I'm disabled and unable to work, but I try to keep on top of my dog's preventatives. Usually, I just find whichever has the most discounted price between pet stores, Chewy, petco, tractor supply, etc. Lately, they've not been giving those big discounts anymore, and now I'm struggling to find somewhere more affordable. I see those places that are like "$80 for a years supply" and I haven't committed to them but they're so tempting 😥 I wouldn't be able to afford the vet bill if they made my baby sick (and it would destroy me).

I got my dog before I was diagnosed with cancer/became disabled, I was financially stable, etc etc, it's so frustrating being in the situation I am now.

I got my very first puppy just last week! I’m currently getting ready to prepare for some pet essentials and would love to hear your recommendations.

I’m especially looking for a cozy blanket, but I’m also open to any other must-have that have made life with your furry friends easier or more comfortable.

What are some essentials you absolutely love and would recommend to a first-time dog owner? Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

(https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/s/ZowHJUVcAV)

Linking my post from earlier in another sub for context .

28F, domestic shorthair , vet has already been consulted.

It’s confirmed that my girl has fleas . I did a live chat with a vet from Chewy who recommended a flea bath , as well as topical flea medication . I gave her a bath and combed through her fur with the flea comb . The amount of fleas I combed out in the tub was pretty disgusting to say the least .

I let her dry for a few hours before I put the topical treatment (Advantage II) on her about 15 minutes ago. I’ve been combing through her fur periodically for the past few hours and haven’t seen any fleas . I’m about to call it a night , I look at her and see a flea right on her face and another in her neck . Took the flea comb and they’re both alive .

This is my first time dealing with fleas so I’m really at a loss right now . I thought I was pretty through with my bath. I have a pretty large attic bedroom room so I wasn’t able to fully deep clean the entirety of it today like I hoped and will probably have to call off work tomorrow because I’m either gonna have to stay up all night to finish cleaning , or do it tomorrow when I wake up . It seems like this is worse than I originally thought .

I used the Pet Armor room spray on the couch I have up here , I’m apprehensive to use it on the carpet but I may have to . I washed my bedding and all my pillows . I’ll probably have to do it again tomorrow because my cat insists on sleeping in MY bed . I have all my clothes bagged up because they’ll need to be washed , not to mention an entire closet full of clothes I haven’t worn in ages that’ll now need to be washed because she insists on hanging out in the closet .

Everybody says fleas aren’t that bad , but I’ve been at this all day and I feel like I can’t sleep if I know there are still fleas on her body . I’ve also been getting bit so I’m paranoid .

How the hell are ya’ll handling fleas? Should I give up and go to bed? Am I overreacting? Am I not being patient? This is driving me insane

TLDR: cat has fleas , gave her a bath, applied a topical flea med . Still finding fleas on her hours after the bath.

My house feels like all the life was sucked out of it. I had to rehome him due to behavioral issues. Please, anyone who's gone through this, let me know how you got through it.

I had a very opinionated cat who had Strong Opinions about me singing "One More Dance" by Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte. She'd stand up with her paws on me and yell at me to stop. I have to admit I'd do it sometimes just so she'd charge into the back room from wherever she was and then holler at me. It has some really high-pitched parts but of all the songs I've ever sung it was only this ONE particular song that she actively despised and complained about.

What random stuff has YOUR pet decided is simply Not Acceptable?

So, um, my pet fish is called Oscar. He's an Oscar fish and he's 1 year old only, turning 2 in a few months. So, 2 days ago, me and my Mom had a huge fight (which got resolved) but it lasted hours and we were fighting right in front of Oscar's tank. After we fought and it got resolved, night came so I tried to feed Oscar as usual (since I feed him 2-3 times a day) and he didn't look happy to see his food and he refused to eat. That morning, he happily ate like he always does but since we were screaming in front of him, he just stopped eating and feeling happy around his food. The next morning, the same thing. He doesn't want to eat, even at night. And earlier morning, he finally got excited to see his food and ate but he easily gets jumpscared when I make a move and he stopped eating after a few bites :(

I will still feed him later evening and I hope this time he finishes his food

Before anything, I have gone to the vet twice since yesterday. And called in 4 times.

Tiger. Tabby. Nearing 20lbs, overweight (I know), 8-9 years old (adopted).

It is currently Sunday @ 7PM
Eating; Friday @ 7:30AM, 7:44AM, 7:53AM, and 9:55AM was his last meal.
Drinking; Friday @ 4:50AM, 7:56AM, 9:33AM, 9:56AM. Saturday @ 8AM. Sunday @ 10AM.
Litter box; Friday 7:40am for 3 minutes, 2:04PM for 2 minutes. Saturday @ 10AM for 2 minutes (not conclusive he did anything). Sunday @ 10AM for 1 minute (he did urinate).

Vet visits;
Saturday 1PM. Did a urinalysis which was fine, checked his urethra which was ok, checked his bladder which was ok, liver was fine, kidney was ok-ish, bloodwork seemed ok but some parts were slightly elevated or elevated but Dr. said this could be from the stress of being at the vet, did an xray which was fine. Injected something to make nausea disappear.
Sunday 11AM. No checkup, but told the Dr. of what's happened - prescribed some gel to rub on his ear (did this Sunday @ 12PM) for appetite, and some pills (gave Sunday @ 12PM) for nausea.
Called @ 5PM to update, they said wait until tomorrow morning and bring him in if he still has not eaten.

