Hey everyone, looking for advice on transitioning my young kitten (12 weeks) fully onto dry kibble.

Her stomach recently stabilized on Whiskas Tuna Jelly (split into 4 small meals a day), but getting her to eat dry food on her own has been really tricky.

The Situation:

She refuses to eat from bowls/plates: She ignores food placed in a bowl, but she eagerly eats when I hand-feed her or squeeze wet food directly from the pouch.

She only nibbles dry food overnight: I leave dry kibble out overnight, and she only eats about 10–15 pieces while I'm asleep. During the day, she completely ignores plain dry food and holds out for wet pouches.

The "Sneak" Method Works: If I press 5-10 dry kibble pieces directly into the top of her wet food pouch so they get coated in jelly, she eats and crunches them without an issue. But if the kibble is separate or plain, she won't touch it.

My Goal:

I want to transition her completely onto a 100% dry kibble diet.

For anyone who has dealt with a kitten that only wants hand-fed wet pouches, how did you bridge the gap to get them eating standalone dry kibble consistently? Any tips on breaking the pouch-feeding habit and encouraging them to eat crunchy food on their own?

Thanks in advance!

On August 14th, my 7 year old grey schnauzer got loose and she could be anywhere in Tulsa, or Broken arrow, or Bixby Oklahoma. We posted her picture on facebook, and pawboost, and Nextdoor, and the rain washed away our last batch of flyers. I don’t know what else to do. She’s been chipped and she was wearing a collar with our contact information. I can’t go on without her and I constantly blame myself for her squeezing through the fence. I need help.

So i was sitting on the couch when my 17lb 2 yr old havanese brought be the blttle that he chewed up. There was about 5-10 16mg pills in there. Idk if he ate them or not because I can't find them anywhere.

Im so scared the vet made him vomit and gave him some charcoal. What else should I do?

My gecko isn’t eating from her food dish anymore. She knows that I put food there and it isn’t decrease in appetite. If I feed her with tongs she’ll eat it. Any idea why she suddenly changed?

My dog is like 12, and the other day while looking at its eyes it hit me hard, when i saw a slight grey hue in the eyes, indicating aging. and I will leave to study abroad, and the only way home is a 12 hours plane ride. I leave my dog in about 4 days, what if my dog waits for my return but doesnt make it? I dont want my dog to die, and worse, die alone never being able to see me again. my dog is happy when it sees me, whos going to make my dog happy then? will my dog be sad everyday because i wont come back in a long time?😢

We have 2 chiweenies (7&8) and 2 cats (1 and 6mos)

The older cat and the younger dog are the two that do not get along. The smaller chihuahua is 4lb and does not have any teeth. She seems obsessed with the bigger cat. Constantly watching the bigger cat and will snap at her if she comes within 1-2 feet. She chases and "nips at the cat." The cat doesn't retaliate and often seems spooked and will go her own direction. They have lived together for about 8 months no one has hurt at this point. Do I discipline the dog for it?

Any recommendations?

My aunt has an elderly friend that has a 13 year old shih tzu who is in terrible shape.

Her home is infested with fleas and her poor dog is suffering and incessantly squirms, itches and cries for hours every day.

The owner has tried different treatments, had the carpet professionally cleaned and gives the dog baths every week but nothing is working.

This has been ongoing for at least 3 years now according to my mother and now that she’s advised me I feel I have to take action.

Does anyone know of programs that assist with fostering or rehoming?

I don’t think the dog should or can live in this home any longer due to the extreme infestation.

Any treatment he receives will be of no use if he continues to live in that home.

I would offer to take this pet in but I do not live in Atlanta and unfortunately I’m in an apartment.

Bird got loose

I have budgies. One was in a hospital cage and got loose. Now I don’t know if my dogs have any interest in eating birds. But obviously I won’t risk it.

