advice or help please

UPDATE: Thank you thank you thank you to the incredibly generous and kindhearted individual who donated this to me. I am appreciative beyond words. <3 <3 <3

I've had a sudden, unexpected, and terrible last month and have spent down to my last dollar on bills and utilities.

I reached out to r/Assistance, but they rejected my post outright because my last reddit comment was made 23 days ago.

If anyone could spare me $5 for a bag of dry food for my two cats, I would be endlessly grateful. I've already been rationing what little I have left and there's no way I'm going to make it last until the end of next week when I'll be paid.

My cats are not picky and I've just put the cheapest Friskies on an Amazon wishlist. I understand if this type of post is unacceptable here, but I thought I'd still reach out and take a chance. Thank you to anyone for even reading and considering.

I’ve been lonely lately and I’ve been thinking for awhile about getting a little guy to have around but I’m not sure where to start. I just want to say I’m not an experienced pet owner, I’ve had a couple cats that were very easy to train and have had no issues whatsoever. Space or time isn’t necessarily an issue, however I would love to have an affectionate animal.

I’ve thought about rats but (i hope rat fans don’t hate me for this) I’m a bit turned off by the “sent marking”, the fact they pee all the time is just unappealing to me.

I’ve also have thought about ferrets or bunnies but I haven’t done as much research on those so I’m hoping someone can help me. Thank you!

Basically my unstable sister adopted a litter of 6 kittens from the shelter of which she still currently has four. They're three years old now. Since they were all kittens I noticed her care for them was sporadic.

She moved in with me for a year and at the time had five cats and she basically left all their care to me. Litterboxes overflowing cat shit and pee all over her room, water dish so dirty it was growing red algae. Her cats basically used my cats litterbox water and food. She usually fed them when she was there but i think she only gave them water maybe three times that entire year and she sure never cleaned the dish or scrubbed it in between. She told me her cats had been dewormed but I found out that she lied and her cats have been infested with not only fleas and tap worms but roundworms that they have had since kittens for three years. She never gave them the medicince for roundworms because she is lazy and I see them coming out of her cats sometimes.

We don't live together anymore and I thought she had been taking better care of her cats. However she still doesn't give them fresh water or clean the bowl. she just refills it once every other week with tap water when its low. which she has come a long way because she used to not give them any water. Still, Sometimes they will go a week with no food or water. Although there is usually food in the dish, I think even one week is extremely wrong I would never leave my cats with no food or water that long. She does litter boxes once a month at best. To make matters even worse her apartment is covered in black mold coming from every ac return infesting the ceiling. Since I went to her house to check on her house I covered the mold and opened the windows but she just uncovered it again and closed the windows. Its been months and she hasn't called her building or tried to fix it she just leaves her cats there alone with the mold for months. Its so bad you can smell it as soon as you walk into her apartment.

I've talked to my sister many times in the past and she is genuinely delusional and does not realize that what she is doing is animal abuse. She denies neglecting them and doesn't want to give them up even though she is hardly with them and doesn't treat them well. I have been nice letting her have many chances but I have two options now and I think I'm either going to call animal control or just take the cats myself. I have some space for them and I could foster them until I find them homes. But I'm not sure if I should do that or just let animal control take them? I just want what is best for the cats but it is hard since my sister does not comply. What would you do if you were in my situation? Thank you and sorry for the long post 🙏

I NEED HELP! hello i have a question for everyone who has an indoor pet cat. Why does my indoor cat (7 yo neutered male) gets aggressive everytime he escapes. He doesnt escape often but when he does he gets really feisty, will bite and scratch when trying to take him back home. But becomes friendly again as soon as he enters my house. It's only when hes in the patio that hes very aggressive. I always examine him every time he comes back home and no wounds are found. Hes the sweetest boy ever and would literally let me do all the stuff with him when inside. Could it be behavioural? i adopted him when he was almost 1 yo. Thank you! anything will help <3