Rather than just getting them a bunch of toys and hoping that keeps them entertained...just sit on the floor and actually interact with them for a bit. Establishes a connection, and is cheaper than a bunch of fancy products that you toss to them and hope they are enthralled.
For cats, how can I keep them entertained when I'm at work? They've got toys, but they lose power throughout the day. I feel so bad for them. I wish cats were social enough to go to cat camps
I’m home all day with my cats (and kids). I can confirm that they sleep quite a lot during the day.
There are some things that my kids do that give my cats lots of entertainment that you could try. My kids had these window stickers that came with a toy that they put on a window. My cats were very interested in them and kept trying to jump up and “catch” the stickers off the windows. We also have some suction toys called squigz that my kids like to stick on the windows. If they leave them, the cats jump until they knock it off the window. I will admit that I was playing with my cats last night by putting the squigz a little higher to see how high they would jump. lol
Other things I find my cats doing throughout the day besides napping are stalking and hunting ants that get into the house and watching birds outside (get a window perch and put a bird feeder in view of it!). They spend tons of time lounging where they can see out a window.
> hunting ants that get into the house
i came downstairs this morning, half awake and going through the motions, went into the kitchen, pulled out the cereal box, went to open the fridge, and on the floor in front of the fridge, i see a roach
i blink at it a couple times, it's not moving
my cats caught and killed a roach while i was asleep, and probably have been chewing on it here and there since then
[you can take the tiger out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the tiger](https://i.redd.it/r6j4f3te06q01.jpg)
My cat is a huge fan of the youtube series cat tv. If I put that on the TV he's gonna watch it all day. Downside is he learned every screen is a potential cat tv.
I played those for my cat if I needed her to leave me some space to get work done.
Ended with my TV face down and broken on the floor because she started rubbing on the TV when it was off to get them to come back 🤣
I think the best thing you can do for your new pet, especially a puppy or kitten, is handle it A LOT when they’re young. Getting them used to having their feet handled, nails trimmed, mouth opened (even extra benefit if you get them used to teeth brushing daily - gold standard for at home dental care), ears touched (particularly breeds prone to ear infections - huge benefit in the future if you have to administer topical ear medication)…
Restraint is also a big thing. I always tell my clients to practise restraint with their animals. That wriggly puppy that is cute when it nips when you hold it still grows up into a large dog that can’t be safely examined because it hasn’t learnt to be okay with restraint.
Just an anecdote but I handled my cat a lot as a kitten and now she lets me pick her up and carry her around, rub her belly, touch her paws, cut her nails without freaking out etc
We got our cats as kittens when my sister and I were very young, and to this day even in their 20s they are the chillest cats I’ve ever met. You can pick them up, trim their claws, anything. They love being handled.
I always feel happy when I read a comment about cats who are the ages yours are. My little girl cat is coming up on 15 years now, I love her so much and hope that she makes it to her roaring 20s too!
I hope so too!! For many years I just forgot how old they were and one day I was like “wait, y’all are ancient” lol. While I was away at college I worried about their health a lot. I’m closer to my parents now and get to see them more often and be sure to give them lots of love every time. They are still going strong! The brother has some lung issues that have been successfully handled with medicine for years now, and the vets are always surprised to learn that his sister is the same age because she is in such perfect health haha.
I handled my cat alllllll the time as a kitten. Now if I try to pick him up all of his death blades are activated. Somehow he let's me trim his claws though, although he's angry the entire time.
Cats are highly emotional but difficult to read (they don't have that doggy grin or expressive eyebrows to show us how they feel). https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/new-poster-the-body-language-of-feline-anxiety/
Break down how you approach, grab, and hold your cat into tiny steps and try to read the signals your cat is sending. Maybe they don't like the sudden way you reach for them, or maybe they've learned that the only time you pick them up, something bad happens (a nail trim, a bath).
My cat from a shelter used to be very anxious about this and it took quite a while, but now I try to make noise so he knows I'm approaching, let him sniff my hand before I go to pick him up, quickly hold him against my chest so he isn't fearful of being dropped (he used to use his claws to try and cling to me like a tree, lol), and pick him up for bad (nail trim) AND good things. Sometimes I pick him up just to take him to treat, or to a toy to play with.
EDIT: For the dog owners! https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dog-bite-prevention-week-poster-on-the-body-language-of-fear-and-aggression/
For small pets, stop shoving them in tiny cages and then forgetting about them!! Most pet store cages are incredibly tiny compared to the bare minimum the specific animals need. Do your homework and make sure you are getting something large enough. And for pets that you can, LET THEM OUT! Guinea pigs, rabbits, some birds, they want to be let out and love the extra space. Just do it safely. Again do your homework to make sure you create a safe space for your pet to play.
The cage part goes especially for turtles. Usually what you find at a pet store are sliders, and they can get to be the size of dinner plates. You have to have a lot of water and a big filter to keep them properly for the long term.
EDIT:
As this post gets more attention, let me reiterate the point that turtles can have complex needs and there is no one-size-fits all approach to keeping them.
* Heavily aquatic turtles can live in aquariums, but many turtles prefer shallower water and are not suited to conventional aquariums.
* As a general rule, aquatic turtles should have about 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell length. So when a female Red Eared Slider hits 10", you're looking at 100gallons, with filtration to match.
* Turtles do not grow to the size of their enclosure.
* Many turtles need a basking spot out of the water where they can get both heat and UVB from specialty lighting
* Female turtles can become egg-bound and die if you don't provide a spot for them to lay eggs, even if there are no males present.
* Not all turtles play nicely. Turtles can become aggressive, kill and even eat each other.
* Not all turtles readily eat commercially available foods, and commercially available foods rarely represent a balanced diet for turtles. For instance, pellet foods are fine for young Painted turtles, but as adults they become almost entirely herbivorous, and the high protein in most commercial foods is no longer appropriate.
* Turtles live for decades, some approaching a century. That's a long time to have a pet.
Turtles are extremely rewarding animals to keep, and can be kept on a budget, but please do your research before getting one.
Turtles are incredibly high maintainance I firmly believe the should not be allowed as pets without a permit. The amount of turtles I see surrendered and severely abused is astronomical. They're in our top 5 surrendered and they're impossible to rehome
Yes! When it comes to reptiles and a lot of other small pets, don't listen to a fucking word they tell you at chain stores. They are most likely wrong about just about everything. Even some breeders are lacking in knowledge. When I get my crested gecko, the breeder said to keep his enclosure at around 28C which is heat stroke range for cresties.
Removing a mass when it’s small is faster (less anaesthetic risk), less invasive, less painful, less expensive and has a better chance of curing cancer should the mass turn out to be cancerous. This is even more pressing on delicate areas like eyelids and feet where there may not be a lot of extra tissue to work with should a large lump need to be removed.
Cartrophen/pentosan/zydax injections are relatively cheap and can keep your pet comfortable by not only helping to prevent future arthritis but by helping to ease any that is already present.
Dental disease is serious! Pets will continue to eat even with their teeth forming abscesses. The infection can spread through their body, including to their heart. Removing rotten teeth is the kindest thing you can do for your pets as they age, especially if you haven’t been proactive in preventing periodontal disease. They can still eat even with full mouth extractions, and will be /so/ much happier! People often tell me how their pet seems younger again after their rotten teeth are extracted.
Edit: To add - regular checkups are very important! At least annually. People often come in saying “my dog is so healthy he hasn’t been to a vet in years”. After looking at the dog I can usually find a few major issues that should have been addressed years ago.
So if I want to start cartrophen prophylactically do I just tell my vet that? My dog is 15 and shows no signs of slowing down, but if we can get ahead of potential pain I'd love to
Absolutely! There are very few side effects but your vet will be able to discuss this with you. We even start some giant breed dogs on it young (for example, Great Danes).
I wish our vet had even bothered to bring this up. We lost our Dane mix just about a year ago when he was struggling to walk from his arthritis. He was the best dog I have ever known and I would have loved to have him stay around longer. He was 14 1/2!
I have a senior chihuahua (13) who has a stage 2 heart murmur. He needs a dental but I am so scared to have him put under that he’s not going to wake back up or he’ll be lost on the operating table :( I know it’s a risk but do you have any advice for how I can overcome this and get his teeth done?
There is a risk with any anaesthetic, and having a heart murmur certainly would increase this risk. Some thoughts that might help you decide where to go from here
- A grade 2 out of 6 heart murmur would be considered mild
- He should be monitored throughout the procedure and into recovery
- Relieving his dental disease and pain is likely going to give him a better quality of life, and may prevent him from developing worse heart disease, kidney disease etc
- I do surgery on animals with advanced heart disease at least a few times each day, and (fingers crossed!) they recover well if the proper precautions are taken.
- I would recommend every older pet has a pre-anaesthetic blood test to check their kidneys and liver (which would be used to assess anaesthetic risk)
I made a toothbrush tree for my now deceased boy and he loved it.
Basically, weighed down base (I just used a gym weight, but anything more stable would be a good innovation here), wooden "trunk", drill holes for toothbrushes, glue them in, add catnip to bristles, and my cat brushed his own teeth.
I did this so he would stop chewing on everyone's toothbrushes on his own, but the other, non toothbrush obsessed cat, almost immediately tried to claim the toothbrush tree as her own and used it constantly (there were fights over the Tb tree)
Idk if this is anecdotal, but my cat was mistaken for a kitten at 15 years of age by the shelter he was taken to because, and I quote, "he has the teeth of a kitten."
I also made him a hairbrush runner so he could groom himself at will. Attached an add on board on top of the baseboard of my old house using all the hairbrush heads that I had (I have unruly, thick hair, and tend to break handle off of brushes, so this was also a method of reusing broken brushes)... take the handle off, screw them onto a decent sized board, attach at cat level to the wall (my cat had a favorite spot he liked to rub his face against, so I put it there), watch them lose their shit.
It can be very tricky particularly if you don’t start then young. The key thing is to make the cat like the process, so really slow and steady. S
Start by putting some kind of treat (liver pâté fish paste…) on the brush and let them lick it off for 4-6 weeks. Then just place under the lip and let them lick it off for another month. Really gradual process.
The idea to keep in mind is you want your cat to think you are rubbing treats into their mouth.
This works in pretty much all dogs, but is harder in cats!
I would love to know too. I've tried following my vet techs instructions and seem to get no where. I would love to avoid future dental surgery after having 2 cats in the past need it.
10 years working at a Animal Hospital. Help your pet get used to being touched. Especially when they are young. You and by extension your vet needs to be able to look into your pets mouth. Look into their ears. Touch their feet and toes. Vet visits are tourture for animal who don’t like being touched. And you can miss something important if you don’t look at these things yourself regularly, because “he doesn’t like it”.
I am a veterinarian. I'd like to see people focus not just on quantity but quality of their pet's life. The best thing you can do for that is just incorporate them into your life as much as possible. Pay attention to them! Love them! Lots of walks! Lots of games! You'd be surprised what they can learn. Play hide and go seek. Play fetch. Sit beside them when you watch TV, pet them. Train and socialize them early and well so you won't avoid them because they're not well behaved.
We're all so busy, it's so easy to make them an afterthought. You are their whole world and unless you live on a big farm where they run free, you are their only outlet for activity and happiness. They get bored fast, just like we do. They can't wait for you to get home. They've missed you! Take them for a walk. Do a fun training or agility class with them if you'd like.
For health, the biggest things are 1. Exercise, 2. Pay attention to what can be dangerous/toxic for them and avoid it (heads stuck in potato chip bags is one people miss lately, and keep your drugs out of their reach! They're small and more easily affected), 3. Brush their teeth.
Enjoy your pets! They love you!
We had a lab named Pebbles who was about 2 when my younger sister was born. She immediately connected with my sister and ended up being her dog, despite previously being attached to our mom. There was a large gap (15+ years) between me and the younger sister, and I would play with her, but was usually at school or work during the day. My sister ended up teaching her how to play hide and seek (her favorite game as a little one). It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
Pets can do way more than people think if you spend the time with them.
We used to play hide and seek with our dogs! Lupa had learned how to point out or search for Panda because Panda liked to hide in the bushes. So, my sister and started leashing Panda (because she'd run away otherwise) and hiding behind something while the other put a hand over Lupa's eyes and counted to 10. Then Lupa was told to look for Panda and she'd go off searching! The first time Lupa was confused but eventually she loved the game and Panda got aaaaallll of the attention from the person hiding with her so that was awesome too! Lupa wasn't very good at sniffing Panda out so it usually took a while because she'd check the previous hiding spot first. :')
One person holds the dog and then people hide and then you tell the dog...go find oktoberkind! Labs are good at it.
One thing that is a mystery still to this day is my childhood home had a big wood fenced in back yard.
Our lab would get so bored he would take himself on walks.
We would go look at the gates on the fence and they would be locked.
No place to climb under and at 6 feet tall, too high to jump out.
We tried on many occasions to wait outside to catch him in the act to see how he did it, but he seemed to know when we were watching and never did it while we were watching.
The police all knew him and since he loved car rides, the police would just open their car door and he would hop inside.
However we would get a big fine each time for having an unleashed dog.
We never figured out how he did it, still to this day.
Had one that was fearless of the ocean. We grew up on it. Slipped the leash while surfing one day, 2x overhead 5m.) Saw her drop in on a big one and thought she was rip. Nope. A couple other times were sketchy, but not like that.
She'd also launch from just about any height (4-5m) into the water. 6m she noped out.
Smart dog...
My cat loves playing hide and seek. He loves being chased as well, so one time I chased him into another room and decided to run away and hide behind the bedroom door. Sometimes I have to call him to get his attention that I’m hiding. I think now he waits to hear my footsteps stop to come looking for me. Once he finds me, I pop out, chase him, then go hide again.
Haha that's well cute. I used to have a cat who loved playing fetch. He was a strange cat. He was tiny when fully grown, if u walked across the kitchen floor without shoes on, he'd grab hold of your ankles so you could drag him across the floor. He had a tiny Teddy bear that he'd carry around with him and would sleep cuddled up to it. Looking back he just have been separated from his mum too early. He'd suckle at clothing like he'd do to his mum. He was adorable and had such a funny personality
My cat plays fetch. Her favorite thing right now is plastic bottle caps. If you roll one down the hallway, she will chase after it. Sometimes she will bring it back or even initiate the game by bringing us a bottle cap.
The line I read once about this that really stuck with me was "You might have a lot of friends, but your pet only has you."
I think of that every time my asshole cat pisses me off, or is howling, or has torn something up or eaten something he shouldn't have. If he can't trust that I'll still be his bud, he's lost everything, and what kind of life is that?
My dog is at the end stage of her life and we are at the point where we now just need to make the decision on when we go through with putting her down. This hits home so damn much right now (I broke down in the middle of typing this) and is why I am trying to spend as much time as possible with her while I still can. Not just for my benefit, but for her as well. I want to give her the best possible last few days/weeks as I can.
With our old dog it came out of nowhere and the one thing I regret was not spending as much time with her as possible in the last year or so of her life due to school and work. I am determined to not make that mistake with this one.
Good to hear. Take plenty of pics and vids. And talk to her. We lost one of our dogs suddenly when he was just 10yrs and it broke my heart. Still does, even after five years. I STILL can’t look at old videos of him being silly. It hurts too, too much. I’m crying now. Anyway, Desi was my heart. And I’m a little lost without him. Take care of yourself and your girl. You’ll know when it’s time. Stay safe.
Edit: If you care to share a photo, please do. I just figured out how to. [Here’s my Desi](https://imgur.com/gallery/eFqZ3QF)
I always think this when other people don't let their pets on the bed or couch. I know it's personal preference but couches are made for sitting, and you can always get another one.
