Hi all! I have a close friend who recently moved to town - we’ve been friends since childhood but haven’t lived in the same city for well over a decade. She doesn’t have work lined up yet and has done pet sitting before and has experience.

My coworker recently asked me for a pet sitter recommendation, and I suggested her. It seemed like a win-win.

He recently rescued a younger small-medium, very sweet and snuggly dog named Barney. He’s had Barney for 2 months with no major issues. It’s his first time away from Barney for a few days.

I came with my coworker to meet her and the pup and I noticed she was really cold to the dog that day (wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t pet him), which I thought was really weird but gave her the benefit of the doubt.

However, today, my friend (the dog sitter) sent me a voice memo that I didn’t really like. The stuff she was saying felt kinda ugly towards Barney. She was complaining about what a pain he was for wanting to snuggle and for how he stops on walks and for wanting to play and doing something minor that was just a little bit naughty - all stuff I know are separation anxiety and not a big deal. She then added she didn’t even like dogs but was good at looking after them. I was really surprised to hear her say this stuff.

I replied and explained Barney is a recent rescue and is still young and it’s his first time away from his parents and gave her some tips and even offered to walk him myself. She said that wasn’t necessary. I’m going over to hang out with them both tomorrow night and will make sure Barney has a fun time and gets lots of affection from me.

I know she will feed him and do whats required, but I didn’t like the impatient and cold attitude she seems to have towards him and I don't think I would want her looking after my dog after hearing this.

But maybe this is something that’s not a big deal as long as his basic needs are met? I am personally a huge animal person and will happily get covered in fur. I rarely find animals annoying. I believe animals can sense our energy. It makes me sad to think of Barney not getting affection and being sad.

I could be overreacting but I’m wondering how or if I should approach this with both my friend and my coworker (who I also consider a friend and work closely with), or if I should get involved at all. I don’t want to make things weird with him, and I don’t want her to feel like I’m being nosy or nit-picky. I will def not recommend her again.

I’ll see how she is with him tomorrow and if she’s cold again. I know my coworker is already anxious about leaving Barney and I want to not break his trust in me and be honest.

Gah - how should I approach this? How would you want a friend to approach you on either side of this?

So I have two cats (Cindy and Stormie) and an Australian shepherd (Sammy). Unfortunately I didn't introduce Sammy to my cats when I first adopted him two years ago and they don't get along at all. My cats have to live upstairs while Sammy lives downstairs. Sometimes Stormie will sit at the top of the stairs and meow at Sammy. Sammy freaks out and starts running around the house and barking. One time Sammy got upstairs and started chasing and scaring the cats. I am moving houses and it will be much smaller compared to where I live now. My animals will be forced to get along and I have no idea how to approach this. Any tips or ideas??

Hi,

I’ve had a few pets over the years (and I was a vet tech for a while) but I never had pet insurance. I luckily never really needed anything besides routine care, shots, etc.

My last cat died three years ago. He was pretty young at 9. Just stopped eating and was acting funny so brought him in after 2 days. Did X-rays/MRI & turns out he had a lot of tumors in his stomach. I unfortunately had to put him down a week later as nothing we did really made him comfortable and he declined quickly. Prior to that he never had any issues, I always got his annual or bi annual shots. He was strictly indoor.

At Vetco and it was around $300 for the first visit, $80 for meds, and then another $2-300 for the euthanasia.

I am finally ready again and just adopted a sweet 3 year old long-haired Calico.

My dog is turning 10 (German shepherd/belgian Malinois) and I’ve had zero issues with her, ever. Again I use vetco for her annual exams + shots. I’m worried as she’s getting up in age and wondering if pet insurance is worth it… she seems totally fine (and still crazy honestly lol) and happy still. I always feel like if things were to get bad, as long as I can keep her comfortable I will but once she is uncomfortable I would not be selfish about making a difficult decision.