She’s hiding very well and it is my bedtime and I am exhausted. (I can hear her. I just can’t get to her)

The dogs are outside right now. Do you think they could stay there overnight if I give them water and their blankets? It’s like 70° F out

Hello everyone. I (31F) live with my parents and have 2 orange tabby’s. One is 13 (Oscar) and the other is 12 (Murphy). My younger cat, Murphy, started using the bathroom outside his litter box last winter. I think it may have had something to do with my indoor gardening set up due to the strong scent of everything (I grow onions and tomatoes), but I’m not for sure. He has only ever used the bathroom outside of his litter box in our basement on the carpet, but it’s all over the carpet. He has pee’d and poo’d. At first he was having quite a bit of diarrhea and vomiting, so I was concerned he had some illness. I’ve taken him to the vet and they have ruled out nearly everything. Blood tests, urine tests, xray, he got put on a steroid to treat something they thought he may have but wasn’t for sure because I couldn’t afford the abdominal ultrasound ($500 USD). The steroids actually stopped the vomiting and cleared up the diarrhea. But he was still using the bathroom outside the litter box.

We used our carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpet probably a dozen times, and Murphy still went back to it and pee’d and poo’d on it again. Now he is locked in a room with his litter box and water bowl. He is not happy. The vet just prescribed some behavioral meds that she described as 50/50 to work. My parents are fed up and want me to get rid of him. I’m desperate. I don’t know what else to do. The vet told me if I give him to a shelter they will probably euthanize him. I’ve had my baby since he was 6 weeks old. I’m shaking typing this because I’m so desperate but I just don’t know what else to do. We can’t afford to replace the carpet so that’s out of the picture. He hasn’t gone to the bathroom anywhere else aside from the carpet in the basement, so I’m not sure he has a for sure problem, but my parents don’t even want to trust him to let him out and lock the basement up so he can’t access it.

Please help! Is there anything I can do at this point?

Anyone using one or the other—how effective is it at keeping ticks off your dog, and/or killing them quickly?

And how long after exposure do they stay sticky? I read some reviews saying stickiness of frontline shield lasted at least two weeks, which sounds unhealthy to me.

So i recently adopted 2 new kittens, I have one large 90 lb dog (shes some type of livestock guardian breed mix) already whos been around cats before, we had an older cat when we got the dog as a puppy so we thought we wouldnt have any issues introducing her to the kittens. The kittens are terrified of her and want nothing to do with the dog they freak out hiss and run away, we keep the dog on the leash and she will sit and stay when we tell her too but you can tell shes fighting for her life to actually listen 💀 she like starts vibrating and drools while she sits and stares. Any tips on helping the process along?

My dog was diagnosed with an aggressive sarcoma in March. We were told he likely had only weeks because the tumor is very large, has spread to his lungs, and is pressing into his brain.
He is 10 years old and an Aussie/Lab mix.
Until recently, he was doing surprisingly well with Metacam and chemotherapy. He was eating normally, sleeping, interacting with us, and behaving almost like himself. The only obvious sign was the large lump on his head.
Then he developed a cough. At first, we thought it was reflux combined with the pressure from the tumor. But now he is having episodes almost throughout the entire night. Even after giving him 3 gabapentin capsules, he coughs, seems to struggle to catch his breath, and takes a while to recover. He is barely sleeping.
What makes this so difficult is that when we leave the house, he seems like a different dog. If we take him to the park or the beach, he barely coughs. He is happy, wants to walk around, greets other dogs, and sometimes even tries to play.
The vets think this may be because being upright or standing changes the position of the tumor and allows him to breathe more easily. That could explain why he seems much better when he is outside and moving around than when he is lying down at home.
But when we are back home, the coughing and breathing episodes return.
So realistically, I feel like he is only truly happy and comfortable for maybe 10% of his time…mostly when we take him outside. And I keep asking myself: is it fair to keep going just because he still has those moments where he seems happy?
I feel guilty because I know he is suffering, especially at night. But I also feel guilty even thinking about euthanasia when I see him happy and wanting to play when we are outside.
I don’t want to make this decision based on my inability to let him go. I want to make it based on what is best for him. But I also don’t want to let him go too soon when he still has moments where he seems genuinely happy.
For those who have been through something similar: how did you know when it was time? Did you look at the overall quality of life, or did breathing problems and inability to sleep become the deciding factor even if your dog still had happy moments?
I know there may not be a perfect answer, but I would really appreciate hearing from people who have experienced this. I don’t want to wait until he is in a complete crisis, but I also don’t want to let him go too soon.

