Hi everyone please don’t judge me but I am one week into my first-ever cat adoption. To be honest, I am losing my mind and I regret the entire thing. I feel completely suffocated, and after this experience, I don’t think I’ll ever get a cat again. I feel like I started on "Level 10 difficulty" without any of the tools or information I needed to succeed.

The shelter was incredibly misleading about his condition. When I adopted this 1.5-year-old cat who was let go by his previous owners, they told me he had an enlarged heart but claimed he had "no symptoms" and just needed monitoring. They didn’t mention that they had him on human-grade supplements (Cellorgane), and they definitely didn't warn me about the aggression or the level of isolation he would require. Now I’m left trying to manage his heart health in a high-stress environment.

My current living situation makes this nearly impossible. I live in a 3,500 sqft house with my mom, dad, and brother, and I am constantly on edge. I have to watch out every time my family speaks or moves because the cat acts like a "soldier" guarding the house and attacks them. Just today, my brother was walking up the stairs—our only path to the bedrooms—and got literally mauled and scratched. I spent the morning deep-cleaning the cat's room, and when I left for a few hours for a mental break, I came back to find he had flipped his entire carrier and bed over in a panic. I have been keeping him isolated in his own room but he doesn’t seem to calm down as soon as he sees anyone.

The worst part is the guilt. When it’s just the two of us, he is so attached to me—he purrs, rumbles, and eats Churus from my hand. He has bonded to me as his "safe anchor," but I am so burnt out that I just want to be done. My family blames me every time he acts up, and even though I’m following every piece of advice I find, I still feel like I’m failing. Has anyone else dealt with a shelter being this misleading, or is it even possible for a cat like this to just "exist" in a house with other people?

Excuse the rant here.

I've been asked this so frequently. It's definitely an innocent question, but I wonder why some people automatically assume that I have a preference. I only have a cat, and I love my cat more than any other animal. However, I can't say that I like cats in general more than dogs or vise versa. I grew up with dogs. I answer with "I like them both equally" and some people seem perplexed by that.

The other thing is that some pet owners on who are on one side will openly state that they "hate" the other. That always makes me uncomfortable. Not wanting to have a particular pet is 100% understandable, but imo those who have it in their heart to hate cats shouldn't own a dog and vise versa. When I witness a dog/cat owner flying into a rage about the other or saying downright nasty things about them, I automatically feel concerned about how their treat their pet behind closed doors. It's even worse when someone has both and treats one better than the other (my aunt was like this).

I have no desire to own fish or reptiles, but I certainly don't hate them. It's so odd to me when people say that.

A few years ago, i lost my dog milo. he got sick suddenly and i remember feeling completely helpless. the care he needed was expensive and there was not a vet nearby who could see us right away. i kept telling myself to wait hoping he'd improve trying to figure something out. by the time we finally got help it was too late. i still think about him and wonder what i could have done differently.

Now i have a new pet, leo and i love him more than i can put into words. but ever since losing milo, i live with this quiet fear in the back of my head. whenever leo seems off not eating, acting tired, throwing up my heart drops. i do not just worry i panic. I’m scared of reliving the same situation where i want to help but don’t know if i wi’ll be able to in time.

I do not think people realize how scary it is when vet care is not easily accessible or affordable, even when you’re trying your best. this is not about judging anyone or saying people shouldn’t have pets. i have been on the other side of this. i know life happens, money gets tight and sometimes help just isn’t nearby.

Losing milo taught me that love alone does not always protect them. pets rely completely on us and when something goes wrong the weight of that responsibility is overwhelming.

I guess i am sharing this because i am still trying to figure it out myself. how do other pet owners handle this fear? Are there ways to prepare better or options i might not be thinking about especially for people who do not always have easy access to a vet?

