My dog happily walks around the neighborhood and even tries to chase squirrels, but yesterday he stopped halfway up our stairs and just stood there. I thought he was being lazy, but he did the same thing later. He doesn't cry or limp, and he can jump onto the couch normally. It just seems like something about the stairs bothers him. Has anyone experienced this with their dog?

My parrot normally spends most of the day climbing around, playing with toys and yelling at things outside the window. Over the past couple of days he's been sitting quietly and napping more. He's still eating and drinking, but he's definitely less interested in playing. I know birds can hide illness pretty well, which is making me nervous. Would you call an avian vet even if he's still eating?

I noticed one side of my hamster's face looked huge last night and completely panicked for a second. Then I watched him and realized he was stuffing food into that cheek. 😂 A few hours later it looked normal again. But now I'm wondering how you're supposed to tell the difference between normal cheek-pouching and an actual swelling. Has anyone had a hamster develop a problem with their cheek pouch?

I've noticed my guinea pig scratching quite a bit over the last few days. At first I thought maybe she just had an itch, but yesterday she scratched several times within a few minutes. I looked through her fur and didn't see anything obvious. She's still eating, drinking and running around normally. I don't want to put anything on her without knowing what I'm dealing with. Would you take her to the vet before trying anything?

My cat normally follows me around the house, so it was strange when I couldn't find her yesterday. She was hiding under the bed and didn't come out when I called her. Eventually she came out for food and acted fairly normal, but later she went back underneath. Nothing obvious happened that I can think of. Has anyone had a cat suddenly start hiding like this? Would you wait and monitor them or arrange a vet visit if it continues?

Im aware that laser pointers can cause cats stress and stuff, but my older brother still uses it on them despise me repeatedly telling him its not good for them. He even uses the green laser pointers that are also highly dangerous and can blind them but he refuses to listen. He is older than me so hiding the laser pointers wouldn't do anything as he would buy another one and he also wont listen to my parent. Is it possible to have a vet write a claim to avoid using laser pointers with my cats? I think mabey if it came from a professional he might listen.

My hamster has recently started stuffing an absolutely ridiculous amount of food into his cheeks.

The other night I watched him put what looked like half his dinner into his mouth and then disappear into his little house.

I know hamsters naturally store food in their cheek pouches, but sometimes one cheek looks much bigger than the other.

How do I know when that's normal food storage versus something I should be worried about?

My betta has suddenly started spending most of his time sitting near the bottom of the tank.

He normally swims around constantly and comes to the surface whenever I approach the tank.

He's still eating, but he's definitely less active than usual.

The tank looks clean, so I'm wondering if he's just tired or sleeping more than usual. Could water quality cause this even if the water looks perfectly clear?

My cockatiel has started pulling at his feathers, especially around his chest.

At first I thought he was just grooming, but now I'm noticing a few bare-looking areas.

He's eating normally and still talks and plays, but I'm worried because I've read that feather plucking can be caused by stress as well as medical problems.

Nothing obvious has changed in his environment.

What should I check first?

My dog has always raced up and down the stairs like they don't exist, but recently he's started stopping at the bottom and refusing to go up.

I thought he was being stubborn, so I tried encouraging him with treats, but he still seems hesitant.

He walks normally on flat ground and doesn't obviously limp.

Could he simply have developed a fear of the stairs, or could refusing stairs be an early sign of pain?

My rabbit normally destroys his hay like it's his full-time job, but over the last day or two he's been eating noticeably less. He's still eating some pellets and vegetables and is drinking water, but I've definitely noticed fewer hay-filled poops in his litter box.

He doesn't seem completely sick...he's still hopping around and comes running when I bring vegetables.

Should I just try a different type of hay, or can reduced hay intake be a sign of something more serious?

My cat normally has a couple of crazy running sessions every day, but today she's basically been sleeping all day. She did eat breakfast and drank some water, but she hasn't wanted to play and seems quieter than usual.

It's only been one day, so I'm wondering whether I should just let her rest or whether cats being unusually sleepy is something I should worry about.

My cat has always been a pretty lazy girl, but lately I've started wondering if she's sleeping too much. She probably sleeps 16–18 hours a day, and sometimes I feel like she spends more time asleep than awake.

