So I got a cat who is 5 years old on Saturday (11/30). He’s super sweet and such a great cat. However, I have 2 basset hounds who have no to little experience with cats. Dog 1 is doing okay but dog 2 is either being super scared when close by or charging cat at a distance.

The cat we have is being confident but has started to go near dog 1 and dog 2 when in space and swatting. I know it’s early but we haven’t made it this far before.

Is it a lost cause? Should we consider getting a kitten?

Hi All! This is my first post, and I'm just coming on here to try and figure some things out!

I just adopted a cat today and I'm worried I may have left a bad first impression. I got her from the Humane Society and while we were there, she seemed very loving and was purring. When I brought her to my house and let her out of her cage in my room, she was very receptive to touch and was purring as well. However, I left my room for about an hour to let her acclimate by herself and to go eat some lunch and when I got back, she was hiding under my bed. I didn't think this was a big issue, but it's been quite a few hours and I had decided that I would try and pet her again. I've handled cats before so when I was petting her under my bed, I grabbed her scruff, and I pulled her out and I held her. She seemed OK, she wasn't very much purring, but she wasn't fighting being pet either. After a couple minutes, she ended up leaving my lap and going back to her place under the bed. I'm just worried that I may have left a bad impression by grabbing her up like I did, as I have been slightly over excited since this is my first cat in quite a few years. Everywhere I read online, when I ask how to get my cat to like me, says to not force any interactions, but I feel as if that's already too late. How can I show this cat that I am trustworthy and get her to trust me?

By the way, she is six years old and has had previous owners. She is also declawed, which I have read can increase anxiety in cats.

Hello everyone! I would just like to ask a question, but I will provide a backstory first.

Three of our dogs got pregnant in the last 2 years. The first one being our golden retriever, who got impregnated by our little shih tzu. Only one baby survived sadly, the babies just went one by one, probably because it was our first time handling them and she preferred to stay outdoors so the babies were exposed to the outdoors at a young age.

Months later, our girl shih tzu got pregnant as well and gave birth to 3 healthy babies. I think they were healthy because she loved indoors so there is little to no infection. We kept one and gave the other to trusted friends.

Just last month, that one shih tzu baby we kept gave birth and I think the father was the only remaining shih tzu-golden mix because we have NINE PUPPIES right now. I don’t think shih tzus can produce that many puppies 😭😭

We’re now planning to have our dogs spayed/neutered. We were trying to plan out the neuter/spay for a while now but my sister and I are in the city for college, while my brother is also busy with college (nursing student). By next month, I am hoping to stay for a long time in our home because I hope to have passed my professional exams by then and be there for their recovery.

Is it better to have our male dogs neutered or our female dogs spayed? Or both?

I would love to have your insights. Thank you!

I gave my puppy about a finger nail sized lick of pumpkin pie, it’s my favorite and I know it can be dangerous to dogs but I figured the small quantity I let him taste it in would be fine, is it fine? Should I take him to the vet now?

Any advice on finding out what shelter a dog is at? He was pulled from ACCT and they can’t tell me who did because of confidentiality reasons.

Have a 8 month beagle mix I got from a rescue 4 months ago. Day one he never liked his crate and I tried several ways to get him comfortable with it. I got a trainer on board because it was to the point he became aggressive when we tried to put him in the crate and he would bite. I now put him in the bathroom with a bed, kongs, and food and water. He’s potty trained. However he treats the bathroom like the crate now and refuses to go in when I need to work or run errands. I have been trying to reset him with the crate by being slow but it seems no progress is being made still . He will go in the crate but as soon as I go to close it anytime he runs out. I typically am at work at 6 hours and not sure what to do. The trainer said he’s unable to help me and other trainers are wanting to charge 3k-4k . Anyone advice would be appreciated.

So my oldest son left our pantry open this morning and our dog got into about half a bag of chocolate chips. Came home to throw up EVERYWHERE. Counted 7 piles throughout the house. He hasn’t thrown up in about an hour and he’s playing, wagging his tail, and eating his food and drinking water. Should I be concerned still? Seems like he got it all out of his system, but still worried for the night. He sleeps at the foot of our bed and I don’t want to wake up with throw up on our bed. Is it worth a vet visit or will he be okay. He’s an Australian cattle dog/Jack Russell mix and about 30lbs if that matters to the situation.

A family member dog sat my angel, Peanut (11lb shihtzu maltese). They have an almost 9 year old dog.

Their dog Leo is a coton de tulear, stiff, has joint problems, lost all but four of his teeth (they had to be extracted), but other than that he is in fairly good health. She has been feeding him cooked food I believe for his whole life, which consists of chicken hearts, sweet potato, and brown rice.

