idk what else to try at this point. my lab mix is almost 10 and for the last 3 weeks she’s been getting up multiple times during the night, shaking, pacing around the room and just looking stressed. it started randomly after a storm and never really stopped. she used to sleep through the night no problem.

vet checked her out last week, bloodwork came back fine, no obvious pain when they pressed on her joints, ears look clean. they said it could be anxiety or just old age stuff starting. put her on a short course of something mild but it only helped a little and i don’t want her on meds long term if i can avoid it.

i’ve tried more walks, puzzle toys, leaving a light on, even sleeping on the floor next to her. nothing sticks for more than a night or two. ordered the calming chews from honest paws yesterday because a few people mentioned them for older dogs with this exact restless nighttime behavior. hoping they actually do something because i’m exhausted and she looks miserable.

anyone dealt with sudden nighttime anxiety in a senior dog that wasn’t pain related? what actually helped yours settle again?

Ok so about a week and a half ago I adopted two 4 week old sister kittens and I’m going through it. This is my first time ever having to take care of cats so I always find myself extremely anxious and on edge. My biggest fear is that they will grow up to be aggressive cats but I know that I’m just overthinking this a lot so u could say I’m here for some advice and emotional support 😭

So for the most part they’re good right except sometimes during feeding time they will start fighting each other not like full blown but will growl try to scratch each other and I get really worried about this. I try to separate them and the food for a second before they can go back it agin which ig does calm them down but just thinking about it makes me idk sad??

Secondly one of them keeps trying to bite me , so not all the time but she keeps coming towards my fingers and licks me first then bites. Now they’re not very hard bites but I’m so scared she’s never going to grow out of it. Whenever she does that I pick her up and get her off my lap she comes over again and this happens continuously then I am forced to end the interaction and put them in their kitten room that I have at my house cuz she won’t stop. And before anyone says anything about how to discourage this behaviour I have tried everything I can from making a high pitch noise when she does that redirecting her to toys but she just doesn’t listen and It is giving me anxiety cuz I feel like I’m a bad cat mom. I also feel like the biting has increased. Also I have never used my hands to play with them.

I would like to hear from people who adopted 2 kittens who also shared maybe a similar experience and whether it’s going to be ok and they’ll grow out of it and just idk give me some hope cuz rn I feel so overstimulated by them and my thoughts about constantly thinking bout them.

Edit: they were 4 weeks when they were taken away from their mother and that was 3 weeks ago. Sorry for the miscalculation

Everyone braces for the couch and the shoes. I’m more curious about the stuff nobody warns you about. The thing I hear most is rugs, not chewed, just gradually finished off by accidents, wet paws and the occasional sick day. What went in your house, and did you replace it with something tougher or just not replace it?

I've have used and still do this service. However at times some of the regular sitters move on and I find another local one. However, as well as the acknowledgement of each sitter being vetted on this site is there any doubts or fears of your pets safety and well being when in their care? I asked this because it came into my head and I thought how will I know? What are the signs? What to look for when I pick him up from the sitters? Usually no more than 2-3 hours once per week with each of them. 3 separate sitters not every week but they are the regular ones I "trust". Now I've been thinking how do I install a camera in his toys or even his travel bag. I'm sure I'm being so paranoid, why i don't know. But on IG I saw a post of a secret camera of a dog owner catched her sitter abusing her dog at her own home, whereas my little one is at their home. Any advice of what signs to look for

Yesterday i saved a small kitten from the road, they were about to burst into traffic. Its young about a month old. The 'Rescue' took several hours as it was crying for their mom but unfamiliar and afraid of humans. They scratched the f out of us but we got them in a box.

I placed them in a room by themselves, with food water and cat litter. Once we opened the box they bolted and hide somewhere. They dont even make a sound. I keep the door closed and i see they do eat the food.

My 5yo cat is very vocal and anxious and i thing hearing her is not helping the little one come out and trust us. I try spending time in the other room with kitten so it will smell me and get used to me but my cat litteraly cries when i leave her (adjecent rooms).

Any tips are welcome!