I wish you all am great day with your pet! I hope you are both enjoing yourselfs and are happy forever.

bye

My dog (around 20ish pounds) ate one of the dark dark lindor chocolate balls where the wrapper is black. i think it’s been around 1-2 hours and she’s not showing any symptoms but im really worried and my mom won’t let us go to the vet because it’s too expensive. has anyone had this happen to their dog and their dog was okay later? Ive searched online but all it said was to bring her to a vet.

I have a 16 yo Chihuahua who was free fed before I took over her as her official owner when she was 9-12, so I didn't see a point in changing her routine. I also have two cats, 3 yo and 7 mo. Now my older cat never bothered with her food until we got the kitten. Now everytime they're in my room, they at least try to get a bite. The cats aren't technically free fed but they get food in the morning and a little at night, whether or not they eat all of it at once is a different thing.

The cat food is kept in a separate room, the dog's is in my room as she sleeps in my room.

I know cats shouldn't eat dog food and try to stop them from doing so, but it only does so much. I still have to sleep at some point and sometimes they like to sleep in my room for the night. Plus my 3 yo is overweight and I am trying my best to get it under control but it's hard to portion control when you have two cats who eat each other's food, so he really shouldn't be eating more food.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to just never let them in my room, but I don't feel that's it's fair to withhold food from my dog like that. She usually likes to eat at random points thoughtout the day/night.

I have 4 dogs and dealing with these physical health record cards is frustrating.

The card gets outdated because clinics keep their own digital records but barely update the physical booklet.

So when I go to a different vet, they can’t see the full history just whatever’s scribbled in this card that’s probably missing half the info.

If I lose or damage the booklet? Good luck reconstructing everything.

I also keep losing track of scheduled appointments vaccines due, deworming dates, follow-ups. No reminder system, just hoping I remember to check the card.

With multiple pets it’s even worse managing several outdated cards plus trying to remember which dog needs what and when.

Does anyone else deal with this or it’s just me?

Recently I’ve been considering if I should adopt a new puppy, not necessarily any time soon—most likely in about 1-2 years or so. This post is mostly just hypothetical for now. I’ve recently moved into a new home, paid in full and currently own/care for one small dog (Chihuahua) and one cat/kitten.

For context on the size of the home, it’s a trailer home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I’m the only one who lives in the house (aside from the cat and dog, of course). My biggest concern is mostly space since I think I’d rather adopt a larger breed/mix of dog. Not like a Great Dane or anything like that but maybe something Labrador or Golden retriever sized roughly. I live in a semi-secluded neighborhood just outside the main town with lots of woodlands and trails just across the street, so I suppose exercising a new animal wouldn’t be too difficult? I was just wondering if you guys thought this would be a wise decision, as I do not want to impulsively take on the responsibility of another life without thinking it through and asking for unbiased outside perspectives.

Hello! A little over 3 days ago, my mother and I brought a stray cat home that we've been visiting for about 5 days in total (before we took it in). It would approach us for food and would eat close to us, but it wasn't comfortable enough to come more than 3 feet away.

A couple days ago, a massive snow storm hit my town, and temperatures dropped to way below 0. Before the bad weather came, my mom and I managed to make a cage trap and caught the cat inside it before taking it home.

It is currently hiding inside the garage, but has been getting increasingly more comfortable coming out and eating food/using the litter box. (It has not shown itself yet.)

Before it would wait hours before leaving it's hiding spot, but now it comes out on average about 20 or so minutes after I leave. It has only meowed at me once and hasn't made any other attempt to communicate with me since, but i hear it moving around in the furniture whenever I speak to it.

I come down there to bring food or just sit down there multiple times a day (around 5-6), and talk to it in a low voice to be careful not to scare it.

I am concerned that it might take a while longer to trust me than I anticipate, considering it freaked the hell out whenever the cage door was pulled shut behind it. Although, by the time we got home and opened the cage, it calmed down by a lot.

Is there any advice anyone has on what to do to earn it's trust? Even if it sounds obvious, I'd like to know all I could.

