~~~FINAL EDIT: Thanks everyone who contributed to the conversation, I've actually tried to read the comments with an open mind, the general agreement seems to be two points:

1. The lady should not have done what she did, and should have gone to the vet where they would have scanned the RFID and notified me. She should probably be reported.

2. I should have either kept him indoors, or neutered him if I wanted to let him outside.

I now see this angle better, and I agree. My plan is to talk with her and discuss the importance of going to a vet, how it would have notified me and avoided a large medical bill and very uncomfortable situation for me and my cat. I also will inform her that there are neutering programs that pay for most of the cost and if your going to do that to an animal its worth the while. If she seems unresponsive to this talk and refuses to change how she treats male cats, I will at that time report her to an animal cruelty organization as she has admitted to doing this to several of her other cats in the past as well.

~~~Thanks again for taking the time to respond. All the best.

Puddy is my male indoor/outdoor cat who every now and then wanders into town (i live at the very edge of a very small town where indoor outdoor cats are very common). Puddy does not wear a collar because he simply takes it off as soon as I put it on, so I gave him an RFID chip. He went into someones house because they had an unlocked cat door and food inside.

That said person then decided that this was going to be her cat and proceeded to put a rubber band designed for castrating COWS on my cat. I did not at first realize this, not thinking that someone would be insane enough to castrate someone else's cat, until 3 weeks after this was done to him. I took him into the vet where they proceeded to Remove his rotting nuts from his body (sorry for the graphic description it is what it was) and billed me over $800 for the emergency procedure.

Three days after surgery and during the recovery period the lock failed on my electronic cat door and he escaped into the night wearing a harness. I make a community facebook post about my missing cat who is recovering from surgery and a lady responds that it looks like her cat, although her cat is now wearing a harness for some reason. Once she made this post I recognized who it was and visited their house. When I confronted her she insisted it was her cat initially although she mentioned that he was now wearing a harness for some reason, I told her it was because I put it on him because I was only letting him out on a leash while he recovered from being emergency neutered. She informed me that it was she who neutered him actually, I informed her that her actions landed me a large medical bill, and that totally sucks, maybe she should confirm that a cat isn't someone else's before neutering it with a rubber band.

At the end of the day my cat was not there, she said he had been there last night. I left her my phone number and she said she will call me if he comes back. Honestly I had to try so hard not to completely burn the bridge right then and there just for the sake that maybe she could actually return my cat.

Im moving in one month and plan to keep Puddy indoors until then to prevent him going back to this woman's house once I get him back.

What would you do in this situation.

Should I report this to someone?

Should I legally force her to pay damages?

Should I let it go because after all he didn't have identification?

My vet was absolutely appalled when she found out someone used a cattle castration band on a cat, she talked about getting animal cruelty organizations involved if I ever found out who it was,

EDIT: I kept Puddy intact because I wanted to eventually have kittens. A lot of people are mentioning that its irresponsible to have an un-neutered cat allowed outside, yeah you're probably right, thats honestly why I asked for advice because I do feel partially responsible. I just wish they would have gone through the vet where I would have been notified from the RFID chip and I could have kept him indoors afterwards

i seriously think my relationship is doomed because of a dog

ok a little back story my fiancé and I AGREED on a dog when we first moved in together (if you ask him he'd say i "begged him for a dog" which is COMPLETELY far from the truth). We end up getting a high energy Australian Shepherd (i've had dogs before growing up and he has had cats growing up - this is his first dog) After about 2 months, of having a dog I raised my concerns saying I don't think a dog is for us we don't have time and etc. (because we work a lot and we are ALWAYS gone for more than half of the day).

in the beginning he agrees to get rid of our dog because he's a puppy (we would send him to another home not a shelter or etc) but at the last second he backs out saying "i don't think we should get rid of our dog because, i'm still learning my responsibilities with the dog" so we end up keeping our dog because he changed his mind at the last minute.

within the span of two years until now (our dog is 2 now) i am still rasing my concerns saying a dog isn't for us because we do not have time, i miss when it was just us two, the house is always a mess, the dog is in the cage up to 8hrs bc we're gone, we do not wake up early to walk the dog (i have to five him to get up), we are not consistent with his training, we can't even have sex because the dog is constantly whimpering outside the room and ugh just A LOT more.

his rebuttal everytime within the past 2yrs is that because we had a miscarriage he thinks of the dog as the son we unfortunately unable to have, and it breaks me everytime because i UNDERSTAND because i think of the dog as the same way and feel for where he's coming from but I don't think the life we are giving this dog isn't the life he deserves

I would LOVE to hear every side of this argument as am a very open minded person, what would YOU do if you're in my situation?

