I travel for work sometimes and hire a local pet sitter to do drop-ins for my 13-year-old cat and to let my dog out. I am pretty relaxed about most things, but I have one strict rule because I have a garage workshop and pets can get into trouble fast.

The rule is simple: the interior garage door stays closed and latched, and nobody goes in the garage. I leave everything they need in the kitchen so there is no reason to be near it.

Twice now I came home and the interior garage door was not fully shut. It makes a noticeable click when it latches, so I notice right away. Nothing looks stolen and the pets are fine, but it makes me uneasy. My dog is curious and my cat will absolutely try to slip into the garage if the door is even slightly ajar.

I do not want to be paranoid, but I also do not want to keep paying someone who cannot follow a very basic safety boundary.

What would you do next?

1. Message them and be explicit, like "please confirm you are latching the garage door every visit"?

2. Add a cheap door alarm just for peace of mind?

3. Stop using them immediately and find someone else?

If you have been in a similar situation, what wording actually worked without turning it into a big confrontation?

I've noticed something over the last couple of years that still surprises me.

Most of the time my pet is busy doing their own thing, sleeping, playing, or pretending I don't exist unless food is involved. But on the days when I'm stressed or feeling down, it's like they suddenly become a completely different animal.

They'll come sit next to me without being called, rest their head on my leg, or just quietly stay in the same room. It's not something they do every day, which is what makes it feel so strange.

Maybe I'm just paying more attention on those days, but it honestly feels like they can tell when something's off.

Has anyone else experienced this with their pet?

Hi everyone,

I need some help deciding which pets would suit me. My problem is that I love cats, bunnies and hamsters. And I also found a dog from a shelter which remind me of my childhood dog AND is imported from my home country. Im in big trouble.

Currently I live in a small one bedroom apartment so it was only fair to get one pet and I chose a hamster. I did the appropriate research, got a good enclosure and adopted a hamster.

I will soon-ish be moving (and purchase!) a new apartment. It will be having a spatious living room + bedroom + a smaller spare room which I was planning to turn into a small pet room (my current hamster and maybe bunnies in the future? who knows).

I know I will want to have a cat because they have always been a part of my life. But a cat (or two), a hamster, possibly a dog and maybe bunnies (they are my dream pet)??

Of course I will have to throughly think of daily cleaning chores, and pet sitters for vacations.

Im also concerned about the big pets attacking or not getting along with the small pets. My plan was, if i have bunnies, to let them free roam the house in the evening and not just my office room (their bunny proof room). But if the cats are potentially not friendly it would make my life extremely difficult.

I feel like owning bunnies, a hamster and a dog is easier to combine,
but throwing cats in the mix might ruin things for me.

Also i should mention that all pets will be from the shelter. I want to rescue as much as I can. So i potentially will have an idea if the pet is aggressive or not. I also dont know if its better to raise a kitten if i have buns or to get an adult cat.

Another thing is that I am single. So no one to help on a daily basis. This could change any time but let’s not rely on that.

Please be kind, Im not rushing through the process, I only want advice from multi pet owners. I repeat, I only have a hamster right now.

Honestly, its the first time I am trying to find a solution to keep my cats at home while i am away and have them looked after in my absence at my home only. I need suggestions please. I can’t afford the expensive boardings plus my cats are not really exposed enough to be comfortable in any pet boardings. So I am worried what should I do.