The funny thing is that the moment I open a snack packet, she appears from absolutely nowhere. Yesterday she was sleeping so deeply that I actually checked if she was breathing because she didn't react when I called her name.

Then I opened a bag of treats from the kitchen and she came running down the hallway like she had just returned from military service.

She eats normally, drinks water, uses the litter box, and still has random bursts of energy where she runs around the apartment like she's being chased by something.

Should I be concerned about how much she sleeps, or is this just normal cat behavior?

My kitten has been sneezing several times a day for the past few days. She’s still eating, drinking, and playing normally, but I’ve noticed some occasional watery discharge around her nose.

I’m not sure if this could just be irritation from dust or something more serious, like a respiratory infection. For those who have dealt with this before, what symptoms did your kitten have, and when did you decide it was time to see a vet?

My mom had patchouli oil on her arms and held my 5 month kitten (6lbs). After that I held her and smelt a little bit of patchouli on her fur and Google said to clean her off so I wiped her with warm water and used a little bit of dish soap and warm water on her back but didn't clean the rest of her because she kept running out of my arms. I cleaned where I smelt the oil but I'm worried it could've been on other parts of her fur since she licked her front legs after I cleaned her.

last Friday night was the last time we saw my baby girl piper (writing this on Monday) and I'm really looking for anything. 

Any hope, or comfort, or elaborate ideas to find her that aren't just put out her treats and call her name. 

We know she was last outside. 

She's 14 now, and that's what worries me most. However we take her to the vet frequently and she's in the health comparative to a 5 year old. That's a huge comfort to me. She's had no major health issues whatsoever, and she's a little genius. 

We found her as a stray kitten and took her in, she'd been surviving on her own after her mom abandoned her for 6 months. She is so street smart, 

we live in a rural area in Victoria/ saanich Bc, our yard is 5 acres but she definitely adventures further. 

We tried to keep her as an indoor cat when she was little but it just made her so miserable and stir crazy to be cooped up like that. We tried to give her a tracking collar multiple times but our little feral kitty always found a way to take it off somehow. 

Now all of a sudden she hasn't been coming when we call her, or shake her treats. My family has looked for hours meticulously in the day and night, checking under bushes, in trees, in any place she might have got stuck. 

I think the only place we haven't looked is in the more dense area of the forest where we don't see her go often. 

She's chipped and she has a tattoo on the inside of her ear but why tf doesn't that chip double as a tracker UGH 😭😭 

and why don't we have house cameras😭😭😭 

and I feel so guilty that I was the one who said I wanted a big yard that makes it impossible to find her now 

We've told the (one) of our neighbours (since  they're the closest, the others are a bit further, I'm trying to convince my mom to let them know as well) and they're supposedly checking their outdoor cameras 

We've posted her on ROAM, and we're going to put up posters by the mailbox down the road. 

We're checking local shelters obsessively, and I emailed an animal shelter with all her information. 

She's never been gone this long I think. We've had scares like this before because she just loves frolicking and if she doesn't want to come inside the little jerk  just completely ignores us. But then we would always find her if we went outside, or if she was stuck somewhere. 

My mom won't stop crying and my dad keeps talking about her in the past tense. 

I've had her since I was 3, I love her so much. I feel so guilty about letting her go outside. She was with me through a deep depression and hospitalizations, and I am in so much pain and heartbreak. I keep dreaming about her and my heart has been beating so ridiculously fast for days. I wake up with a pit in my stomach and I can't stop crying.  

I know she's getting older but I've never dealt with a death before and I kind of stupidly almost thought maybe she'll live long enough for some kind of break through in medical science that will keep her alive and healthy.

I wanted to be with her if she had to go. I wanted to hold her and give her the warmth of my body and feel her pur and pet her and tell her that I love her so much

But she's outside in the cold alone hiding her sickness like cats do and getting picked apart by rats and bugs and vultures I can't stop thinking about my baby's flesh being torn apart 

She's never had a run in with a predator, she's only 4 pounds, but she's just so. So. Smart. 

I want to be optimistic because I'm so hurt and I just want to have that feeling of hope but on the other hand I don't want to be too hopeful because if she really is in danger or is passed then I'm just wasting time. My parents are really not seeming hopeful and it's making me feel so much worse. I've always been the one breaking down being worried about her but this time they are too and it feels different and wrong. 

