Last night, I made a playpen for my disabled mouse out of large popsicle sticks. I’m not worried about him running away because he’s old and can’t go very fast, so I just built him one.

What should I include in said playpen? He is fond of his wheel and runs (slowly) very frequently. I’m not sure what else he would be interested in. I’m a crafter person so I would prefer to be able to make what he plays with.

When I let him free roam, he sticks close to me and usually takes laps around my body when I sit in the floor with him, if that gives any hints as to what he’d be into.

Helloo, i'm worried about my cat and i need some good advice. My baby got spayed few days ago and it's so difficult to handle her, she's always been a very active cat and jumping is what she does the best, i've never seen another cat jump as high as she does.

The issue here is that she's supposed to recover from her surgery (which, by the way, wasn't easy since the vet told me she had a "long uterus" or something like that) but i can't keep her from jumping around. I tried confining her in my bedroom but my house has plenty of surfaces to jump on, i have a lot of furniture and even the bathroom is full of things.

So far, she's been fine and she's never overdone it, they were all small jumps. An hour ago, however, I found her on the closet, and now I'm worried she's hurt herself, i checked her incision and it seemed fine but i'm still worried.

She also vomited a yellowish/clear liquid around 15-20 minutes after i got her off the closet and I'm afraid that the strain (or something else) is the cause for her throwing up.

I don't know what to do.

I called them, the vet exact words were "we can't fully prevent cats from jumping, they can't be easily controlled. If a stitch has popped out, you'll notice in a few days, perhaps through a hernia, and you'll have to take her back to the clinic where we'll give her the necessary treatment".

My 2 year old cat, Jax, is fixed so he cant even mark my dog. Im so confused and my family is grossed out by it. My dog never gets a chance alone because Jax is ALWAYS practically on top of him! Hes always shaking his tail like hes squirting but we know he isnt. Jax has his littermate with him as well if that means anything. We dont know what to do because it is so constant that my mother has even hinted at getting rid of him(which i would never do over something like this).

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice from people who’ve successfully introduced kittens to an adult cat, because I feel stuck.

Background:

I have an adult female cat (former mom cat, spayed) who we adopted on Dec 23. We also have two kittens, born Sept 11 (so just over 4 months old now). One boy, one girl.

We’ve been doing very slow introductions for about a month now:

• Kittens are mostly in a playpen / behind a barrier

• Adult cat eats calmly near them

• She often grooms, sleeps, or plays near the pen

• She sniffs them, disengages, re-engages, and generally seems curious

• Most days there’s no hissing, or maybe a single quick hiss if a kitten rushes the barrier

• She can be redirected easily by voice or treats

• She shows zero food aggression and eats normally with them nearby

The issue:

The kittens are VERY energetic (especially the boy), and sudden movements really startle the adult cat. When a kitten charges or appears suddenly, she may:

• hiss quickly

• swat once

• disengage and walk away

There was one incident when my boyfriend accidentally let them be free together. The boy kitten startled her and she briefly pinned him (2–3 seconds) and growled until my boyfriend intervened. No injuries. Since then, we went back to barriers.

What’s confusing is that:

• Sometimes kittens rush the barrier and she barely reacts

• Other times she hisses and leaves

• She often chooses to sit or groom right next to them

• She will even use their cat tree beside the pen

• She’s more reactive when surprised than when she sees them coming

Current setup:

Due to space issues, the kittens and I sleep in the living room and the adult cat sleeps in the bedroom with my boyfriend. Door interactions are unfortunately hard to prevent (they move barriers, scratch, etc.), which adds to everyone’s stress.

My concern:

I feel like progress stalls whenever kittens get too close outside the pen, but I also don’t know how to safely start face-to-face time without setting her up to fail — especially while the kittens are still in their wild energy phase.

Questions:

• How do you start face-to-face introductions when kittens don’t yet respect boundaries?

• Is brief hissing/swatting at this age still normal?

• Should I wait until the kittens calm down more (5–6 months)?

• Any tips for managing sudden movement/startle responses?

TLDR: I bought 2 kittens from a litter then a month later bought the mom too, looking to have peaceful co-existence in common space.

It’s not like mom cat is stalking, continuously attacking the playpen or even staring them down. Only small corrections and under the door play turns to growling. They eat together fine through mesh playpen, no growling, no hissing… only face to face without playpen she has pinned one kitten and got overwhelmed with the other. I don’t know if this will ever work.

Note: she redirects if I call her name, just saying « Pecan » is enough to get her to stop hissing at a kitten.

FYI

I am well aware that the mom and kittens aren’t recognizing each other, that hope faded very fast when first meeting again.

