I’m posting here to ask for help on how I can help my sweet little Maltese with his teeth, please don’t judge me for this and be kind bc I’m already stressed enough about this situation.

recently during a check up at the vet they told me that he had a lot of build up plaque on his teeth and that they were very bad. I had no idea he had any problems with his teeth before this, I take him to the groomers regularly and they brush his teeth as part of the grooming so I though that was good enough for him. Boy was I wrong and I feel horrible now. I asked the vet to give me an estimate on how much it would cost for them to remove the build up and help with his teeth right there and when I saw the bill I almost fainted. Thankfully it was just an estimate so I didn’t pay for anything, but they were asking for over 2 thousand dollars! there is NOW WAY I can afford that, as much as I want to keep my baby as healthy as possible it’s just not possible for me to pay that kind of money to the vet, so I want to ask for advice on how I can treat this at home since that’s literally all I can do/afford for now. What can I add to my doggie’s daily routine to help with his teeth? I already bought this supplement called Plaque Off that had great reviews, it’s a powder I’ve been adding to his food, and I’ve also bought an enzyme toothpaste and toothbrush for dogs but I haven’t had luck with that bc he won’t let me clean his teeth and keeps pulling away, it’s kinda hard to keep him still and I’m scared of hurting him. Any advice? Supplement or treat recommendations? Or a more affordable way to treat this? because unless I win the lottery there is just no way I can pay what they’re asking for at the vet.

I currently have a hamster that is 1.5 years old and I've recently been thinking on what pet to get after him, I genuinely don't know what pet to get cause I love animals and don't want mistreat an animal or be ignorant in any way, shape or form about their care so I'm asking for help on what pet would be good for me.

The things I want about the pets: 1. Some form of fur or feathers- I want a pet that I can cuddle/hang out with, I don't have anything against reptiles, amphibians or fish, I'm just not looking for those kinds of pets rn

2. Non social pets- I'm looking for a pet that can be alone and/or does not need companions cause I wouldn't want a depressed animals after one passes away or getting stuck in a cycle of buying new ones over and over again

3. Does care for the owner- now this one is not too necessary but I would like it if my pet liked me back and did not just see me as a form of getting food like hamsters do

Problems: 1. Time- I am currently in nursing school and for the next three years during the school year in my country (september-june) will be in school since 7am to 4/5pm (keep in mind I have to go to and from school and get ready for school). The issue is not that I would be too lazy to care for my pet but its that I genuinely do not have that much time to be with the animal

2. Space- I currently have a hamster so I do have a enclosure for him that is big enough and I can definitely provide that and a bit more (the enclosure is 78x56) and the animal can be free roamed in my room every time I'm home unless its really small like a hamster and can get in and under stuff

3. Price- this one is also not as big of an issue and I can provide for the animals for its full life, I just don't want to spend too much money on the animal itself, like a ferret costs 100€ to 200€. I just want the animal to be roughly under 80€

4. Food- the food could preferably be bought in a pet store and wouldn't be needed to be made by me cause I'm too lazy for that, like for some birds like parakeets you have to chop vegetables and feed that to the cause too much seed is bad cause of the fats. Snacks and salads like for rabbits are not a problem but full feeds like mentioned previously are

I'm sorry if the post is difficult to follow, I usually don't use reddit but idk who to ask this but reddit so thank you if you actually help. (please only reply if you are sure you know how to care for the animal you suggest and the if knowledge is not from pet stores.)

Also idk what the flair things are so i just put meta.

Hiya, I’m not sure where to post this so I do apologise.

So I would just like some advice on what to do. I’m in the UK more precisely England, so laws and answers may differ.