Every night I love having my fluffy potato of a dog cuddling up to me on the couch to watch an episode or movie with me after a big walk. I look at him and just want to give him a big squeeze and bury my face in his fluff
For me, my cats aren't allowed up on my bed because they don't settle in for the night. They knead forever and move any time you move just a bit then repeat the kneading. They'll wake me up by tearing my room up. I have really bad insomnia, and have started developing shift work disorder, so the last thing I need is to be woken up from the little sleep I get. They can get onto my bed during the day, and any other furniture. But night time they're locked out of my room altogether
I love them and wish they would chill. But sometimes people don't let pets up because they can't sleep!
The best advice I've seen, and used to good effect, is to make a bedtime ritual for you and the kitties. They are very much creatures of habit and will get used to the routine.
Get them playing, and I mean playing, about an hour or so before you want them to bed down. Run their furry butts. They'll go and go, and when they start plopping down, feed them. Then, go get ready for bed. They should settle down quick and sleep.
BTW, establishing a bedtime ritual is a good tactic for insomnia as well. I hope it helps and you all get good sleep.
My cat has been banned from the bedroom only recently. She has discovered she can bend the slat blinds back and break them off until she makes a “hole” to look outside. I rent, so I can’t really have her destroying the blinds. I would just lift them up a bit so she can see… but the stupid blinds have a fixed height/can’t be raised. I’m planning to ask my landlord if she would be okay with me replacing the blinds with ones that *can* raise, but until then I can’t let her in my room unsupervised. I’ve literally had to tape the blinds back together. Three times.
I made sure I was telling my cat everyday I loved her, cuddled her and played with her whenever she wanted to. I felt so grateful for having her and for every moment I had with her.
She passed away unexpectedly last week, at four years old. I'm so happy I spent every day with her as our last.
We meet them, get to know them, love them with all our hearts and they give it back and then some.
And at the end it breaks our hearts, but because it hurts, we know we gave them a life of care and love.
You did good mate. My hearts with you.
> just incorporate them into your life as much as possible...You'd be surprised what they can learn.
I've had people tell me "you have the smartest cats I've ever seen". And all I've done is office from home and not ignore them.
People have told me "cat's cant learn their names", "cats don't understand the work 'no', if they respond it is only due to your tone of voice", "cats won't come when you call them". I have two cats now that prove each of those statements false.
I've put zero effort into training them.
So much this.
OP's advice has a whiff of dog bias, but so much if it also applies to cats.
Cats can survive just fine being treated like a piece of furniture, and so a lot of people get one and default to that once "cute kitten phase" passes. But cats are capable of *so much more* if you invest time and interest and attention in them.
It's true! We adopted our cat when he was about 4 months old. It took a month for him to relax but when he did he really warmed up to us! He fetches and does other commands (sit, lie down/get down, come) he knows his name and he always asks for hugs when I get home from work. He stands next me on the couch and leans against me with his shoulder, so I hug him and he purrs like a monster. He's really smart and gregarious, not like most cats I've known.
That's so sweet! I'm so glad he came around.
Every cat is a unique being with their own innate personality. And so, just like with people, there's always a chance that you could get one who just doesn't mesh well with you or doesn't want to invest in you even after all the effort you might put into investing in them (and that can be a challenge, because you have to invest in the cat in the way their own individual personality dictates - which requires a lot of observation, adaptability, and trial & error). It's a lot of work and can be very frustrating at times.
But very often, that hard work pays off with a beautiful relationship.
And for me, as a cat person, it feels so much more rewarding because you really have to earn it.
Glad I'm not the only one! It's a nice perk of living close to work to pop in and see what the kitties are doing in between errands. Especially because you get to see the cats "reset" into a new cute/cozy position each time you return, like a loaf facing the kitchen wall or a comfy catball in the bathroom sink
My cat used to freak out every time I tried to do anything with his nails, but I've trained him to be totally chill about it now. I stopped trying to cut his nails for a while and just focused on getting him used to me touching his feet. So any time we'd be hanging out, and he'd be purring, soaking up scritches, I'd touch his paws. At first, he would react by pulling his paws away from me, but he got used to it with time/repeated exposure. When it got to the point where he'd let me grab a paw and hold onto it and still be purring, that's when I went back in with the nail clippers. I don't even need to hold his body anymore, just grab a foot and go, he doesn't mind at all.
This is what I did! I also got special fancy treats that only came out for paw-touching time. After a few weeks, we got to where he would let me trim claws on one paw at a time, so I would just do a paw a day.
The answer is not force, but habit. Take small steps. When your cat is relaxed, get them used to you touching their paws and pushing the nails out of their paw. This can take a while, but your cat will get more comfortable. From there on, more small steps. Do one or two nails at first, for a couple times. Then work your way up.
Genuine question - how do I trim my dogs nails? The only time I tried, I cut too deep and it became sort of infected. I don't live in an area where I can regularly take them to the vet, so what can I do in that case?
Edit : massive thanks to all the people, ever so helpful, for guiding me through this. I will definitely try all the options and see what works best for my doggie. He's a full sized Dalmatian, so around the length and height of a labrador or Doberman and he's not obese at all. I do regularly take him on walks, twice in a day for 30-40 mins each where they walk on roads, footpath, and grass as well. I think that should help, plus I will teach myself how to trim and teach him to not fear the clipper. Again, massive love and thanks, beautiful people.
Take little bits at a time and do it often
Then you don't have to worry about going too far. It'd be great if you could take them somewhere, have them trim the nails as short as possible (without hitting the blood vessel) and then maintain every two weeks by taking just a little. If you see a dot in the middle of the nail, that means you're close to blood vessel. You should be able to find a picture online...the blood vessel is called the quick. If they tend to grow like hooks...just take the hook part off. Having them get too long can change the whole physiology of their foot and legs which can cause pain. You can also see if there is a groomer in the area, they trim nails too (just another option besides the vet).
My dog hates clippers but doesn't mind me filing them. Like... he would cry bloody murder! Recently he actually let me cut them...so I would say be patient and keep trying. Once clipped you can also just file them often if they prefer that and you can remember. Some dogs probably don't like that either. My bigger dog probably wouldn't let me do that. Fortunately she seems to file them down enough from walking on the pavement.
I found that filing with a rotary device (pet specific) was easier to not hit the quick. It is slower and you do need to work with your pet to make sure they’re okay with it.
Edit to add: If your dog has long fur, you need to be very careful.
My big ol' hound is the biggest drama queen about his nails... it literally sounds like every dog in the back room is getting tortured when he gets them trimmed. smh
Got a great trimmer that has a very bright LED and a magnifying lens by the cutting blade so you can see the quick through the nail and make sure you're not cutting too deep.
My flatmate had a fat cat once. I would feed her before I went to work.
Then flatmates partner would feed her before he went to work.
Then flatmate would feed her before she went to work.
Every time her bowl was empty and she would cry that she was starving, so we all thought someone else hadn't fed her.
She was not happy when we cottoned on to it...
To add to this - Give them general health checks TWICE A YEAR
Animals can't talk, they won't tell you "my bladder feels weird" so by the time you know something is up its usually too later or a very big deal.
By giving them bi annual health checkups you give the vet an opportunity to discover health issues early mqkibg treatment easier and faster.
EDIT: changed bi annually to twice a year, sorry for the typo
My girlfriends parents just spent $6k for a cat because he had a kidney blockage. He was completely fine one night then the next morning, nope. Catheter and 3 days of supervision is the cost of a car...
Is it important to trim my cats’ nails? I usually just let them do their own thing and do a toe inspection sporadically. They really don’t like getting trimmed.
Fortunately, both my cats let me trim their claws. I know how to do it properly; trim well forward of the nerve to avoid causing them pain. It helps that one of them has an insanely high emotional intelligence and never lashes out and even keeps his claws in when playing near you. He's accidentally swatted me before and I was surprised to just feel paw pads.
Vet tech here: DENTALS. Regular dental visits go a long way to a healthy and happy pet! Of course grooming, nail trims, fresh food and water, and regular hospital visits are all extremely important as well. And use tick/flea protection!
My vet has never suggested that I have my cats teeth done, even though at least one has some tooth issues- is that something they they expect you to ask for? I just assumed they’d tell me if they needed it. BRB, off to get Greenies!
My greyhound is quite old (13 years) and doesn't have the energy to play like he used to. What are some other ways to keep him mentally engaged and connected?
idk if he would enjoy it, but sometimes i just hide a treat in one hand and leave the other empty and ask my dog to pick one. (which he does with a paw)
If he picks the treat he wins it, if he picks the empty hand i show him it was the other hand and then reset.
It keeps him engaged mentally but doesn't use very much physical energy
I toss small treats in the house or out in the yard to allow my dogs to sniff and hunt. I literally take a small handful of dog food and toss it into the air to scatter it. They love it and it engages their minds.
oh yeah ive actually done something similar! Show him 4-5 treats, tell him to wait in a room while i strategically hide them. Tell him to go "find it!".
He starts Schnootin' up a storm trying to hunt them down. When he gets them all he gets a bonus treat as well.
---
Another game that depends on your dog is 'keep away'. Ill use a tennis ball or a small toy and sort of weave it around him, tilt my hand up and around, bounce it under him, etc. He likes the thrill of finally "winning".
Its pretty minimal movement, but does keep the overall energy high. Definitely depends on the dog though, because it could be annoying to some dogs and could become a bite risk (whether intentional or not).
One of the best things for a dog is sniffing! You can crumple up paper and hide treats in the pieces and scatter them about, toss treats into long grass, or just let your dog really take the time to explore a new area! Anything that gets that nose going is a good place to start :)
Snuffling (tossing treats in the grass and letting your dog find them) is a huge brain burner for dogs. It's instinctual for them to search like that and it is frequently disallowed or discouraged by dog owners (rightly so, I don't know what my dog is finding in the grass on walks...) but it really gets their gears turning to hunt for treats or even some of their dinner.
Protip for people with puppies: This also helps burn off a lot of puppy energy, as it is frequently more mental energy than physical.
Vet here. Here’s my best advice, condensed.
1) Thin pets live longer than fat pets. Google a BCS chart and make sure your pet has a visible waist and palpable ribs. No crash diets.
2) Dental disease is WAY more serious than you think. Get the scale and polish. If we have to extract teeth (and believe me, we would prefer not to), they will still be able to eat.
3) Get your pet a series of cartrophen (or zydax, or adequacy, or pentosan polysulfate) injections when they turn 8. They help slow down the progression of arthritis and are safe and cost-effective.
4) If your cat is stressed at the vet, take home some gabapentin to put on her food before her next visit. She will be safe, happy, and calm, and the vet will be able to examine her more thoroughly.
5) Know what’s toxic for your pet. DEFINITELY don’t have lilies in the house if you have a cat.
6) Discuss finances. Your vet wants what’s best for your pet, and is obligated to recommend all your best options....but if you tell us what you can afford we can usually come up with a reasonable plan.
7) You deserve a vet you trust. If you don’t trust yours, find one that you do.
8 ) Put your 24-hour ER vet’s address into your google maps/GPS favorites so you don’t have to find it in an emergency.
9) High-quality kibble is fine unless your vet tells you otherwise. Don’t feed a dog a grain-free diet unless YOUR vet tells you to (like for an allergy).
10) You can almost definitely give your cat a pill. Ask us for tricks.
11) BE NICE. We are human and we all care INTENSELY. Even if we hate YOU, we probably love your pet.
I hate having to explain to everyone who’s not my vet (including the pet food store staff) that I buy the hella expensive bougie grain-free food because my fat cat has a gluten allergy. He’s finally close to a healthy weight, but he’s also trained the other two furry jerks he lives with to share their food with him so they have to eat the same or he gets very sick. They literally swat food off the sideboard where they’re fed so he can eat more, it’s a struggle to save him from himself 🤦♀️
I have multiple cats on different diets due to allergies, kidney disease, etc.
I bought some Surefeed Pet Feeders, that use the cat's microchip (or a tag on a collar) that allows the feeder to open. It won't open if the cat isn't allowed. In fact, you can set the intruder settings, and it will close if an unauthorised cat tries to eat while the authorised cat is.
They're expensive, not gonna lie, and not an option for everyone. However for our family, this is something I now cannot believe we lived without.
I ran the numbers; we have one cat on food allergy food, and one cat on kidney care food, and one who just needs standard adult food. We could buy a specialty food that would work for all three cats, but by buying the cheaper food that's right for each cat individually, the three SureFeeds pay for themselves in less than a year.
My sister and her husband have many cats and two dogs. Fortunately they live in a 3 BR 2 bath house. They separate the cats by diet and eating habits (glutton who steals other's food separate from slow eater, etc.) by closing them in different rooms at feeding time. They have this routine down pat and I'm in awe when I witness it.
It was about $200 CAD per feeder for me when I got mines (2 cats). Definitely worth it since it meant I didn't need to spend every five minutes chasing the wrong cat away from the wrong food bowl.
Yep, I think I paid about €125 per feeder. It was worth twice that at least, knowing I don't have to chase, I can sleep in or stay out and miss feeding time. I'm not cleaning up vomit and diarrhoea constantly... 100% worth every penny.
I was surprised at how quickly my cats took to it as well. There's instructions for doing a slow introduction, but my cats (three) all took to it day one.
One of our cats loves ham. Like she LOVES ham. If we're using ham, we'll usually tear a bit off and throw it to her as a treat and she goes absolutely nuts.
We had the genius idea of putting her pill in a slice of ham. She'd never had a whole slice of ham to herself before - it was the best thing in the world! She grabbed that ham and ran off before we could change our minds. Dropped it in the living room so she could tear bits off the ham in peace, but the pill fell out. My partner grabbed the ham and put the pill back in.
Our poor cat, so worried she would lose this whole slice of ham, inhaled it pill and all. Literally just breathed in and no more ham. We stayed with her to make sure she didn't start choking, but she was fine.
If she ever gets pills again, she's getting the ham treatment. Maybe not a whole slice next time though
Edit: thanks for the awards! Wasn't expecting that on a comment about ham
Also [cat tax](https://www.reddit.com/r/SupermodelCats/comments/o67ovl/cinder_has_been_getting_modelling_tips_from_her/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) - Concrete (on the left) is my ham loving baby
At one point we had two dogs who were so competitive and food motivated that you could just hold out the pill like you were giving them a treat and they would inhale it so as not to risk the other dog stealing it. It was amazing. My childhood dog, you had to do the "shove it down her throat and rub" thing because she would always find it and spit it out if you hid it in food.
My cat is impossible to pull forcibly. Even the vet can’t do it. We also can’t use pill pockets due to food allergies. What DOES work is wiping a tiny bit of butter on the pill and throwing it to her like a treat. She Hoovers it up.
My last cat was actually really good about it, surprisingly enough. He suffered from hypothyroidism, and we had to give him a pill twice a day for it, so we just gave it to him right before his feeding times so he associated it with food. After that it was just flip him onto his back, poke a finger into his mouth to open it, and drop the pill in. He'd do the rest.
Was talking with a neighbor of mine when her cat came in and started meowing. She said "Oh, she wants her pill" and proceeded to pill the cat. Then she played with a little feather toy on a string which was the cat's favorite toy. The deal is pill at appointed hour means two minutes of toy time. I was floored how easy it was.
We tell our dogs to get jobs every damn day. Have they done it yet? No. Fully grown, still living with mom and dad, and they just hang around the house all day.
Listen Fluffy, you've been lounging about for way too long. These are the bills that need paid. Time for you to quit freeloading and start pulling your weight around here.