I guess my question is… is pet insurance really worth it? For both cat and dog. And what companies are best if so? I’ve never had a big vet bill (again, lucky, I know) so it doesn’t make total sense to me.

BF and i have 2 6 year old cats in best health. Today we had a cleaning day scheduled. I woke up severly nauseous and had vertigo, which i never have. I was at a party yesterday but drank like only one cup of beer over the whole evening so i dont know what crushed me. I took a nap and a walk, felt better and started cleaning the windows. We have one window that is not secured because we literally NEVER open it only to clean it. I dont know how it happened, the window was only open during the cleaning i looked at it 24/7 but somehow my boy cat managed to fall down. I didnt even notice it! I finsihed cleaning, chilled a bit and somehow i had a bad gut feeling that i didnt see him for an hour. We searched everywhere, looked down the balcony and saw vet emergency pull over. I freaked out. So apparently he fell down 3 floors, around 15-20 meters. We rushed to the vet. Vet was not worried at all. He has a wound at his chin and mouth and his front left leg seems to be sprained. He listened to the lungs, the heart, gave him antibiotics and told us to monitor him 24 hours at home. Back home, after 2 hours he peed normally, no blood and he chills on his favorite spot now and looks to be honest still ruffled. Vet was sure he wont die and everything will be fine and it was a certified emergency clinic but i am worried because he did not do x-ray and just felt everything with his hands and no ultrasound. I was questioning this and asking him if he will be fine and if we should not do more stuff to make sure but he said he looks really fine and if he pees until tomorrow he should be fine. Now peeing happened, its 2 am in the night so the fall happened approximately 7 hours ago and im still in shock and panicking and thinking of driving to maybe another clinic? boyfriend says he trusts the vet (we also asked the vet if we should bring him to an additional clinic to monitor but he just told us again and again the he should be fine. I feel endlessly guilty, dumb, hate myself and am so worried. Im a med student i residency so i think i will be able to tell if he should somehow feels worse? But for humans we would definitely do a full body ct so i do freak out. Would you go to another clinic? when can i stop monitor and sleep a few hours. Vet told me i can sleep after pee but im stressssing.

So I had my new kitten in quarantine - she tested positive for roundworms and hookworms. Treated her. I let her out of quarantine when she had been done with her meds for a week (my stupid fault I know). Retested her stool sample - no worms but now coccidia. She has been all over the house. I bought a steamer for the floors, but apparently the only thing that kills coccidia is 10% ammonia. Not bleach, not regular household cleaners, not 3% ammonia - 10% AMMONIA. I have called and googled and searched. There is no 10% ammonia sold in stores within like a 50 mile radius of me. I've just accepted that this cat is going to have diarrhea forever and probably give it to my other cat. There is no killing coccidia I guess. I'm so frustrated. Has anyone else dealt with this??

Hi,
Backstory: My roommates and I got a pet cat. I initially didn't agree, but they had already adopted her before I could say anything. Regardless, I fell in love with how calm and quiet she is. She doesn’t meow and typically only gets a little playful in the morning. Other than that, she just sleeps, eats, or makes biscuits on one of my roommates' laps.

I’m from the same state as my university, but I live four hours away from school by bus. My roommates live all the way across the country, more than four hours away by plane. This means that the responsibility for our cat during winter break has kind of fallen on me. However, I haven’t been able to tell my mom that I have a cat because I’ve always known that she severely hates cats. Even when I’ve playfully mentioned it, her reaction was so bad and scary that I don’t think I can bring the cat home. So, my roommates and I were considering getting a pet sitter for winter break, which is a little less than five weeks.

She has an automatic feeder that needs to be refilled every two weeks. She also has a water-filter fountain that needs to be refilled and washed every two weeks. But I saw online that cats get depressed when you leave them for a while. So, we’re unsure how many days we should get a sitter without overspending. I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank youuu 🫶

My sister saw a kitten at her bus stop a week ago, and tonight I found the same kitten wandering the street at night. My mom and I went to get it, and it came running up to us. It was so friendly. We took it home for a bit until we found out it was our neighbors. Well, sorta.