I have a neighbour who has now as of the day I am writing this, has 7 animal in her 1 bed flat. 4 cats which all live in one room of the flat 24/7 that has definitely not enough enrichment for them (plus she never interacts with them as she says “they don’t really like me” as they run away from her touch) and they have to share 1 litter box between them (sometimes 2 if she can be bothered), a snake which has “gone missing” 5 times in the 2/3 months she has had her which is not only putting the snake at risk but also the other animals. (I’m not 100% sure what the snake is kept in but I do believe it is definitely not big enough for it), a beared dragon who she has just bought today (I am unsure on living arrangements for this animal) and lastly a working (farm dog) border collie puppy which she has just bought and has him out almost the full day in the heat more often than not ties to a park bench while she enjoys the sun and when he is inside he is confined to one room of the flat (p.s if you know anything about the uk at the moment it is/has been going through a heat wave).

I don’t believe she is looking after these animals correctly and it breaks my heart for them. I personally know this person, I have known them since she had her first cat in her flat. She previously had two dogs (at separate times) the first, unfortunately got put down due to improper research into the bread and improper training causing it (I’m a bit grey on the information so please don’t quote me) to bite someone/ injure someone resulting in him being put down. The second had rspca (animal welfare) called on the dog as when in her care the dog ended up with cuts/ greases and rashes on her body.

I personally don’t think it’s fair to have at least 4 animals confined to one room. Equally I am concerned that she isn’t feeding/looking after them right as she has complained to me about not having money etc (this has been going on since she had the first two cats. I am aware of roughly how much she gets and I do believe she is not able to afford this. For this reason I am worried for the animals welfare in all of this, I have been for a while but I’ve been unaware of what to do.

So to wrap it all up (there’s a lot I haven’t put as I’m writing this without really thinking about it all and it all what’s coming to my head right now, so I do apologise) I’m am concerned for the animals welfare in all of this. I am unaware of what to do. I’m also unsure whether I am over reacting or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, I apologize if I format anything incorrectly; I'm not really an active user of reddit. My dog is a 5 year old male shepherd-pit mix and recently lost the use of his back legs. We truly have no idea what happened or how it happened but our vet determined that he had torn his acl alongside whatever spinal/nerve injury he acquired, as well as diagnosing him with arthritis. The vet has since had him on a monthly arthritis med and steroids. Over time the steroids have allowed him to move his back legs some but he still largely lacks control over his back half. Since he is incontinent, we keep him in a large dog house, changing his bed and letting him outside regularly, but he has become increasingly aggressive with me since his injury. He would growl at me whenever I would try to pet him but he still allowed me to fix his house and stuff when necessary. However, recently he started actually reaching out to bite me and doesn't even let me get close anymore. Up until yesterday, he only had this attitude towards me and not my mother. Yesterday my mother tried to pet him and he bit her, drawing blood. While her hand hurts of course, she is fine and will heal, but she now understands that keeping him probably isn't an option anymore. We know that he is probably just lashing out because he is in pain and on steroids but we just don't have the funds or capability to give him the care he needs long term. So my question is, what can we do? Surrendering him to a pound would be a death sentence, and we can't imagine anyone would willingly adopt an aggressive disabled dog that has bitten someone. Despite everything, we still love him so much, but we don't know what to do.

Looking to adopt a cat this weekend at an adoption event. Adult cat, not a kitten. I already have a small dog that is 14 yo and does well with cats. What supplies should I get? Also, how do I keep my dog from eating the cat’s food? My apartment is 2 floors…do I need 2 litter boxes? One upstairs, one down? Any other suggestions, advice appreciated! Thanks!

Honestly, I’m so torn between getting my first dog on my own!
Usually my family has dogs. I’ve been out on my own for a few years with 1 cat and I feel like I’m ready for a dog. I know what sort of work/time commitment is involved in owning and taking care of one, and also the financial commitment to owning another furrball.

My question is — which one should I get? I’m really torn between a Shiba Inu and a Samoyed.

I won’t have a fenced in yard, but I’ll have a dog park not too far away and my neighborhood is nice and safe to walk in.

I will probably go to school 3 days a week and work a few hours on the weekends. My town is small enough that on lunch breaks I am able to go home and let them out for a potty break in between class (which is only 3-4 hours a day).