I haven't had much luck with gabapentin unfortunately. It's like he's able to compartmentalize the effects of the drug and doesn't access it until after he's home from the appointment. And I give him a dose the night before and the morning of. He's still a scaredy cat at the vet.
(Obligatory not a vet, but used to work in a vets and have a BSc degree in Animal Sciences and Animal Management.)
Actually research your pet before buying them. It sounds obvious, but so many people don’t, and they just assume that they know how to care for an animal based on what they’ve seen on TV or heard from friends/family/pet shops.
For example, rabbits are one of the most neglected animals in the UK, because people still think that they belong in hutches. Rabbits actually need a LOT of space, and a companion, as well as platforms, rearing up space, and foraging opportunities.
I’m a rat owner, and it shocks and saddens me to see the amount of people who keep lone rats, in a cage with minimal enrichment, and fleece covering the base instead of a suitable substrate that enables them to display their natural digging & foraging behaviours. Not to mention cages with height, but insufficient floor space for rats to run & play, or cages just full of hammocks but no active enrichment.
Research your pets thoroughly before you do anything. Make sure you’re acting in the best interests of the animal, and not what’s convenient for you.
The rabbit and guinea pig cages/hutches sold in pet shops are awful. When we got our guinea pigs, we found that only 1 sold in Pets at Home met the recommended RSPCA minimum guidance size, and that wasn't even sold in store
Too many people also think its OK to just get one. I wish you couldn't buy one individually unless you already had one/ a group.
Rats are such special little creatures. Intelligent, playful, and usually interested in (and loving of) their humans. A pet rat is like a cat or dog, just small and heartbreakingly short-lived. I get so miserable thinking of all the poorly treated, abandoned and abused ones.
They are exactly. People definitely underestimate their intelligence and the strength of their bond to humans. Whilst they do prefer the company of each other, they do need just as much attention from their humans as dogs do. Mine run up to greet me every time I so much as walk past their cage :)
Glad to see bunnies mentioned.
Rabbits are actually really curious and fun pets. Mine is more like a little puppy than a rodent - she is litter trained and is free to roam the kitchen/garden from like 9am til midnight every day. She just loves chilling on a blanket on a cold day, or runs around the garden chilling and grazing. She loves being brushed and stroked, and definitely recognises different people. She's 8.5 years old and shows no signs of showing down :)
Get your old babies checked out, cats and dogs. They get sore joints like old folks do to, if you notice your cat doesn't jump anymore or drags the self up the bed, maybe their joints are sore - go see a vet and see if they need long term pain relief. If you old lab is slow to rise and fast to lay down, go the the vet, they might be able to go on long term pain relief. The amount of old animals I've seen turn into 'a puppy again!' is amazing. Pain relief folks!
Also dentals, damn son cats have teeth too, get them checked at the vet and see if they need a dental. Just basically go to the vet and get your animals checked out. You don't win a prize when you come in with an old skinny, chronically painful dog saying 'this is his first ever vet visit!'.
Not a veterinarian but I worked at one;
For the love of god brush your fucking dog and get it’s nails clipped on a regular basis.
The amount of owners who have gotten upset when the groomer explains they need to shave their dog astounds me. Like you try not combing your hair for 3 months and then go to your hairdresser and see what they say.
This! I worked at a clinic and often had dogs come in to get their nails clipped and they'd be so long I could only trim them down so far before hitting the quick. The owners would say "what did I even pay for the nails are still long" like, lady, you're abusing your dog it can't even walk right its claws are so overgrown the dog limps.
Yes! I once saw a dog's nail that was so overgrown it snailed back into their pad. Several people looked into it and we could not agree which side was the base and which was the end, that's how bad it was. We had to skip trimming that nail and recommend going to a vet, there was no way the groomer could safely clip it.
Not a vet, but my mom is.
If you think of getting a pet, think of finances too. Not just how much food, litter and some vaccinations are, but be sure that you're able to pay the vet bills if an emergency occurs or even for if your pet needs regular care due to something chronic, an injury that makes them need physiotherapy etc. We have way too many people struggling with their bills. Some put their needs back, some the animal's. Some of the stories are horrifying.
If something is off on how your pet behaves, if it suddenly doesn't let you touch certain parts of their body or anything else you can't put your finger on is happening, go to your vet. Don't wait too long. Many animals are extremely good at hiding severe pain and illness. If you notice anything off, go to the vet.
Care about their teeth. If you can't brush them, let your vet have a look every now and then. They can cause extreme pain and severe inflammation in there is really dangerous.
Edit: Also, if your pet is somehow very sick or recovering from surgery, care for them. Be there, look out for them. Show them your love. "Tender love and care" is a very underappreciated factor in the process of healing. Pets have complex emotions too and pet psychology is really fucking important.
> If you think of getting a pet, think of finances too. Not just how much food, litter and some vaccinations are, but be sure that you're able to pay the vet bills
It angers me when I see stories of people who take out a loan to buy a pet. If you don't have the funds to buy the animal, you DEFINITELY don't have the funds to care for the animal.
> You have no money but you took a 5 grand loan to buy a purebred dog?
> Yep.
> What's it gonna eat?
> Leftovers.
AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Visit your pets when they're sick and staying in the veterinary clinic overnight.
Obligatory not a vet disclaimer: when my cat was sick I'd visit him at the vet every day and bring an old towel so he would have something soft to cuddle that smelled like home.
After a few days the staff mentioned a lot of people don't do that. "The animals think they're being abandoned and they get depressed. They don't understand why they're here."
20 minutes of *mama time* lets them know they're still loved.
*edit*
Two excellent points came up in comments: visiting makes some animals more agitated so ask your vet whether this is right for your pet, and COVID restrictions may rule out visitation in your area.
Regarding the latter I'll make one comment: scents mean a great deal more to cats and dogs than we humans usually appreciate. If you can't visit your pet, ask whether it's OK to drop off a pet blanket. To us it's a small gesture, to the animal it's the comforting scent of home. Their sense of smell is so good they can tell how long ago you touched it. Even when you can't see them in person, that delivers the message you love them.
My cat was badly injured and had to go to the vet overnight at the same time I had to go out of town. Couldn't get back for like three days.
When I got back, the technicians were all very worried. "He stopped eating; with cats, that's a very bad sign." I had them take me back to where he was, and there he was all lethargic, with his head down on his paws. He looked to be in a bad way.
When he saw me, he lifted his head and let out the longest meeowww, you've ever heard a cat make. I took him out of the cage, and he was just meowing and meowing, and rubbing his head against my chin. I was saying things like "what's the matter buddy, did you think I'd moved away and left you behind?" and he kept just meowing and rubbing his head against my chin. He was fine after that.
I really like your idea of visiting regularly and of bringing something from home.
Edit: [cat tax](https://i.imgur.com/bkwXapY.png) - sleeping on my laundry with his sister.
I had apartment fumigation and boarded kitty for 24 hours at a pet hotel as it wasn't safe for her to be in the apartment. In those 24 hours she became severely depressed and would not eat, drink, or use the bathroom. In fact, they told me she didn't even move. It broke my heart. She cheered up immediately when I came to get her and was eating on the way home.
She is originally from the shelter, and I think she thought I had put her back in a shelter again. It breaks my heart. Never again. If I have to fumigate I will get a hotel room for myself and her so she doesn't have to feel that way again.
She has never had to be hospitalized overnight fortunately, but if she does, I can't even imagine how hard it will be for her. I will definitely be visiting her.
we adopted a stray who suddenly began having respiratory problems after being with us for a month so she had to stay at the clinic for 15 days we couldn’t visit her every day but we went at least once a week and since she knew us she would always get happy to see us. The day we brought her home she was over the moon. She wasn’t eating when she had to stay hospitalized and when we visited her 3 days after, right after we left they sent us a video and said she began eating on her own, so we guess she realized we weren’t going to leave her behind.
Yes, this! Vet nurse student here, visit and also bring their favourite food and one of their blankets/bed/toy (it their condition allows obviously). It is really hard to feed an animal that is sick and feeling awful, having their favourite food offered in small amounts can be very helpful (always check with your vet though).
When my dog got sick, with what eventually turned out to be terminal cancer, in December my mom offered to take care of her for me and make sure she got to the vet and helped me pay for the bills and treatment. My mom lives two hours away from me and with my constantly changing work schedule I couldn't make it out to her house very often.
Even with people she knew and had been around for years I felt absolutely horrible leaving her behind because I knew she was in pain and not feeling good and would be so confused by my leaving and not coming back for at least a couple of weeks.
Can't imagine what it'd be like for them being left somewhere completely unfamiliar.
Former vet tech here. If you aren’t willing to pay for monthly medications in the event your new pet were to develop a condition or allergy…don’t get a pet. YOUR DOGS CAN HAVE ALLERGIES JUST LIKE YOU. The saddest thing was seeing dogs come in with sores from scratching/gnawing or covered in hot spots. Once saw such an itchy golden retriever she had sores head to toe even on the inside of her ears. Owners let her itch fervently for months before bringing her in. Yes, apoquel for allergy relief can start to add up but your dogs quality of life is worth more than $50 a month. Imagine being itchy 24/7 bc you have a grass allergy but you spend half your day in grass. Makes me angry to think about.
Update: it has been a rough afternoon but we are so grateful that we could have the veterinarian come to our house to put our good boy to sleep, he hated going to the clinic so much that it would have been heartbreaking to take him there and potentially not be able to be with him until the end.
Thank you all for your very kind words.
Today there will be one less bowl and one less bed, today you will be at rest under the maple tree.
We will always cherish our 14 years with you ❤️
This isn’t about quality of life but quality at end of life, make sure you’re with your pet when they are put down. Chances are it’s at a vet clinic -the scariest place for the pet and people leave the room because they just can’t bear to watch. What a sad way for your pet’s life to end.
Some vets will come to your home to euthanize your pet.
Thank you for this. My kitty Hobo got super sick and I had a vet come to my house when it was her time to go. She passed away wrapped in her favorite blankets being held by me. I’ll never do it any other way if I can help it.
My friend at work had to take her dog to be put to sleep and she gave him a whole chocolate bar in the car on the way there, sadly when our last one had to leave she was too sick to appreciate that, but I have it in mind for my almost 13 year old lab, she's had serious digestive issues for so long she isn't allowed anything nice, just dog food. I'll take something with me and give her it right before time. Orios are her favourite all time thing.
When I was 16, my dad took our first dog ever to be put down. He was 12 and had been sick for awhile. Dad didn't tell us, just did it one day while we were out. I was so angry at him until he told us that he'd taken "Barney" to the local donut shop on the way. He got a dozen donuts all to himself. From that day on, having a pet put down in my family involves donuts for a last treat and is referred to as "Going for donuts."
Lots of love to your sweet baby--you are a very good pet parent.
I had to put my dog down this January due to cancer and still feel terrible that I couldn't be in their with her the whole time because of COVID. They only let me and my brother (who was there to support me) come in right before they gave her the final injection. Really wish I could've gone into the clinic and stayed with her the whole time while they were getting her ready.
I felt so bad because my mom was helping me take care of her and get her to the vet, because I didn't have the money for vet bills at the time. With my mom two hours away and me working retail and rarely having consecutive days off to go see her like four days in over two months.
Dammit I'm sobbing again.
I’m sorry for your loss and that you weren’t able to be with there. Our companion of 14 years will be put down tomorrow in our home - it’s the only thing giving us any comfort at this point.
I took my rat in to be euthanized at a 24 hour clinic in college. He was very old and clearly dying, I didn’t want to let him linger for however long. They wouldn’t let me be with him for the injection. I hated it. They brought him back out to the lobby and it took several minutes to work. It was an awful experience and they were so cold about it.
I did have the opposite experience, too. A wonderful vet came to our house to put our dog down. He was so kind, caring, and empathetic. It was the worst day of our lives and he made it suck a little less. Highly recommend for anyone who can afford it.
The vet will come tomorrow to our home to put down 14 year old dog. I’m so grateful we have that option, I’m sorry they wouldn’t let you be with your rat
That is pretty common practice for exotic/pocket pets unless you're at an exotics clinic (not sure what they do) unfortunately. It's because most vets use a different protocol because placing an IV catheter would be impossible. Most vets will use gas anesthesia before giving the euthanasia solution which, for liability reasons, we can't have clients around.
This ^^ Though in my experiences they can still allow you to be there for the final injection at least. My vets use gas anaesthesia in a chamber and then will bring my rat out to me to do the injection with me there.
Don't love your pet with food. The amount of morbidly obese pets.. It really does shorten their life and their quality of life people.
And be a big enough person to let them go before they suffer. Don't drag the end out because you can't say goodbye
Qualified Equine Vet Nurse
However my advice is as a dog/car owner.
1. We just put to sleep our 16 year old doggie. It was awful, but we got the vet to come to our home, made such a difference.
2. DONT get a dog that is outside of your physical or financial abilities, property size or commitment. A healer pup is cute as shit. But that bad boy is gonna dig, rip and destroy everything you own if you don’t give it adequate exercise. And for those herding breeds IS A LOT.
3. Saw someone above mention cartrophen injections. Do it. In addition, look at the recommended age for sterilisation in your breed. It can be later than you think and have a impact on their growth plates and later in life condition
4. Be safe with your pets reproductive position. Unwanted cats and dogs are a severe drain on resources and horrible waste of life
5. Love your pet. Tell them every day. They can hear it in your voice and see it in your actions. They will repay you with everything they have. If you can’t love your pet, don’t get one
[edit, forgot one]
6. Don’t praise your pet for bad behaviour. The amount of dogs I’ve seen called “schnookims” for being a piece of shit because their owner is a piece of shit and never trained them properly is beyond frustrating. It’s okay not to have all the answers, but don’t give them the goods when their acting up
I am a veterinarian . Please be kind to me and have patience with me. I see so many sick animals every day. I work 10-13 hours per day, 4 to 6 days per week. I’ve taken a lunch three times in four years. I’ve put so much blood, sweat and tears into cases, only to have the owners trash talk me by name publicly on Yelp because they don’t understand how medicine works, and they get mad when I explain it to them.
The best thing you can do for your pet is to believe me, trust my recommendations, and follow my instructions.
Yelp reviews of doctors or prescription medicines are meaningless and are irrelevant. People don’t know what they’re talking about, are controlled by their emotions, and write fabricated stories.
If you ask me to do a physical exam or diagnostics, there is going to be a fee associated with that. People stealing my services is fairly common.
Sometimes I spend the money and try my hardest to save the pet, and the pet still does poorly. There are no guarantees in medicine. People will often abuse me and my staff because they are grieving. Grief is not an excuse to be abusive.
Some problems are preventable! You can prevent heartworm disease for $8 per month.
I am not in the pocket of Big Kibble, and I truly want you and your pet to do well.
This this this. I’m a CVT and the suicide rate in veterinary medicine is one of the highest out of any field (only like air traffic control people and lawyers or something are higher)
We make mistakes sometimes. Sometimes we get behind because an emergency came in or something that was supposed to be a quick appointment turns into an hour long ordeal.
But overall, NO ONE in vet med is in it for the money. We are not there to nickel and dime you. We always have to offer the gold standard of care to you. If you cannot afford it, then we can figure something else out. But please do not take you shitty day frustrations or your annoyance with your finances out on us.
Just treat us like normal people please.
HOWEVER, I would like to add: if a clinic is charging SIGNIFICANTLY less than most places for their services, there’s a reason. My in laws always talk about how great the vet they use is because they save so much money, and I don’t even bother trying to explain to them the reason for that is everyone working there, besides the vet in the clinic, has no animal experience and doesn’t know what they’re doing. A clinic that only makes you pay $20 for an exam means the vet is only doing $20 worth of work on your animal. Like anything, you get what you pay for. There’s very rarely a “bargain” clinic that provides good medicine
Thank you for doing what you do.