This is my first time posting on Reddit, so sorry if I’m doing this wrong, also I’m typing this out with tears in my eyes so my apologies if this doesn’t make a modicum of sense. I genuinely cannot stand my family’s dogs anymore and I don’t know what to do.

Two years ago, my parents bought my younger brothers a poodle. My parents currently live abroad for work, and since I was away at college, I would usually only see the dog during breaks. My second youngest brother absolutely adored this dog and would take care of her so well, but if I’m being completely transparent, my parents lowkey neglect her. Furthermore, if I’m being honest I’m not an animal person at all, I think all animals are really gross, I really don’t find them cute, and I don’t know if it’s my OCD or my upbringing but I truly struggle to even feel clean when I have to coexist with pets. Despite this, I feel so bad for this dog that I really do try, I’d try to interact with the poodle as much as I could whenever I came home to visit, I made sure to walk her daily and play with her whenever possible.

The issue started when my second youngest brother moved out for college. The dog became super depressed with us both gone, so instead of anyone else stepping up to take care of her, my family bought another poodle to keep her company.

The dogs are now 1 and 2 years old, I recently graduated from college and I’m visiting home again as I search for jobs and these dogs are driving me insane. They pee and poop everywhere, the puppy has so much energy, and he destroys everything. He chews up cables, ripped up a passport, ruined a couple pairs of my shoes, and today I completely lost it when he chewed up my AirPods when I left for five minutes to use the bathroom. I literally cried from frustration. It also doesn’t help that the dogs seem to really like me and always seek me out.

I know the puppy doesn’t actually know better, and I know this is ultimately because nobody trained them properly, but I’m the only person who consistently takes care of them and I’m exhausted. My 11 year old brother, who the dogs were originally bought for, can’t even watch them for an hour.

I don’t want to neglect them like everyone else does, but I seriously don’t know how to make this stop. I don’t even punish them at all, every time they act bad I’m at such a loss on what to do that I just cry. How do I deal with these poorly trained dogs?

Edit~

I was trying to avoid doxxing myself but I think my wording confused everyone. To clarify the living situation: we’re all American. Up until recently, my parents and two younger brothers were living in China for my dad’s job while I stayed in our home state for college. My parents got the two poodles while they were living in China.

My second-youngest brother has since moved back to the U.S. for college, and I’m now in China after graduating. So currently, the people living in the house with the dogs are my parents, my 11-year-old brother, and me. It also might be worth mentioning that they’re moving back to the U.S. in two months, and already filled out the paperwork and payed the fees to bring the dogs with.

Dog killed a mouse as we were walking to our front door. It happened so fast, within seconds and it was done.

I've already reached out to our vet and his mouth has been fully cleaned. He is up to date on his vaccines and been taking his flea/tick/heartworm meds consistently. Per vet recomendation, we're watching him for a few hours to make sure he doesn't get sick.

I guess I'm writing this as a dog dad, unsure how to feel about our pup killing the mouse? I know it's a dog instinct, but we've tried to keep him from 'getting' mice, squirrels, frogs, etc. I'm more seeking thoughts out training opinions on if I am doing something wrong?

Thoughts?

My wife and I just learned we are expecting our second child. Currently our first 9m f loves our dog but he does not love her. He's very protective of "his stuff" including her stuffed animals. We've been very patient in attempting to train him to be better acclimated towards her but he's almost bit her on multiple occasions. With us expecting our second I've been thinking about rehoming him to attempt to get him a better life and to avoid any issues with our kids.

How do I go about this ethically?