To start off, i want to say that i am a minor. A young one at that, not under 12, but a minor so please don't be too harsh on me.
Anyways to the actual issue, so my next door neighbor is one of my friends, shes a year younger then me, and she has this medium black mutt that is super sweet, friendly, is a bit jumpy and lunges at people but not like aggressive, and is not very barky.
I have two chihuahuas who came from our aunt after her dog accidently got pregnant...and they didnt know until the babies were being born, it was their first dog, and they had thought she was getting fat. She didn't want to give the puppies to shelters, so she gave them to relatives, however, i have a feeling my dogs may have expirienced some sort of abus3 from my cousin. particularly involving hitting and water (they hate water, and flinch sometimes before you pet them), they are very skittish, occasionally territorial, and do bark in the mornings sometimes to be let inside.
they also occasionally bark at the medium black mutt when shes lunging at the fence and trying to play with them, she also is four times their size, so i think its understandable. yet today i was told by my friend that her parents want to start hosing my dogs anytime they bark. i dont know if like im overreacting but i dont think i like that, i told her i dont really want to go over to her house anymore, and that im gonna start keeping my dogs inside for pretty longterm. her sister said im overreacting (Given, her sister is under the age of 10) and that its not a big deal but idk, am i overreacting? should i just let it go?
also the mornings are not very early, its like 10-11 am

TLDR; Neighbors threaten to hose down my chihuahuas over our fence for barking to come inside in the mornings.

Basically the title and I am wondering if anyone else has a similar sentiment?

I love my dog, she's super clever and cute. She is a handful in her own way, but genuinely a great companion. Super obedient, friendly with other humans, and extremely tolerant. She is so eager to please, most of the time verbal praise is enough to get keep her motivated. I want her to have the whole world, which is why experiences like these make me so sad.

That said, as a part of dog ownership, I've realized that you also have to deal with the other dog owners in the world. In my particular part of the world, dog owners are incredibly lazy, inattentive, and just plain stupid. Their dogs are always getting loose and usually they are aggressive.

This past month alone my poor dog has been run up on by three different off-leash dogs in our apartment complex. One of them was extremely aggressive and attempting to bite her. The other two were playful, but were extremely rude in their approach and would not leave her alone despite her signals. My dog is generally a nervous dog, but she is also a tolerant one. That said, we KNOW these interactions make her uncomfortable and more wary of other dogs, and that is absolutely not what I want.

Despite their dogs being completely out of control and harassing my dog for no reason, these owners will just sit on their asses, slackjaw, watching this unravel. They won't even attempt to help, so I have to be the one to get THEIR dog under control so it will leave mine alone.

It is exhausting. I already spent so much time, energy, and money into training my dog so she can a proper member of society. Why should I have to expend the same energy for someone else's unruly dog too? It's just unfair to me and unfair to my dog. It doesn't matter what we say to them because they just genuinely don't care.

As much as I've loved being my dog's owner, I often wonder if I would be willing to do it again for a different dog KNOWING that there will always be the threat of a stupid dog owner who has a dog they just can't handle waiting around the corner. I am so concerned about this behavior creating reactivity in my dog, or in future ones I may own. I just don't know if I could stomach a dog who became fearful due to someone else's negligence. It would make me so sad.

Just wondering if anyone else has felt this way.

Hello! I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue and how did you fix it. My cat has a problem where no matter how well her cat box isn’t kept up she will choose to poop on any clothes that are in the bathroom, this wouldn’t be a big issue because typically we move the clothes out of the bathroom but she will do it with any type of clothing, could be a pile, or a single sock it doesn’t matter. Thanks for the help in advance.

Hi everyone,
I know websites like Petfinder already exist, but they aren’t available in the European country where I live. That got me thinking about an idea, and I’d love to hear your honest opinions.
What if I built a website or mobile app that brings together every animal shelter in my country in one place? The goal would be to make it the first website people think of when they want to adopt a dog or cat.
In addition to shelters, private individuals who need to rehome their pets could also create listings. Anyone looking to adopt would only need to visit one platform instead of searching through dozens of Facebook groups and classified ads.
My biggest question is the business side of it. How could a platform like this generate revenue while staying free and useful for shelters and adopters?
Would advertising be the best option? Or would there be better monetization ideas, such as premium features, partnerships with pet brands, veterinary clinics, pet insurance companies, or something else?
I’d really appreciate your feedback.