My dog as a puppy stole a box of chestnuts off the counter and buried them. 2 months later she kept bringing them in individually and presenting them like gifts. And just recently stole a loaf of bread off the counter, which is weird because I can set down my dinner on the couch and come back to it untouched.

My 16 yo ragdoll has a tumour in one kidney, and cysts in the other. There is blood in his urine.

When I went to the vet, they established this with me and more or less said there isn’t really viable treatment because of his age, and to essentially let them know when it gets worse and he starts straining to urinate. Basically he will be “fine” until he isn’t. It’s been a few months since these visits where he was diagnosed.

It’s a really hard question for me, I love my cat i’ve had him since I was ten and i’m in my mid twenties now. I don’t want to put him down but I don’t want him to have a terrible quality of life because i’m being stubborn.

When he strains? If he starts getting incontinent?

I’d really like advice on how I can be fair to my boy.

My neighbour got a dog about a year ago and initially it was fine because it was a puppy but it has now become a menace. I’m not sure what to do so I’m reaching out to Reddit because I feel like someone may be able to tell me what I can do in this situation. Shortly after they got this dog we brought a puppy home as well, we have a small poodle while they own a large Great Pyrenees. They are unable to keep control of this dog and there have been numerous circumstances that have made me very nervous for my dog. The dog is constantly barking when it’s outside, which is one of the smaller problems but thought I would mention. The dog has nearly been hit by cars by running off numerous times, when my dog was still a pup there dog came onto our property.

Now here comes the issues that have made me scared for my dogs safety, number one the neighbour brought the dog outside and was on there driveway (keep in mind we have a fence that separates our driveways), the owner didn’t notice we had come outside but the dog did and the dog whipped the owner so hard to come towards us that the owner fell into our fence and completely tore through it (it’s a plastic fence it’s now missing pickets from it).

We have actually had a situation where the dog bit our dog, the dog was on a long leash and came onto our property (our backyard is only half fenced) and bit my dog. We didn’t initially think he punctured until we saw blood shortly after. We have mentioned it to our neighbours but my mom is very non confrontational and doesn’t want to cause problems. Today, my mom had taken the dog outside when the neighbours dog got off leash and ran into our backyard towards my dog, my mom got between my dog and the neighbours dog and thankfully the neighbour came and grabbed the dog before anything could have happened.

But with that being said I’m almost scared to take my dog outside, is there anything I can do? As I wasn’t home when this occurred and my mom was shaken up not much was really said but I forsure will be saying something to them about this situation. Any advice ?

My dog keeps dry heaving almost like snorting up a luggy he keeps doing to repeatedly like he can’t control it. Please respond this is happening right now

Update:
It was around 3/4 AM when I posted this. I just wanna add a little clarification when I meant that he’s been doing it for hours. He did it a little bit right before we went to bed. I looked it up. They told me it was reverse sneezing, and not to overreact, and it was benign and he didn’t do it again so we went to bed. I wake up at 3 AM with him doing it excessively like you guys saw in the video that i posted. I’m confused so I looked it up again and it’s telling me reverse sneezing I wasn’t sure because reverse sneezing last for a couple of seconds at most a minute that’s how long his was, but it was episodes like he would stop and then continue stop and continue so I posted on Reddit to see if I was overreacting or if I should get into the vet since everywhere else was telling me that I was overreacting I mentioned that it’s my first dog because I thought that it was just a normal dog thing to do because I’ve heard of reverse sneezing and that it was totally normal. After the first comment, I’d say two minutes after I made the Reddit post telling me to take him to the vet that is when I took him to the vet. Again, it was 4 AM so I had to go to the nearest emergency vet when I got there and told them that his symptoms and showed them the video that I posted here they acted very smug that I was overreacting and they told me that it was reverse sneezing they gave him a look up. They said it was just reverse sneezing and they sent me on my way. I don’t know if they were tired. I don’t know if they just didn’t wanna handle him or if it really was reverse sneezing, but I took him to the vet. They told me that I was overreacting which I was scared of. Anyways, that is the update. He’s doing fine now just very tired and I’m gonna keep a close eye on him.

Update 2: going to take my dog again to the vet he’s extremely lethargic and is barely eating. I don’t think this was reverse sneezing. Thanks for all the help in the comments.