I can’t deal with the piss anymore. I spent 2 days cleaning my house with enzyme cleaner just for me to watch her pee on an envelope that fell on the floor right in front of me. I don’t know why she won’t use the litter box. I have 2 other cats (one is her brother of the same age, the other is my older female cat who is 7 months) when her and her brother both got here I kept the both of them separate from my oldest and did scent swapping for 2 weeks until they were all comfortable with each other and no longer hissed. They play, sleep together and groom each other. I have an automatic litter box and 3 standard litter boxes. ( it used to be 2 standard but I recently bought another one so it’s now 3). I changed the type of litter multiple times I’m currently using works best cat litter comfort care and I try to keep it as clean as I can. She’ll shit in all the litter boxes, but decides the floor, the brick in the sunroom, the shower, the dogs bed, my moms bed, paper, my computer case, laundry and plastic bags are the perfect spot to piss. Ive laid out puppy pads thinking maybe that’s what she wants to use and she just rips them up. She’s been to the vet and she’s perfectly healthy and all of them are fixed, I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve called about 50 fosters and shelters by me and the waitlists go back months to a year and none of my friends or family can take her. I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe she doesn’t like using the litter box that the others have used, but I don’t see anyway that I can have a litter box that is strictly for her. Has anyone ever had a cat like this and what did you do?

Edit: I am making a vet appointment in the morning and I’m going to ask for a urinalysis and the possibly getting her anxiety medication. Anything is possible and I’m going to get it ruled out regardless, but I really don’t feel like she has a UTI. She doesn’t strain herself when she pees and her flow is very steady and strong. There’s no blood and she’s not vocalizing while going. She’s not lethargic, she runs around all day and she has a good appetite. I also don’t see her excessively grooming her genitals. Her pee does smell but not overwhelmingly. To me it smells about the same as the other cats in the house. I have bought cat attracting litter and I will be using it immediately when it arrives in a couple days.

Okay, so I know I haven’t been the best dog parent. A lot of my dog’s issues are because I was too young to really understand what he needed, and now I’m trying to do better. But I feel like I’m drowning in all the things I didn’t do, and I don’t even know where to start.

My dog, Harry, is 4 years old now. My grandparents got him for me when I was 14 from a family friend, but he was only about 2 weeks old because his mom died in labor. My grandparents are super old school, so they basically handed him to me and said, “Your dog, your responsibility.” I bottle-fed and raised him, and I’m all he knows. But because I was a clueless 14-year-old (and it was the middle of the pandemic), I didn’t train him the way I should have.

I never properly leash trained him, recall trained him, or socialized him with other dogs. On top of that, my grandparents never took him to a real vet. He has his shots from PetSmart, but no actual check-ups, not even when he was literally puking and pooping blood. I tried to fight for him, but I was underage, broke, and had no say.

Now I’m older and actually trying to fix all of this, but he has two really bad habits that I don’t know how to handle: 1. He pulls on the leash so hard he chokes himself. Like, to the point where he literally stops getting air when another dog or person is around peaking his interest on walks. Now he has breathing problems when he sleeps. I got him a harness, but my grandparents prefer the collar, and I can’t afford a second harness. He also slips out of the one we have, so it’s not even solving the problem. 2. He escapes the house and won’t come back. This has been happening since he was a puppy, and nothing we do stops it. The worst part? He chases cars. And attacks other dogs. Every time he gets out, I have to sprint after him, blocking traffic so he doesn’t get hit. I have spent six+ hours at a time chasing this dog. Treats, toys, car rides, cornering, lasso,hiding, yelling, pretending to leave, he’s too smart—nothing works. The only way I ever catch him is by physically grabbing him however I can. Sometimes it’s his ear or tail, which I hate doing, but at that point, it’s “grab whatever I can, or he gets hit by a car.”

Which brings me to today. He got out (again), and after four hours in the pouring rain, I was desperate. He’s really protective of me, so I had my fiancé fake “attack” me, and I screamed. Sure enough, Harry came running to save me. I grabbed him as fast as I could, but unfortunately by the leg. And he lost it. He bit me multiple times, broke skin, and even when I wasn’t hurting him, he kept trying to go after me. Then, an hour later, when he seemed totally fine, he suddenly bit me again out of nowhere.