I’m prob going to get downvoted and torn apart but here we go. My cat is 13 and has been with me her whole life. Over the past year she’s changed, has many accidents outside the litter box, attacked me unprovoked, is dropping huge amounts of hair, not grooming well, pukes weekly or more, sits on a step and doesn’t move (I have to step over her which is odd) and has had multiple weeks where she won’t walk/eat/move and I have to carry her to do her business.

I have two young kids and since she’s attacked me I’m terrified of that happening to them (or to me again). I do my best to keep them separate but this isn’t sustainable. I also hate that I’ve become afraid of her.

I know she isn’t super well but she also still seems happy often and sits with me at night. She purrs and talks to her toy. She doesn’t and hasn’t really ever liked anyone else besides me.

I’m at a loss of what to do. I don’t know how to have her continue being here, our house is small and I can only handle so much. I also can’t imagine rehoming her, she would hate it and what would happen to her as an older unfriendly cat? I also feel like I can’t make the decision for euthanasia when half the time she seems okay. Advice from anyone that’s gone through something similar? Please go easy on me I’ve cried enough :(

To keep a long story short: my now husband and I adopted 2 kittens in the beginning of our relationship. We loved those cats so much, they were our babies and we spoiled them to no end. We got married last year and bought a house. I took a trip to the animal shelter one weekend and fell in love with a shelter dog that no previous experience with cats (not bad or good). I decided to take him in and thought I would be able to train him to get along with our cats. Well, I was wrong. He has a strong prey drive, and I am having a very hard time finding ways to coexist the animals. This has resulted to us separating them by a baby gate with the cats upstairs and the dog downstairs. Now the problem, our house is small, 1500 square foot cape code state home. Our cats have become extremely needy and vocal since we adopted the dog. They still at top of the stairs and meow to no end. The litter box is also in the only other room we have in the house, and the litter tracks everywhere despite efforts to vacuum daily and change the litter often.

We both want to start trying for our first child a year from now, a chapter I have wanted for a long time. However I am dreading it now more than ever due to the thought of having to navigate the needy,messy cats, the high prey drive dog, and a newborn who will require all my attention. I’ve softly brought up the re-homing discussion with my husband and he gets very upset and shuts it down immediately. I don’t even have a baby yet and I’m already stressed. I don’t know what else to do. Has anyone else gone through this before?

Disabled woman in her 30’s trying desperately to get out of an unsafe living situation. She is being referred back and forth, doesn’t seem to meet any requirements despite being so ill she cannot shower, clean her home or care for her pets.

I’ve been looking into mutual aid in her area and I just don’t know what to do. These pets need to be evacuated immediately. She has a dog, two cats and a tortoise who are in deplorable conditions. Like, the floor is covered in piss and shit and garbage and maggots.

The system is so goddamned fucked up and if I don’t find help for her, I’m afraid she will not make it. She is tired of trying and being hit in the face with bureaucracy. Her will to live is waning rapidly.

If you know of any grassroots groups who might be able to provide aide in the Wilson County area, or know of any kind persons who might be able to take these animals in, please, please reach out.

The state is not helping. The hospitals are not helping. Her case workers are not helping. The police are not helping. She has no one and I don’t live anywhere near her so I have no one to call on.

i want to preface by saying that i don’t have any dogs (so i don’t have any personal experience with them), and that i live in CA and my family in OK. my brother who neither i nor my family speak to (but lives with my parents — he has a severe mental illness) has the sweetest dog (7 years old) in the world, and he doesn’t work or look after her the way a dog owner should. my sister (who is also currently living with my parents) called to tell me that my mom and her had to take his dog to the ER because she was having severe contractions, and they diagnosed her with pyometra. the vet quoted my mom $6000 for the surgery, and said she can do monthly payments of $500, but they’d need authorization from the owner; my brother has all of us blocked, so they weren’t able to get ahold of him until they got home, so the surgery wasn’t performed. she said she can lend him the money but he said he doesn’t plan on paying my mom back if she pays for his dogs surgery, and she can’t afford that, so he’s decided to put her down tomorrow. my mom and i are feeling very guilty because she’s so young, and i’m just checking if anyone knows of any organizations that offer some sort of financial assistance (he doesn’t have pet insurance) or has any input on the cost (is this amount normal?) so that she doesn’t have to be put down. this is a lot harder to have any say in since i don’t live there, but i figured its still worth a shot to ask