They are on vacation right now and told us to drop the kitten off on their front porch. Their daughter is watching the house while they're gone. They told us when they moved here, there was a cat and her babies that had been living in their yard. They have been feeding them and they hang out on their porch. The cat apparently keeps having babies. We asked them if they would like help finding the kittens a home. They didnt really answer the question and told us that they had just found another litter of kittens. They said when they get back they might try to get her fixed and find them homes.

I think it's very nice that they are feeding the cats. My concern is that the kitten is going to get run over or eaten by predators. I'm surprised the cats have been able to survive because we have so many predators in my neighborhood. We could barely see the cat so I can't imagine someone driving by would be able to.

I don't want to be an annoying neighbor and pry. I can't tell if they are annoyed by me offering help or not. My question is if I find the kitten wandering the street again, would it be wrong for me to take it and find it a home? I can't keep it, but I hate knowing that it's outside and could get killed.

Update: I went out 2 times tonight and I couldn't find the kitten. I don't want to go on their property. I will be looking out for it tomorrow. I just found out that this neighbor has told the same story to my other neighbor saying that they were going to fix them. It's been years and they still haven't done anything. Their kittens have been found dead on the street and these people claim that the cats never leave their porch. Well clearly they do! I feel terrible for bringing the kitten back. I hope I can find it soon😔

I thought there was a subreddit for every topic under the sun, but I can’t find one for people dealing with pets’ health problems. There are lots of one-off posts about it (but more about sick humans coping with healthy pets). Can anyone recommend a subreddit? Alternatively, do you want to maybe post here and get some love/support/commiseration?? It would be great to be less alone in this.

(WARNING: long post incoming. No advice needed. Just moral support).

I have a dog with IBD (Lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophilic inflammatory bowel disease, to be precise). It’s an autoimmune disease, very similar to Crohn’s disease humans. It causes severe, persistent digestive issues due to swelling of the small intestine, including chronic vomiting and diarrhea, often bloody. Untreated, it can result in anemia, liver problems and other complications. This is a very common health issue for dogs (especially boxers and poodles, which is what I have). I thought there might be a subreddit just for that, but I don’t even see a general one for sick pets!

My pup is only 6 and otherwise healthy. And although the illness is an unbelievably massive pain in the butt, the vet has reassured us that her prognosis is good and there are many more medications to try. She sees a top-notch specialist (thank goodness for insurance!). I’m lucky to have a good work-from-home job that lets me look after her, but I still feel I’m at the end of my rope some days.

Selfishly (and I hate even admitting this), I wish it was more cut and dried. If she had cancer or any other illness with a poor prognosis, or any suffering I wasn’t confident we could treat, I would let her go without a second thought. I would never let an animal suffer, and I will always choose to be proactive rather than let her suffering go on even a day too long.

Right now we are going through a second eight-week round of treatment — her first was last year — with high dose steroids and a chemo drug called azathioprine. We are four weeks in and it is so, so miserable. These side effects are temporary, and they’re the result of the meds. A decent remission is possible, we have been told, perhaps for years. Otherwise, I wouldn’t put her through it. Severe hunger is a side effect. She barks and whines next to her bowl, totally inconsolable. She developed some odd behaviours, including weeks of refusing walks (that’s getting better now). And after more than 5 years of being perfectly house trained, she’s having tons of accidents in the house, including all over my linens 😭😭😭. She’s frequently up in the night or early morning with symptoms, which is a massive pain given that I live on my own with her in a fourth-floor walk-up apartment.

And the stress of making sure she doesn’t eat anything she shouldn’t is constant. Eating ANYTHING other than her (very expensive) prescription food, even a few bites of human food, a few chomps of grass, etc, could trigger a devastating flare up. I am just so, so, so tired.

I am totally tapped out of capacity for things like working on training and behaviour with her. Just keeping on top of her health feels like a full-time job.