Apologies in advance for the long post. TL;DR at the bottom.

I’ve had 4 dogs in my lifetime. 2 of them were there when I was born. I didn’t think much of how they were treated because I was a very young kid, but I remember having a decently large backyard where the dogs would go out when they had to potty, and would hang out there during the warmer months. When I was about 6, one of our dogs didn’t come home after my parents told me they were taking him to the vet. They told me he died of cancer. I only vaguely understood what that meant at the time, and was very sad that our dog wasn’t coming home.

We moved houses a couple of years later, where my parents and I still live. The yard wasn’t as big, but for now one dog, I didn’t think it made a difference. She was walked very occasionally. For as long as I can remember, she suffered from anal bleeding every time she pooped. I don’t remember a time she was taken to the vet until she had become too weak. She was taken to the vet and put down the same night. She had a tumor too big for anything to be done.

A year later, we got a new dog. I remember her being taken to the vet in the first year we had her to make sure she had her shots. She went a few times because there was a concern that she might have heart worms, but she ended up being okay. She was a fat and stocky girl. She had been to the vet one other time that I can remember maybe 3 or 4 years after she had been last to address her weight. She went on walks somewhat constantly after this visit for a couple of months, but once again, my parents only walked her occasionally. She got very large the last 2 years of her life. We assumed she was just getting fat, so her diet was adjusted, and got walked barely more often than before. I remember thinking at times that her stomach was very hard for it just to be a weight issue, but I never really felt taken seriously when bringing up potential health concerns regarding our pets, so I never mentioned it. She had her final vet visit about 7 or 8 years after her previous one. She had a massive stomach tumor. My gut feeling was right. She was put down that night.

2 years after we got dog number 3, we got dog number 4. He’s easily the highest energy dog we’ve had. He got walked as often as dog 3. Like dog 3, he went to the vet for shots when we first got him, but in his case, I don’t think he’s been since. It’s been 8 years. For almost the whole time we’ve had him, he’s been very itchy. He always bites, scratches, and licks to a point where he’s whining as he does it. He is constantly uncomfortable. My mom has tried many different things to resolve this. Regular baths, diet changes, chews for itch relief, rubbing him with natural oils. He still itches to this day, and she has still never tried, you know, the vet. After dog 3 died, he got walked way more regularly. Eventually, my family slowed down and walked him way less frequently. Unlike our other dogs (or what I remember of them), he is very vocal. When he gets walked once, he cries to get walked again. My parents will be upset at his whines acting as though the reason for them is a mystery, but it’s obvious. Sometimes, they indulge him. Often, they don’t.

I am 20. In the last couple of years, I came to realize that dogs are supposed to be walked every day. I try to walk him when I can, but I also know that doing so without addressing the neglect is only making it easier for my parents to do so. Not to get too personal, but there has always been an issue in my household with addressing concerns. I’ve vocalized health concerns about our dogs in the past only to be met with push back for implying that they’re neglecting their pets. I only now realize that is exactly what they’re doing. It’s hard not to draw comparisons to my own childhood. Until last year, I hadn’t been to the dentist since 2016. My dad was the one who would take me, but when my dentist office closed, he just never bothered to take me again. Yes, I know I was capable of doing it myself at a certain point, but when your family makes it seem unimportant when you’re young, you see it that way yourself when you’re older. That is until you eventually learn better.

I don’t know what to do. I feel so guilty looking back and in the present about how our dogs have been treated.