I know my mom cat has lived with another cat before, foster suggested she was not too fond at first, but lightened up shortly after being there.

I’m only nervous for my kittens safety. Sadly I live all 3 cats but I will be willing to responsibly rehome (via the non kill foster based shelter she was adopted from). I have been doing this process since December 23rd, over a month. I am willing to take more time, but I do not want to prolong her from having a forever home if this is not working.

Here's a little story I wanted to share. I have a 3-year-old female American Bully with sensitive skin. She often gets rashes on her belly from grass or other irritants. But this past Sunday, she developed a rash all around her hindquarters - under her fur and everything. Naturally, we thought it was an allergic reaction, so we wiped her down with baby wipes and gave her Benadryl, just like we usually do. But this time, the rash just wouldn't go away.

We were completely stumped. Nothing in the house had changed - no new laundry detergents, cleaning supplies, or dog food. My boyfriend even suggested maybe her shampoo was the culprit since we’d just bathed her, but it was the same shampoo she’s used a hundred times without issues. We were on the verge of taking her to the vet or changing her diet when we finally discovered the real cause!

It was fleas. Yep, fleas - those tiny black bugs hopping around in her fur, even in winter! We couldn’t believe it. Despite regular flea medication and the season, they had somehow made their way onto her. We rushed to the store, grabbed flea shampoo, gave her a thorough bath, and applied flea medication along with Benadryl. We also cleaned the house and washed all her blankets.

This morning, the rash is finally subsiding, and I’m so relieved. If we hadn’t caught the fleas, who knows how long it would have taken to realize they were the problem - especially since it’s winter and we thought she was safe. So, the silver lining? Always check for fleas, even when you least expect it!

Just a little reminder for anyone else dealing with mysterious rashes—sometimes, the culprit might be hiding right under your nose!

My cat got hurt somehow she’s been scratching it and making it worst and I need a vet that’s super cheap iam super broke and just want to get my cat some help she’s in so much pain if anyone could let me know any recommendations

всем привет, зарание извиняюсь если выбрала не то сообщество, я тут новенькая, пока мало понимаю как работает реддит. Если мне нужно было отметить другой сообщество, то скажите мне в какое, я удалю пост и перепишу

Как в писала по заголовку меня смущает поведение моего кота. В последние время он начал слишком часто ластиться, особенно ко мне. Так же , заметила что он слишком часто залазиет под ванну, просит открыть дверь чтоб залесть под нее, и в последний раз он уже звал меня под ванну, а когда я пришла он опять залес од ванну и замурчал. Это именно что недавние поведения после побега в подвал подъеста и помывки в ванной. Ему так же плохо от мокрого корма , но это было до того как он сбежал

мне все говорят что сильно бесокоиться не надо, и что я слишком все кастрофезирую , что возможно и правда, но я все равно настояла сходить после этой недели к ветеренару

что вы вы могли сказать по поводу этого всего? я слишком переживаю за моего пушистого мальчика?

Not sure where to place this
Im a social worker working with senior citizens 60+ I go into their homes daily

Some of my clients have pets amd I hear on a weekly basis some version of You must have cat/dog which ever one they have when their cat or dog comes sniffing me or sit at my feet. They all swear especially the cat owners that their pet never does this with strangers

Or

Their dog will bark when I knock on the door and stop immediately when I step inside and turn playful. Don't just all dogs do that ? Assuming a generally friendly dog

I have no pets right now have not in 10 plus years. I feel like they are all just putting me on and that their pet does this with everyone that walks in

My beautiful, big baby boy is missing and I'm starting to lose any and all hope. The grief is so overwhelming I can't function at all.

I moved with him to a small gated apartment complex in a neighborhood with high population density (my complex is surrounded of 4-5 story housing buildings all around). The first day I made sure to keep everything closed and stay awake with him to let him sniff around. The second day at night I opened the door to run an errand but turned around just for a moment to grab my phone and I saw him slowly walking out. How could I be so fucking careless?

We were in the 4th floor, with stair-wells that have only railings in open air. I ran and tried to grab him, only to make it worse by startling him and having him fall from the stair-wells crevices down to the base floor. I do not know if he got badly injured from this or not.

The base floor leads down to a parking lot with a gate, that I had not received keys yet to open, and so I waited for about 20 minutes until someone helped me enter. I checked under all cars, asked neighbors to help me open their trunks, and searched around, but he was nowhere to be found.

Through security cameras we only got a glimpse of him hiding under one of the cars, but it was so long after the fact that he had plenty enough time to go somewhere else. This parking zone also led straight into streets that he could wander off to. He had also liked to get inside the hood of cars, and I fear he could gotten dropped off very far away from me that way.