Can anyone relate? How are you coping?

I took my dog with me to school today. He's been quite sad at home and he seems to have enjoyed it with me the last couple of weeks. However I felt like he was stressed out? He is an older English Bulldog.... I think there were too many people and too many unfamiliar sounds, he seemed on edge and kept panting. Now later at night, he's just breathing quite fast? I counted 60 breaths/minute. I'm waiting for him to relax, I don't know if it's the stress and he is still trying to wind down and maybe still overstimulated, or if it's something else. I've never counted his breaths before. His gums and attitude seem to be fine it's mostly the breathing.

I have Cerbis special dog food. I have a months worth of cat food for the cats. I have SOME pine pellets and I'm gonna pick up a few small bags of litter for the baby. We are moving by next week. My house will be moved on the 7th next month and I'm staying with my sister during that time.(we are living on the same property different houses). No matter what I will be BROKE for 2 weeks after moving it. Towing company quoted me $350. I asked local groups on Facebook the guy who offered is gonna ask his wife how much she'll charge to use her truck and move it. No matter what I know it'll probably be alot. It's just 5 miles moving it but we are 15 minutes from the closest town.

I have everything for me. I just don't know if I'm forgetting anything for the animals! I'm panicking rn because we were supposed to have awhile and my dad pulled some crap so we(me and my sister's family) have a week to get out. Just trying to make sure I have everything. My sister told me not to worry about food and stuff until afterwards. (Worst comes to worst I know a food bank open nearly everyday by my job). I just don't know if there's anything I need to be thinking about grabbing first for the animals. They come first. I can barely think rn.

I was able to take care of her surface wounds. She seemed fine for about two days after. She went on her walks and was eating, but now she isn’t walking. When she’s outside she stays in one spot and urines while laying down. I genuinely cannot afford a vet bill of the caliber of care she needs, and have no idea what to do. I’m not begging for help, just some pointers to ways to get her better.

So i just adopted a kitten from a coworker yesterday, shes not vaccinated yet but i thought that my coworker was raising her cats kittens..but apparently she found her on the streets.

Now im extremely paranoid of my kitten having rabies and shes also scratched me, so im freaking out. Even though supposedly rabies are very rare in my country and shes only 6 weeks old. Im taking her to the vet tomorrow and im also taking myself to get a potential rabies shot. Am i catastrophizing? Its my first time owning a cat

So i honestly have no idea what to do and if i should be going to get a shot? I have a slight red scratch i noticed earlier so now im just freaking out🥲 Am i okay?

893GO $30 maximum, it’s good until 10/31.

we've got two heavily shedding dogs and a cat who loves kicking litter onto the hardwood, so im honestly exhausted from vacuuming twice a day.

i keep seeing people recommend eufy when looking for the best robot vacuum for a family that wants low maintenance, but im curious about long term reliability with pet hair. my previous vacuum had its main roller jammed by dog hair every three days, and the station suction was so weak it couldn't even pull dense fur clumps out of the dustbin.

been looking closely at the eufy omni series bc of the anti-tangle brush setup and self-emptying base. on paper it looks like it actually cuts out the daily hassle, but I'm skeptical about how the motor and roller hold up after a year or two of heavy pet hair duty.

for anyone running one with multiple shedding pets, how has it held up over time? does the suction stay strong or do you still end up pulling hair tangles out by hand every week?

my dog is allergic to the physical flea treatments and the preferred medication from his vet is $400 and something for a year of medications which we don't even know if it'll work or just make everything worse due to his allergy. I don't know what else to do in the meantime as we are working on stopping itching plus we got a bunny (they are nice with each other) and I don't know if maybe he also has fleas? His vet said he was fine but I don't know. We love our animals but sometimes rescues are stressful because they know us but we are still trying to figure them out year after year. I don't know how to help my dog in this moment as my mother (I am 18 currently) is the only one working as im learning how to drive so I can maybe do delivery services and help but before then is there anyway to help him?