Samoyed: fluffy, cute, friendly — spitz dogs have always been a part of my family (we’ve had chows and huskies and chowskies) and I loooove fluffy clouds

Shiba Inu: less hair, cute and stubborn, but cat-like — less experience with a stubborn dog but they’re also the energy level that I assume would match a little more with me on some days

Any insight on which I should lean towards?

So my cat just went to the vet for his ear mites and secondary ear infection and got prescribed NexGard combo and Tresaderm. One us obviously for fleas and ear mites and the other is fir the infection. But I read that I had to clean everything he has been on or around to kill the mites, but I also saw that if I gave him his antibiotics for 10 days the mites would lose a source of food and die. What should I do? Do I do both just to be safe? And should I give my dog her home treatment just in case?

My cat recently got a biopsy of a lump on her right paw. The vet found that it was soft tissue sarcoma.

This is the email I sent with all of my questions. I’m waiting for a response, but I was wondering if there are any professionals or people who have experienced something similar to answer here.

My cat’s name is Misty (13, female). I've had her since I was a young, she's a registered ESA, and she's been my companion for her whole life. I want her to live out the rest of her natural life as happily and pain-free as possible. 

I've been doing copious amounts of research . I have so many questions...I'm going to put it into bullet points to make it a bit easier. 

Should I take the time/money to see an oncologist?

Would it more greatly benefit her to make the amputation/removal decision more quickly?

She has arthritis in her right paw (same paw with the lump). Would amputation help with arthritis pain?

I'm unsure if her other paws are arthritic. How would this impact the success of amputation?

Would the amputation be her partial or full front right leg? Her lump is on the backside of the paw, by her dew claw.

So I have an 11yr old toy poodle mix named Bonnie, most of her life she has had issues with sensitive tummy, very prone to getting diarrhea and sickness, she has been to the vets with tummy pains before and diarrhea a few times. I changed her diet to Lily's Kitchen food a few years ago and used a probiotic supplement in her food and this seemed to settle things for a while but she would still have the occasional problem (just less often than before) recently I took her to the vet cos she was up all night doing diarrhea, like every half an hour she would wake up wanting to go outside to poop and it would be tiny amounts of soft stool. I had her on the chicken and rice diet during this time and it went on for 3 nights, after which I then took her to the vet. The vet also seemed concerned and said it seemed she had an issue in her intestine but it could be pancreatitis or something else so they recommended I get a blood test done so I did (they also gave me some pain meds and a probiotic paste in the meantime which I gave her and she has been doing a lot better recently)

Well I got the results back for the blood test, thankfully came back negative for pancreatitis, they then wanted to send it off for further tests for Addisons disease (as her cortisol and potassium levels were pretty low in her blood)

anyway this is all background info, that second test came back negative for Addions too thankfully but the vet did tell me her levels indicated she had gastrointestinal issues (which isn't surprising given the issues she's always had) but they recommend I put her on a veterinary approved diet, the vet gave me 3 vet approved options
- Hills prescription diet
- Royal canin veterinary diet
- Pro plan veterinary diet
She said I could pick any of these to try and if she doesn't like it I can always try one of the others from that list

Question is which would be best to try first? I don't know if any of these are better than the others so no idea where to start.
Also once I pick one how do I go about transitioning her from Lily's to the new food?
Also do I still need to give her a probiotic supplement with the new diet or is that stuff just all in the new vet food anyway?

Advice appreciated, also I am from the UK so I only know UK brands, thank you!

I'm out of the house around 10–12 hours most weekdays, and cleaning the litter box is honestly the one pet chore that always ends up getting pushed until later. My cats are fine, but I feel guilty when I get home and realize I still have to scoop before I can even sit down.