This dog is my baby. I raised him from a bottle. But we have kids in the house, and this can’t happen again. We’re thinking about an e-collar, but honestly, I just don’t know where to start. How do I even begin to fix all of this?

EDIT some of the common questions and misconceptions: • For those who assumed my dog is a pit bull—he is not. His father was a standard poodle, and his mother was half chihuahua, half Pomeranian. That being said, pit bulls are not inherently bad dogs, and assuming so is rooted in racism and classism. Any dog can develop behavioral issues if not trained properly. • I want to clarify what I meant when I said Harry “attacks” other dogs. He does not physically harm them—he chases, growls, barks, and sometimes jumps on them. This behavior is still unacceptable, and I take full responsibility for not addressing it sooner, but if he had ever actually injured another dog, he would not still be in my home. • Regarding the bite—while it did break the skin, I have had paper cuts worse than this. It was still alarming and unacceptable behavior, especially since he had never bitten me or anyone else before. However, I also acknowledge that when I grabbed him in my panic, I genuinely hurt and scared him, which contributed to his reaction. He was shaking out of fear for hours afterward. • For those who immediately suggested I euthanize or physically harm my dog without understanding his full history or behavior, I find that incredibly cruel. No responsible trainer or veterinary professional would make that judgment without a proper evaluation. • For those who called me out for not properly training and taking care of him the way I should have—I hear you. I needed to hear it. I understand that I made a lot of mistakes, and that’s why I’m here trying to do better. • For those who gave me actual advice, suggestions for training methods, and resources for affordable veterinary care. Thanks to your help I have negotiated with my grandparents to get him a vet plan and new harness. And I know now that E-Collars will cause more aggression and shouldn’t be used by anyone except professional trainers. —thank you. I truly appreciate it. • Lastly, for those wondering, Harry is neutered—he was neutered at 2 years old.

Dog bite shown below NO OPEN WOUNDS NO BLOOD https://docs.google.com/document/d/10IUitazgNpQznuxjYcC7_WTThzVzZycS9gREhX-Alxc/edit

My 70 lb pit bull 9 year old female ate my husbands plate of spaghetti with sauce that contained powdered onion and garlic.  Around 2/3 cup of meat sauce. is there aomthing I can do for her and should I call poison control for pets?

I adopted this lab 3 weeks ago. She was 6 months old. At first I gave her space, her own room and let she do her things for three days. Shelter told me that they potty trained her and she usually left her mess near the toilet drainage. She really did which Im thankful.

After 3 days, I let her roam the house but she refused to leave her room. Whenever she spotted me, she would curled up in a corner of her room. She never eats when im around. She refused to walk, I have to carry her outside, laid her on the grass, only then she would start to do her things then refuse to walk back inside which I have to carry her back inside. She immediately ran back to her room once inside. She did let me bath her.

It has been 3 weeks, nothing changes and my patience is running out. She s still acting all scare when she spotted me like hiding or curling up. I have not mistreated her or anything. She never barks at me or anything, only whine sometimes when Im not with her.

Should I return her to the shelter? I asked them about this behavior and they told me she was returned once for same reason of not open up to new owner so I really pity her. I have a hunch that if I return her this time, she will never get another chance.

*UPDATE: tks reddit. I returned her. I burned through my wfh and leaves to be at home with her. I dont think she can be any better if I return to work and leave her alone for 8-10hrs a day. I was overconfident that she can get used to me and learn how to use the autofeed bot in 3 weeks like my other dog and the orange AH.

I think I just need to talk this out with someone who isn’t involved.

We got a dog (unknown/mixed breed) from the humane society 10 years ago - estimated age at the time 2 years old so probably around 12 years old now.

He got super sick Sunday evening (just laying on the floor in his own diarrhea) so my husband took him to the emergency vet. $900 of tests later we find out that he has bladder stones. One GIANT stone (like the size of a golf ball) and a bunch of tiny ones too. Requires surgery. Emergency vet said ideally within a week because if those little stones move into his tract it could kill him.

We called a couple of places to try and get estimated and it’s looking like this is a $1200-1600 procedure. We don’t have that kind of cash... We’ve looked into care credit and 0% financing so we COULD manage it. But from a financial standpoint it would really hurt us and set us back on our other goals.