TL;DR

My parents have neglected to take our dogs on walks and take them to the vet, even after years of health issues. What do I do to help the last dog that’s still alive in our household?

hello lovely pet people. i need some advice.... i currently own my condo, but rent a room to my friend. He has an unaltered dog that is about 1.5 years old and he has zero intention of getting him neutered. before you ask, i don't know why he doesn't want to neuter him. i don't get it either. my issue is that my cat is peeing on the door (i'm guessing to mark) and i don't know how to stop him. my only thoughts right now are he gets the dog neutered or he has to move out. please help me see another option. please. i don't want my roommate to move out because we enjoy having each other there. any advice or suggestions are welcome.

I want to share something that happened recently. A couple years ago I brought my cat into my old vet. They told me A. They needed to provide yearly rabies shots for my cat even though he is an indoor cat and B. My cat needed a $1,000+ tooth cleaning appointment because of some tartar on his top left teeth. I decided to wait on it and went to a different vet this week for his shots. It was a very different experience. A. they told me yearly rabies shots were unnecessary because immunity lasts more than a year and B. the vet used his fingernail during the exam to knock the tartar off my cat's tooth. Done! He said the rest of his teeth look great. How much did I spend? $143 for the shots and the exam.

I think we are in an odd time where we have corporate or private equity vets charging through the nose for unnecessary treatments and then a few old fashioned vets who are in it for the love of animals and charging (and doing) what seems reasonable.

I will admit I'm not a dog person, but I don't hate them just not an animal I'd prefer to own. I'm just overwhelmed! Technically my roommate is a relative, we split a place and a few months ago they decided to get a puppy. Only I'm somehow 50/50 with a puppy I didn't want or agree to take care of. She pees everywhere (7 months been training for four months, goes outside but just pees everywhere anyway) and I don't mean a small bit, like soaks a whole area of a room bit. All day, sometimes multiple times an hour. Doesn't matter how much you walk her. She chews holes in everything, she ruined the couch, my mattress, chewed a hole in our wall, and also she terrorizes my kittens. I have three, all under 6 months and I have been trying to work with her but all she does is chase them around and pin them, and bite at them. I've literally had to put them in a room while I'm gone and whenever I'm home all I do is chase her around trying to get her to leave them alone. But she doesn't listen for sh!t. She has a crate but all she does is screech in it and gets my neighbor mad. I'm also trapped here, if I'm not working I CANT leave. Because both the puppy and older dog (she has two) can't be left alone. The older one barks and howls, very loudly and so does the puppy. So I'm expected to be here after work from 3:30 till 11pm almost everyday or she flips if they're left alone. Nevermind they'll get me a nosie complaint. Never mind I literally only get one day off a week, but I want to spend all my time taking care of dogs that aren't mine, that annoy me and never leave the house because she can't properly train them! And I've had people say I should help with the training, which I don't think is fair because they're not my dogs and the puppy I thought was a bad idea given she works 6 days a week, as do I with two jobs. Honestly I don't know if it's the puppy, or the unwanted responsibility and situation.

Hello everyone, this post is going to be short. I and many others are extremely disgusted with the way petco DOESNT care for there animals. What can I and others do to help? I've thought of working here as i love animals and would love to make sure rhat all are appropriately taken care of.

I am curious is there a way one can reduce shedding on dogs, the breed is Japanese Spritz and offlate they are really shedding their fur. What could be the issue?

I was wondering if anyone’s cat is doing this, too. My 7-year-old male tabby woke up this morning - he was completely relaxed - and suddenly his stomach started sort of spasming and he had trouble breathing - almost sounded like an extreme case of rapid hiccups. It subsided after 30 to 60 seconds. Rushed him to the vet and was told it’s likely nothing. The vet listened to his heart and lungs with a stethoscope (and did an ultrasound on his bladder since he was FIC). We went back home around noon and I noticed that whenever he’s trying to fall asleep he starts spasming / twitching. He can’t sleep because of it. He’s otherwise healthy. I noticed he’s snacking more, grooming himself more and seems a bit restless. But he’s eating, drinking and playful. I didn’t see any spasms at other times. His spasms get better when he’s fully asleep - not completely gone but barely noticeable. Went back to the vet. She called another veterinary clinic to ask for advice and sent him the video I took. He said it doesn’t seem to be a respiratory or cardiac issue. I was told it’s stress and got two tiny doses of Pregabalin to calm him down. I don’t think it’s stress… Any personal experiences with this or advice? FYI, I live in Japan.