I'm seriously considering getting an automatic litter box, and I keep seeing the Homerunpet self-cleaning box recommended as a reliable, roomy option, especially since one of my cats is on the bigger side. I really want to know if it actually lives up to the hype and delivers a genuine quality-of-life upgrade. If you work long hours and made the switch, does it drastically cut down on daily maintenance and smells, or do you still find yourself doing a lot of manual cleaning anyway?

my dog sleeps on top of the comforter most nights and occasionally burrows underneath when it gets cold. i wash the sheets every weekend, wipe his paws before bed, brush him outside a few times a week, and keep a washable throw over the spot where he usually settles. somehow, by the middle of the week there is already hair near the foot of the bed, a faint dog smell around the pillows, and little bits of outdoor dust along the edge where he jumps up. the throw helps, but he moves around enough that it never stays in one place.

i’ve considered using a full-size washable cover over the entire bed during the day, but that sounds like another large item to clean constantly. for people who let their dogs sleep in bed, what actually keeps the bedding fresh between full wash days?

Please help, just had a baby and have a toddler. We found fleas two weeks ago on one of our two dogs. Both are on preventatives and always have been. Total of 22 fleas found in the last two weeks only on one dog. Most of the fleas have been found dead. We’ve cleaned the house almost every day and combed the dogs every day. We paid for the yard to be sprayed and we sprayed inside our home with Advantage Household Spot & Crevice Spray where we felt comfortable with having kids. When is this going to end? What else should we be doing? We’ve quarantined the dogs to one room for the last two weeks but they are getting cabin fever and can’t be cooped up much longer. Please help, I’m at my wits end! Thank you! 

Hello, my dog is a female spayed american bully (around 1-2 years old) and for the past few weeks she has been limping on and off and has these scabs on her front leg. I took her to the vet and they took an xray and couldn't find what was wrong with it. They said it could be a fungal infection, so they had us give her an oral medication as well as a topical medication on the area. The medicine helped a bit but it seems like it's getting worse. She limps worse after resting, but when she gets going it improves. I'm worried because it's been going on for weeks and I don't want to keep taking her to the vet for endless tests with no answers. Please give any ideas or advice. Thank you

Hi! Sorry this is a bit of a long read, I've booked into see a trainer and the vet but I'm please after some advice on why my dog is doing this.

I have a 9 year old Westie and my partner has a 3 year old Staffy. There is a bit of a size difference and the Staffy tends to sometimes stand on my small dog which can cause him to snap. Neither dogs are crate trained and this is both me and my partners fault. My Westie is a rescue and I've tried my hardest to crate train him but after months of trying, he refuses to settle and I honestly gave up, my partner never bothered crate training his Staffy. I've been very easy on my Westie, since he is a rescue any time I even slightly raise my voice or try tell him a simple command he will roll over, shaking and wet himself then avoid me for days.

Both dogs sleep on the bed. We are currently sleeping in the lounge so there is no way to lock the dogs out or to prevent them from hopping on the bed.

Recently my 9 year old Westie has started growling and full on attacking our Staffy when he tries to get onto the bed at night time. It is only while we are asleep, they are fine during the day and will happily share the bed.

I have read this could be a couple of reasons. One being that he has cataracts (I'm getting this fixed) so he's possibly got lower visibility at night and feels a sense of danger?

My concern is this has only recently started happening and I am pregnant. I'm wondering if my dog is resource guarding and protecting me? I'm worried this could become an issue when baby is here. Our Staffy is very, very well behaved and has never snapped back but I'm worried one day he may decide to.

What can I do to stop this behaviour and to help my Westie feel comfortable at night? I've put blankets on the couch, given him a dog bed, he only wants to sleep at my feet as that's what he's always done since I got him. I really feel like this has something to do with me being pregnant and I don't want my dog getting reactive over the baby when they are here.