I give Peanut Pedigree wet food, he eats it and I always add chicken or something on top. Apparently Leo ate his food and got diahrrea (duh..) and she was saying that she would show me how to cook dog food.

I am most certainly open to cooking my dogs food, but I am worried that it will not have all the nutrition he needs. Is the food she has been feeding him the reason for his poor health?

Not really a question I just want to share tge situation which I absolutely cannot understand lmao

A month ago I adopted Garfield. 7 years old. Spent 5 years in the shelter then 2 years in a foster house, where it took him five months to dare come out of under the couch during the day. He cannot be pet, he cannot be touched, because he is terrified. This isn't a cat that would be happy if only people would stop trying to pet him, no. He lives everyday with the fear of what we might do to him. Stays in a corner, wide eyed, staring at us. I took him in because no one (safe his fosters of course, can't thank them enough) would give him a chance.

Garfield had to get his "vaccine update" today (the word evades me, I'm not a native speaker, sorry!). Getting him into the travel crate was a crazy battle and he bit me once. He did everything he could to dissuade me (hissing, growling, swatting, biting the air, really he was very politely telling me that he did not like what was happening) but I HAD to get him in that box. So, yeah. He bit my hand, really hard. I still got him to the vet, where he bit me once more, THROUGH my gloves, and had me repaint part of the office in red (I have hemophilia lmao).

Keep in mind that I have never been able to pet this cat. I do not know what his fur feels like.

We came back home. I gave him food and water, then went to work. When I came back I talked to him. Didn't try to pet him, just offered my hand for him to sniff (he did not).

I just felt the mattress of my bed dip. He's falling asleep curled up against my feet. Guys what the heck.

(I can't move but I have to pee please send help)

Hello! I love animals and I love birds. I've fallen down this rabbit hole of pet birds ever since I realized that I'd really like to own a pigeon at some point in the future. Through that, I'm curious to know what birds you can own that are not parrots. Besides pigeons and doves, that is. I have no issue with parrots, but I'm equally aware that they are not the pets for me, at least not now or in the recent future. What non-parrot birds can be owned as pets? My personal research only ever shows parrots, even when I try to exclude them from the results. So, of course, I have to go where true honesty may reach me. Reddit. So, please let me know what non parrot birds are ownable!

im a single mom in mid thirties. my daughter is a happy, kind kid and i love her to so many bits. 'heart' :)

as i said in the title, i can't keep up with life anymore since there just is not enough time. i don't know if it's because i'm getting older or have more responsibilities at work, but i cannot keep up with everything like i did in the past.

our dog companions are family members and trained well, good dogs. sometimes do stupid dog things but it is to be expected *giiggle*

they have many years ahead and thankful for it with all my heart. last week, after talking with my brother (we are close), daughter and a close co-worker I realized what I have to change. i thought that i will always live with dogs but the responsible thing here is to admit that I can't make it alone with everything that I have to take care of.

when my kid gets older, she will be able to help with some of minor stuff. i don't want to put too many chores and responsibilities on her. my parents did that to me and it gave me ADHD i think. im diagnosed but we really don't know what caused it. i will not make the same mistake and the kid will get to experience her childhood like she should without having to be "a little adult."

in a somewhat distant future, i know that our dogs will leave for greener pastures and eternal lands of chewable things. and then there won't be more dogs in my life. my cheating partner left me some days ago, that does not help she didnt do most of the chores anyhow. it just is something that saddens me but i will be fine.

i do not know what i am really saying here. i guess maybe im writing this to accept something that i know that I have to face but never thought about.

if you ever experienced something like this,tell me how you coped it. can i do something now to prepare myself? hug your pets *smile*

I've been researching on which type of dog I'd like to buy and so far the maltipoo and cavapoo are my best options and I can't decide on which one. Does anyone have any experience with these two dogs? I'm more interested in which one is small even when fully grown, and better for houses, yet playful... would anyone know? Or would anyone know any smaller poodle mixes? Or simular dogs?

To start, I can afford the cat and I want the cat.

She is a 15 yo cat and was my ex’s late mom’s cat. When he left, something told me to take her to the vet. My vet found a microchip and quickly switched all her information to me. I only know he didn’t take her because when I asked for hers and the dog’s vet info, I was told.

The cat had high blood pressure (top number was 260 and is now 160 6 months later), early kidney disease, heart problems, anemia, and low potassium. The kitty is doing so much better and I know this extra medicine (which she will fight me on) will help her. She also gained 0.9 pounds in 6 months (she was skin and bones when he left).