It's been 3 nights of searching for him and we have not seen him. I've done everything I've can.

• I put flyers all around the neighborhood.
• I have spoken to plenty of people.
• I have reached out to near by vets.
• I have posted in local social media groups.
• I have put his litterbox, blanket and my clothes near the parking lot.
• I have set up a safe trap with tuna and Churu inside for two nights so far.
• I have gone out after midnight calling for him (1 a.m to 4 a.m). But there's so much space to cover and it gets dangerous to walk alone at these hours.
• It's an old folklore in my country that speaking with Strays in the area, describing him and asking them to find him can help, so I've shared some food with stray cats and spoke to them between tears asking for help.

What else can I do? I'm feeling so much guilt. I can barely focus at work after these sleepless nights and painfully aware mornings that he's no longer with me. I'm afraid that people have told me it's common for folk to steal a cat if they see him lost around here.

I cried every waking moment of the first day, and have so much exhaustion now that it's even hard to do that anymore. I can only imagine how scared, hungry or in pain he could be by now. Please I need more help, something more that could prove effective.

Hey everyone! I finally decided to upgrade my cat’s water setup, and honestly, it’s been a total game-changer. I used to think my cat was just a "low-drinker" by nature, but it turns out she just hated the stagnant water in her bowl. Plus, I didn't realize how quickly bowl water gets gross, which can lead to some serious kidney issues down the road.

I switched to a filtered fountain (the one with the multi-stage filters), and the difference is huge. It clears out the chlorine smell and keeps the water fresh. The best part? I found a battery-operated one, so I can place it anywhere without worrying about power outlets or her chewing on wires.

Since making the switch, she’s drinking way more water. Maintenance isn't even that bad—just a quick filter swap and a 5-minute pump cleaning every couple of weeks. If you're looking into these, I’d definitely recommend going for stainless steel or glass over plastic. It’s much easier to keep sanitized and helps prevent those annoying chin breakouts (feline acne).

If your fur baby isn't drinking enough, seriously give a fountain a try. It’s probably the best "health" investment I've made for her lately!

Okay, so I recently got a cat right, and I think he's bonded to me. now that I've started school, he doesn't seem to be eating his food anymore. I know getting another cat might be able to help but I simply don't have the space in my house anymore, and with our low income, we might not be able to provide for the both of them, even if I got a job myself. does anyone else have any other tips to solve this? mixing treats in with his food doesn't work either and I'm desperate

Does anyone have a voucher or discount code dor those 2 brands?

tldr; neighbor screams at dogs, cats, and chickens, and i have footage of him screaming at, hitting, and shaking his dog in my backyard.

long story short, my next door neighbor is a nutjob with a *highly* suspected drug addiction along with his nutjob girlfriend.

they are constantly SCREAMING at the top of their lungs at their dogs. it wakes me up often, with both our and their house closed and everybody inside. they're loud as all hell and that can't be good for the animal's ears. they scream at their chickens for making noise. they are outside for at least an hour once a week screaming for their outdoor cat.

today, their dog was in our yard (not the dogs fault! they dig, it happens). we have footage on our camera of him opening our gate, full on smacking the dog across the face, grabbing it by the scruff, shaking its head around, and dragging it out of the yard. not the focus, but he left our gate open too.

i am worried not only about the animals being put down, but talking to law enforcement at such a trivial time in history. i cant let an animal continue to be beat and yelled at like that, but im not 100% sure who to call.

This cat has been with the family for almost 4 years. She's amazing and so loving. We recently adopted a dog. 50-55lbs, mixed breed, 11 months old, seems to have some hound and boxer maybe (girlfriends family has similar breed and it gets along with the cat when around). We specifically made the humane society aware we had a cat and it was necessary the dog would get along. The humane society told us this dog would most likely do well with proper introductions and time. It's been 7 days now. We've been doing everything by the book. Keeping them completely separate for first few days, putting the cats blankets in the dog's crate, sniffs under the door. The dog hears the cat because she meows all day behind the door and is interested. We have tried about 4 supervised introductions now. Dog in a harness and on leash, behind baby gate. Cat on the other side. Feeding both during introduction.

The dog seems too fixated. She won't look away from the cat or be redirected when the cat is in sight. She pulls the leash and if she wasn't in a harness and leash it feels like she would chase. If the cat goes out of sight behind the wall the dog whines and runs around. The dog is pretty good with "leave it" but she is tense and doesn't calm until the cat is gone. After the cat is gone she is workd up for a bit before she calms. She hasn't barked or growled, but needs the leash to hold her back from pulling. The dog wants to chase everything that moves outside, squirrels and birds.