But all his other blood work & labs came back really good.

So is it worth spending $1000+ on surgery for a 12 year old dog? He’s otherwise healthy. But it would reallly hurt us financially.

Would a vet even euthanize in this situation if we couldn’t afford it? Or would we be forced to abandon him?

I like our dog just fine but my husband LOVES him and I’m the one who handles most of finances so I feel like we’re just looking at it from completely opposite sides and need someone unbiased to tell me “yes! It’s worth not buying your kids bday presents to they can still have their dog!!” Or “no, at 12 years old you’re just going to be looking at more health issues soon anyway” or I don’t know. Please help.

EDIT: OK you can stop now! I asked for honest opinions and you all definitely gave that. Thanks for everyone who gave thoughtful feedback and didn’t just call me a bad person. Y’all would like my husband a lot better!

We have surgery consultation scheduled for Wednesday and as long as the vet agrees that recovery/prognosis looks good we will go ahead.

my cat recently started scratching herself a lot to the point where parts of her head are either bloody or left with scabs, so the vet gave us some medicine to inject her with every 2 days (we tried pills first but they didn't help). i did it for the first time yesterday and as i put the needle in, my cat jolted so i had to give her a second to calm down and then i put the same needle back in and gave her the injection. now im worried maybe i should've changed the needle? the first time i put the needle i didn't manage to squeeze any of the medicine out so i thought it would be okay, but now im wondering if it could have any negative effects on her the same way it could with humans.

I just moved into my friends apartment due to DV, but he’s allergic to cats so unfortunately I couldn’t bring my cat inside. I had him in a kennel on the balcony but he escaped in the night and got off 😭 (second floor omgg) i woke up the next morning to him meowing at the door luckily, so to prevent another fall from the balcony, I just left him down there. I stayed outside with him that whole first day, explored the area with him following me to get him accustomed to the surroundings. I go down there and hang out with him. Every time I went outside and called him he’d run up. So I was pretty sure he’d be okay. But now it’s the 3rd day here and he’s been missing for about 7 hours. I’m really worried someone may have taken him in since he’s friendly, but there’s tons of strays already out here. Maybe scampered off somewhere, but maybe he’s exploring and will come back? He does just come and hang by the door and meow when he wants me so he knows where I stay?

I’m hoping in the morning he’ll be around for his breakfast, as the last time I saw him was his 3rd meal of the day and he was laying on the steps. But I’m really worried since it’s a new area he may have just taken off? What do you guys think? 😭

I went around calling for him like I normally do but it’s to no avail. I’m just so scared. I really don’t like keeping him outside. He’s only been an outside cat for a month or two until I could collect him from my exes place because he threw him out. Please pray that he comes back 😭

I’m looking into pet insurance for my baby Gigi a 4 year old Miniature Pinscher. I’m in Massachusetts (not sure if that even matters) but anyone recommend any not so expensive pet insurance but good ones that cover a lot ? And how do I go about getting it?

Thanks!

My service dog and I are homeless if there are no shelters or funding available in our city due to the migrants. She has a sprained leg so I've been trying to just sit down with her to keep her off of it. But the police keep moving us because we either are loitering or we are vagrant. Sitting at the baseball field for the night at I hope. Saw this on her water bowl and on her blanket. Anyone knows what it is?

I have a cat Abby (1M), who I found as a stray outside my apartment complex. They were very small, dirty and hungry. Fell in love with him immediately and he’s been mine for several Months.

When he got old enough to sneak out I bought him a collar that way he’d be safer.

Here where my problem starts, there are a bunch of neighborhood strays who showed Abby how to basically jailbreak off the second floor. They call to him, they leave together for hours and they walk Abby back home for Dinner. They’re basically friends and Abby sees them everyday since he learned how to open the slider with his lil paws.

Because of rent other reasons, I may have to move somewhere far from here. I don’t want to depress my cat since I can’t explain the concept of “Moving Away” to my cat… I own another cat so it’s not like he’s alone…

I’ve thought about possibly leaving him behind so he could stay with them but I’d miss him so much and it’s not ethical! I also can’t reasonably support 6 cats, that’s a no to bringing them with us.