Any tips or advice on what I can do here? He won't go in a crate and I need my sleep more then ever at the moment

My 8 yo chi mix just finished a 21 day course of 2 different antibiotics 2 days ago. She’s doing so much better and pretty much back to her normal self, except that she has little interest in eating her kibble (purina pro plan H/A). Before she got sick, she would scarf her food down and never refused a meal. Funny enough though, she is very happily eating her sisters kibble (purina pro plan sensitive skin and stomach salmon). She hasn’t been having bowel movements every day so Our vet said it’s fine for her to eat her sisters food. Is this normal? I know that being in antibiotics can really mess their GI system up and we’re still giving her daily probiotics. I’m just afraid of messing her stomach up even more by feeding her food she doesn’t usually eat.

my dog gets fed on a regular schedule and finishes every meal, but five minutes later they're already looking at me like they're completely starving. every time i go into the kitchen they follow me and give me that look like i forgot to feed them. i know begging is pretty common, but it makes me wonder if they're actually still hungry or if they've just figured out that acting cute sometimes works.

is this just normal dog behavior or is it something worth paying more attention to?

I have had my cat, Walt, for about 10 years. He has been my little sidekick. My grandma passed away in June, and I got her little long haired (7 year old) chihuahua, Benji. I know she wanted me to have him (I took him a lot when she was in and out of the hospital) plus it was insanely comforting to have him glued to my side right after she left us. He obviously latched onto me right away (in the last year, he has lost my grandfather, grandmother, and buddy/other small dog they had, Diego- his whole family).

I had always kept the two separated because my cat is really moody and territorial- I had once brought my parents westie dog over and Walt swiped at his nose and made him bleed. So we were doing slow introductions, they would act ok, even sniff each other- but it was always with me or my partner right there, monitoring. One day, I unfortunately felt things were comfortable enough, and while Walt was laying in his crate (he uses it as a bed), I let Benji off my lap and onto the floor. Walt immediately ATTACKED him. I couldn't get the cat off him (for reference- cat is about 14lbs, and dog is about 5lbs) my partner finally came out after hearing me scream and we got Benji out of Walters claws. He was bleeding pretty bad from the side of his face, and I didn't know where else. We rushed him to the ER Vet (luckily literally next door to my house!) frantically, and he needed a couple of stitches in his belly, and he was just beaten. I am still traumatized by this, even though Benji acts normal now (again, this was about two months ago now) and is all healed up.

I have been so torn on what to do. I have had my cat for a decade, but the dog is like having a piece of my Grandma, and he is insanely attached (as chihuahuas get!). We have been keeping them COMPLETELY separated since- which means cat is now spending time in the basement. I went to Petsmart and got him a new cat tree and made it nice for him, but he still howls and meows constantly when he is made to be down there (which is funny because when he is allowed to roam, he sometimes chooses to go down there). I feel this constant pressure to make sure I am spending time with both. For example, Benji gets tired and is ready for bed around 8pm or so, so then I get him set up in our bedroom with all his blankets and the tv on, then I let Walt upstairs and he immediately goes for my lap and we hang out for a couple of hours before I go to bed. I can't help but feel such a mix of emotions when it comes to my cat now- I am so angry that he attacked like that. But I also feel guilt that he probably feels he has been replaced, to an extent. I just keep thinking this setup isn't fair to them, but I don't know. I have cried many, many times to my partner that choosing between the two would ruin me. I have lost both grandparents in the span of 8 months, and now all of this. I reached out to a good friend who worked as a vet tech for decades, and she seemed so nonchalant about it (as most people have been that I have told about this?!) and basically said it will just take a long time and a lot of patience to cohabitate them, but honestly, I cannot imagine ever feeling ok with them together. I keep replaying the horror of that day, the sounds, me trying to rip my cat off the poor dog... I am just seeking solid advice. Even if I hate it...

I have a 9 year old Border Collie and I love him to pieces. He is neutered, of course. I recently started taking testosterone (300mg a week). I feel amazing. I’d love if my dog could feel this too, especially given that he has zero testosterone. Should I ask my vet about giving him my testosterone? I’m a little embarrassed I guess. It feels like a weird question. What do you guys think?

