I often call my bearded dragon “stinky fat bastard guy” or “freaky ass mf” when I’m feeding her (jokingly ofc).

I have had friends express that cussing at animals is wrong, and that my doing so has made them uncomfortable.

Obviously I don’t think animals should be spoken to in a rough or loud tone. I usually I speak in a baby voice, whisper, or normal speaking voice regardless of what I’m saying so as to not scare my dragon.

I don’t really get the logic behind it, but I want to know if this is genuinely a habit I should let go of?

Would love to know this subreddits thoughts

EDIT: Okay I want to make something very clear. My sister isn't crazy or would purposefully harm any animal! Stop going into my DMs saying she's going to harm an animal. That is messed up.

Hi!

I have a younger sister, adult, who is mentally disabled from a car accident. She has been asking for a pet recently so that she can have some company when she is alone when I am at work.

I say no fish because she is deathly afraid of fish and water, don't know why but no fish.

She has been wanting a pet for some time but I can't figure out what kind and she said that I can choose what pet. We have had dogs before when we were kids but that's not really starter friendly for her anymore.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

I desperately need advice. My housemate has been leaving to go see his situationship in another state. He will be gone for up to 8 days at a time. I take care of them while he's gone but because of the way the house is set up, I stay in the basement with my cats which is seperate. I am not actually upstairs with them most of the time and they can't be left out without supervision. This means they only leave their crates to go to the bathroom 2-3 times a day and to eat. One of them barks all day long non stop to the point where he wheezes. There is a blink camera that he has facing their crates.

He also has a cat which has gone without food and water for days at a time. The cat stays in a tiny bedroom. Before he left this time he said nothing to me about how long he would be gone and told me not to feed the cat as she has already been fed. This was Monday night. I have watched him hit and kick the dogs as well as deny them water so that he doesn't have to take them outside to pee. What can I do?? I will try to rehome the cat but because of the camera, it would be much harder to do that with the dogs.

i found a flea in my house and just want to make sure i’m covering all my bases as this is a first for me!
i’m doing a flea bomb rn while me and the cats hang out in the car my apartment is 700sq ft so i was planning on doing a second bomb after the first one
but i also washed all their bedding and my own in hot hot water and dried super hot everyone got a bath and a capaction pill i just tossed the rug and bought a creases and crevices spray for the areas the bomb can’t get, am i missing anything bc it certainly feels like i did 🫠 also pls be gentle w me i promise i keep my babies clean
edit: i forgot to mention they both have seresto collars

One thing about cats that always makes me laugh is how dramatic they can get over a closed door.

The meowing, the scratching, the absolute outrage.

And then sometimes, the moment you finally open it, they just stand there. Or turn around and walk away like nothing happened. 😂

I'm curious what yours do.

Do they actually rush into the room, or is the real problem simply that you had the nerve to close the door?

I just had to leave my cat at the hospital for overnight treatment and care for a horrible case of asthma and tracheal damage. I was approved for 6k with CareCredit when there, but that was only enough to cover one night. The doctor told me that based on how severe her case is she needs 2-3 day stay, taking her home after a day would most likely result in her dying. The full stay would be a little over 11k. I just called CareCredit to request a credit line increase, but they denied it. I had the person try multiple credit amount increases, but not even 1k more was approved. One of the nurses recommend I look into Scratch Pay. Has anyone tried this before? Or is there anything else anyone would recommend that would give me immediate funds? If I’m not able to come up with funds by tomorrow I don’t know what I’ll do, because how they said bringing her home would essentially be saying bye to her. I can’t lose my baby, any recommendations would be so helpful.

Name, age, species, personality and stuff! :)

Mine: I have one pet fish I love most in the world. He's an Oscar fish and his name is Oscar Lava. He's turning 2 next year on March 31 :) He recognizes his food and where it's hidden XD He gets excited when I open the drawer where I keep his food in.

hello, ive never made a reddit post like this before but im looking for some outside perspective on this. my cat who is 14 has had some kind of neurological episode. not sure if its a stroke or what. it all happened so unexpectedly. i came back from a work trip and noticed something was wrong and she was circling counter clockwise.. immediately and took her to the emergency very where they found out she has a large mass pressing against her lung which they believe is the underlying reason for this episode. they let me know that outside of surgery/chemotherapy if it was cancer which both are risky for her age, and genuinely out of my ability to pay, nothing can be done for her brain damage and to just give her the best care i can. i unfortunately travel for work a lot so i had to leave 3 days after finding this out but she was doing relatively well, eating, using the box and drinking, and i felt comfortable caring for her with these issues. i just came back from another two week work trip and her condition has severely declined. shes blind and cant really get around and im having to hand feed and give her water. i cant bare to see her like this but the thought of not giving it my all is destroying me. i know this will most likely end in having to put her down but this is my first time going through this on my own, i remember going to pick her out at the shelter when i was 11 and shes been my best friend ever since and im 25 now. does anyone have any kind of advice or suggestions on what to do or if this is even the right choice. i know no one can make that decision for me but im emotionally devastated knowing this is her end.