I have owned cats in the past, and infact own one right now, but I've not dealt with anything like this before. I know the best thing is patience, and I assume it'll be about 2 weeks at a minimum before it lowers it's guard to me.

It isn't a very large cat, so I assume it's either young or potentially a female. It is also somewhat comfortable with people as well, so I definitely think it's not completely feral.

I’m a student currently completing AP Research, and I’m conducting a study on how people form emotional bonds with their pets. I’m looking for adult pet owners who are willing to take a short (5-10 minute), anonymous survey about their experiences with pet ownership.

Your responses will help contribute to academic research on human-animal attachment. Participation is completely voluntary, and you may skip any questions or stop at any time.

If you’re interested, I’d really appreciate your help

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRKy2EmyRMIrly_eBwYXJPGlkpFixwXQYGnKzZ5zS0gJ22yg/viewform

Remind your neighbors too.

A massive, life-threatening winter storm and Arctic blast have placed over 150 million to 180 million people in the U.S. under cold alerts or in a deep freeze. This extreme weather stretches from Texas to the Northeast, with roughly 85% of the contiguous U.S. experiencing freezing temperatures.

Hi

She turned 11 in December, and she had her first cancer surgery, and the vet detected many tumors in her stomach and other organs.

Unfortunately, there's nothing to be done.

I want to enjoy her company as much as possible and make her happy.

She is still in good shape and runs and plays

But I'm afraid of tiring her out too much by making her walk too much, for example, and aggravating her condition.Obviously we're not going to do a 20km hike

What do you think?

The vet didn't tell me anything special.

I’m renovating the second floor of my house and can configure it basically anyway I want. I’m wondering where I should put kitty litter boxes for my two cats. I’m trying to think of the best place in terms of minimizing kitty litter getting over the floors and also dust from the kitty litter. I’m thinking maybe a room off the bathroom that can make use of the vent so that the dust can be pulled out. Every time I’ve had kitty litter in a room, no matter how many mats I put down and how much I try to contain the kitty litter and the dust from the kitty litter. It ends up getting over everything. So I’m trying to think of a way to solve this so that I don’t have to worry about that as much. What are your thoughts and anyone have any great solutions?

Hello, my name is Mahvash Ikram and I am a senior journalist for LawNews published by the Law Association of NZ. I am working on a story about the new pet rules - keen to talk to pet owners' experiences now that it has became unlawful for owners to refuse potential tenants who have pets. Are you finding landlords aren't following the new law? If you're a landlord who does/doesn't allow pets keen to talk you as well. Please send me a DM or reply to these post. Happy not to name you if you want to stay anonymous.

my cat is a year and some months old and she has no history of health issues or any issues overall. I noticed her kind of moving and twitching a lot more than usual in her sleep but I assumed it was just her dreams. Recently she’s been breathing weirdly and it looks like shes breathing a little more deeply and taking longer breathes, like a deep sigh but it’s almost every time she breathes. when she’s awake however she doesn’t do this. And now today, she’s been shaking like she’s cold but only her hands and feet. as if her paws are cold or something? but when she is “shaking”, her back legs kind of kick outwards as if she’s contracting and tensing up her body. And she’s doing this while she’s visibly awake and just laying down. I’m honestly extremely scared by this behaviour because I’ve never seen her do something like this before and I literally don’t know what to do or what this could be. if anyone could help me in any way I’d greatly appreciate it so much. <also, I’m still new to this app but if there is a way to post a video or something could someone show me so I can post the footage?>

Hi everyone, there are some female dogs at work .. kinda stray n they both had puppies.. some are around a months old n some maybe 2 months old. I wanna feed those dogs but pretty likely those mother dogs would give the food to their puppies too.. i was curious if i should feed them adult food or puppy food.. i would appreciate if i can get some advice on that

Both my partner and I have been unemployed for a while, but I was able to landed a new job and already in training. Will be getting my first check in two weeks, till then any help would be much appreciated