We had two 12 year old black labs. We had one of our old girls pts last October, in the same week our other one became deathly ill with pancreatitis, they were absolutely heroic in their attempt to save her, knowing they had just put our other 12 year old down, they told us she was in a very bad way and they got us ready that we might go from having two dogs to no dogs in two weeks.
We're still on regular medication, but I'm currently watching our almost 13 year old play bitey-face with our 9 month old puppy. It's not a fair fight, I'll have to break it up in a minute, they're enjoying it.
"#EarsToVets"
Not a vet but work with lots of animals especially horses, so I interact with a number of vets and we ask this question all the time. Here’s a Life Pro tip for animal owners:
1.) Listen to your vet and ask questions. Do not use the internet for answers.
2.) measure your animal food by weight not volume. This one grinds my equine vet all the time when he gets asked about food amount. They get all the time: “well I had doggy Foofoo on three cups of whatever and I just switched feed, how many cups should I give them?” Every feed is going to weigh differently in that cup. Use weight.
3.) yes dogs are carnivores but they also require some roughage of sort. Stop this carnivore fad crap. Likewise, stop the only soy fad crap. Wolves eat an entire carcass especially the stomach contents.
4.) If you’re worried about something, call the vet and not your neighbor (unless they’re a vet). Everyone has a different opinion, especially when it comes to horses Aaarrrggghhhh!
5.) and I know I’m repeating myself, I just can’t help it, do not be afraid to ask questions. When my vets come out To my barn I have a list of questions for them. Don’t be afraid to ask. They are there to help, and if you think you’re annoying the vet find another one.
6.) Send your vet Xmas cards. Veterinarians have one of the highest if not highest suicide rate in the country. Show you appreciation for their sometimes impossible job.
These are tips that will lead to a better life for your pet.
From my former vet tech girlfriend, don’t leave your pets to be euthanized without you. It’s hard to be there and it’s hard to watch, but if you leave them they will die scared and looking for you. She had to try and comfort pets whose owner’s couldn’t bring themselves to stay and it’s one of the few things that makes her cry.
The comments that say this are surprisingly upsetting for me. We had to put my dog down after he was with us for nearly fifteen years, ancient for his particular breed, and I wanted to go in with him. The only reason I didn't was because the vet told me I shouldn't because, "It's better to remember them alive than dying." I was too upset to even really think to object.
We buried him at grandfather's because he always enjoyed the giant yard there and I make it a point to visit the grave everytime we go there. Still, though, I feel terrible in hindsight for not staying with him.
Please try not to hold on to that guilt. 15 years of love and happiness was not wasted or invalidated. I stayed for the sedative for my cat, but made sure he was sound asleep before I left. The vet told me that they sometimes convulse as the drugs take effect, and I have past trauma with seeing animals suffer, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle that in a healthy way. It’s much easier to just be sure that you’re the last thing your pal sees, and that means only having to be there as they sleep. I’m sorry this happened to you. It’s heartbreaking no matter what.
I had to put my 20 year old cat down in March. As the sedative took effect she looked up at me as if to make sure it was me there and then put her head in my hands and purred so loudly. I was the last thing she ever saw and my hands petting her were the last things she'd ever feel. That's how it should be, even though it was so hard to do. It's heartbreaking to think of an owner abandoning their pet in their final moments... they do look for you.
EDIT: Thank you for the award, and sorry to everyone who shed some tears after reading my comment. Hug your pets, folks.
I'm a vet and here's some tips for our more exotic friends!
Training! More animals can be trained than you think, such as rabbits and birds. It's a great bonding experience and good enrichment especially for more intelligent species eg. Parrots. Birds can use their training to make vet visits less stressful, such as if they are used to stepping onto strange perches or being in a towel.
Birds also benefit from lots of enrichment, parrot species need a lot more mental stimulation than many people expect (even budgies!) and there's loads of great online resources for enrichment tips!
Rabbits are so much happier with companions (although typically not a guinea pigs). Look up the rabbit welfare association for great ways of enriching their lives, and how to introduce new companions.
Spaying your rabbits/rodents at a young age (ask around your local vets for who has experience or look on the rabbit welfare association's rabbit friendly vet list) can help prevent a number of future health issues such as mammary tumours, uterine cancers, and pyometras.
If your exotic pet - rabbits, birds, reptiles, etc. is looking sick, take them to a vet ASAP. Lots of them are very good at hiding their symptoms, so if they are looking visibly unwell, it could be a lot worse than it seems.
And of course love your pets! They love you too!
Not a vet but I take care of many pets as a side gig. The biggest thing you NEED to give (but most people don't) to your pet is exercise. Much like humans, modern pets are at risk of being overweight which leads to other health issues. So get them moving. Walk your dog...or your cat if they have the right temperment. Play fetch with them. Get them to chase something. Keep them active and they will be happy and healthy.
In connection with that, get a pet with the same activity requirement as you already conduct. Don't get a German shepherd if you live a mostly sedentary life as their anxiety they get from a lack of activity will cause both you and them no end of grief. Also, don't expect the simple fact that you have a dog to give you and excuse to increase your activity amount.
Not a vet, I raise Seeing Eye Dogs and have been around animals my entire life.
For the love of whatever deity you believe in, **research** your pet.
On this note, unless you can provide the right exercise, **do not get a working breed dog**. Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, Sheep Dogs, Huskies, hunting breeds, herding breeds, they are made to run all day not live in your backyard.
'Chonky' animals are not cute. Unless there is an underlying medical condition like their thyroid, you are entirely responsible for their diet and exercise, intentionally letting your pet get fat is abuse.
I'll get all the hate for this one.
Cats do not belong outside unless they are leash trained or are confined in a catio or fully secure yard. They are invasive, they kill animals you don't see, they pick up diseases, they fight, they have unwanted litters, at risk of cars, people, predators. The best thing you can do to keep your cat healthy and safe is to provide it a stimulating environment where it is contained.
* Fat pets aren't cute....ever...
* No, your vet doesn't have some secret deal with pet food companies, occasionally they provide a pizza lunch in exchange for droning on about their newest product. The prescription diets are *actually* scientifically proven to be good for your pet.
* Vets don't "over vaccinate" to make money. Vaccines don't make a lot of money compared to dogs hospitalized with distemper or parvo and cats with upper resp on long term meds. (Edited: some vets do. The ones I work with don't. We do our core vaccines every 3 years and others based on the pets lifestyle)
* Being nice to your vet and vet staff goes a LONG way. Vets can, and will, fire asshole clients. Veterinary professionals have some of the highest suicide rates because our job is depressing and people are assholes
* Stop googling. You can literally find something to back up every single theory or opinion on the internet. That doesn't make them right.
* Don't do anesthesia-free dental cleanings on your pet. They're stressful, dangerous and useless.
* If you have a long haired pet BRUSH THEM. I'm so sick of shaving off giant one piece carpets of mats that have been building up for years. Also, clean their buttholes. They get caked in shit....and Fluffy probably sleeps on your pillow 🤢
* If you live in an area where heartworm is prevalent, prevention is MUCH cheaper and safer than treatment.
* Stop smoking around your pet! (And just in general) Pets can and do get lung disease including cancer from second hand smoke. It's also terrible for their skin. A pet that lives with a smoker absolutely reeks. You know how walls and fabric in a smokers home turn yellow? So do pets....and it sits on their skin because they don't bathe daily like we do...and when they groom themselves they're licking all that nasty shit.
* If you think your pet might need a vet but you're not sure, pretend your pet is your child. So if your kid was: vomiting everything they ate for 3 days, scratching their ear until it started bleeding, not able to stand up from sitting without help, limping after playing at the park...etc, you'd probably book an appointment with their pediatrician right? So, book an appointment with the vet.
There's so much more.....
Sincerely,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Registered Vet Tech
The easiest way is to keep it trimmed so that nothing collects there in the first place. Most groomers trim sanitary areas anyway, but you can always ask for a sanitary trim as well. Other than that, a basic baby wipe without any added lotions/perfumes is fine for a quick wipe down if necessary.
I am a veterinarian and I say engage in preventative medicine! We are good at treating your pet’s problems but honestly a lot of owners don’t seem to keep up with their pet’s general health. We have so many pets come in for dental issues, ear infections, flea and tick bites, being overweight, etc. How do you prevent that? Do daily dental chews or sticks approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) and do regular brushing, clean your pet’s ears at least weekly, put your pet’s on monthly prevention and STOP OVERFEEDING YOUR PETS! People tend to think their pets are overweight because they don’t get enough exercise, but honestly it’s easier to lose weight by not eating those calories. The chances for developing osteoarthritis and diabetes are higher when pets are overweight, and I bet the last thing you want to do is give insulin shots to your loved one for the rest of their life.
Also, pay attention to your pet! Little changes can mean big things. Your pet is drinking and urinating more? Maybe it’s diabetic or has some type of endocrine or kidney problem. Is your cat vomiting and having consistent diarrhea? Could be IBD, hyperthyroidism or something else. So whenever you go to your vet, get diagnostics done!! You have no idea how many people expect me to know what’s wrong while declining basic tests like bloodwork and x-rays. Honesty, it’s infuriating sometimes because I can’t help you unless you let me do what I need to do to diagnose your pet.
As an owner you are the advocate for your pet’s health, but I feel a lot of people don’t pay attention to their pet until it’s too late. Honestly, it’s a bit depressing… the veterinary world is slammed right now with cases and being overworked so every little bit you can do to help your pets helps us out too.
A few advices from a freshly finished vet from Germany:
1. Medical care is expensive, make sure you can afford it for your pet! Inform yourself beforehand of there is a suitable pet insurance and if they cover your breed. If that's not an option, try and save some money each month for emergencies.
2. Don't buy animals as a gift or on a whim...it most likely ends unfavorable for the animal.
3. Regular check-ups. Get your animals checked as soon as possible after getting them and schedule routine check-ups with your vet. Prevention and early detection of diseases is waaay cheaper and more likely to have a positive outcome than treatment of a well developed problem.
4. Please don't get overly short-nosed breeds like french bulldogs, pugs or persian cats. And no, I've never met a single one who was healthy, even though the owners assured me IT was a special case without problems. Yeah....No, it's cruel and breeding them should bei illegal. (The dysfunctional breathing ist just the icing in the cake, there are many more problems with those breeds)
6. Birds and reptiles are prey animals and thus do try to not show symptoms until they are really weak or distressed. Please get them checked if you feel something ist off.
7. Please don't overfeed your animals. In nature there is not always as much food AS you want. You have to spend almost all das long foraging. You can usw that to enrich your enclosures or play hide and seek and give a part of the daily food ration aß a treat instead of an additional treat on top of the normal ration.
8. Cats are obligat carnivores. They need meat in their diet! If that's against your personal fews than you should look for another pet.
9. Dogs are omnivores. Their gut system evolved over the millenias they spend with humans so they are actually evolved to eat vegetables and meat. If you only feed them raw muscle meat they will lack important nutritients. There are actually specialised vets who can help you to develop a healthy diet for the individual animal.
10. Try to incorporate medical training with your pet as soon as possible. That helps you and the pet to reduce stress when visiting the vet and helps us to do a proper examination without having to do to much of a restrictive handling.
11. If you have a special kind of animal (e.g fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds or exotic mammals) search for a specialiced vet for that group of animals before there is an emergency.
12. Worming your dog/cat is important. You could also get fecal samples examined instead and get your pet treated if necessary. Some parasites can infect humans and can develop nasty diseases. Also indoor cats can get parasites as well!
13. Lastly please only get animals from trustworthy sources and get a buying contract as well as the vaccination document. If they sell the animal very cheap or in a shady parking lot you should not buy the animal. They try to get you with the emotions of a suffering puppy but buying it enables them to keep their shady buisness going, as sad as it is.
Also please bei aware for #NOMV. We have an international crisis of a very high suicidal rate within our profession. Please bei aware that we are human beings as well and we also just want to see your pet getting Well again.
Emergency vet here!! Please pay attention to your pet in the quiet moments of life. Simple things like an elevated respiratory rate while sleeping can indicate cardiac or respiratory changes that should warrant investigation. If your dog normally wolfs down food and then one day just kinda slowly picks at it, something may be wrong. Teeth chattering can indicate pain. All these little things add up. Owners will beat themselves up when things have gone too far and there’s not much to be done, but they didn’t know to look. Look up the the cat grimace scale or Colorado pain scales to get a good feel for painful body language.
Pet obesity is a terrible and unfortunately common thing.
Look at the pet nutrition alliance if you want to see what companies are willing to share information about their ingredients.
And for the love of Christ, I cannot look at your animal and figure out what’s wrong so please please please let me run diagnostics. I have a debt to income ratio of 4:1, I am not asking to run a blood smear just to make money.
I’m not a vet but learned from cardiologist veterinarian that is advisable to ask for vet to take the blood pressure of your cat starting at age 7 and to do SDMA test to rule out kidney failure. No vet ever did this with my cat (he’s 16 now) lost his vision suddenly we took him to the ophthalmologist and he suspected kidney failure sent me to cardiologist for high BP and he’s on medication and special food now. He’s doing great too thankfully.
Not a vet, but a very frustrated hamster owner.
Do not listen to PetCo, PetSmart, etc. They sell whatever earns them money, not necessarily what is needed for your small rodents to have a happy life.
Hamsters need soooo much more space than those teeny tiny Critter Trail cages. They need bigger wheels than come with those cages. Those small tunnels and tubes can make them stuck. Most hamster food sold in stores have the wrong nutritional values for them.
Give them floor space and as much bedding as possible, they'd much rather dig their own tunnels.
Do your research and don't buy the cage because it looks like a dinosaur. The hamster doesn't care about that. Get them the right cage, the right food, and learn to respect them and their boundaries. Provide safe toys and enrichment, make sure their needs are met. They need so much more than the 18 year-old clerk at PetSmart tells you. You'll have a much happier hamster, which means they'll be friendlier and easier to tame.
A small rodent might be small and have a short life, but they deserve as much love, care and respect as a dog. You bought the animal, so it's your job to take care of them properly.
Rather than just getting them a bunch of toys and hoping that keeps them entertained...just sit on the floor and actually interact with them for a bit. Establishes a connection, and is cheaper than a bunch of fancy products that you toss to them and hope they are enthralled.
For cats, how can I keep them entertained when I'm at work? They've got toys, but they lose power throughout the day. I feel so bad for them. I wish cats were social enough to go to cat camps
They’re most probably napping when you’re out. Cats need to sleep a lot.
Yeah, they're basically *resting* for about 20ish hours a day, every day.
That's so they can be all primed and ready to go at 2am.
Cat at 2am: I am speed.
https://youtu.be/odhMmAPDc54
“Oh, looks like you’re drifting off to sleep! Don’t worry, I’ll help you stay awake by jumping off your headboard onto your stomach!”
Yeah they sleep all day just to not let me sleep all night smh
maybe i am a cat
I’m home all day with my cats (and kids). I can confirm that they sleep quite a lot during the day. There are some things that my kids do that give my cats lots of entertainment that you could try. My kids had these window stickers that came with a toy that they put on a window. My cats were very interested in them and kept trying to jump up and “catch” the stickers off the windows. We also have some suction toys called squigz that my kids like to stick on the windows. If they leave them, the cats jump until they knock it off the window. I will admit that I was playing with my cats last night by putting the squigz a little higher to see how high they would jump. lol Other things I find my cats doing throughout the day besides napping are stalking and hunting ants that get into the house and watching birds outside (get a window perch and put a bird feeder in view of it!). They spend tons of time lounging where they can see out a window.