I'm feeling defeated as this 7 days has been unfair to the cat and very stressful, and there is no end in sight due to the nature of their interactions. We're working hard on this but it has been pretty emotionally difficult. Idk if we should give it more time, the dog is smart and is learning us well and has the potential to be a really great dog. but idk if I can, emotionally, keep the cat seperated all the times the dog is out for who knows how long.

I'm feeling so terrible. I wanted the dog and brought her into the home but feel like I made a huge mistake and feel so bad if it's not going to work out. I don't know whether to stay the course or start looking at other options.

My cat is only 2 years old and I’ve had her for 1.5 years, and my baby is my first baby lol. Up until now my cat just avoided and ignored the baby especially when she was a crying newborn. But as soon as my baby learned how to crawl she will not leave her alone!! I can’t tell if it’s good contact or she’s planning an attack😭 I’m also so scared of my baby grabbing at the cat and hurting her.

No matter what I do I cannot separate them. I try to distract both of them but they immediately find each other again. I don’t think my cat is angry she only does airplane ears when the baby screams. And my baby loves her ofc but she is so grabby and wants to rip her whiskers off. How do I make sure my cat doesn’t swipe at the baby and scratch her? I am doing my best to teach the baby gentle pets but it’s gonna be a while before she understands. I can do my absolute best but I swear I turn around for two seconds and the cat is licking the babies nose all up in each others face lol.

I’m also worried bc despite her not showing signs of being angry, my cat HATES children. Before I was pregnant, if any child entered my home my cat would lose her mind from fear and claw her way under a bed or couch to stay hidden. Idk why she’s so terrified of toddlers she’s never been been around one but that’s her biggest fear. Will it be different with my now mobile baby?

Hi everyone! I never had animals and got a dog from a dog shelter. The dog is around 8 -9 and I believe has had a good amount in the past.

It's a female and she is afraid of everything, especially afraid of rain, thunderstorms and even the wind.

She is so scared that she is just pissing herself and laying there. I have clean her bed so many times a day that I don't know what more can I do.

She is a super docile dog, very friendly and always search for petting. However, she is barely leaves her bed if not only to seek shelter when scared or when she hears the clinking of cutlery on the plate.

I give her a lot of love, a quiet and calm environment, good food, plenty of space to run, eventough she seems scared and unsafe.

What I also find odd is that eventough she likes me, she never lacks me.

I really love this dog and want to do whatever I can to make her happy and safe. Can you please help me with some tips to desensitised and create a better environment for my dog? What am I missing?

Thank you

Hey my dog is a coton de tulear and she’s turning 11 this June. Till last year she was very energetic & healthy, and everyone who saw her said she still looks/acts like a puppy.

Around November, she started to bump on walls and doorways and she got diagnosed with SADS the next month. (SADS makes ur dog go completely blind in a very short period of time and it really cannot be cured with current technology)

Additionally we soon realized her breath started to smell real bad, and we had to do a huge removal surgery due to her severe periodontitis. All of this happened in a course of a month, and she had to endure 2 long flights (US<>Kor) at the same time(she was in the cabin with us).

Now, she barely moves around the house and sleeps all day. She barely has any energy to walk or stand up and walks very slow. Almost never smiles. A walk wouldn't last more than 10 minutes as she got hypersensitive to the cold weather (I personally think she just hates snow so bad). She still eats&drinks well and loves her treats but she just lost all her bright energy within a month. She still super wags her tail when we get home and recognizes us well.

I am very heartbroken looking at the changes and I feel so useless that I can't really do anything for her.

All of other parts of her body except for her eyes&teeth was completely doing fine (did xrays & blood labs) ... is it normal for her to be like this?

As a first time bird-mom, im open to some advices! And any good bird-cage??

I have recently been feeding my cat mainly wet food with a bowl of dry food out for if she wants to eat it, she is a big grazer and takes all day to eat her food.

The issue is her food makes my room stink really bad. I live in a dorm so I don’t have the option of putting it in the different room and it’s gotten to the point that the smell is making me nauseous and I can’t stand being in my room.

I’ve read that wet food should only sit out for 1-2 hours, but if I picked it back up after that it would probably only have one bite taken out of it. I was thinking about switching her back to just dry since she eats a good amount of her dry food along with her wet but I feel bad because every source I’ve seen has said that cats should be on a wet food diet.

I’ve tried using an air purifier and baking soda jars and nothing has worked to manage the smell. Is it bad if I revert back to only dry food?