I’m so angry at him after the vet called. I also feel like an idiot for trusting him.

Hello there,
my 12 years old buddy recently had a pancreas flare-up.
He was lethargic, had a high fever and refused to eat or drink. At first the vet suspected an infection, so he was given antibiotics, but we did a blood test the next day which showed pancreatitis (this was last week).

We compared the number we got: LIPA (fPL) of about 300 U per L to a previous blood test I did just to check up on him, and we noticed that even back then the numbers were a bit on the higher side, but nothing alarming, so it must have been going on for a while. He always did have a tendency to throw up, but it was written off as just too much stomach acid (I don't know the english term).

After the standard 4 day IV, vitamin B etc he was doing better and eating, and I thought all is well. But today we went for a check up and the LIPA was 399 :(

I was given pancreas enzymes to give him with his food and, besides switching over to low fat Hill's food, that's all they claim they can do.

It's not that I do not believe them, but I'm interested if someone has more input on how to help him and if there is a possiblity that he might get better.
Besides that, I am also interested on what the life expectancy here is - the vet did not want to give me any numbers and scheduled a check-up in a month.

Thank you

Long story, but I'll try to be brief. We have a beautiful tortie cat that has been with us for 14 years. She's not been the greatest pet, just because she was unsuitable for adoption, as she was plucked from a feral colony and has remained feral even though she was a kitten at the time of adoption.

However, over the last year she's been somewhat friendly and letting us pet her without running away. But she's also been pooping and peeing daily on the carpet for about the same amount of time as well. We've taken her to vet multiple times this year and they just keep charging us a ton of money without any answers as to what might be wrong.

She was treated for a thyroid condition and even though her levels are good now, she has continued to lose weight (13lbs. to now 6lbs.). The vet said there is buildup in her abdominal area that could point to cancer and said we need an ultrasound to be sure. The vet does not have an ultrasound machine available, so we'd need to go to an emergency vet and spending several more thousands on this only to "maybe" get a diagnosis for something we can't even treat.

The vet also said the cause could be behavioral issues mixed with an unknown illness. At this point, our cat seems uncomfortable all the time but still seems to enjoy spending time with us (like I said...last year this friendly behavior would have been rare). My husband is erring on on side of it being "her time". However, I'm filled with guilt that this might not be the right decision. Although our house smells like cat diarrhea and she's clearly uncomfortable.

Has anyone else been in this situation? What did you do?

For context I’m a first year in college and it’s been a struggle. My therapist wants me to have an emotional support animal on campus. Our first choice was my dog but he is a beagle and although he’s been a great unofficial ESA, I know he would not like an ESA. So now we’re talking about bringing my cat. I’ve had my cat since 4th grade. She is incredibly sweet and lays either by my head or on top of me to help me calm down and sleep. Her loud purr and headbutts help ground me and slow my heart rate. I have diagnosed anxiety and depression so I don’t think getting approved for an ESA (especially with support from my therapist) will be difficult on my campus. However, how do I explain how she helps with my anxiety/depression without it sounded unauthentic or illegitimate.

Hi guys, i've been debating this with myself for a while but I'm wondering if anyone may have some input on whether or not this idea would be ok for the cat. I used to have a cat in my old house but I had to move due to financial reasons and am currently living long term at a caravan park. Obviously the plan is to get a house but financially it's also a good idea to stay here for a while to save up. Obviously litter would be a problem and I'd have to have some sort of active ventilation. The park is very close to major roads and train tracks, so I don't think letting them out is a good idea. So I just feel like the space may be too small. Although other people here have cats, I'm assuming they had them before they moved here though so that changes things a bit. Anyways. What do you think?

Tldr; Is a caravan too small to have a cat?

I'm inconsolable. My fiance and i had had a dog for 8 years (Sona) when we got a puppy (Suki). My fiance's mom bought her for us, a 10 week old australian cattle dog. The dogs play well together but i can't trust them in the same room inside. Sometimes the cattle dog (now 2.5 years old) will get jealous for some reason and attack the other dog. The other day i had my cat on my lap, everything was fine until Sona got too close to the cat and then Suki got jealous and attacked Sona. The cat is fine, the other dogs started fighting in the other room. It's like Suki just sees red because it wasnt even about the cat anymore. We used to see these attacks coming, her hair would raise up and she would whine before attacking but now it happens so fast. It's not all the time this happens, maybe 5 or 6 times in the 2.5 years we have had the cattle dog. Well we have been thinking about sending her to a board and train, however the same day as the fight about the cat, we had dinner with my fiance's mom and she told us that she found out that Suki's dad is aggressive and actually attacked a human. We have been wanting to keep suki and send her to be trained, because the other dog won't be around forever, but we want kids soon so i am nervous to have this dog in my house. If her dad was aggressive i fear training won't work and she's just not the dog for my house. She's so smart and good and sweet to my fiance and i, she just shouldn't live with other dogs. But she plays so well outside with the other dog. If someone can point me in the direction of a ACD rescue or somewhere to find her a good home. I don't think i can bring myself to just drop her off at the shelter. She is such a shy and insecure girl, i feel like she would be so scared and would never get adopted. I can barely stop crying, i just please need some help and words of assurance