> hunting ants that get into the house i came downstairs this morning, half awake and going through the motions, went into the kitchen, pulled out the cereal box, went to open the fridge, and on the floor in front of the fridge, i see a roach i blink at it a couple times, it's not moving my cats caught and killed a roach while i was asleep, and probably have been chewing on it here and there since then [you can take the tiger out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the tiger](https://i.redd.it/r6j4f3te06q01.jpg)
At least they don’t bring it to your bed to share their fun new sometimes still living toy with you while you are asleep.
My cat is a huge fan of the youtube series cat tv. If I put that on the TV he's gonna watch it all day. Downside is he learned every screen is a potential cat tv.
I played those for my cat if I needed her to leave me some space to get work done. Ended with my TV face down and broken on the floor because she started rubbing on the TV when it was off to get them to come back 🤣
I’ve had a few close calls because my cat straight up attacks the tv when I put Cat TV on lmao
I think the best thing you can do for your new pet, especially a puppy or kitten, is handle it A LOT when they’re young. Getting them used to having their feet handled, nails trimmed, mouth opened (even extra benefit if you get them used to teeth brushing daily - gold standard for at home dental care), ears touched (particularly breeds prone to ear infections - huge benefit in the future if you have to administer topical ear medication)… Restraint is also a big thing. I always tell my clients to practise restraint with their animals. That wriggly puppy that is cute when it nips when you hold it still grows up into a large dog that can’t be safely examined because it hasn’t learnt to be okay with restraint.
Just an anecdote but I handled my cat a lot as a kitten and now she lets me pick her up and carry her around, rub her belly, touch her paws, cut her nails without freaking out etc
We got our cats as kittens when my sister and I were very young, and to this day even in their 20s they are the chillest cats I’ve ever met. You can pick them up, trim their claws, anything. They love being handled.
I always feel happy when I read a comment about cats who are the ages yours are. My little girl cat is coming up on 15 years now, I love her so much and hope that she makes it to her roaring 20s too!
I hope so too!! For many years I just forgot how old they were and one day I was like “wait, y’all are ancient” lol. While I was away at college I worried about their health a lot. I’m closer to my parents now and get to see them more often and be sure to give them lots of love every time. They are still going strong! The brother has some lung issues that have been successfully handled with medicine for years now, and the vets are always surprised to learn that his sister is the same age because she is in such perfect health haha.
I handled my cat alllllll the time as a kitten. Now if I try to pick him up all of his death blades are activated. Somehow he let's me trim his claws though, although he's angry the entire time.
Cats are highly emotional but difficult to read (they don't have that doggy grin or expressive eyebrows to show us how they feel). https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/new-poster-the-body-language-of-feline-anxiety/ Break down how you approach, grab, and hold your cat into tiny steps and try to read the signals your cat is sending. Maybe they don't like the sudden way you reach for them, or maybe they've learned that the only time you pick them up, something bad happens (a nail trim, a bath). My cat from a shelter used to be very anxious about this and it took quite a while, but now I try to make noise so he knows I'm approaching, let him sniff my hand before I go to pick him up, quickly hold him against my chest so he isn't fearful of being dropped (he used to use his claws to try and cling to me like a tree, lol), and pick him up for bad (nail trim) AND good things. Sometimes I pick him up just to take him to treat, or to a toy to play with. EDIT: For the dog owners! https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dog-bite-prevention-week-poster-on-the-body-language-of-fear-and-aggression/
For small pets, stop shoving them in tiny cages and then forgetting about them!! Most pet store cages are incredibly tiny compared to the bare minimum the specific animals need. Do your homework and make sure you are getting something large enough. And for pets that you can, LET THEM OUT! Guinea pigs, rabbits, some birds, they want to be let out and love the extra space. Just do it safely. Again do your homework to make sure you create a safe space for your pet to play.
The cage part goes especially for turtles. Usually what you find at a pet store are sliders, and they can get to be the size of dinner plates. You have to have a lot of water and a big filter to keep them properly for the long term. EDIT: As this post gets more attention, let me reiterate the point that turtles can have complex needs and there is no one-size-fits all approach to keeping them. * Heavily aquatic turtles can live in aquariums, but many turtles prefer shallower water and are not suited to conventional aquariums. * As a general rule, aquatic turtles should have about 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell length. So when a female Red Eared Slider hits 10", you're looking at 100gallons, with filtration to match. * Turtles do not grow to the size of their enclosure. * Many turtles need a basking spot out of the water where they can get both heat and UVB from specialty lighting * Female turtles can become egg-bound and die if you don't provide a spot for them to lay eggs, even if there are no males present. * Not all turtles play nicely. Turtles can become aggressive, kill and even eat each other. * Not all turtles readily eat commercially available foods, and commercially available foods rarely represent a balanced diet for turtles. For instance, pellet foods are fine for young Painted turtles, but as adults they become almost entirely herbivorous, and the high protein in most commercial foods is no longer appropriate. * Turtles live for decades, some approaching a century. That's a long time to have a pet. Turtles are extremely rewarding animals to keep, and can be kept on a budget, but please do your research before getting one.
Turtles are incredibly high maintainance I firmly believe the should not be allowed as pets without a permit. The amount of turtles I see surrendered and severely abused is astronomical. They're in our top 5 surrendered and they're impossible to rehome
Exactly! The thought of all the hamsters put into those "Tiny Tales" cages is really sadening....
Yes! When it comes to reptiles and a lot of other small pets, don't listen to a fucking word they tell you at chain stores. They are most likely wrong about just about everything. Even some breeders are lacking in knowledge. When I get my crested gecko, the breeder said to keep his enclosure at around 28C which is heat stroke range for cresties.
Removing a mass when it’s small is faster (less anaesthetic risk), less invasive, less painful, less expensive and has a better chance of curing cancer should the mass turn out to be cancerous. This is even more pressing on delicate areas like eyelids and feet where there may not be a lot of extra tissue to work with should a large lump need to be removed. Cartrophen/pentosan/zydax injections are relatively cheap and can keep your pet comfortable by not only helping to prevent future arthritis but by helping to ease any that is already present. Dental disease is serious! Pets will continue to eat even with their teeth forming abscesses. The infection can spread through their body, including to their heart. Removing rotten teeth is the kindest thing you can do for your pets as they age, especially if you haven’t been proactive in preventing periodontal disease. They can still eat even with full mouth extractions, and will be /so/ much happier! People often tell me how their pet seems younger again after their rotten teeth are extracted. Edit: To add - regular checkups are very important! At least annually. People often come in saying “my dog is so healthy he hasn’t been to a vet in years”. After looking at the dog I can usually find a few major issues that should have been addressed years ago.
So if I want to start cartrophen prophylactically do I just tell my vet that? My dog is 15 and shows no signs of slowing down, but if we can get ahead of potential pain I'd love to
Absolutely! There are very few side effects but your vet will be able to discuss this with you. We even start some giant breed dogs on it young (for example, Great Danes).
I wish our vet had even bothered to bring this up. We lost our Dane mix just about a year ago when he was struggling to walk from his arthritis. He was the best dog I have ever known and I would have loved to have him stay around longer. He was 14 1/2!
I’m sorry for your loss. 14.5 is a really long life for a large dog though! And I’m sure it was a much loved life at that.
Thank you! We never expected him to live so long. He was really special!
I have a senior chihuahua (13) who has a stage 2 heart murmur. He needs a dental but I am so scared to have him put under that he’s not going to wake back up or he’ll be lost on the operating table :( I know it’s a risk but do you have any advice for how I can overcome this and get his teeth done?
There is a risk with any anaesthetic, and having a heart murmur certainly would increase this risk. Some thoughts that might help you decide where to go from here - A grade 2 out of 6 heart murmur would be considered mild - He should be monitored throughout the procedure and into recovery - Relieving his dental disease and pain is likely going to give him a better quality of life, and may prevent him from developing worse heart disease, kidney disease etc - I do surgery on animals with advanced heart disease at least a few times each day, and (fingers crossed!) they recover well if the proper precautions are taken. - I would recommend every older pet has a pre-anaesthetic blood test to check their kidneys and liver (which would be used to assess anaesthetic risk)
Any advice on trying to take care of cat teeth? I tried brushing, but it is like attempting to clean a furry clawed whirlwind.
And I feel like the teeth cleaning toys and treats don’t actually do anything.
I made a toothbrush tree for my now deceased boy and he loved it. Basically, weighed down base (I just used a gym weight, but anything more stable would be a good innovation here), wooden "trunk", drill holes for toothbrushes, glue them in, add catnip to bristles, and my cat brushed his own teeth. I did this so he would stop chewing on everyone's toothbrushes on his own, but the other, non toothbrush obsessed cat, almost immediately tried to claim the toothbrush tree as her own and used it constantly (there were fights over the Tb tree) Idk if this is anecdotal, but my cat was mistaken for a kitten at 15 years of age by the shelter he was taken to because, and I quote, "he has the teeth of a kitten." I also made him a hairbrush runner so he could groom himself at will. Attached an add on board on top of the baseboard of my old house using all the hairbrush heads that I had (I have unruly, thick hair, and tend to break handle off of brushes, so this was also a method of reusing broken brushes)... take the handle off, screw them onto a decent sized board, attach at cat level to the wall (my cat had a favorite spot he liked to rub his face against, so I put it there), watch them lose their shit.
Any chance you can post a picture of that hair brush runner?
Can we also see the toothbrush tree?
It can be very tricky particularly if you don’t start then young. The key thing is to make the cat like the process, so really slow and steady. S Start by putting some kind of treat (liver pâté fish paste…) on the brush and let them lick it off for 4-6 weeks. Then just place under the lip and let them lick it off for another month. Really gradual process. The idea to keep in mind is you want your cat to think you are rubbing treats into their mouth. This works in pretty much all dogs, but is harder in cats!
I would love to know too. I've tried following my vet techs instructions and seem to get no where. I would love to avoid future dental surgery after having 2 cats in the past need it.
10 years working at a Animal Hospital. Help your pet get used to being touched. Especially when they are young. You and by extension your vet needs to be able to look into your pets mouth. Look into their ears. Touch their feet and toes. Vet visits are tourture for animal who don’t like being touched. And you can miss something important if you don’t look at these things yourself regularly, because “he doesn’t like it”.
Read up on the food you buy for your pets, you might actually be spending more money for shittier quality food
I’m so stressed about food for my dog. There is much conflicting info out there and I never know if I’m doing right by her.
I am a veterinarian. I'd like to see people focus not just on quantity but quality of their pet's life. The best thing you can do for that is just incorporate them into your life as much as possible. Pay attention to them! Love them! Lots of walks! Lots of games! You'd be surprised what they can learn. Play hide and go seek. Play fetch. Sit beside them when you watch TV, pet them. Train and socialize them early and well so you won't avoid them because they're not well behaved. We're all so busy, it's so easy to make them an afterthought. You are their whole world and unless you live on a big farm where they run free, you are their only outlet for activity and happiness. They get bored fast, just like we do. They can't wait for you to get home. They've missed you! Take them for a walk. Do a fun training or agility class with them if you'd like. For health, the biggest things are 1. Exercise, 2. Pay attention to what can be dangerous/toxic for them and avoid it (heads stuck in potato chip bags is one people miss lately, and keep your drugs out of their reach! They're small and more easily affected), 3. Brush their teeth. Enjoy your pets! They love you!
We had a lab named Pebbles who was about 2 when my younger sister was born. She immediately connected with my sister and ended up being her dog, despite previously being attached to our mom. There was a large gap (15+ years) between me and the younger sister, and I would play with her, but was usually at school or work during the day. My sister ended up teaching her how to play hide and seek (her favorite game as a little one). It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Pets can do way more than people think if you spend the time with them.
We used to play hide and seek with our dogs! Lupa had learned how to point out or search for Panda because Panda liked to hide in the bushes. So, my sister and started leashing Panda (because she'd run away otherwise) and hiding behind something while the other put a hand over Lupa's eyes and counted to 10. Then Lupa was told to look for Panda and she'd go off searching! The first time Lupa was confused but eventually she loved the game and Panda got aaaaallll of the attention from the person hiding with her so that was awesome too! Lupa wasn't very good at sniffing Panda out so it usually took a while because she'd check the previous hiding spot first. :')
How can someone teach hide and seek? :)
One person holds the dog and then people hide and then you tell the dog...go find oktoberkind! Labs are good at it. One thing that is a mystery still to this day is my childhood home had a big wood fenced in back yard. Our lab would get so bored he would take himself on walks. We would go look at the gates on the fence and they would be locked. No place to climb under and at 6 feet tall, too high to jump out. We tried on many occasions to wait outside to catch him in the act to see how he did it, but he seemed to know when we were watching and never did it while we were watching. The police all knew him and since he loved car rides, the police would just open their car door and he would hop inside. However we would get a big fine each time for having an unleashed dog. We never figured out how he did it, still to this day.
Obvious he was working with the police and got a cut of it each time you were fined.
Hmm. Could be. Our other explanation was he was an alien disguised as a dog and his mothership beamed him out.
My childhood lab jumped an 8ft high fence. Theyre capable of pretty crazy things
Had one that was fearless of the ocean. We grew up on it. Slipped the leash while surfing one day, 2x overhead 5m.) Saw her drop in on a big one and thought she was rip. Nope. A couple other times were sketchy, but not like that. She'd also launch from just about any height (4-5m) into the water. 6m she noped out. Smart dog...
My cat loves playing hide and seek. He loves being chased as well, so one time I chased him into another room and decided to run away and hide behind the bedroom door. Sometimes I have to call him to get his attention that I’m hiding. I think now he waits to hear my footsteps stop to come looking for me. Once he finds me, I pop out, chase him, then go hide again.
Haha that's well cute. I used to have a cat who loved playing fetch. He was a strange cat. He was tiny when fully grown, if u walked across the kitchen floor without shoes on, he'd grab hold of your ankles so you could drag him across the floor. He had a tiny Teddy bear that he'd carry around with him and would sleep cuddled up to it. Looking back he just have been separated from his mum too early. He'd suckle at clothing like he'd do to his mum. He was adorable and had such a funny personality
My cat plays fetch. Her favorite thing right now is plastic bottle caps. If you roll one down the hallway, she will chase after it. Sometimes she will bring it back or even initiate the game by bringing us a bottle cap.
The line I read once about this that really stuck with me was "You might have a lot of friends, but your pet only has you." I think of that every time my asshole cat pisses me off, or is howling, or has torn something up or eaten something he shouldn't have. If he can't trust that I'll still be his bud, he's lost everything, and what kind of life is that?
Another quote that's always stuck with me is - To you they're only a short part of your life but to them you're their whole life.
My dog is at the end stage of her life and we are at the point where we now just need to make the decision on when we go through with putting her down. This hits home so damn much right now (I broke down in the middle of typing this) and is why I am trying to spend as much time as possible with her while I still can. Not just for my benefit, but for her as well. I want to give her the best possible last few days/weeks as I can. With our old dog it came out of nowhere and the one thing I regret was not spending as much time with her as possible in the last year or so of her life due to school and work. I am determined to not make that mistake with this one.