Hey yall. I’m in need for some advice and/or anyone with experience. I have a 16y/o corgi mix who’s truly my best friend in the world. However in recent months her doggy dementia has gotten so bad and I’m having real caregiver fatigue. Two weeks ago she was diagnosed with stage two kidney disease after we took her to the vet from having some accidents and terrible smelling pee. We got some antibiotics for a uti and Trazadone 50mg for her doggy dementia. Let me just say the first few times we gave her the traz it was like having my dog back at night. No anxiety and wanted to cuddle and sleep. However after a few days she started acting super drunk and couldn’t stand up on her own. Even vomitted one night. I gave her half the prescribed dose and got the same result. I called the vet and they said to just discontinue the traz. We doubled her gabapentine to hopefully help with her sleeping and that had no effect. Now after all of this and the antibiotics for her uti it’s somehow all worse. She’s having accidents in the house. Can’t make it through the night without having to pee. All in the matter of a couple of weeks. I’m not sure what to do. She eats and drinks water no problem. She seems like a happy dog (as long as it’s before 5:30 when the dementia kicks in then she just paces and whines) I feel so selfish being tired over her dementia and peeing. Does anyone have any similar experiences?

I fostered and adopted a senior micro bully about 2 years ago (her gotcha day is this weekend actually!) and I’m looking for an affordable pet insurance option that will help in case of emergency. The thing is, she already experiences some issues related to her breed and past pre-rescue neglect. Does anyone have any insight into whether these will be covered? I’m scared to purchase a plan and then find out down the road when I need to make a claim that they won’t help me. Here are all the details for context:

- my dog is a female spayed micro bully, estimated about 7-8 years old, and she’s 30 lbs

- prior to rescue she was being bred by a backyard breeder and she was severely neglected and seemingly lived exclusively in a crate. Most of the issues from this were behavioral, but I have noticed some physical results, like for example, her teeth are in pretty horrible shape. I brush them and give her dental treats regularly, but she has never had a vet administered dental cleaning or exam beyond the quick visual check the vet gives during an appointment

- she has a cleft palate so she technically only has one nostril

- her previous owners had her ears and tail cropped and docked

- I believe she has BOAS (brachycephalic obstructed airway syndrome) due to frequent retching/daily vomiting especially right after eating, the signs of struggle she has with breathing when excited or overheated, and her snoring, but she hasn’t been officially diagnosed with anything

- when she was still my foster prior to adoption, she had a severe cherry eye which required surgery, however the adoption agency paid for that care, and she has not had any issues since

- she hasn’t shown signs of hip dysplasia, but I know that is a common condition for her breed so she is on a multivitamin for joint support

- she’s had 2 UTIs within the span of 2 years, both were treated with antibiotics at home

- she has had issues with skin allergies/rashes, however they usually go away after a few days of anti-itch ointment, coconut oil, and shea butter.

- I try to be as preventative as I can with her health. I did extensive research to find a daily senior dog multivitamin that supports her from snout to tail, and she eats a high-quality, nutrient-dense kibble for small dogs from Nulo that is better than anything I’ve fed myself since I got her

In terms of previous vet records, I’ve personally taken her to the vet 4 times since having her. Two of those visits were to Petco Vetco clinics for vaccines, the other two were to a full service vet, once for an annual checkup and once to get a trazodone prescription for plane travel. The full service vet we saw was in California, however we’ve since relocated to Georgia. I understand that any potential symptoms for preexisting conditions would’ve likely been noted in her full checkup at the california full service vet. I have her records from Petco Vetco, and the only abnormality documented was a skin rash and hair loss at the site of her vaccine injection a few weeks prior. Would I be required to track down and submit records from the full service vet? And if I were to only submit the records from Petco Vetco, is there any chance that could be a potential issue in the future?