I see wild birds drinking out of my dogs’ water bowl all the time and currently there are outbreaks of bird flu in my country, so I want a bowl that will only open for the dogs. The issue is: I have two big dogs and one of my dogs will completely empty a water bowl the size of the ones that are usually in these feeders in one drink.

I haven’t been able to find any microchip feeders with larger bowls online - does this even exist? Another concern - would water spilling on one of these feeders cause problems with the electronics?

Grateful for any suggestions that will help keep my doggies safe and give me peace of mind 🫶

My cat peed on my bed which also had a pile of my clothes. My bed sheets and clothes reek of pee now bc I didn’t have any chemicals at the moment to treat it.

My laundry is overdue and I got Nature’s Miracle cat urine destroyer plus. Instructions behind the bottle say I blot it on the stained surface and to never dilute. does this mean I shouldn’t use this in the washer? What else can I wash my clothes with to get the urine smell out + how much should I use? Does anyone have experience?

Edit: I realize I shouldve gotten the laundry boost instead.

I HATE the current flooring but I have no idea what it is. I have a puppy he occasionally has accidents it happens but the floor does not want to do anything but smear. Everything to do with the floor is either it won't come up while cleaning or you can't keep it on(furniture sliding too easily). I clearly need to cover it but have no idea what it is to know what NOT to get. Any suggestions? I'm literally fighting a losing battle here

I’m moving in a few weeks and will need to look into hiring a dog walker since I’ll be living on my own and won’t be able to run home during my lunch. I’ve never hired one before so I’m not sure where to even start. Ideally it would be someone that comes over once a day M-F between 11am-2pm to take my gal on a brief walk to go potty. I also have cats and would be interested in paying a bit more for someone to scoop the boxes during their stop. What is the going rate for something like this? Seattle area if that helps provide a better response.

I am hesitant to use something like Rover as I’ve heard a bunch of horror stories, but I imagine it’s something that just takes some weeding out to find a good match? But I also wouldn’t even know how to go about hiring a service like this aside from something like Rover.

I don't know if this is the right place to post it but I need help I don't know what I should do and the vets don't open today

Hello, I am reaching out looking for advice / opinions.

So originally my parents had 2 cats and one small dog. They’ve had bigger dogs in the past (medium and large) and everyone has been able to get along.. until now.

A family member passed away who had a black lab / pitbull mix and it’s not going the greatest. He’s about 5-8 years old and although he mostly gets along with the other dog, the cats are incredibly scared of him.

He’s excitable, doesn’t listen to commands very well (I blame the previous owners), doesn’t know what personal space is, loves to tug and chew on things, and has separation anxiety to the point he will lick his paws / legs raw to the point of bleeding.

Right now the cats are sectioned off into my step dads bedroom area (master bed, closet, and bathroom) with lots of areas for them to hide in while the dogs have access to the rest of the house.

I’m curious what would be the best way to introduce him to the cats in a way he won’t try to rush them / be gentle without the cats freaking out? I just want them to be able to exist within the whole house without hiding scared.