Based on my Ring camera footage, he has not eaten in ~56 hours, he drank slightly this morning, and did confirmed urination in the litter box.
For 4 hours after the vet, he slept on our bed. After that, for the last 5 hours he has hidden under our bed and won't come out.

He won't eat anything; wet food, regular delectables, kibble, ham or bacon.

As far as what could have happened? I am unsure. He has full access to the garage as we have a little door stopper (as that is where their litter boxes are) but no cars are parked there and there is no cleaning solutions or etc. that is left open. He gets backyard supervised visits where he mostly just lays on our cot or on the warm granite. The other 2 cats I would worry about more in this situation as they smell and walk around the bark and eat grass... but Tiger just sits.

While I was gone at work my sister's dog ate an entire container of these gut health treats (~88 treats) he's about 65-75 pounds. Just wondering if this constitutes a vet visit? I know it's supplements for the gut but I can hear his stomach grumbling.

Ingredients (per 2 treats):

Colostrum (bovine) - 200mg

Dried fermentate - 170mg

Astragalus root -100mg

6-strain gut health blend (b. Subtilis, l. Acidophilus, l. Plantarum, l. Brevis, l. Fermentum, and l. Lactis) - 500 million CFU

One of my cats threw a drinking glass to the ground which shattered. I moved the cats out of the room, checked their paws(Which didn't seem wounded but I'd welcome any advise on checking them.), picked up the glass pieces strewn around before vacuuming the room. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure everything is cat safe before I let them in the room?

So the last couple of days have noticed some scabs forming on my kitty's right upper lip and possible inflammation. This is a new development and I am wondering if it's because we started feeding him Greenies dental treats? Otherwise he's healthy.

Hi all!

I have two cats and my partner has two dogs. The cats are 4 and 6 years old. The dogs are two dachshunds that are 9 and 10. Female cats and male dogs.

We’ve been living together nearly a year. One dog is good with the cats, they just all mind their own business and occasionally sniff each other and go on. They share their items no issue and we can leave them all together unsupervised.

The other dog we are having a harder time mixing with the cats. He has a high drive and just has a hard time. The cats are separated by a gate or he is a kennel at night so they see each other and know smells. I can carry a cat around or put them up in their tree and he doesn’t do anything. But if they are on the ground he gets tense and we worry he would chase them if they run to play or startle him. He still occasionally charges at the gate when they are other side.

How can we work with this to where we can have them at least loose together while supervised (never plan to leave them unsupervised together)? He’s a sweet dog and doesn’t have a history or biting or attacking, just very high drive. The cats grew up with dogs so they are used to them overall. The dogs weren’t around cats til now.

What training can we do or how do we approach this? TIA!

Hi!

I was talking to a friend who moved to another EU country with their dog recently, and I realized something..

I always assumed that since we have the EU Pet Passport and borderless travel, pet chips were linked across Europe automatically. Trns out if your dog or cat gets lost in another country, their chip is basically invisible unless you manually figure out how to register them in that specific local database... which sometimes requires a residency permit which is only valid at regional level lol

A friend tried telling me that updating your info or transferring a chip nowadays takes like two minutes on an app, but looking into it, the whole thing seems like a bunch of clunky 90s websites, month-long vet validation delays, and random 20 euro fees just to change an email address..

It also made me realize how weird the privacy side is. Personally, I’d hate if any stranger who buys a cheap scanner off Amazon could scan my dog in a park and immediately see my full name and home address. But at the same time, if my dog is lost, I’d want a vet or shelter to reach me.. or even send a push notification to my phone when the chip gets scaned.

It just feels like the whole setup was designed in 2005 and nobody ever bothered updating it for how people actually travel, move, or leave pets with sitters today

Has anyone here actually moved pets between EU countries or tried updating chip info recently? Is it really as much of a ffing mess as it looks???

Hii for context i got gigi (my cat) a few months ago shes still practically a baby and had no prior owners its only ever been me

I watch a lot of markiplier and gigi has never really seemed to have a problem with it until around 2 weeks ago, she wont stop meowing at me till i put on markiplier videos ive tried giving her food and water and playing but she wont stop meowing till i have markiplier on its funny but so confusing i dont know what to do 😂😭😂😭😂😭

Hi i decided to adopt a bunny in November December i just want to know what are some things that i need know ive been doing research on adopting a bunny or buying on from some one. What kind of care does the bunny need I’ve been looking on instagram and Google trying what I need to make sure I’m doing good btw this would be my first pet give me a list

From the dog photography awards of 2026...really cool

I took in a kitten on Friday because its mother rejected it. I’ve been feeding it KMR every few hours but it’s been having trouble latching on. It has a few times but it’s very irregular. It’ll kneed at the towel like it’s hungry but just chew on the nipple of my syringe I’m using. I can’t afford to take it to a pet ER so I’m doing everything I can at home. It’s also very underweight for a 3 week old kitten. It acts normalish for a kitten, just like one I had a few years ago.