I really appreciate any suggestions you all have. I love my baby more than life itself, and it would break me if I couldn’t get her care that she needed. Admittedly, I didn’t know enough about her breed and the potential health issues before choosing to adopt, but at this point, she is my soul dog and I will do whatever I can to take care of her. However, like most Americans right now, I live paycheck to paycheck, and, despite the fact that I would sacrifice anything for her, an unexpected 4-5 figure bill would be pretty much impossible for me to cover. But fully recognizing that she is predisposed to certain health issues, I fear it’s not a matter of if she will require serious vet care, but when, so I want to be prepared. If there’s a reasonably priced insurance out there that covers breed-related and/or pre-rescue-related health problems (and, ideally, offers a direct pay to vets option) please let me know! If not, I’m considering looking into some kind of high yield savings account or something so I have money set aside for vet bills (if you have any recs on that let me know!).

Thank you so much for your help.

i'm sorry I can't add a flair, because i was watching a video about cells and thought what if i had a pet cell, like the little things alive stuff is made of, like turtles. So I've asked an AI real quick and told me the Physarum polycephalum and Stentor coeruleus are the best.
i chose the second since the other can expand like a lot and that scares me, so i thought of containing it in a glass sized cylinder.

It's still all just thoughts but what do y'all think

EDIT=
guys chill out, no im not crazy, i was just thinking about what other people's opinion could be

We recently got a new kitten to add to our lil troop of an old man cat and an adult cat. He’s been with us about 3 months and is settling in fine.

He leaves old man cat alone, mostly, even though old man is more wary of the kitten and runs away when he’s had too much (aka very quickly lol). Our older (6yo) girl though, had a lot of issues with the kitten from day 1. She’d growl and hiss at the kitten but redirect her aggression VERY STRONGLY at the old man. We did everything we could to help her, and Gabapentin ended up doing her wonders. Now things are much better - no more attacking our elder, but now the kitten has gotten bigger and wants to PLAY with the younger. He plays too hard. We actively discourage it but he still really tries his luck with her. I think he think’s she’s playing because she doesn’t kick his actual ass, but we’re worried her tolerance may wane.

I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to break this shit up? He still jumps at our hands and feet but is easily waggled off, but I wonder if our active lack of discouraging aggressive play with us is leading to his thinking playing a little hard on our girl may be okay?

I know cats aren’t toddlers so maybe I’m thinking about it too much, but I want to stop doing anything to send the wrong signals, I guess!

TIA

This situation triggered me bad first it was my own dogs but I educated myself on them and I know Im able to monitor them but when a dog I cant monitor rammed into back of my heel i spiraled I told the er about my situation and they said a vaccine was recommended I already reported it to the county they wasn’t able to identify the dog so my last resort was the er

So my dog recently had pyometra surgery. She was doing really well post op and would go on morning walks to pee. On day 5, she refused to get up and would not pee for me.
Apparently when I went for the pyometra surgery I hadn’t know that the vet had informed me of this issue. When taking an x ray for pyometra, the vet told me they say something on the spine from the x rays. (Again I was completely focused on the pyometra that I had no idea this conversation was even happening.)
Now while she’s in her recovery, I have a whole new issue to overcome and I feel so defeated. I want to rehabilitate her so she can walking again. I absolutely cannot afford surgery and I had to pull some strings to even get the pyometra surgery done. I wanna consider acupuncture, laser therapy or medication. Is there a chance she will start peeing and walking with a most cost effective method?
I have so much guilt because I still wasn’t able to help her with the surgery and now I have to put her through more. I don’t want to have to put her down and then m becoming hopeless. To make matters worse, I need to move out in a few months and she’s technically my parents dog. I won’t be able to take her with me and they’re not exactly the best pet parents. I don’t trust them to keep up with her rehabilitation process and they’re probably going to give up on her if she doesn’t gain the strength to walk again. Please guys I need help and reassurance

My sister watched the baby kitten for THREE FRICKEN DAYS and ignored the care instructions and gave her dry food instead of the wet I gave her the kitten with and PAID HER to feed her. She gave her store brand adult dry cat food because the cans "stink"(aka smell like cat food). Her stomach is upset now. She's having diarrhea. I HAVE probiotics to give her but she needs half the capsule and won't eat her wet food now. Idk how to get her to take a powder without it. Any ideas? Her stomach is upset as hell 😭

Edit: had to go to the vet she had severe gut inflammation and constipation 😭

I’ve been researching Elaeocarpus decipiens to see if it is safe to plant in my backyard for our dogs. I’ve found some information saying it is not toxic but I cannot find an actual source. Does anyone know if these plants are safe or where I can find information?