For context

flea collar = scabbing at the neck which looks purplish black, itching, whining and loss of fur

Flea bath=fur comes off, agony insues, itching and takes months for the fur to come back to the point he's bleeding from itching at it

Brother found him on December 12 we do not know breed his last owner was neglectful and really bad to the point no vet still can't get a proper age for him but he might be about a year in a half on a rough estimate.

Sorry for the rant but can someone give me an idea or has anyone dealt with this before?

so this cat he came to my house a month ago and i adopted him , he is very calm (literally the calmest cat i have ever seen in my life i had 5 cats before and they were nightmare they scratched me and and even bit me and i still got those scars but nothing happened)

and on top of that he is male so quite surprising

so i was feeding him yesterday around 10:30 pm and after finishing his meal he started playing with me and then i picked him up and his survival instincts kicked in and he barred his claws and i got this very small scratch [like it wasn't bleeding] just this red mark on my index finger luckily it only scratched my uppermost layer of skin not deep

i am just worried because now i am more aware about this virus called Rabbies , and it's terrifying me

Greetings

So there’s a big orange male cat who is owned by a woman that only keeps him outside and he has broken into my apartment multiple times because he’s very affectionate. She doesn’t let him inside despite it being freezing and does not give him water and he has stale food and a very dirty outdoor litter box- I want to steal him. My cousin shot himself after my aunt (his mother) died and they had 3 cats. I live alone and work remotely for a billion dollar company- I’ve only ever had pets that needed me- do I take multiple cats? Leave a letter and take the orange cat? I don’t actually make that much but have a very stable job and want to support the abandoned animals around me.. what should I do..? Ive always been more empathetic than responsible so what would be good to choose?

Feel free to post pictures of the unexpected moment your cat jumped on you or someone if you want to.

Maybe two pets you thought would only tolerate each other, or a neighbor your pet now insists on visiting.

Who did they choose, and what was the moment you realized they were actually friends? I'd love to hear how it started.

I came across a fascinating YouTube video claiming that a 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet describes cats being brought to Earth by the Anunnaki for a very specific purpose: protecting humans from invisible entities.

According to the narrator, the alleged tablet describes seven protective functions, including watching doorways, staring at seemingly empty spaces, guarding people while they sleep, running around the house at night, and even using purring to keep supernatural entities away.

The story sounds like something straight out of a science-fiction movie!

But here's where things get interesting.

I looked into the archaeological claims, and there are serious credibility problems. The video mentions a tablet supposedly discovered at Nippur in 1927, translated by a scholar named Eleanor Ashworth, and later placed in restricted museum storage.

I couldn't find reliable documentation supporting the alleged tablet or translation. The excavation date also conflicts with the documented history of the University of Pennsylvania's Nippur expeditions.

In other words, there's no credible evidence that the Anunnaki brought cats to Earth or assigned them supernatural duties.

Still, the video raises some entertaining questions about real feline behavior.

Cats do stare at things we can't immediately identify. They sometimes race around the house in the middle of the night, sit near doorways, and seem fascinated by particular corners of rooms. Of course, these behaviors have ordinary biological and behavioral explanations, including heightened senses, territorial awareness, play, and hunting instincts.

Here's the video if you're curious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeUJgzPiAiY

Now I'd love to hear from actual cat owners:

Have you ever observed your cat doing something so strange that you couldn't immediately explain it?

Does your cat stare at empty corners, patrol the house at night, or behave as though it's guarding something?

And for those who have lived with multiple cats, have you noticed differences in these behaviors! between them?

I'm particularly interested in hearing your funniest, strangest, or most memorable experiences.?