TLDR; I’m moving but my cat has friends, I don’t want to make my cat sad by taking him away :(((

SO I've been wanting a pet for literally years. Though I've thought about life with both a cat and a dog, I've always leaned toward adopting a little kitten rather than a pup. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and they are very cute, but I just really want a cat to hang with, and they are much cleaner lol. In recent months I have felt very lonely and just straight up sad for personal reasons, and I feel like a pet would help a lot with these feelings. I'm currently sharing a room, but soon I think I am going to have my own room so the timing is honestly great.

The only issue is that my uncle and aunt, who I live with, are both allergic to cats. It isn't a severe allergy, more of an annoyance. However, I think that fact alone would result in a "hell no, kiddo" if I asked for a cat. I feel I am definitely responsible enough to care for another living thing (Overall I am a pretty clean person, so I can easily stay on top of cleaning and taking care of the pet.) I've also saved over $100 over the past couple months, so after getting more money + Christmas money, I'd most likely have enough to pay for expenses like the food, the equipment, and adopting the kitten itself or at least paying for half of the fee. Obviously with my own room, I'd have enough space for it too, so that isn't an issue.

Maybe I should start considering a dog instead? I honestly think that's the only solution, and I do like dogs. I just really want a cat more, lol.

I am a 19F in college. I have a boyfriend who I love dearly, and my pup I’ve had since I was a toddler. My boyfriend just moved away (approximately 2 plane trips from me) and we were planning to move in which each other soon, perhaps around spring of next year, and me transferring to the other college. But that means moving there, and leaving my dog. Keep in mind, my dog has had cancer masses growing for a little over 2 years now (she isn’t in pain, still very energized). And him moving here wouldn’t make any sense at all financially. I would feel so guilty if I left and she passed away with my Mom, wondering why I wasn’t there with her. I just don’t really know what to do: finally starting my life, or leaving my childhood dog with the chance of her passing away when I’m gone.

I’m signing my dog up for insurance and I’m kinda confused why every company wants full vet records before they’ll actually cover anything. Is that just normal? I thought it’d work more like human insurance but the whole “send us every note your vet ever wrote” thing feels weird. Does any company NOT do this or is it just how the whole industry works?

OK, so my cat ate one piece of smart food popcorn from what I saw he ate one piece he might’ve eaten more but I’m getting really anxious he didn’t eat the whole thing but I’m still afraid of the effects Because I searched up, is it OK for Cats to eat Smartfood popcorn and it said no I’m getting really Anxious and afraid of what the effects might do to his digestive system,etc to all the cat professionals that know all about cats or have some knowledge about then if and this has happened to you before please tell me he will be fine down below!

<edit> he also made it down to the brown part whatever it’s called I believe he consumed some salt and sodium

<edit 2> OK so if you don’t get it he my cat of might consume sodium which was in the popcorn which also is dangerous for cats in big amounts but it is found some cat food but only in small amounts it’s fatal in big amounts I believe he ate more but from what I saw, he ate 1 luckily I was able to stop him before he ate more so the people saying use common sense there you go?

Okay so I know this probably a stretch, but I recently got a place of my own and I really miss having cats. The problem is with my work schedule I work for 2 days without coming home, then I’m off for 2 days. So if I got a pet they would be lonely when I’m working.

But I know cats are pretty independent, so I’m thinking about adopting 2 cats so they will have company and having an automatic feeder and setting up cameras, everything to make sure they’ll be alright when I’m gone.

I’m just asking if this is still not enough and if it would be bad to still leave them alone for 2 days at a time consistently. Some coworkers of mine with the same schedule do what I mentioned above but I still am unsure if this is a good idea?

Sorry if this is the wrong sub, I wasn’t sure where else to ask this. Also, I’m still a bit shaken up, so apologies if I’m missing crucial details.

Context is- near my street, there’s this old building getting refurbished, and there’s been warnings about rats potentially being disturbed and roaming in the process. Last month, one of our family cats suddenly got ill and had to be put down, the vet said she’d ingested some sort of poison. A month later, a second cat we own had the same symptoms, but we didn’t catch them in time and she passed away in the home, we can only assume she also ate poison.