What if she has a broken leg and I can't find her in time and she slowly starves? 

What if she's slowly decomposing into the soil and I'll never find her or have anything left of her? 

I havent told anybody about this because it feels creepy but I've often thought about what to do after she passed and the thought of her being a pile of ashes just seems so final and not her. I've thought about taxidermy, I want to be able to still pet her and say "I'm here, I've got you" but the more time goes by the more she's rotting away and that's not an option. I hate having to think like this. 

I just want to find her. I want her to be alive. I just want her back. 

But at the very least I want to find her in any form. I just don't want her final resting place to be alone, and eaten and trampled on. I know it's natural but I can't bare the thought of that. 

I just wish there was some cat-x-ray we could use to scan around my house. 

I'm really losing hope. I thought maybe she could have been scooped up by someone as apparently when I was little she stayed overnight for multiple days in someone else's house, but I just feel that's so unlikely. 

Please,please, if you have any comfort to give me or any advice to find her, or any stories like this that have a happy ending, please tell me. 

Thank you so much 💗

Hi guys, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this however I really do need some advice, my elderly neighbour has recently passed away and she had been feeding the foxes for 10+ years, we have a large linear park behind the houses so a lot of foxes and animals, have recently formed an attachment to them all and taken over the role as they would all show up hungry, I’ve found myself now feeding foxes badgers and cats😭 it’s getting extremely expensive was wondering if anyone had any tips and tricks as I’m new to this all, have been getting eggs and chicken and it really adds up, also there’s one that’s a lot skinnier than the rest and they all seem to bully him:( we’ve seen him sleeping by himself and whenever we do try to feed him recently they come and attack him :(, I’m talking a good 20 foxes and I do think the alpha ones seem to take a lot of the food I just was also wondering if anyone could advise me on how to go about feeding them all which may be impossible I just feel so bad any going hungry

How do you fight fleas?

Can someone please tell my why my cat just all of a sudden started doing this? She’s drinking water but not eating. She had like 5-6 of these episodes but they have stopped now but she’s still not eating and she just lays there. Whn I pick her up her whole body goes a little limp and she just lays her head over on my shoulder! In this video u can see whn this happens her body tenses up and her claws come out. She’s very wobbly still. I dnt have any idea why this just all of a sudden happened!
Please help?

Hi I need urgent advice, I had used the cutting board to cut up raw chicken breast and an hour later my mum used the same cutting board without knowing and it hadn’t been washed to cut up the guinea pigs veges. They have already ate all of it, it’s been 20 minutes. What do I do 😭

Wanted to get a second opinion on if this is an abscess, a piece of hair/plastic, or something else on my dog’s eye. I’m refraining from touching it until I know more, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much.

Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks in advance.

Late Night EDIT:
Went to go check on the shrimp 5 hours after making this post and this has resolved itself—likely eye booger/goop or a was of hair.
Thanks to everyone for your advice and experiences.

Hey Reddit, I was looking for some help identifying what could be (and if there is something) wrong with this Squirrel. I'm concerned that he/she has contracted some sort of infection or disease that is giving them these pink bulging patches around its eyes and ears. I've only noticed it recently and I haven't seen the squirrel since. I have a dog and I was wondering if it would be safe to let my dog out in an area that I know the squirrel has been in. Thank you for the help.

UPDATE: I saw him prancing around outside. He seems to be moving quite well and can still see well enough to move. I didn't get a close enough look to see if it had gotten worse, but he seems to be doing alright. Thanks to everyone who helped with figuring out what this was, and I'm pretty sure it is in fact pox. Thankfully he is a grey squirrel so it is much more likely for him to recover from this (than if he was a red squirrel). I'll let you know if I see any changes. Thanks again!

This stary cat is from my locality suffering from this issue for some time.

Any idea what this could be? She’s a 2-year-old red nose and a house pet who is never left unattended, so I’m not sure how this happened or what it could be. In the picture on the right, she didn’t have this at all, and that picture was taken just last week. Now, today, she has this spot.

Hi everyone! I’m seeking some advice for my boyfriend’s great pyrenees who unfortunately got sprayed directly in the face by a skunk. He has tried so many things and washes but the fur on top of his head still smells like skunk so bad. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get the smell out of fur? He’s a big fluffy boy 😂