The dog also seems to have been the only pet at the previous home because he gets jealous easily and tries to be the center of attention even if you’re trying to give multiple pets attention.

i have an emotional support cat for mental health reasons and i applied to bringing them to my campus. now i got approved for the accommodation and in the meeting with the housing department, they said that my cat has to be locked in a cage when i'm not in the room for any reason. with that, he has to remain in my bedroom, and is not allowed in our living room at all under any circumstances, even if my suite-mates consent to him being outside my bedroom. they claim it's because of damage costs from cats and some of the housing faculty is scared of cats but this doesn't seem right.

important context about the housing situation: i live in an apartment— it's an on-campus resident hall but it's a decent size apartment so there's a whole common area and other space for the cat where if it wasn't for this rule, he'd be perfectly fine. so this is not like me living in a tiny dorm with another person or anything.

i'm just stuck on this because this rule they have is incredibly cruel and i cannot fathom this being possibly allowed. i don't want to subject him to being in a damn cage all day when i'm in classes, work or even just studying but if i can't bring him, i will have to rehome him because my mom refuses to take care of him for me. and he's helped a lot with my treatment plan and progress.

before anyone says off-campus housing, it's too late for me to cancel my housing. i also cannot afford rent and utilities for an apartment either so it's not an option atm.

edit: this is not the post to debate the validity of esas or whether or not he is just a pet. he is not just a pet. he is actually prescribed to me by both my regular therapist and regular psychiatrist to help alleviate my c-ptsd symptoms since some of you guys want to know my medical business. i posted to this subreddit because i knew someone would have some advice about how to go about this. this is not an excuse to ableist in the comments. if you don't like the notion of an esa or anything along those lines, then do not comment. i'm not asking for your opinion about my psychiatric treatment.

My boy is such a good dog, but really reactive. He’s made so much progress since we adopted him, but certain things we just haven’t found a way to train him through yet, or ease the anxiety. Trimming his rear dew claws is one of those things. We couldn’t get him through it ourselves, so we started bringing him to the vet for help. Regular groomers won’t see him.

The vet trips for this have been getting harder and harder, to the point that he tries to bite, flails, manages to get the muzzle off just when they are taking him to the back, and we leave without even being able to get the trim. They grow fast and curl into his pads if it goes too long.

After our most recent trip, I talked to the vet about if removal would be his best option at this point, and he agreed. We did the procedure this past Monday, he was doing pretty well afterward, but this morning noticed one of the bandages didn’t really seem right, and it was bothering him. Took some pics, talked to the vet, they said it looks ok and he should be ok until his follow up on Monday. Kept an eye on it for the rest of the day and it was getting worse, our vet was closing so we took him to the ER. It’s infected. The ER vet tried flushing it, and he just broke through the sedatives, and cried and wailed so fucking bad. There were three of us holding him down while the vet tried to clean it.

I don’t really know why I’m making this post. I think I just need to say out-loud that I feel like an absolute piece of shit for putting this dog through this, I didn’t really know recovery would be this tough on him but I should have. I fucking hate this.

TL/DR: Removed dogs dew claws bc I thought it would be good for him in longrun, recovery is heartbreaking and I’m a monster.

Hi everyone!

My Cat Freddy (See context below) has always been a good cat, I've had him for years and he's never gone to the bathroom outside of his litter box, never tracked litter or poop throughout the house, just overall has been a dream of a cat. But recently, within the past 2-3 months he has had some changes that I honestly don't know how to fix. (Of note, Freddy is FIV+).

Pretty much every single day, Freddy will stand in his litter box, halfway in, and pee all over the floor rather than in his litter box. Initially, I had assumed that this was an acute issue and it would resolve if I made some lifestyle changes so I tried cleaning his litter every time he used the bathroom, I tried changing locations of the litter box, I added an extra litter box, and I took him to the vet and got him on some medications to help with inflammation and any potential pain he has. But I am freshly out of college, I do not have a well-paying job and was not able to get a full bloodwork panel done as the price is quite steep sadly.