EDIT: I'm very aware this is a working dog. It's called a cattle dog for a reason lol. I'm constantly playing with this dog in the yard, buying her toys and puzzles. We walk to the lake. She gets car sick so i can't really take her many places unless she has like 2 trazadones lol

PAWRADE IS A PUPPY MILL SCAM!

What a JOKE of a company! I have bought multiple puppies over the years and have a dog currently, I am not new to dogs by any means.

Long story short the communication by pawrade/petpay was terrible. I wasnt able to actually talk to the breeder. The dog was listed as available to go home as of Nov 1 so when i purchased the dog I thought it would be available right away, not so much. The dog couldnt be delivered until Dec 1 and they didnt tell me until after purchasing. The dog was also $4,000 for a belgian malinois which is over DOUBLE what any other reputable breeder charges, that should have been the first red flag but the puppy looked so cute I looked past it.

That is only where the problems began. The puppy was supposed to be picked on Nov 28 and was not picked up until Nov 30, of course no one called me to tell me this.

Anyway the puppy FINALLY arrives Dec 1 at 9am and my fiancee and I are both so excited! We feed the puppy a full meal, take it outside to play and potty then come back inside to rest and we give it a couple treats. Once the puppy finished one of the treats we go to take the remains away and she snarled and aggressively bit my fiancees's hand to the point of drawing blood and needing stitches! After this I think well maybe it was just a puppy miscommunication, these things happen.

Not so fast, I scold the dog saying "NO biting" and go to pick her up to put her in the crate and she then bites me really hard to the point of drawing blood. It was at this point I started thinking something was very wrong and this dog must have been bred by a puppy mill or possibly horribly mistreated by the breeder who knows.

I waited 15-20min for the puppy to relax and tried to pick the puppy up again and it again arched its back, snarled, showed its teeth and bit me HARD again!! Drawing blood AGAIN!

This is all in just about an hour of having this puppy so I message the breeder at 10am that their puppy has bitten both of us and she said its not her problem and to contact pawrade. (What a thoughtful caring breeder right?)

So I contact pawrade and I tell them I want to return the puppy because clearly something is wrong. Ive had many puppies over the years and NEVER had a puppy bite so hard and show such aggression for no reason.

Pawrade sends the driver to pick up the puppy and proceeds to tell us that it is somehow our fault that the puppy has bitten both of us to the point of drawing blood, its our fault she snarls and shows her teeth etc and refuses to give even a partial refund. So now between the $4k pet fee, tax and shipping two ways im down $6k with multiple dog bites and stitches to show for it.

PAWRADE / PETPAY is a JOKE of a company and I will NEVER ever forget how poorly they treated us. BEWARE

This is my first post so sorry if the format is booty 😭 So I have 3 cats, Teddy (who we got from a friend bc she pees everywhere), Loki (who my dad bought for my mom when I was born), and Claire (My grandpas cat they we’re taking care of). Claire has been in our family for a while and everyone knows she’s very playful. when she was a kitten, she would run around and nip at everyone. Now, she’s a very large and old cat, but she still has the energy of a kitten. Since we can’t really play with her like we used to, I’ve come up with a game she loves. This is how you play it: When she lays in your lap, turn her to lay on her back and slide a sleeve over your hand ( <—crucial step). Then, place your hand on her big ole belly and push very gently while going ‘Chugachugachugachugachuga’ and then put your hand (gently) on her head and (gently) push it back while going ‘ChooChoo!’. For some reason, she loves this game and will sometimes crawl into your lap and bite your hands until you play it with her. Does anyone else do this or am I just very creative lol

Hi everyone! This has been going on the whole year i’ve had both my dog and cat, but now i’m getting curious what others think of this super cute behavior.

I got my cat first (my second cat) and then maybe a month later i got my dog (first dog). My cat was seemingly the litter runt, and i got them both from the same shelter. They would always sleep on the bed together at night, but then i started waking up to slurping sounds, and my cat was clearly trying to nurse on my male dog’s…. you know. he would do this while doing “biscuits” on my dog as well. I stopped this (slurping) act whenever i noticed.