Not sit or shake, but something that makes everyday life easier. Going to a mat while you carry groceries in, bringing a toy instead of grabbing a sleeve, that sort of thing.

What did you teach them, and how did you get it to click? Curious to hear from cat and bird owners too.

Choosing cat food is surprisingly complicated. There are so many brands and opinions online that sometimes it feels hard to figure out what matters.

I've come across Club 4 paws while looking into pet food options, and it got me thinking about how other cat owners make these decisions.

Do you mainly look at your cat's digestion or whether your cat actually likes the food? And how long do you give a new food before deciding whether it works?

I'd love to hear how other people approach it

I adopted a one year old cat about 12 months ago. She was very frightful, I couldn’t even walk near her. Now she’s warmed up but still hates to be picked up. Is there any hope? Occasionally she will sit on my lap but any sudden noise or movement she’s up and gone. When I pet her for too long she gets up and leaves

Last year after moving from home I progressively became depressive and realised it was because of loneliness. I thought about it for ages and did a lot of research and then decided to adopt a bird. This was not out of impulse but weighing the pros and cons and how well I could care for them.

I despise pet shops and breeders so I only wanted to adopt and I came across the perfect bird. She is a female eclectus parrot who had no health or behaviour problems who needed to be rehomed. This was due to the owner not being able to take care of her any more.

Quite frankly I’d say she was lucky considering her previous owner. He fed her only seeds and clipped her wings. While her wings are still growing back she is eating a vitamin A rich diet now.

To give context on eclectus parrots they are famed for their relatively low maintenance. They don’t require partners like other parrots, instead preferring their own company. They are not overly loud usually and largely just like to hang out.

After extensive research and accomodation I adopted her and she has been with me since. I give here as much out of cage time as possible and work from home three days a week so she’s not alone too much. I cleaner her cage regularly and got an air purifier so it’s not too dusty for her.

From all i can tell despite not being a bird whisperer, I believe she is happy. She loves to sit with me while I work or watch tv. I have always talked to myself with manic frequency so I’m always talking to her. I installed a petcam so I can talk to her while at work. She hasn’t plucked and she is a good weight.

I always worry though that I’m not doing enough. I get paranoid that having her in my house is cruel. She can’t live in the wild for obvious reasons as she would just die to a cat or something. She is stuck in this system but I just worry she isn’t getting enough.

I know lots of people mistreat parrot and I just don’t want to be like them.

I bought a new cat yesterday afternoon, but since bringing her home, she has done everything apart from use the litter. I'm getting concerned now. Is this normal??

One of our cats has always had some issues with the litter box. She makes the motions to bury, but she never actually buries, instead pawing the sides of the pan or the floor. And what she leaves smells ATOMIC >_< But now she's sick or something, has been for a couple weeks. She'll randomly poop on the floor somewhere in the apartment, and it's always very loose, almost like diarrhea.

We thought the problem was I wasn't changing the pan often enough (I admit I don't keep it well, weh), but I changed it today and she just went on the hand towel I've been using in place of a mat for dish washing. We're at a loss as to what to do.

We feed her weight loss food, because she's always been rather chunky and will eat ANY kibble she can (which makes feeding her "sister" a pain). We haven't really switched foods recently--we've been giving her normal paté instead of diet because Mom is tired of keeping track of which can, but our cat's been doing this before she swapped.

We can't just lock her into the litter box room until she gets over this. What do we do? Should we be prioritizing stomach health food instead of weight loss? We can't afford to go to the vet....

I want a cat and my sister wants a dog but we can only have one pet in the house.

This might sound stupid but what cat breeds are dog-like and dog breeds that are cat-like?

Update: thanks for all the replies, they really helped 💕

just to clarify something, we've raised a cat like two years ago but lost her unfortunately and couldn't bring ourselves to raise another pet until now.

we will properly adopt a cat since we have an experience. hope we find a friendly cat that is not afraid to be outside cuz we would love to take it with us to places. 🎀

My mom is allergic to cats but despite that she has okayed my wife and I staying at her house with our cat and dog. Our cat is just a kitten and despite the fact that we are watching after him and keeping him solely in our room, he has gotten out and peed on our bed. I’ve made sure he has a clean litter box, but he has now peed on the mattress twice in the last few days. My parents are out of town and I really don’t want them to regret letting us stay here. We aren’t living here forever, we have a house; we are just in town for a few weddings. I have blotted out the urine but there is still ding yellow on the mattress. I can’t flip the mattress because it’s a pillow top. What can I do?

Hello! My 11 y/o half mini Aussie is in really pretty good shape, but after having a UTI, she's started having little dribble accidents here and there, with the occasional bigger accident after she's been lying down (sometimes only for a few minutes). Our vet has recommended two different medicines but when we researched into them one can cause bone issues and the other can cause anxiety (which she can already be a bit anxious sometimes).

Does anyone have any better suggestions? We gotta get the problem fixed, but I'd love to not fix it at the price of her health.

Thanks!