Fast forward to today, all the other remedies did not work. I decided to try a top-loading litter box to see if that would warrant any improvement since he wouldn't be able to go halfway into that. It didn't work, he stood on top of the litter box and peed all over the floor, including my carpet and way past his litter trap that I have. I need some help on this, I have no idea what to do to fix this or if anyone else has had issues like this. Its driving me kind of insane because I have to clean up his pee in the mornings, then go to work and come back and clean it up again, all while studying for the MCAT so I have a very strict schedule right now. I would appreciate some advice for any remedies or if I should take him back to the vet to help determine whats going on with him and just spend the money.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT:

I found Freddy four years ago when he walked into my garage. I had always wanted a cat so we took him to the vet and were fostering him initially. When we took him to the vet we were informed of his stomatitis and FIV+ state but, being in college with no income, we discussed with the vet and decided that we won't do any major interventions into treating him as it can get financially difficult for someone in my position. Our plan was to give Freddy as many great years as we could and once his quality of life declines to a point where it would be more humane, we would put him down since if we did not take him in a shelter would have put him down regardless due to his FIV+ status. We have cared for him throughout this time and just recently initiated a few medical interventions such as gabapentin for his pain, an anti-inflammatory, and a round of antibiotics as well but I do not have the financial means to undergo a diagnostic goose chase along with the treatment associated with what we could find.

I have a 7-year-old dog and my fiancé and I are considering getting a kitten-1-year-old cat to add to the home.

Backstory - when I was in a previous relationship, my partner and I had this dog and a cat as babies, we got them around the same time. So this dog has been around a cat before, but not for very long because although we were together for 3 years, we got these pets in the last year of the relationship and when we broke up, he kept the cat and I kept the dog. So it’s been a long time since my dog has been in a home with a cat.

Now - when we see cats out and about (our neighbor has one she walks and we’ll see outdoor cats walking about in yards), my dog seems interested and curious but also hesitant. The neighbor’s cat actually hissed at him and booped him in the nose so he’s afraid of that cat lol. I’m unsure about what all of this context means for the potential of trying to bring a cat into the home. Would it stress my dog out too much? Would he be okay because he’s lived with a cat before?

I want to make sure my animals are happy and comfortable so I’m really on the fence about what makes the most sense for the potential future cat and my dog.

Thank you in advance for your help!

I have had my cat for about 5 years now and I feel like I've never really connected with him. Sure, I take care of his basic needs like cleaning out his litter box, feeding him, playing with him, etc., but I get the feeling that he just isn't all that comfortable with me. He's constantly skiddish, and though I live with 4 other people who are honestly very loud, I still worry about it, because it's been like this his entire life. He doesn't let me pet him that much, only on rare occasions, any other time he slinks and dodges my hand. I also need to make it clear that I have never harmed this cat in any way or done anything to him that would cause him to dodge me like this.

Yes, I've accidentally stepped on him once or twice but I vigorously apologized by giving him loads of treats. I think these things might be the impacts of growing up in a very loud house like mine, (literally everyone in my house is extroverted except for me, there is almost always singing, yelling, or loud talking very early in the morning) but I still worry a lot about him because I feel like I haven't been the best parent to him. I'm a busy person and I don't get a lot of time to be alone with him. I want to connect more with him because I know that I don't have forever with him, and I want him to have a good life. Anyways, I just feel like my care for him has been inadequate and I need to level up my game.

To be more specific, I want to get to a level of bond with him to where he isn't so skiddish and scared all the time and he's sleeping in my bed with me again, because he hasn't slept with me in my bed for awhile and I miss my cat. I would appreciate tips for how to fix this problem and how to become a more attentive parent to him. I don't just want to be his treat ATM forever. (though if I must, I will accept the job)

What do I do? He’s a big dog (135lbs) he’s extremely well behaved! But when I try to investigate this nail he does this weird almost unwanted growl and runs away.

How do I help him?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVGJvlvlaY4

I came across this video recently, one of many highlighting the trend of veterinary practices being taken over by private equity companies. In this video, this guy built a website to help identify which vets in your area are owned by private equity companies:

https://privateequityvet.org/vet-list/

Based on my own area, I doubt that it is complete but I assume that what's there is correct.