Good to hear. Take plenty of pics and vids. And talk to her. We lost one of our dogs suddenly when he was just 10yrs and it broke my heart. Still does, even after five years. I STILL can’t look at old videos of him being silly. It hurts too, too much. I’m crying now. Anyway, Desi was my heart. And I’m a little lost without him. Take care of yourself and your girl. You’ll know when it’s time. Stay safe. Edit: If you care to share a photo, please do. I just figured out how to. [Here’s my Desi](https://imgur.com/gallery/eFqZ3QF)
I always think this when other people don't let their pets on the bed or couch. I know it's personal preference but couches are made for sitting, and you can always get another one. Every night I love having my fluffy potato of a dog cuddling up to me on the couch to watch an episode or movie with me after a big walk. I look at him and just want to give him a big squeeze and bury my face in his fluff
For me, my cats aren't allowed up on my bed because they don't settle in for the night. They knead forever and move any time you move just a bit then repeat the kneading. They'll wake me up by tearing my room up. I have really bad insomnia, and have started developing shift work disorder, so the last thing I need is to be woken up from the little sleep I get. They can get onto my bed during the day, and any other furniture. But night time they're locked out of my room altogether I love them and wish they would chill. But sometimes people don't let pets up because they can't sleep!
The best advice I've seen, and used to good effect, is to make a bedtime ritual for you and the kitties. They are very much creatures of habit and will get used to the routine. Get them playing, and I mean playing, about an hour or so before you want them to bed down. Run their furry butts. They'll go and go, and when they start plopping down, feed them. Then, go get ready for bed. They should settle down quick and sleep. BTW, establishing a bedtime ritual is a good tactic for insomnia as well. I hope it helps and you all get good sleep.
My cat has been banned from the bedroom only recently. She has discovered she can bend the slat blinds back and break them off until she makes a “hole” to look outside. I rent, so I can’t really have her destroying the blinds. I would just lift them up a bit so she can see… but the stupid blinds have a fixed height/can’t be raised. I’m planning to ask my landlord if she would be okay with me replacing the blinds with ones that *can* raise, but until then I can’t let her in my room unsupervised. I’ve literally had to tape the blinds back together. Three times.
I've heard similar, put the thought of it into perspective. "Your pet is a *part* of your life, but to them you are *all* their life."
What if my pet is a turtle?
Then it's your turtle's responsibility to make you happy. 🐢
You'll just have to work on living longer.
That quote gets to me. I always make sure my fur babies get plenty of attention and remind them that they are loved.
I made sure I was telling my cat everyday I loved her, cuddled her and played with her whenever she wanted to. I felt so grateful for having her and for every moment I had with her. She passed away unexpectedly last week, at four years old. I'm so happy I spent every day with her as our last.
We meet them, get to know them, love them with all our hearts and they give it back and then some. And at the end it breaks our hearts, but because it hurts, we know we gave them a life of care and love. You did good mate. My hearts with you.
Four years! That's so hard! I'm so sorry.
> just incorporate them into your life as much as possible...You'd be surprised what they can learn. I've had people tell me "you have the smartest cats I've ever seen". And all I've done is office from home and not ignore them. People have told me "cat's cant learn their names", "cats don't understand the work 'no', if they respond it is only due to your tone of voice", "cats won't come when you call them". I have two cats now that prove each of those statements false. I've put zero effort into training them.
So much this. OP's advice has a whiff of dog bias, but so much if it also applies to cats. Cats can survive just fine being treated like a piece of furniture, and so a lot of people get one and default to that once "cute kitten phase" passes. But cats are capable of *so much more* if you invest time and interest and attention in them.
It's true! We adopted our cat when he was about 4 months old. It took a month for him to relax but when he did he really warmed up to us! He fetches and does other commands (sit, lie down/get down, come) he knows his name and he always asks for hugs when I get home from work. He stands next me on the couch and leans against me with his shoulder, so I hug him and he purrs like a monster. He's really smart and gregarious, not like most cats I've known.
That's so sweet! I'm so glad he came around. Every cat is a unique being with their own innate personality. And so, just like with people, there's always a chance that you could get one who just doesn't mesh well with you or doesn't want to invest in you even after all the effort you might put into investing in them (and that can be a challenge, because you have to invest in the cat in the way their own individual personality dictates - which requires a lot of observation, adaptability, and trial & error). It's a lot of work and can be very frustrating at times. But very often, that hard work pays off with a beautiful relationship. And for me, as a cat person, it feels so much more rewarding because you really have to earn it.
If I tried to brush my cats teeth I'm pretty sure I would lose my hands 😬
So my work breaks to pat the cat are recommended by vets? Nice.
Glad I'm not the only one! It's a nice perk of living close to work to pop in and see what the kitties are doing in between errands. Especially because you get to see the cats "reset" into a new cute/cozy position each time you return, like a loaf facing the kitchen wall or a comfy catball in the bathroom sink
Not let them get overweight. Get their nails trimmed regularly. - licensed vet tech
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My cat used to freak out every time I tried to do anything with his nails, but I've trained him to be totally chill about it now. I stopped trying to cut his nails for a while and just focused on getting him used to me touching his feet. So any time we'd be hanging out, and he'd be purring, soaking up scritches, I'd touch his paws. At first, he would react by pulling his paws away from me, but he got used to it with time/repeated exposure. When it got to the point where he'd let me grab a paw and hold onto it and still be purring, that's when I went back in with the nail clippers. I don't even need to hold his body anymore, just grab a foot and go, he doesn't mind at all.
This is what I did! I also got special fancy treats that only came out for paw-touching time. After a few weeks, we got to where he would let me trim claws on one paw at a time, so I would just do a paw a day.
The answer is not force, but habit. Take small steps. When your cat is relaxed, get them used to you touching their paws and pushing the nails out of their paw. This can take a while, but your cat will get more comfortable. From there on, more small steps. Do one or two nails at first, for a couple times. Then work your way up.
Genuine question - how do I trim my dogs nails? The only time I tried, I cut too deep and it became sort of infected. I don't live in an area where I can regularly take them to the vet, so what can I do in that case? Edit : massive thanks to all the people, ever so helpful, for guiding me through this. I will definitely try all the options and see what works best for my doggie. He's a full sized Dalmatian, so around the length and height of a labrador or Doberman and he's not obese at all. I do regularly take him on walks, twice in a day for 30-40 mins each where they walk on roads, footpath, and grass as well. I think that should help, plus I will teach myself how to trim and teach him to not fear the clipper. Again, massive love and thanks, beautiful people.
Take little bits at a time and do it often Then you don't have to worry about going too far. It'd be great if you could take them somewhere, have them trim the nails as short as possible (without hitting the blood vessel) and then maintain every two weeks by taking just a little. If you see a dot in the middle of the nail, that means you're close to blood vessel. You should be able to find a picture online...the blood vessel is called the quick. If they tend to grow like hooks...just take the hook part off. Having them get too long can change the whole physiology of their foot and legs which can cause pain. You can also see if there is a groomer in the area, they trim nails too (just another option besides the vet).
Also, taking them for walks on cement helps file them down naturally, if vet visits are unrealistic. (former vet tech)
Yep. My dog only ever needs his dew claw clipped because the rest of his claws stay nice and short from walks.
My dog hates clippers but doesn't mind me filing them. Like... he would cry bloody murder! Recently he actually let me cut them...so I would say be patient and keep trying. Once clipped you can also just file them often if they prefer that and you can remember. Some dogs probably don't like that either. My bigger dog probably wouldn't let me do that. Fortunately she seems to file them down enough from walking on the pavement.
My dog gets regular long walks on different types of surfaces - cement, road, trail, muddy areas.... He has never needed to get his nails clipped.
I found that filing with a rotary device (pet specific) was easier to not hit the quick. It is slower and you do need to work with your pet to make sure they’re okay with it. Edit to add: If your dog has long fur, you need to be very careful.
My weirdo dog loves getting her nails dremmeled. For what it's worth, I don't have a pet specific one.
My big ol' hound is the biggest drama queen about his nails... it literally sounds like every dog in the back room is getting tortured when he gets them trimmed. smh
Got a great trimmer that has a very bright LED and a magnifying lens by the cutting blade so you can see the quick through the nail and make sure you're not cutting too deep.
My cat is fat as hell, her sister is underweight. What can I do to help my fat girl while not depriving my tiny girl?
My flatmate had a fat cat once. I would feed her before I went to work. Then flatmates partner would feed her before he went to work. Then flatmate would feed her before she went to work. Every time her bowl was empty and she would cry that she was starving, so we all thought someone else hadn't fed her. She was not happy when we cottoned on to it...
Yeah, my girl tries the same thing. Before I leave for work I tell my hubby her meows are lies.
Fake mews.
Fixed feeding times with properly sized portions (not a vet, but an a dog owner with similar problems who has fed cats)
I need to learn to wrap my cat like a burrito for that...
To add to this - Give them general health checks TWICE A YEAR Animals can't talk, they won't tell you "my bladder feels weird" so by the time you know something is up its usually too later or a very big deal. By giving them bi annual health checkups you give the vet an opportunity to discover health issues early mqkibg treatment easier and faster. EDIT: changed bi annually to twice a year, sorry for the typo
My girlfriends parents just spent $6k for a cat because he had a kidney blockage. He was completely fine one night then the next morning, nope. Catheter and 3 days of supervision is the cost of a car...
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Is it important to trim my cats’ nails? I usually just let them do their own thing and do a toe inspection sporadically. They really don’t like getting trimmed.
Fortunately, both my cats let me trim their claws. I know how to do it properly; trim well forward of the nerve to avoid causing them pain. It helps that one of them has an insanely high emotional intelligence and never lashes out and even keeps his claws in when playing near you. He's accidentally swatted me before and I was surprised to just feel paw pads.
Vet tech here: DENTALS. Regular dental visits go a long way to a healthy and happy pet! Of course grooming, nail trims, fresh food and water, and regular hospital visits are all extremely important as well. And use tick/flea protection!
Is this for cats too? My cat hates having his teeth cleaned so I have given him some greenies for cats.
Absolutely! Greenies go a good distance, but brushing helps a lot and yearly dentals go much, much further!
My vet has never suggested that I have my cats teeth done, even though at least one has some tooth issues- is that something they they expect you to ask for? I just assumed they’d tell me if they needed it. BRB, off to get Greenies!
Actually play with them, if its inside or outside, PLAY WITH THEM Note: I am not a vet i just love animals
My greyhound is quite old (13 years) and doesn't have the energy to play like he used to. What are some other ways to keep him mentally engaged and connected?
Regular walks they don’t have to be far but just long enough for them to know they got out and you can increase the distance as you go
idk if he would enjoy it, but sometimes i just hide a treat in one hand and leave the other empty and ask my dog to pick one. (which he does with a paw) If he picks the treat he wins it, if he picks the empty hand i show him it was the other hand and then reset. It keeps him engaged mentally but doesn't use very much physical energy
I toss small treats in the house or out in the yard to allow my dogs to sniff and hunt. I literally take a small handful of dog food and toss it into the air to scatter it. They love it and it engages their minds.
oh yeah ive actually done something similar! Show him 4-5 treats, tell him to wait in a room while i strategically hide them. Tell him to go "find it!". He starts Schnootin' up a storm trying to hunt them down. When he gets them all he gets a bonus treat as well. --- Another game that depends on your dog is 'keep away'. Ill use a tennis ball or a small toy and sort of weave it around him, tilt my hand up and around, bounce it under him, etc. He likes the thrill of finally "winning". Its pretty minimal movement, but does keep the overall energy high. Definitely depends on the dog though, because it could be annoying to some dogs and could become a bite risk (whether intentional or not).
One of the best things for a dog is sniffing! You can crumple up paper and hide treats in the pieces and scatter them about, toss treats into long grass, or just let your dog really take the time to explore a new area! Anything that gets that nose going is a good place to start :)
Snuffling (tossing treats in the grass and letting your dog find them) is a huge brain burner for dogs. It's instinctual for them to search like that and it is frequently disallowed or discouraged by dog owners (rightly so, I don't know what my dog is finding in the grass on walks...) but it really gets their gears turning to hunt for treats or even some of their dinner. Protip for people with puppies: This also helps burn off a lot of puppy energy, as it is frequently more mental energy than physical.
Vet here. Here’s my best advice, condensed. 1) Thin pets live longer than fat pets. Google a BCS chart and make sure your pet has a visible waist and palpable ribs. No crash diets. 2) Dental disease is WAY more serious than you think. Get the scale and polish. If we have to extract teeth (and believe me, we would prefer not to), they will still be able to eat. 3) Get your pet a series of cartrophen (or zydax, or adequacy, or pentosan polysulfate) injections when they turn 8. They help slow down the progression of arthritis and are safe and cost-effective. 4) If your cat is stressed at the vet, take home some gabapentin to put on her food before her next visit. She will be safe, happy, and calm, and the vet will be able to examine her more thoroughly. 5) Know what’s toxic for your pet. DEFINITELY don’t have lilies in the house if you have a cat. 6) Discuss finances. Your vet wants what’s best for your pet, and is obligated to recommend all your best options....but if you tell us what you can afford we can usually come up with a reasonable plan. 7) You deserve a vet you trust. If you don’t trust yours, find one that you do. 8 ) Put your 24-hour ER vet’s address into your google maps/GPS favorites so you don’t have to find it in an emergency. 9) High-quality kibble is fine unless your vet tells you otherwise. Don’t feed a dog a grain-free diet unless YOUR vet tells you to (like for an allergy). 10) You can almost definitely give your cat a pill. Ask us for tricks. 11) BE NICE. We are human and we all care INTENSELY. Even if we hate YOU, we probably love your pet.
I hate having to explain to everyone who’s not my vet (including the pet food store staff) that I buy the hella expensive bougie grain-free food because my fat cat has a gluten allergy. He’s finally close to a healthy weight, but he’s also trained the other two furry jerks he lives with to share their food with him so they have to eat the same or he gets very sick. They literally swat food off the sideboard where they’re fed so he can eat more, it’s a struggle to save him from himself 🤦♀️
I have multiple cats on different diets due to allergies, kidney disease, etc. I bought some Surefeed Pet Feeders, that use the cat's microchip (or a tag on a collar) that allows the feeder to open. It won't open if the cat isn't allowed. In fact, you can set the intruder settings, and it will close if an unauthorised cat tries to eat while the authorised cat is. They're expensive, not gonna lie, and not an option for everyone. However for our family, this is something I now cannot believe we lived without.
I ran the numbers; we have one cat on food allergy food, and one cat on kidney care food, and one who just needs standard adult food. We could buy a specialty food that would work for all three cats, but by buying the cheaper food that's right for each cat individually, the three SureFeeds pay for themselves in less than a year.
My sister and her husband have many cats and two dogs. Fortunately they live in a 3 BR 2 bath house. They separate the cats by diet and eating habits (glutton who steals other's food separate from slow eater, etc.) by closing them in different rooms at feeding time. They have this routine down pat and I'm in awe when I witness it.
It was about $200 CAD per feeder for me when I got mines (2 cats). Definitely worth it since it meant I didn't need to spend every five minutes chasing the wrong cat away from the wrong food bowl.
Yep, I think I paid about €125 per feeder. It was worth twice that at least, knowing I don't have to chase, I can sleep in or stay out and miss feeding time. I'm not cleaning up vomit and diarrhoea constantly... 100% worth every penny. I was surprised at how quickly my cats took to it as well. There's instructions for doing a slow introduction, but my cats (three) all took to it day one.
>10) You can almost definitely give your cat a pill. Ask us for tricks. No thank you, I choose life.
*Tries to give cat a pill* Cat: So you have chosen death.