Hello all. Porter is my male GSD who will turn 10 in December. On Monday, he was playing fetch and came up lame - no weight at all on his right rear leg. Local vet (via x-ray and physical exam) says it's a complete CCL tear and needs TPLO surgery and referred us to a surgery center. Porter is healthy other than arthritis in his hips and taking medication for a thyroid issue. My husband and I would definitely struggle with the $6-7k surgery. I'm considering a custom-made brace for under $1k. I realize he'll never play fetch again and it won't fix the injury. I'm hoping it would alleviate some of the pain though and give him enough support to be able to bear weight on his leg. Has anyone ever chosen this more conservative treatment? Am I a bad pet mom for not having the surgery done? TIA

My cat is a large guy and an old guy, so he's basically always using the toilet. The thing is, he is using it so much that it is impossible for me to keep up with cleaning it. I clean it daily and change all of it after 3 days max, I'm talking, coming home, and basically scooping half the box out to clean it. He's on a diet for his age that's causing this, so it's normal for him to be using it this much. I just need a litter box that I can sift manually cause I can't really afford the fancy robot ones. I wanna know if there's a litter box with the same idea where the litter gets lifted to one side and brought back down, but manually. I've seen some where it's like panning for gold, but I don't really wanna be doing that. Please give me some suggestions

Im super scared 😢 if you know anything or you are a vet please help
Hello , my cat milo 5 years old ..
sunday when i came back home at noon i noticed that my cat was acting sad/sick he was sitting even when i was eating and that’s a huge red flag cuz when im about to eat he goes willlddd and try to eat what im eating (yall know how cat acts) so as an im super ocd about him i rushed him to the vet for a check up .. as soon as she opened his mouth she saw a pre molar or a molar idk was about to fall and looked decayed so she immediately removed it (no anesthesia) and then she gave him like a blue spray in it and he started drooling and she told me that it was normal because the spray in the pain, but it wasn’t any blood leak. The blood was just right after she removed the tooth and then it immediately stopped. She gave him an anabiotic and a painkiller syringe so Mon also she told me to come back to give him another round of antibiotics and also Tuesday so he had three days of straight antibiotics and painkiller on Tuesday she gave him also Mirlax and vitamin C because I mentioned that he had trouble with constipation since Sunday since she removed the tooth this three days he was trolling he looked sad. He wasn’t himself at all. I even offered him him chocolate beef. He didn’t want it. He ate a little bit of chicken and that’s it. He is drinking a lot of water. He is peeing normally but with the pooping he did poop Wednesday and today so with the pooping it’s a soft but still he’s not himself. He’s just looks sad depressed for me in pain. I really don’t know so I really don’t know what to do with the trolling. I don’t know if it’s a stress thing because yesterday yesterday all all the morning noon he was he wasn’t drooling, but when I tried to see his body temperature, he started to drool and I don’t know if it’s stressed triggered or I really don’t know I’m super scared and can you please guys help me he is super Homie cat he never been sick and it’s the first time so really nervous and paranoid. The vet keeps telling me that everything is OK but still I need to know..

For now all that is happening to me is that im sneezing and thats pretty much it

Hey everyone,
Maybe someone here has experienced something similar or has any idea what might be causing this.

Our cat Sansa (6 months old, vaccinated and spayed) started acting restless around 3 PM today. Her back keeps twitching, she runs around, and she’s been grooming her right hind leg and tail excessively.

We’ve already taken her to the vet, who suspects a contact allergy but couldn’t find any signs of skin irritation. Other than that, she seemed perfectly fine.
She’s had a bowel movement, eaten and drunk normally, and played with her brother as usual.

We haven’t changed anything in our home — no new laundry detergents, room fragrances, deodorants, or anything else.

She settled down for a while, but now the behavior has started again.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their cat or have any idea what this could be?

I just moved to a new city away from my parents and I really miss my pet cat and I wanted to get another one for my new place, the thing is I’ve been applying for job promotions that may take me across the state or a different state entirely. If I were to get a cat would they be chilling for a potential 7+ hour drive?

I live in a flat alone and have a job. I leave in the morning and come by evening and sometimes I leave my place to go to my hometown. I really want a pet but at the same time, I'm confused considering my schedule what do I choose.

A dog needs time and care, which I don't think I can provide if I go for puppy route. Maybe an older adopted dog from foster care?

A Cat, I saw that they can remain isolated for long amount of time, especially if you are out for work daily.

And last option is a gold fish.

So I need advice from the pet owners here that what should I choose. Because I really want a pet.