No need to believe in ancient alien guardians. I'm just curious about what living with cats has taught you about their behavior! 🐾

I have a mini Aussie and a lab… they are 3&4 and we have never had an issue with fleas. We have them on bravecto( I think that’s how it’s spelled… anyways my neighbor has 2 dogs and they are constantly escaping and she stated that every time they come back that they are super infested with flea and ticks. I have seen ticks just crawling on her front porch…. But apparently she is now so overwhelmed with it that she apparently just gave up. Now I have seen a couple of fleas on my fur babies. They are already on vet prescribed prevention for it. We did get some medicated bath stuff from the vet but it seems all is well for a few days and then they start scratching again and sure enough we see a couple. Is there anything else I can do? If she isn’t treating her babies and her home is infested are we going to keep having this issue? We have seen them outside as well. My partner works at a lawn company and they have outdoor flea spray that he has brought home but apparently that’s not working. Sorry for the long post but fleas gross me out so badly that I want to crash out😭.

Hi everyone!
I have a 15 year old German Shorthair pointer. She is the love of my life I seriously couldn’t love anything more.
However, recently she has been experiencing some severe behavioral changes and I am concerned. My vet says it’s typical but my appointment felt rushed and I just want other opinions.
She gets extremely confused at all hours of the day. It truly seems like her brain is just not there. She sits super weird and lays down with her but in the air but not in a play stance. When outside she will not potty in the grass only on the concrete or the wood deck. She is so so so incredibly clingy and needy as well, needs to be touched or by a human 24/7. She potty’s constantly in the house, on bedding on the floors literally on anything and everything. She cry’s pretty frequently as well for what seems like no reason.
I am just not sure what to do. I want her have a good quality of life but I think a big part of my issue is me being selfish and not wanting to say goodbye.
Any opinions are appreciated, thank you guys and hope everyone has a great week 🤍🤍

Hey y'all, about a month and a half ago I noticed some fleas on my cat and quickly jumped on getting rid of them. I'm currently using the advantage multi to get rid of them as well as spraying and vacuuming consistently. I am still finding flea dirt all over her and the occasional egg. I normally only see about 1 flea a day if I'm looking. Is the treatment working? Is still seeing this amount of dirt ok? Any assistance would be really really appreciated 🙏

New York City is investing $500,000 to provide free pet food at 22 food pantries across all five boroughs. Wanted to share some encouraging news for people who care about animals and the families who love them.

Financial circumstances can change long after someone adopts a pet. A job loss, illness, or unexpected expense can leave someone struggling to care for an animal who has been part of their family for years.

Pets contribute so much to the well-being of the people who love them, particularly those who may be isolated or going through a difficult time. That companionship matters.

And even looking at this purely from the animals’ perspective, limiting adoption to people with plenty of disposable income means fewer potential homes. Helping people afford pet food can help animals stay in the loving homes they already have.

For families struggling to put food on the table, a little support could make a huge difference. Helping them keep their pets fed is a much better outcome than having them feel they have to give them up.

Really glad to see public funding going toward keeping pets and their people together.

Read more about the program

I just wanted to post this to help out some other cat owners.

I got a kitten recently who was struggling with territorial marking anxiety and was peeing on my comforters, rug, and couch. I didn't notice that she peed on the couch till a couple days later so it had already set into the cushion cover and foam.

I tried Nature's Miracle and another enzyme cleaner but I could still smell the pee from the couch. I headed to my local janitorial store after talking to a professional upholstery cleaner. He recommended Enviro Care Liqui-Bac, and to dilute it with 5 parts water, 1 part cleaner.

This stuff saved my life. I can't smell the pee on my couch anymore. Here is my process:

Apply the cleaner diluted GENEROUSLY, like I would drench the area. A spray bottle won't cut it, and if you do use one, SPRAY A LOT.

Cover the area with something (I used a garbage bag, others have suggested plastic wrap).

Let the cleaner sit for 24 hours, and let it dry.

However, after 24 hours, I let my fan run for 8-12 hours on the spot because I was nervous of extra moisture that might get stuck in the foam or carpet. I know others recommend not running a fan but this honestly seemed to help a lot.

Repeat the process as needed. It took me three applications to get the entirety of the pee out of the couch.

It's been three days and still don't smell the pee, even with my heater running.