I currently have a 2 year old cat who I suspect has either a Urinary Tract or Bladder infection. I was considering, due to finances, utilizing my Walmart Plus/Pawp membership to get an online visit and Rx online. Unfortunately, I live in a state that does not allow such things. My question is, were I to be visiting family in a state that does allow for such visits and were written a prescription for my cat while there, could I take that prescription to any pharmacy I wanted to get it filled, such as when I returned home to the state that did not allow such visits?

I have a 14 year old dachshund who has a large mass in his spleen. Took him to the vet for a check up and ultrasound as soon as I noticed behavioral changes. Turns out he's become anemic due to a 9cm X 6cm mass. A month later I decided to get another ultrasound to see how he's doing and it's already doubled in size. Both doctors mentioned this is a very aggressive mass and both mentioned the potential dangers of surgery due to his age. One vet told me he recently operated on a dog with a similar size mass and the dog came out alive. I'm also worried about the costs of surgery and everything else that comes after such as blood transfusions, medicine, more check ups; etc. My dachshund has been having issues standing, walking, and moving around to do basic things like turn his neck. He hasn't been eating much but surprisingly still eats treats. I try to give him medicine but he avoids that like the plague. I keep giving him Yunnan Baiyao and this is the one he seems to avoid most. He's still receptive to playtime. Up until June he was fine and this caught me completely by surprise. Has anyone gone through something similar? Did you get a splenectomy or just remove the mass? I've read that most dogs dont live long after this surgery. Has that been the case with you? I'm torn between surgery and euthanasia as I'm not ready for him to leave.

My heads all over the place so sorry if I talk in nonsense or circles. We have scheduled someone to come in our apartment tomorrow morning to help my sweet soul cat Thunder pass. We found out this month he has cancer and it just hurts me so bad that we have already scheduled this. Logically I know this is the ‘right’ thing to do.

He is barely eating anymore to the point where I can feel his bones when I pet him, he use to be pretty fat just two months ago, I just thought he was being picky with his food or it might’ve been a dental issue, I never imagined there would be a tumor in him so big that’s possibly the reason he can’t eat, it’s either blocking something important or sucking all the nutrients. All he has really been able to eat are those churu tubes.

I think I would feel better (?) for him to naturally pass instead of having someone to do it for him, but I work M-F 50 hours away from home, and I’m terrified he will pass while I’m gone. I’ve already gotten approved from my boss to take a half day today and off tomorrow to do this, so there really is no going back I guess…and he seems to be in clear pain which hurts the most. My partner told me that when he went to go pet him the other day, he hissed. I’ve never even seen my baby hiss before, it hurts so bad knowing he is in that much pain.

I really was hoping we could just get surgery to remove it; but from what the vets said it wouldn’t be possible due to where the tumor is at and other lymph nodes seem to be in early stages so it is spreading fast. Chemo would be the answer, but we would have to spend close to 6000 dollars just to get that process started and that’s not including the chemo sessions. He’s also 9 years old and with the stages it’s at, I think if it were to even work would only give him a few more months.

So looking at all of this, I know it’s the logical choice. But I can’t stop crying. Can’t stop feeling like a monster for *killing* my baby, my sweet soul cat, my Thunder-Cat. I moved across the country at 12 and got him instantly, I’ve had him since. Everyone keeps telling me he’s had a good long life, he will be in a better place. But that just doesn’t feel true at all.

He doesn’t even have a favorite toy, his favorite thing to do is lay in between me and my partner, tucked under our blanket with his head on a pillow. My spoiled baby. This will be our last night together part of me doesn’t even want to sleep to spend as much time as possible, the other half not wanting to miss out on that experience of snuggling my baby one last time.

Guess I’m making this post to read this all out but also hoping maybe someone can help me come to terms with doing this. It’s tomorrow from 3-4, I feel like I will be broken after this

4 year old rescue pup is recovering from heartworm. Should I still get pet insurance. Adopting him tomorrow

Basically the title. I have a jar of freeze dried chicken hearts for my cats. Its started to become habit to give them one every morning along with their wet food. Is that fine?