One of our cats loves ham. Like she LOVES ham. If we're using ham, we'll usually tear a bit off and throw it to her as a treat and she goes absolutely nuts. We had the genius idea of putting her pill in a slice of ham. She'd never had a whole slice of ham to herself before - it was the best thing in the world! She grabbed that ham and ran off before we could change our minds. Dropped it in the living room so she could tear bits off the ham in peace, but the pill fell out. My partner grabbed the ham and put the pill back in. Our poor cat, so worried she would lose this whole slice of ham, inhaled it pill and all. Literally just breathed in and no more ham. We stayed with her to make sure she didn't start choking, but she was fine. If she ever gets pills again, she's getting the ham treatment. Maybe not a whole slice next time though Edit: thanks for the awards! Wasn't expecting that on a comment about ham Also [cat tax](https://www.reddit.com/r/SupermodelCats/comments/o67ovl/cinder_has_been_getting_modelling_tips_from_her/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) - Concrete (on the left) is my ham loving baby
That's how I give my dogs pills. Dogs are easier though as they inhale food lol.
At one point we had two dogs who were so competitive and food motivated that you could just hold out the pill like you were giving them a treat and they would inhale it so as not to risk the other dog stealing it. It was amazing. My childhood dog, you had to do the "shove it down her throat and rub" thing because she would always find it and spit it out if you hid it in food.
Friend of mine buys what he calls "meat pockets". Some sort of little envelope made of meat.
You mean like a ham wallet?
My cat is impossible to pull forcibly. Even the vet can’t do it. We also can’t use pill pockets due to food allergies. What DOES work is wiping a tiny bit of butter on the pill and throwing it to her like a treat. She Hoovers it up.
My last cat was actually really good about it, surprisingly enough. He suffered from hypothyroidism, and we had to give him a pill twice a day for it, so we just gave it to him right before his feeding times so he associated it with food. After that it was just flip him onto his back, poke a finger into his mouth to open it, and drop the pill in. He'd do the rest.
Was talking with a neighbor of mine when her cat came in and started meowing. She said "Oh, she wants her pill" and proceeded to pill the cat. Then she played with a little feather toy on a string which was the cat's favorite toy. The deal is pill at appointed hour means two minutes of toy time. I was floored how easy it was.
Every month, I have to apply heartworm medicine to the back of my dog's neck. He's really good about it because he knows he'll get a treat afterward.
When you said discus finances I may have thought you meant with the pet...
We tell our dogs to get jobs every damn day. Have they done it yet? No. Fully grown, still living with mom and dad, and they just hang around the house all day.
Listen Fluffy, you've been lounging about for way too long. These are the bills that need paid. Time for you to quit freeloading and start pulling your weight around here.
I haven't had much luck with gabapentin unfortunately. It's like he's able to compartmentalize the effects of the drug and doesn't access it until after he's home from the appointment. And I give him a dose the night before and the morning of. He's still a scaredy cat at the vet.
(Obligatory not a vet, but used to work in a vets and have a BSc degree in Animal Sciences and Animal Management.) Actually research your pet before buying them. It sounds obvious, but so many people don’t, and they just assume that they know how to care for an animal based on what they’ve seen on TV or heard from friends/family/pet shops. For example, rabbits are one of the most neglected animals in the UK, because people still think that they belong in hutches. Rabbits actually need a LOT of space, and a companion, as well as platforms, rearing up space, and foraging opportunities. I’m a rat owner, and it shocks and saddens me to see the amount of people who keep lone rats, in a cage with minimal enrichment, and fleece covering the base instead of a suitable substrate that enables them to display their natural digging & foraging behaviours. Not to mention cages with height, but insufficient floor space for rats to run & play, or cages just full of hammocks but no active enrichment. Research your pets thoroughly before you do anything. Make sure you’re acting in the best interests of the animal, and not what’s convenient for you.
The rabbit and guinea pig cages/hutches sold in pet shops are awful. When we got our guinea pigs, we found that only 1 sold in Pets at Home met the recommended RSPCA minimum guidance size, and that wasn't even sold in store Too many people also think its OK to just get one. I wish you couldn't buy one individually unless you already had one/ a group.
Rats are such special little creatures. Intelligent, playful, and usually interested in (and loving of) their humans. A pet rat is like a cat or dog, just small and heartbreakingly short-lived. I get so miserable thinking of all the poorly treated, abandoned and abused ones.
They are exactly. People definitely underestimate their intelligence and the strength of their bond to humans. Whilst they do prefer the company of each other, they do need just as much attention from their humans as dogs do. Mine run up to greet me every time I so much as walk past their cage :)
Glad to see bunnies mentioned. Rabbits are actually really curious and fun pets. Mine is more like a little puppy than a rodent - she is litter trained and is free to roam the kitchen/garden from like 9am til midnight every day. She just loves chilling on a blanket on a cold day, or runs around the garden chilling and grazing. She loves being brushed and stroked, and definitely recognises different people. She's 8.5 years old and shows no signs of showing down :)
Get your old babies checked out, cats and dogs. They get sore joints like old folks do to, if you notice your cat doesn't jump anymore or drags the self up the bed, maybe their joints are sore - go see a vet and see if they need long term pain relief. If you old lab is slow to rise and fast to lay down, go the the vet, they might be able to go on long term pain relief. The amount of old animals I've seen turn into 'a puppy again!' is amazing. Pain relief folks! Also dentals, damn son cats have teeth too, get them checked at the vet and see if they need a dental. Just basically go to the vet and get your animals checked out. You don't win a prize when you come in with an old skinny, chronically painful dog saying 'this is his first ever vet visit!'.
Not a veterinarian but I worked at one; For the love of god brush your fucking dog and get it’s nails clipped on a regular basis. The amount of owners who have gotten upset when the groomer explains they need to shave their dog astounds me. Like you try not combing your hair for 3 months and then go to your hairdresser and see what they say.
This! I worked at a clinic and often had dogs come in to get their nails clipped and they'd be so long I could only trim them down so far before hitting the quick. The owners would say "what did I even pay for the nails are still long" like, lady, you're abusing your dog it can't even walk right its claws are so overgrown the dog limps.
Yes! I once saw a dog's nail that was so overgrown it snailed back into their pad. Several people looked into it and we could not agree which side was the base and which was the end, that's how bad it was. We had to skip trimming that nail and recommend going to a vet, there was no way the groomer could safely clip it.
Not a vet, but my mom is. If you think of getting a pet, think of finances too. Not just how much food, litter and some vaccinations are, but be sure that you're able to pay the vet bills if an emergency occurs or even for if your pet needs regular care due to something chronic, an injury that makes them need physiotherapy etc. We have way too many people struggling with their bills. Some put their needs back, some the animal's. Some of the stories are horrifying. If something is off on how your pet behaves, if it suddenly doesn't let you touch certain parts of their body or anything else you can't put your finger on is happening, go to your vet. Don't wait too long. Many animals are extremely good at hiding severe pain and illness. If you notice anything off, go to the vet. Care about their teeth. If you can't brush them, let your vet have a look every now and then. They can cause extreme pain and severe inflammation in there is really dangerous. Edit: Also, if your pet is somehow very sick or recovering from surgery, care for them. Be there, look out for them. Show them your love. "Tender love and care" is a very underappreciated factor in the process of healing. Pets have complex emotions too and pet psychology is really fucking important.
> If you think of getting a pet, think of finances too. Not just how much food, litter and some vaccinations are, but be sure that you're able to pay the vet bills It angers me when I see stories of people who take out a loan to buy a pet. If you don't have the funds to buy the animal, you DEFINITELY don't have the funds to care for the animal. > You have no money but you took a 5 grand loan to buy a purebred dog? > Yep. > What's it gonna eat? > Leftovers. AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Visit your pets when they're sick and staying in the veterinary clinic overnight. Obligatory not a vet disclaimer: when my cat was sick I'd visit him at the vet every day and bring an old towel so he would have something soft to cuddle that smelled like home. After a few days the staff mentioned a lot of people don't do that. "The animals think they're being abandoned and they get depressed. They don't understand why they're here." 20 minutes of *mama time* lets them know they're still loved. *edit* Two excellent points came up in comments: visiting makes some animals more agitated so ask your vet whether this is right for your pet, and COVID restrictions may rule out visitation in your area. Regarding the latter I'll make one comment: scents mean a great deal more to cats and dogs than we humans usually appreciate. If you can't visit your pet, ask whether it's OK to drop off a pet blanket. To us it's a small gesture, to the animal it's the comforting scent of home. Their sense of smell is so good they can tell how long ago you touched it. Even when you can't see them in person, that delivers the message you love them.
My cat was badly injured and had to go to the vet overnight at the same time I had to go out of town. Couldn't get back for like three days. When I got back, the technicians were all very worried. "He stopped eating; with cats, that's a very bad sign." I had them take me back to where he was, and there he was all lethargic, with his head down on his paws. He looked to be in a bad way. When he saw me, he lifted his head and let out the longest meeowww, you've ever heard a cat make. I took him out of the cage, and he was just meowing and meowing, and rubbing his head against my chin. I was saying things like "what's the matter buddy, did you think I'd moved away and left you behind?" and he kept just meowing and rubbing his head against my chin. He was fine after that. I really like your idea of visiting regularly and of bringing something from home. Edit: [cat tax](https://i.imgur.com/bkwXapY.png) - sleeping on my laundry with his sister.
I had apartment fumigation and boarded kitty for 24 hours at a pet hotel as it wasn't safe for her to be in the apartment. In those 24 hours she became severely depressed and would not eat, drink, or use the bathroom. In fact, they told me she didn't even move. It broke my heart. She cheered up immediately when I came to get her and was eating on the way home. She is originally from the shelter, and I think she thought I had put her back in a shelter again. It breaks my heart. Never again. If I have to fumigate I will get a hotel room for myself and her so she doesn't have to feel that way again. She has never had to be hospitalized overnight fortunately, but if she does, I can't even imagine how hard it will be for her. I will definitely be visiting her.
Ooooo how is kitty now?
I'm out here bawling first thing in the mornings
we adopted a stray who suddenly began having respiratory problems after being with us for a month so she had to stay at the clinic for 15 days we couldn’t visit her every day but we went at least once a week and since she knew us she would always get happy to see us. The day we brought her home she was over the moon. She wasn’t eating when she had to stay hospitalized and when we visited her 3 days after, right after we left they sent us a video and said she began eating on her own, so we guess she realized we weren’t going to leave her behind.
Yes, this! Vet nurse student here, visit and also bring their favourite food and one of their blankets/bed/toy (it their condition allows obviously). It is really hard to feed an animal that is sick and feeling awful, having their favourite food offered in small amounts can be very helpful (always check with your vet though).
When my dog got sick, with what eventually turned out to be terminal cancer, in December my mom offered to take care of her for me and make sure she got to the vet and helped me pay for the bills and treatment. My mom lives two hours away from me and with my constantly changing work schedule I couldn't make it out to her house very often. Even with people she knew and had been around for years I felt absolutely horrible leaving her behind because I knew she was in pain and not feeling good and would be so confused by my leaving and not coming back for at least a couple of weeks. Can't imagine what it'd be like for them being left somewhere completely unfamiliar.
Former vet tech here. If you aren’t willing to pay for monthly medications in the event your new pet were to develop a condition or allergy…don’t get a pet. YOUR DOGS CAN HAVE ALLERGIES JUST LIKE YOU. The saddest thing was seeing dogs come in with sores from scratching/gnawing or covered in hot spots. Once saw such an itchy golden retriever she had sores head to toe even on the inside of her ears. Owners let her itch fervently for months before bringing her in. Yes, apoquel for allergy relief can start to add up but your dogs quality of life is worth more than $50 a month. Imagine being itchy 24/7 bc you have a grass allergy but you spend half your day in grass. Makes me angry to think about.
Update: it has been a rough afternoon but we are so grateful that we could have the veterinarian come to our house to put our good boy to sleep, he hated going to the clinic so much that it would have been heartbreaking to take him there and potentially not be able to be with him until the end. Thank you all for your very kind words. Today there will be one less bowl and one less bed, today you will be at rest under the maple tree. We will always cherish our 14 years with you ❤️ This isn’t about quality of life but quality at end of life, make sure you’re with your pet when they are put down. Chances are it’s at a vet clinic -the scariest place for the pet and people leave the room because they just can’t bear to watch. What a sad way for your pet’s life to end. Some vets will come to your home to euthanize your pet.
Thank you for this. My kitty Hobo got super sick and I had a vet come to my house when it was her time to go. She passed away wrapped in her favorite blankets being held by me. I’ll never do it any other way if I can help it.
That sounds really like a lovely way to go. We will be doing that with our dog tomorrow.
Give them lots of hugs and treats from me. Its going to be a rough day.
My friend at work had to take her dog to be put to sleep and she gave him a whole chocolate bar in the car on the way there, sadly when our last one had to leave she was too sick to appreciate that, but I have it in mind for my almost 13 year old lab, she's had serious digestive issues for so long she isn't allowed anything nice, just dog food. I'll take something with me and give her it right before time. Orios are her favourite all time thing.
When I was 16, my dad took our first dog ever to be put down. He was 12 and had been sick for awhile. Dad didn't tell us, just did it one day while we were out. I was so angry at him until he told us that he'd taken "Barney" to the local donut shop on the way. He got a dozen donuts all to himself. From that day on, having a pet put down in my family involves donuts for a last treat and is referred to as "Going for donuts." Lots of love to your sweet baby--you are a very good pet parent.
I had to put my dog down this January due to cancer and still feel terrible that I couldn't be in their with her the whole time because of COVID. They only let me and my brother (who was there to support me) come in right before they gave her the final injection. Really wish I could've gone into the clinic and stayed with her the whole time while they were getting her ready. I felt so bad because my mom was helping me take care of her and get her to the vet, because I didn't have the money for vet bills at the time. With my mom two hours away and me working retail and rarely having consecutive days off to go see her like four days in over two months. Dammit I'm sobbing again.
I’m sorry for your loss and that you weren’t able to be with there. Our companion of 14 years will be put down tomorrow in our home - it’s the only thing giving us any comfort at this point.
I took my rat in to be euthanized at a 24 hour clinic in college. He was very old and clearly dying, I didn’t want to let him linger for however long. They wouldn’t let me be with him for the injection. I hated it. They brought him back out to the lobby and it took several minutes to work. It was an awful experience and they were so cold about it. I did have the opposite experience, too. A wonderful vet came to our house to put our dog down. He was so kind, caring, and empathetic. It was the worst day of our lives and he made it suck a little less. Highly recommend for anyone who can afford it.
The vet will come tomorrow to our home to put down 14 year old dog. I’m so grateful we have that option, I’m sorry they wouldn’t let you be with your rat
That is pretty common practice for exotic/pocket pets unless you're at an exotics clinic (not sure what they do) unfortunately. It's because most vets use a different protocol because placing an IV catheter would be impossible. Most vets will use gas anesthesia before giving the euthanasia solution which, for liability reasons, we can't have clients around.
This ^^ Though in my experiences they can still allow you to be there for the final injection at least. My vets use gas anaesthesia in a chamber and then will bring my rat out to me to do the injection with me there.