Fast forward to now, my cat (one of four, he is annoyed by human touch but tolerates it, will cuddle with the other cats sometimes but is mostly a loner) always goes to my dog when he’s laying down and will biscuit on him. Or if my dog is looking out the patio door, my cat will stand up on the door and run his face on my dogs’ face. Super cute!

But I am wondering if my cat thinks my dog is mommy? Or is this something else? My cat prefers the dog’s affection and only gives him affection, not my other dog.

(To preface, I don’t have pets so any insight or help is appreciated!)

My friend’s birthday is coming up and I’d like to make her a necklace or bracelet with little charms that have pictures of her dog. I’m not sure how old her dog is, but he’s an older guy, and I’d like to make her something meaningful with him on it.

What I’m wondering is: is this appropriate (as in if it could be taken the wrong way), and would this be something that owners of senior pets would like? If not, are there any alternatives I could do that most senior pet owners would love?

And apologies if this is not the correct sub-reddit to post this in. Thank you!

so i rescued a kitten on my property, and my family decided to keep it because we sort of have a mice problem, idk if i should be doing anything specific to train her to catch mice.

Hello all. My family is in a tough spot. My dad has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and likely has less than 12 months left with us. My brother's dog is cared for by my parents, he and my mom have grown quite close. Unfortunately, given my dad's condition, he is no longer tolerant of having the dog around. We want to respect my dad's wishes and we understand that having the dog around while trying to get to treatments would be difficult. Neither me nor my brother are in housing situations that would enable us to take the dog.

Does anyone know of temporary foster programs for dogs with separation anxiety? Are there other options we should consider?

We are based in the New England area.

Hello,

I'm looking into getting insurance for my 13 month old puppy.

A friend of mine talked about his older dog is suffering from health issues which made me think about it.

She is healthy and without any problems, however, I do want her covered in case anything major ever arises.

What are some options that are out there and possibly some feedback / experiences about them?

I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions on durable dog beds. My dog has gotten in the bad habit of destroying them when they’re in the crate with her, but not when they’re out on the ground. I assume she’s gnawing on them for comfort. Last night and today she has been sleeping on the hard bottom of the crate but I do not want her to be in pain on the hard ground. Any help?

Hi everyone,

I know this might be a bit unusual since most people here ask for advice on managing their pet's separation anxiety. But I need help with the opposite—how to manage my separation anxiety about leaving my pets.

I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, OCD, and depression, which deeply affects my emotions and my bond with my pets. I’ve been unemployed for the past year and spent nearly all my time with them, rarely leaving them for more than 5 hours a day (and even that only happens a few days a month).

Now, I’m starting a new job next week with long hours, and the thought of being away from them is making me feel incredibly guilty and anxious. I’ve set up cameras to check on them, and my family can help in case of emergencies, but I’m still terrified at the idea of being apart from them.

This anxiety is so overwhelming that it’s making me question whether I can handle going back to work at all. If anyone has tips or advice—whether it’s coping mechanisms or ways to ease the transition—I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Trying to take advantage of cyber Monday deals to get a self cleaning litter box. It seems like everyone likes the litter robot, but I’m trying to not spend quite that much. There are many options on Amazon between $200-$300 but the reviews are poor. Can anyone recommend a box in the 200-300 price range that they actually like?

My boy cat is just a year old now, and is neutered. My female cat, who's 4, and also spayed, is being attacked. My boy cat has only recently started pinning her down to try and hump her, my mom has consulted Google and it says it's caused by boredom on his end, but no matter how much we try he randomly has his moments. What can we do to make it stop? I've never had a boy cat before and this is our first one.

I reserved a puppy on November 22 that was marked ready for adoption November 23. I asked to be able to pick her up as soon as possible. I later switched to having her delivered and didn't find out till much later that the earliest they could deliver was December 10th. I wish this had been communicated to me without me calling them every day for updates. After lengthy phone conversations we worked out to have me pick her up in person on December 2nd and paid extra to have them take her to the vet the Saturday before for her required vet check before travel. Then, Sunday night, after we had bought the plane tickets for my travel the next day, they called to say that the vet gave her a vaccine and she could not travel within five days of receiving a vaccine. But they knew she as scheduled to travel the next day, so either the vaccine was not necessary for travel and they could have waited, or, if it was, they should have known she needed it and not scheduled travel for three days out. She also has a hernia. There is just overall TERRIBLE communication. Because of all the delays I would not be able to pick up my puppy until shortly before we are going out of town and now they want to charge us extra to board the puppy until we get back.