Hello!

I’ve recently become concerned about my cat. I document whenever my cat has a bowel movement. Don’t worry it’s nothing gross lol I just write down the time, day, how many pieces, color and size. It’s a good way for me to get peace of mind and avoid unnecessary vet visits if not absolutely necessary.

He has had bathroom issues since he was a kitten due to my cousin not taking care of him as he should have. Nothing too major though.

Anyways. I am under the assumption the last time he had a bowel movement was 8/25. Typically he will go 1 or 2 days without one and then by the third day he will have one. I’ve asked my family if maybe he’s had one while I was out or at work, but they cannot remember.
Today I found a medium/small piece in one of his litter boxes but it seemed a little old.

I have not noticed any concerning behavior. The only new thing he started doing is loafing in a flat position, as well as general loafing a little more frequently. As well as laying in the sun. But he has had an appetite, been drinking water, etc.

I usually give him canned pumpkin whenever I noticed he’s a little constipated. I was thinking of starting that again today. I texted a veterinarian and will hopefully hear back, but in case I don’t I wanted to post here.

I’m really worried about his bowel movements and his recent interest in flat loafing :(

I’d love to hear feedback and real advice and experiences with anything similar. (PLEASE NO AI)

Thank you so much!!! Meow meow :3

My wool rug has old vomit and urine stains on it...is it worth trying to clean myself, if so how? If not, is there a different type of rug I should get that will still look nice that cleans better?

I always had dogs until almost two years ago my best friend died, and for the first time I did not immediately got another because I was travelling a lot.

This is mostly over now. Conditions are good I think, big (multi generation) house, big garden, all fenced. Always someone home (if bf and I are not then my mom lives above us). Doggo would never be alone.

But am I ready for the commitment?

Walking every day?

The hair? I have 3 cats right now and the hair!!!

I am looking for a breed I want for half a year now (don't mind if it is mixed but all the dogs in the shelter rn are staffords and the like, which I do not want). Dog needs to be cat friendly and all that. All pure breeds I looked at have health issues that I do not want to support (Corgi, West Highland White Terrier etc.)

Really like the Tamaskan but fear I can't give it enough exercise.

Word of advice?

Yeah, I need a really clickbaity title so I can get some answers. Thankfully, my post is exactly what I need to ask.

I'm moving out soon (about a year) and I NEED tips. I can't leave him here, and even if I can't take him to live with me I need him to be in a better place. My grandmother, who is his legal owner, regularly threatens violence against him and does physically abuse him, and there's been several times where she's gone way too far and seriously harmed him, one time I'll never get out of my head, the yelp he made.

I don't want legal stuff, there's no legal way for me to take him. Really I've been thinking of saying he escaped when I actually took him but we have a video camera. What can I even do? I have zero evidence of abuse but I cannot leave him here. Luckily, she'll probably die soon. But I imagine I still can't get ownership of him then either.

I did have an idea, thankfully. I was going to take him to my neighbor's house in the event she dies and claim he escaped and have him taken to a no-kill shelter. Anything, genuinely anything to get him out of here is appreciated, I don't care what the option is as long as I can get him to safety.

So we have stairs in our apartment and several times my gfs cat will attack my dog unprovoked at the top of the stairs I believe it's because it's a choke point and that she may not like my dog being elevated higher that her but she will be fine if they are in the same room together. It always happens at the top and nowhere else.

Has anyone else had anything similar and any advice on how to prevent this happening again

My dog has been scratched a few times and I've always been there when it happens im posting this literally after it just happened as well my dog just standing there and the cat she does like a fake nibble on one of her (dog) front legs and then she just pouches full claws put but no noise or screaming or yowling. Im more afraid of my dog seriously injuring the cat, seeing how she fits in my dogs mouth, than my dog getting scratched though id MUCH rather neither animals being hurt at all.

Again any help or advice would be appreciated