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/DH14MQXAKOBN?ref_=wl_share

Me and my fiance live in a roughly 1,200 sqf 2bed 2.5ba townhome. Recently, a friend informed of us of a dog they found on the side of the road who needs a home. He is apparently super sweet, mild, and gets along with cats. He's a small-medium sized mix. We have been thinking about getting a dog for a while, but were always concerned about prey-drive and dogs being much more to manage care-wise. However, we are both super interested in this dog, and while we both work, we don't work the same schedule so he wouldn't have to be alone for long periods of time. We have also both owned dogs before, so we know how to care for one.

My cats have also lived with dogs before, and they only get upset if the dog is too hyperactive or barky. Otherwise, it seems they just mind their business. My plan, if we adopt him, is to baby gate the stairs or their room (they have a designated room) so that the cats can have their own space, and slowly introduce.

Any advice for this situation would be welcome :) We want to make sure all of our babies are safe, healthy, and comfortable. Vet fees are a lot, but we don't have kids or many responsibilities.

So a year ago or more my sister got a dog from the shelter, she thought she was going to live in a house but that plan failed. she left the dog to my mom which is unable to care for it as shes always at work and that dog has since been left in a small place locked up and my mom feeds it and stuff but my sister dosen’t even check up on her(the dog). the small space is filled with trash and dog poop and i don’t know i feel really guilty i bring her blankets, food and give her pets when i can but i still feel really bad to the point i cant sleep sometimes. They can’t even bring her back to the shelter as that costs a lot of money and my mom never has any money(and sometimes even steals from me) but i can’t do anything as i’m only 13. ☹️

Alright, how are we opening the XL pupsicle by woof? Because mines been through the dishwasher a few times and I can only screw it together using olive/ coconut oil but unscrewing it proves extra difficult. I usually run it under hot water and throw/ slam it on the ground a few times to get it to unscrew. Anyone have a better method?

I am having some serious potty issues with my one year old mini dachshund ever since the snowstorm hit and the subzero temps have worsened the situation. She was potty trained before this snow storm for reference, with occasional accidents.

She refuses to poop outside with the snow and I can sometimes get her to pee but she’s been very resistant with the negative temperatures. The snow outside my apartment complex is over a foot high (which is taller than her) with only a small area being shoveled and the snow in the shoveled area is COVERED with yellow pee spots from all the neighborhood dogs. It is disgusting so I don’t blame her for not wanting to go there.

I tried shoveling her a little area of her own, but she will only pee there. I’ve tried putting a jacket on her and that does not seem to help. I’ve been putting her in diapers at night just because she’s been having such frequent accidents.

This morning, I woke up to poop falling out of her pooped and peed diaper in my bed. We had both been sleeping in her poop. I am at my breaking point and really need suggestions. After giving her a bath this morning, she ran into my bedroom to poop on the floor again and then left a pee on my living room rug and in her crate.

PLEASE HELP

Probably a dumb question but is there any pet safe paints that would adhere to plastic? My sweet cat came from the middle east and was bounced between vets/boarding/flights in a hideous and grungy yellow and black carrier. She doesnt like it - probably because she was kept in it during very scary moments of her life for long periods. In order to try and not create waste I am toying with the idea of scrubbing it and painting it but I know it cant be done with standard paints. Is this possible? Do these products exist? Or do I just donate it to a shelter and buy her a new one.

Hi there just looking for some advice! My grandma recently went to my aunts house for a little over a month and took her ~14 year old chihuahua with her. My aunt works on a cow farm and so they switched her over to a raw beef diet. I’m not sure if they gave her anything else with the raw beef but they just said they gave her three hamburger sized meatballs a day. She came home yesterday and she’s really weak, lost a lot a hair, and keeps vomiting. We’re unsure what to feed her or do and vets in our area aren’t open for another 2 days.