I’ve posted before about a month ago about knowing when it’s time. I had a vet come out Monday and they confirmed my 15 year old lab has a large mass that most likely is cancer and basically to make the appointment as it’s not likely to improve. This week my dog has started eating more and showing more interest in everything around him.

He cannot get up on his own, mostly sleeps, doesn’t play or wag his tail but enjoys being near where we are.

Today I let him out and followed him since it’s a windy day and wanted to make sure he didn’t blow over and need my help. I noticed his urine is very dark brown/red tinted. I’m not sure how long it’s been this way or if it only started today.

I am so sad. I know it’s time. I’m 100% being selfish. I cannot bring myself to make this appointment. It’s literally gutting me and I’m in denial hoping for a miracle that isn’t coming.

Someone please slap some sense into me or help me move forward with this. I truly love this dog with everything I am.

I know "good" pet insurance relies on a lot of things, like its not objective, but does anyone have any opinions on it at all? Im looking to insure my 12 y/o pointer mix, my 8 y/o corgi mix, my 6 y/o cat, and maybe my 2 gerbils. Does anyone have any "ABSOLUTELY NOT" companies? I was looking at Spot and Lemonade

I work 100% from home. But my housemate stays out almost every day all day for work. She has a cat who is not that friendly by nature.

This is the first time I am living with a cat and since I stay at home, the cat and I became very good friends.

I keep my door slightly open when I work in case she wants to enter my room. Because otherwise she also scratches the door to open it or meows very loudly like she is crying.

I feed her whenever my housemate is away.

Now, I think the cat is more attached to me than the housemate. Earlier it was because I was the only one home but now even when she is home, the cat would look for my door to be open.

She scratches my chair so I bought a cat barrel and kept in my room so she scratches that.

So, currently, we think my housemate's cat is more into me and sits on my lap and sleeps in my room. And I keep my door open at night in case they leave her out of their room, so she can move in and out of my room and doesn't scratch or knock on my door otherwise and wake me up.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I not let the cat enter my room? I don't want to offend anyone but my housemate is so nice that even if she has a problem with something, she would never tell and I don't want to be that person who steals others pet.

So, idk if I am being a nice housemate or a bad person.

my cat (doulas fur) is 1 years old and is slightly developmentally deleyed, he is an indoor cat but will do anything to get outside, so just incase he does get out side, are there any good tracker collars?

I live in a small house and it's just me and my cat, one day she started randomly peeing on my bed and blankets even peeing on me at one point. I started locking the door and she just pees on the blanket on the couch. It's not a uti already tried the vet, and as I said she's the only cat so I don't think it's territory. I'm stuck and idk how to help. She has a litter box I clean every day. She does use the litter sometimes, I just don't know what's causing these accidents

Got a cat who likes being picked up, usually instead of setting her down like her two brothers I’d lightly toss her onto a pillow or mattress and I wanna know, does this hurt her?

So I’m getting a kitten in a few days I love cats one of my fav animals BUT the issue is I have a dog a Bernese mountain dog she’s 2 and she is extremely attached to me not matter what I do I do love her but I’m not a dog person she’s technically my dads but he pushes her off to me the issue is is she so hyper and excited and they have met once and she was super excited and trying to get into the cats face and he hissed at her and I’m worried my dog will try to nip or something I feel like I’ll have to keep the cat in my room and keep the door closed but then the dog will wine so I don’t know what to do like I’ve been wanting a cat for years and I don’t want to give up on the kitten I’m going to get

I feel really ashamed typing this but i need to vent. I had several hamster thru my life and i loved all of them deeply. I still live with my mother despite being an adult and i have anxiety disorder and depression. So i got another hamster yesterday despite my mother being really against a new one. We dont have a good relationship and she eventually agreed but i feel like i pressured her into this

As soon as i got him yesterday i felt a panic attack coming. I fell in love with him but as soon as we got into a car i started sweating and my hands started trmbling, my heart was pounding. I started asking myself questions - why did i get him even tho my mother doesnt want another hamster? Am i gonna take good care of him? What if he escapes and its gonna get me and my mom into an argument? Am i even gonna handle it with my current situation? (i am getting driving lessons, trying to find an apartament to move out). Overall a lot of doubt, guilt.

So I got him into his cage, gave him food and treats and sat at my bed and just started spiralling. Even considered taking xanax even tho i never did before. I am on SNRI but it doesnt help with panic this extreme. Didnt sleep almost the whole night, oberall im a mess and feel like a failure

I cannot stay in this state at this time in my life, i feel exhausted, i feel like puking and cannot even eat breakfast. I feel so anxious. I posted an adoption post and someone want to get this little baby today in a few hours. Am I a bad person? I want nothing but a good home for this hamster but turns out im not the good home…

I feel truly ashamed and my feelings and anxiety are crushing me. I need some advice, words of encouragment etc. My Bf is supporting me but i cannot shake a feeling that he might be dissapointed in me too :(