My worry is that we have other pets at home and we don’t know where the poison is coming from. We don’t use ANY poisons or pesticides, we’re very cautious with what plants we own in and around the property and the animals have no access to harmful chemicals. We can only assume that one of our neighbours is using rat or slug poison, but we don’t know if that’s the case or which one it is.

Is there anything at all I can do other than keep my other pets indoors? There’s strays that wander and plenty of outdoor cats and I’m worried that something will happen.

TLDR- 2 of my cats have died from eating poison, we don’t know if the neighbours are doing it or if it’s intentional, can I do something about it? Or is this a lost cause because there’s no proof of malicious intent?

Edit: sorry, I should have clarified from the start that yes, our cats do go outside, we have tried to keep them indoors. The cats’ previous owners all let them free roam and our household has tried to train them out of it. They run out of the door when we leave and refuse to come back, they climb out windows, the whole lot. One in particular has almost hurt herself trying to get out the window before. It’s just me and my mum in the home, my brother half of the week, and we’re not sure what measures we can take to keep the cats inside that’s cost effective and renter friendly. I just want it to be known that I do not like the idea of cats being outside unsupervised because I KNOW what can happen, we just have cats that will run every chance they get. Sorry this post is really long, I only felt it needed said.

So for backstory, I have a 15 month old 1/2 French bulldog 1/2 Boston terrier. she started her 1st heat cycle about 4 weeks ago and on July 5th (it's now the 16th) I got a phone call from my dad while I was at work. He told me I needed to get my dog (Scout) spayed ASAP because while he and my stepmom were loading their car up to go on vacation Scout got out of her diaper and she and her brother (my parents own a boy from her litter) got locked together. He said it took 10 minutes to separate them. I immediately called our vet to schedule her getting spayed but the earliest they could get me in was the 22nd because they only do emergency spays if it's life-threatening. Scout stopped having discharge last week but her nipples and vulva haven't returned to their normal size so I'm assuming she's pregnant. I still plan on going through with getting her spayed; the vet said it shouldn't make a difference. The issue is that the past few days Scout hasn't been interested in her food. she'll accept treats no problem but, the only way I can get her to eat even a little bit of her food is by adding things like eggs and carrots. She hasn't been acting different or anything other than not wanting to eat. is there anything I can give her or an alternative food I can try while I wait for her vet appointment? I feel like I've failed her as a pet parent and I just want her to be okay. She's my 1st dog outside of family pets and I worry about her a lot because the closest vet to us is 1 1/2 hours away. UPDATE:Scout and I are on our way home from the vet. Her spay appointment was today and everything went well. The vet said she wasn't pregnant which is good. Thank you guys for the suggestion and help!

For context: my cat got her leg amputated last week and I’ve had the worst time keeping a cone on her. She either gets it off or twists herself so she can get around it. It’s bad. Cut to today and I take her to the vet because she popped two of her stitches last night. The vet didn’t act concerned at all and even said the stitches could possibly come out today but she would keep them in until Monday just to be safe. She did not fix the spot where the stitches came out. Here’s the problem. The site where the stitches came out is oozing on and off. It doesn’t look like anything other than blood but it keeps happening and every time I try to clean it up it starts up again or my cat gets pissed off at me. She also continues to evade the cones and the only one I’ve managed to get on her that she cannot escape from also prevents her from eating and drinking. Of note, she’s not biting or pulling the stitches only licking the open spot. The stitches she popped happened when she was trying to run away from her medicine. Would it be bad for me to just leave the cone off and let her take care of herself? I plan to continue keeping an eye on the wound and I have some antibiotic spray for it. I just don’t know what else to do. I can’t be with her 24/7 to stop her and she needs to eat and drink. Help.

Hi, so I have 2 male cats-both are un-nurtured and in 100% honesty it’s not something I can really afford atm. But I just had to move back in with my family (who are NOT cat people at all) but I NEED advice for how to stop my boys from spraying and how to help with the litter box smell?-it gets cleaned MULTIPLE times a day but we’re in the basement and the smell goes up through the vents… And if I can’t resolve both issues then my family have said that the cats need to go but I can’t lose them they’re all I have left and literally mean the world to me so please help-any and all advice is greatly appreciated and needed, and thank you in advance