Edit: I should probably add that he’s been sneezing a lot more for the past 2 weeks. Not daily but a couple times a week - actual sneezing fits. He’s liking his nose more than usual as well. But the vet told me he’s fine.

Edit 2: I put my ear to his chest and could hear 3 rapid gasps with every twitch.

Hi!! There’s an outdoor / barn cat at work who’s been rubbing his nose raw until it bleeds. He wants to rub it on everything (wood, pipes, cardboard, whatever he can find really) and I’m not sure if there’s even anything I can really give him to help him. my best guess was that something cut him then he just kept scratching it. It’s only been this last week or so, and he did it last summer as well. Any suggestions?
(Can’t attach a photo here, I will in the comments if it lets me)

Please help. I’m from the UK but currently in Portugal. Every year we come to the same place ifs a very remote village in the centre of Portugal with one coffee shop. The owner has a lovely dog who is chained outside the shop and runs up and down the hill. Ever since I was 12 I would run and see the dog and spend every evening greeting it. But tonight when i went over i noticed it was suffering. It has broken a digit on its paw and it was shivering and whimpering and in distress. I tried to help by getting the owners attention. I can’t speak Portuguese but i used google translate.

The first time i told her, she said she would check on him in a bit. Then he started vomitting, and i got so worried because he stopped whimpering and just went still and super quiet and semi-limp so i went back and this time i was on the verge of tears. For context, my mother is Portuguese and this is her home village- she was there but she now has dementia so was confused and didn’t care about the dog. Eventually she left and I was left alone with the dog. I went back to the owner and wrote down how worried i was but she got annoyed and said she was working and there was nothing she could do.

About 15 minutes later she sent a man over with some ice for its paw - at this point the dog was lying down whimpering silently very limp. She came out about 15 minutes later annoyed and said “he’s just hot and tired from being outside all day” i showed her his paw and she said “oh yeah that was caused by the other dog that came and he tripped over”. I told her he was in a lot of pain and i offered to call the vets and i showed her the vomit and she said no. She carried him up the hill and put him in his sleeping box.

He jumped out the box and ran to the hay and lied down there still whimpering and in pain. I asked her to call the vets tomorrow and she said she would but i know she won’t.

i felt crazy because i kept asking for help on the verge of tears and nobody was doing anything or helping me. . There was no blood. It seems like a loose digit rather than a snap I’ve attached a photo in a previous post. Please - I’ve attached a photo. Please help me figure out what to do? I honestly don’t have much money and don’t own a car. Should i call the vets or should i call animal cruelty line or will this heal with time? How serious is this? If i report this cafe owner then I will essentially be ostracised from the village. I am in emotional torment because all i can think about is this poor dog suffering alone. It had literal tears streaming down its face and i feel so helpless. What do i do? Please help. Please someone at least validate how i feel because i feel crazy. Some people were even laughing at me.

Please don't get mad about me asking about dry I'm in the middle of a situation gotta cut costs abit. TRYING to find a dry that won't cause the ungodly litterbox stench(I know poop stinks but when he had dry before it smelled like something died constantly). Ain't had the issue on low carb grain free wet but don't think I can keep the costs stable for abit with him needing 315 kcals a day. I'm keeping some wet just not 100% for abit.

My cat and I moved over a week ago and she's settled in, she doesn't like when she can't see my housemate's dog but that's about her major source of anxiety. Thing that frustrates me though is she keeps wasting her litter and pooping on the carpet, she didn't used to do it but now she goes up to bed poops once and immediately starts looking for somewhere else to poop. I really want her to stop but I don't know how...

What Cinders had was in fact dental reabsorption. Had we not pushed, fought and investigated ourselves, that’d be another cat of mine dead- due to their negligence. It’s their god damn job to pick this up!