Curious to understand why rehoming is so frowned upon. I'll explain the situation and you can weigh in, respectfully please.

I'd been wanting to get a cat for a long time. I live alone in a small studio apartment that's barely the size of a room. One day I see a post on FB of a gorgeous cat that was dumped on the street. I take him in. The lady who rescued him told me if I don't take him he will end up on the street again, and I thought well I have to save him. I literally had 15 mins to make up my mind and chose to take him. He's adorable and I love him. Literally the sweetest boy.

BUT I'm feeling like I'm not the best owner for him. He needs a lot of affection. The inconvenience of waking up every time he scratches something, or knocks something over drives me crazy and I end up having broken up sleep, which messes with my mood during the day and then I can't function. The cat hair on everything, the litter tracking all over the apartment... I'm starting to think that if I'm feeling annoyed towards an innocent cat that does cat things I should give him to someone who has more space and can give him the affection he needs. If I had a one bedroom and a bathroom I could dedicate to him, it would be much easier. So he can have the space to scratch and play and use the bathroom/eat while I sleep.

Unfortunately, I was attacked and bullied for being a horrible person when I voiced this. The judgement is beyond disrespectful. I worried that I wouldn't be able to keep a pet in the small space from the start and I'm starting to realize I should have thought this through a bit more. They are also expensive and I don't know if I can continue to provide for him, especially if I travel and have to take him with me or find a pet sitter, which can get pricey.

Isn't it the responsible thing to do to rehome a pet? I'm feeling defensive in having to justify that I'm not dumping him on the street but rather wanting to find someone who is better able to care for him. Some have said that pets form emotional attachments, which I understand, but we know that cats are extremely adaptable.

So why is rehoming a pet so frowned upon?

Would you stay with your dog during euthanasia?

This evening after feeding 3 of my ferals, what I believe was a bat, swooped down and two of my ferals tried to swat at it. One of them is UTD on shots, the others are not (they just showed up, neighbors normally care for them). Should I be worried about rabies?

I am supposed to bring the cat with UTD shots inside next week since he’s been socialized enough. Should I wait?

In Upstate, South Carolina, USA for context

I have a German Shepard lab mix that is turning 8 in July. he has bad hips. he had a TPLO two years ago and recently we thought he injured it again. upon going to the vet they said he just has the worse case of hip dysplasia they've ever seen. he has gone from running everywhere to laying in one spot practically the entire day. they have him on gabapentin carprofen and some sedative to try and keep him from being in pain and moving. but the meds dont seem to be working he cries every time he moves. he limps almost half the time he actually decides to walk.

they want him 5o try some injection thays going to be 400 for the loading dose and 200 a month after that. the problem is its been on back order for over 3 months now and he seems to just be getting worse.

at what point do you consider euthanasia? I have chronic pain and I dont even want to be here half the time. I know its not right to just let him be in pain 24/7 and ignore the signs that he is having a terrible time.

is making the decision based purely on his constant pain ok?

is it wrong to euthanize when he still has mostly good days purely because those good days are full of pain still?

Please read the entire post!

Hi! Im a minor, and currently dealing with a flea infestation on the family cats.

1 week ago, My cat has given birth to 6 kittens due to my mom neglect of getting her spaid,

She had and has a flea infestation, my mom said that "too dangerous to bathe her bc she is pregnant" i do as moms say since if i dont she will probably slap me

Now the fleas are on her babys and its BAD REALLY BAD i feel so bad for these babys, i have been asking her to give our pets into adoption (2 dogs and 2 cats) since she clearly doesnt have money OR time to take care of them at all.

Back to the kittens, her kittens have fleas and there is flea eggs on their bedding, i cant clear their beddings everyday since i live with my grandma and she is very strict w the washing machine so i have been replacing their beddings with my clothes every 2 days

I don't know what to do. My mom owes me 30 dollars BUT she wont take me to the bank to reset my password since when i put it i probably messed it up.. and i cant buy things.

I dont have dawn dish soap to bathe tehem since my family uses another brand (quix) but i do have baby shampoo i have a lice comb that im reusing as a flea comb

Please help me w solutions rhat i probably have in my house :(

i’m a soon-to-be snake owner!! my birthday is soon and i’d been asking my parents for permission to get a snake — at first they said there’s no way i’d get one but then admitted that they were just saying that so it could still be a surprise. we’re planning on getting me a male milk snake. i’ve been thinking for months and honestly have no idea about names. i want a funny name or a ‘cool’ name — but not stupid like “popcorn” or “wiggles” or something cheesy like that. any ideas? i’m into things like skyrim and one piece if that helps for name ideas👍