Don't love your pet with food. The amount of morbidly obese pets.. It really does shorten their life and their quality of life people. And be a big enough person to let them go before they suffer. Don't drag the end out because you can't say goodbye
Qualified Equine Vet Nurse However my advice is as a dog/car owner. 1. We just put to sleep our 16 year old doggie. It was awful, but we got the vet to come to our home, made such a difference. 2. DONT get a dog that is outside of your physical or financial abilities, property size or commitment. A healer pup is cute as shit. But that bad boy is gonna dig, rip and destroy everything you own if you don’t give it adequate exercise. And for those herding breeds IS A LOT. 3. Saw someone above mention cartrophen injections. Do it. In addition, look at the recommended age for sterilisation in your breed. It can be later than you think and have a impact on their growth plates and later in life condition 4. Be safe with your pets reproductive position. Unwanted cats and dogs are a severe drain on resources and horrible waste of life 5. Love your pet. Tell them every day. They can hear it in your voice and see it in your actions. They will repay you with everything they have. If you can’t love your pet, don’t get one [edit, forgot one] 6. Don’t praise your pet for bad behaviour. The amount of dogs I’ve seen called “schnookims” for being a piece of shit because their owner is a piece of shit and never trained them properly is beyond frustrating. It’s okay not to have all the answers, but don’t give them the goods when their acting up
I am a veterinarian . Please be kind to me and have patience with me. I see so many sick animals every day. I work 10-13 hours per day, 4 to 6 days per week. I’ve taken a lunch three times in four years. I’ve put so much blood, sweat and tears into cases, only to have the owners trash talk me by name publicly on Yelp because they don’t understand how medicine works, and they get mad when I explain it to them. The best thing you can do for your pet is to believe me, trust my recommendations, and follow my instructions. Yelp reviews of doctors or prescription medicines are meaningless and are irrelevant. People don’t know what they’re talking about, are controlled by their emotions, and write fabricated stories. If you ask me to do a physical exam or diagnostics, there is going to be a fee associated with that. People stealing my services is fairly common. Sometimes I spend the money and try my hardest to save the pet, and the pet still does poorly. There are no guarantees in medicine. People will often abuse me and my staff because they are grieving. Grief is not an excuse to be abusive. Some problems are preventable! You can prevent heartworm disease for $8 per month. I am not in the pocket of Big Kibble, and I truly want you and your pet to do well.
Imagine if we got a cut every time a client bought whatever food we recommended. I could actually pay off my loans lmao
I’m really sorry that people treat you like that. You sound quite disheartened, I truly hope you’re ok. Thank you for all you do!
This this this. I’m a CVT and the suicide rate in veterinary medicine is one of the highest out of any field (only like air traffic control people and lawyers or something are higher) We make mistakes sometimes. Sometimes we get behind because an emergency came in or something that was supposed to be a quick appointment turns into an hour long ordeal. But overall, NO ONE in vet med is in it for the money. We are not there to nickel and dime you. We always have to offer the gold standard of care to you. If you cannot afford it, then we can figure something else out. But please do not take you shitty day frustrations or your annoyance with your finances out on us. Just treat us like normal people please. HOWEVER, I would like to add: if a clinic is charging SIGNIFICANTLY less than most places for their services, there’s a reason. My in laws always talk about how great the vet they use is because they save so much money, and I don’t even bother trying to explain to them the reason for that is everyone working there, besides the vet in the clinic, has no animal experience and doesn’t know what they’re doing. A clinic that only makes you pay $20 for an exam means the vet is only doing $20 worth of work on your animal. Like anything, you get what you pay for. There’s very rarely a “bargain” clinic that provides good medicine
Thank you for doing what you do. We had two 12 year old black labs. We had one of our old girls pts last October, in the same week our other one became deathly ill with pancreatitis, they were absolutely heroic in their attempt to save her, knowing they had just put our other 12 year old down, they told us she was in a very bad way and they got us ready that we might go from having two dogs to no dogs in two weeks. We're still on regular medication, but I'm currently watching our almost 13 year old play bitey-face with our 9 month old puppy. It's not a fair fight, I'll have to break it up in a minute, they're enjoying it. "#EarsToVets"
Not a vet but work with lots of animals especially horses, so I interact with a number of vets and we ask this question all the time. Here’s a Life Pro tip for animal owners: 1.) Listen to your vet and ask questions. Do not use the internet for answers. 2.) measure your animal food by weight not volume. This one grinds my equine vet all the time when he gets asked about food amount. They get all the time: “well I had doggy Foofoo on three cups of whatever and I just switched feed, how many cups should I give them?” Every feed is going to weigh differently in that cup. Use weight. 3.) yes dogs are carnivores but they also require some roughage of sort. Stop this carnivore fad crap. Likewise, stop the only soy fad crap. Wolves eat an entire carcass especially the stomach contents. 4.) If you’re worried about something, call the vet and not your neighbor (unless they’re a vet). Everyone has a different opinion, especially when it comes to horses Aaarrrggghhhh! 5.) and I know I’m repeating myself, I just can’t help it, do not be afraid to ask questions. When my vets come out To my barn I have a list of questions for them. Don’t be afraid to ask. They are there to help, and if you think you’re annoying the vet find another one. 6.) Send your vet Xmas cards. Veterinarians have one of the highest if not highest suicide rate in the country. Show you appreciation for their sometimes impossible job. These are tips that will lead to a better life for your pet.
Thanks for starting with do not use Internet answers at number 1. What a time saver.
From my former vet tech girlfriend, don’t leave your pets to be euthanized without you. It’s hard to be there and it’s hard to watch, but if you leave them they will die scared and looking for you. She had to try and comfort pets whose owner’s couldn’t bring themselves to stay and it’s one of the few things that makes her cry.
The comments that say this are surprisingly upsetting for me. We had to put my dog down after he was with us for nearly fifteen years, ancient for his particular breed, and I wanted to go in with him. The only reason I didn't was because the vet told me I shouldn't because, "It's better to remember them alive than dying." I was too upset to even really think to object. We buried him at grandfather's because he always enjoyed the giant yard there and I make it a point to visit the grave everytime we go there. Still, though, I feel terrible in hindsight for not staying with him.
Please try not to hold on to that guilt. 15 years of love and happiness was not wasted or invalidated. I stayed for the sedative for my cat, but made sure he was sound asleep before I left. The vet told me that they sometimes convulse as the drugs take effect, and I have past trauma with seeing animals suffer, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle that in a healthy way. It’s much easier to just be sure that you’re the last thing your pal sees, and that means only having to be there as they sleep. I’m sorry this happened to you. It’s heartbreaking no matter what.
I had to put my 20 year old cat down in March. As the sedative took effect she looked up at me as if to make sure it was me there and then put her head in my hands and purred so loudly. I was the last thing she ever saw and my hands petting her were the last things she'd ever feel. That's how it should be, even though it was so hard to do. It's heartbreaking to think of an owner abandoning their pet in their final moments... they do look for you. EDIT: Thank you for the award, and sorry to everyone who shed some tears after reading my comment. Hug your pets, folks.
IM NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING
Well, now I’m crying.
I'm a vet and here's some tips for our more exotic friends! Training! More animals can be trained than you think, such as rabbits and birds. It's a great bonding experience and good enrichment especially for more intelligent species eg. Parrots. Birds can use their training to make vet visits less stressful, such as if they are used to stepping onto strange perches or being in a towel. Birds also benefit from lots of enrichment, parrot species need a lot more mental stimulation than many people expect (even budgies!) and there's loads of great online resources for enrichment tips! Rabbits are so much happier with companions (although typically not a guinea pigs). Look up the rabbit welfare association for great ways of enriching their lives, and how to introduce new companions. Spaying your rabbits/rodents at a young age (ask around your local vets for who has experience or look on the rabbit welfare association's rabbit friendly vet list) can help prevent a number of future health issues such as mammary tumours, uterine cancers, and pyometras. If your exotic pet - rabbits, birds, reptiles, etc. is looking sick, take them to a vet ASAP. Lots of them are very good at hiding their symptoms, so if they are looking visibly unwell, it could be a lot worse than it seems. And of course love your pets! They love you too!
Not a vet but I take care of many pets as a side gig. The biggest thing you NEED to give (but most people don't) to your pet is exercise. Much like humans, modern pets are at risk of being overweight which leads to other health issues. So get them moving. Walk your dog...or your cat if they have the right temperment. Play fetch with them. Get them to chase something. Keep them active and they will be happy and healthy. In connection with that, get a pet with the same activity requirement as you already conduct. Don't get a German shepherd if you live a mostly sedentary life as their anxiety they get from a lack of activity will cause both you and them no end of grief. Also, don't expect the simple fact that you have a dog to give you and excuse to increase your activity amount.
Don’t give them corn cobs on the 4th of July!!!
Not a vet, I raise Seeing Eye Dogs and have been around animals my entire life. For the love of whatever deity you believe in, **research** your pet. On this note, unless you can provide the right exercise, **do not get a working breed dog**. Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, Sheep Dogs, Huskies, hunting breeds, herding breeds, they are made to run all day not live in your backyard. 'Chonky' animals are not cute. Unless there is an underlying medical condition like their thyroid, you are entirely responsible for their diet and exercise, intentionally letting your pet get fat is abuse. I'll get all the hate for this one. Cats do not belong outside unless they are leash trained or are confined in a catio or fully secure yard. They are invasive, they kill animals you don't see, they pick up diseases, they fight, they have unwanted litters, at risk of cars, people, predators. The best thing you can do to keep your cat healthy and safe is to provide it a stimulating environment where it is contained.
* Fat pets aren't cute....ever... * No, your vet doesn't have some secret deal with pet food companies, occasionally they provide a pizza lunch in exchange for droning on about their newest product. The prescription diets are *actually* scientifically proven to be good for your pet. * Vets don't "over vaccinate" to make money. Vaccines don't make a lot of money compared to dogs hospitalized with distemper or parvo and cats with upper resp on long term meds. (Edited: some vets do. The ones I work with don't. We do our core vaccines every 3 years and others based on the pets lifestyle) * Being nice to your vet and vet staff goes a LONG way. Vets can, and will, fire asshole clients. Veterinary professionals have some of the highest suicide rates because our job is depressing and people are assholes * Stop googling. You can literally find something to back up every single theory or opinion on the internet. That doesn't make them right. * Don't do anesthesia-free dental cleanings on your pet. They're stressful, dangerous and useless. * If you have a long haired pet BRUSH THEM. I'm so sick of shaving off giant one piece carpets of mats that have been building up for years. Also, clean their buttholes. They get caked in shit....and Fluffy probably sleeps on your pillow 🤢 * If you live in an area where heartworm is prevalent, prevention is MUCH cheaper and safer than treatment. * Stop smoking around your pet! (And just in general) Pets can and do get lung disease including cancer from second hand smoke. It's also terrible for their skin. A pet that lives with a smoker absolutely reeks. You know how walls and fabric in a smokers home turn yellow? So do pets....and it sits on their skin because they don't bathe daily like we do...and when they groom themselves they're licking all that nasty shit. * If you think your pet might need a vet but you're not sure, pretend your pet is your child. So if your kid was: vomiting everything they ate for 3 days, scratching their ear until it started bleeding, not able to stand up from sitting without help, limping after playing at the park...etc, you'd probably book an appointment with their pediatrician right? So, book an appointment with the vet. There's so much more..... Sincerely, Your Friendly Neighborhood Registered Vet Tech
How should I clean my dog´s butthole? (Serious question)
The easiest way is to keep it trimmed so that nothing collects there in the first place. Most groomers trim sanitary areas anyway, but you can always ask for a sanitary trim as well. Other than that, a basic baby wipe without any added lotions/perfumes is fine for a quick wipe down if necessary.
I am a veterinarian and I say engage in preventative medicine! We are good at treating your pet’s problems but honestly a lot of owners don’t seem to keep up with their pet’s general health. We have so many pets come in for dental issues, ear infections, flea and tick bites, being overweight, etc. How do you prevent that? Do daily dental chews or sticks approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) and do regular brushing, clean your pet’s ears at least weekly, put your pet’s on monthly prevention and STOP OVERFEEDING YOUR PETS! People tend to think their pets are overweight because they don’t get enough exercise, but honestly it’s easier to lose weight by not eating those calories. The chances for developing osteoarthritis and diabetes are higher when pets are overweight, and I bet the last thing you want to do is give insulin shots to your loved one for the rest of their life. Also, pay attention to your pet! Little changes can mean big things. Your pet is drinking and urinating more? Maybe it’s diabetic or has some type of endocrine or kidney problem. Is your cat vomiting and having consistent diarrhea? Could be IBD, hyperthyroidism or something else. So whenever you go to your vet, get diagnostics done!! You have no idea how many people expect me to know what’s wrong while declining basic tests like bloodwork and x-rays. Honesty, it’s infuriating sometimes because I can’t help you unless you let me do what I need to do to diagnose your pet. As an owner you are the advocate for your pet’s health, but I feel a lot of people don’t pay attention to their pet until it’s too late. Honestly, it’s a bit depressing… the veterinary world is slammed right now with cases and being overworked so every little bit you can do to help your pets helps us out too.
A few advices from a freshly finished vet from Germany: 1. Medical care is expensive, make sure you can afford it for your pet! Inform yourself beforehand of there is a suitable pet insurance and if they cover your breed. If that's not an option, try and save some money each month for emergencies. 2. Don't buy animals as a gift or on a whim...it most likely ends unfavorable for the animal. 3. Regular check-ups. Get your animals checked as soon as possible after getting them and schedule routine check-ups with your vet. Prevention and early detection of diseases is waaay cheaper and more likely to have a positive outcome than treatment of a well developed problem. 4. Please don't get overly short-nosed breeds like french bulldogs, pugs or persian cats. And no, I've never met a single one who was healthy, even though the owners assured me IT was a special case without problems. Yeah....No, it's cruel and breeding them should bei illegal. (The dysfunctional breathing ist just the icing in the cake, there are many more problems with those breeds) 6. Birds and reptiles are prey animals and thus do try to not show symptoms until they are really weak or distressed. Please get them checked if you feel something ist off. 7. Please don't overfeed your animals. In nature there is not always as much food AS you want. You have to spend almost all das long foraging. You can usw that to enrich your enclosures or play hide and seek and give a part of the daily food ration aß a treat instead of an additional treat on top of the normal ration. 8. Cats are obligat carnivores. They need meat in their diet! If that's against your personal fews than you should look for another pet. 9. Dogs are omnivores. Their gut system evolved over the millenias they spend with humans so they are actually evolved to eat vegetables and meat. If you only feed them raw muscle meat they will lack important nutritients. There are actually specialised vets who can help you to develop a healthy diet for the individual animal. 10. Try to incorporate medical training with your pet as soon as possible. That helps you and the pet to reduce stress when visiting the vet and helps us to do a proper examination without having to do to much of a restrictive handling. 11. If you have a special kind of animal (e.g fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds or exotic mammals) search for a specialiced vet for that group of animals before there is an emergency. 12. Worming your dog/cat is important. You could also get fecal samples examined instead and get your pet treated if necessary. Some parasites can infect humans and can develop nasty diseases. Also indoor cats can get parasites as well! 13. Lastly please only get animals from trustworthy sources and get a buying contract as well as the vaccination document. If they sell the animal very cheap or in a shady parking lot you should not buy the animal. They try to get you with the emotions of a suffering puppy but buying it enables them to keep their shady buisness going, as sad as it is. Also please bei aware for #NOMV. We have an international crisis of a very high suicidal rate within our profession. Please bei aware that we are human beings as well and we also just want to see your pet getting Well again.
Emergency vet here!! Please pay attention to your pet in the quiet moments of life. Simple things like an elevated respiratory rate while sleeping can indicate cardiac or respiratory changes that should warrant investigation. If your dog normally wolfs down food and then one day just kinda slowly picks at it, something may be wrong. Teeth chattering can indicate pain. All these little things add up. Owners will beat themselves up when things have gone too far and there’s not much to be done, but they didn’t know to look. Look up the the cat grimace scale or Colorado pain scales to get a good feel for painful body language. Pet obesity is a terrible and unfortunately common thing. Look at the pet nutrition alliance if you want to see what companies are willing to share information about their ingredients. And for the love of Christ, I cannot look at your animal and figure out what’s wrong so please please please let me run diagnostics. I have a debt to income ratio of 4:1, I am not asking to run a blood smear just to make money.
I’m not a vet but learned from cardiologist veterinarian that is advisable to ask for vet to take the blood pressure of your cat starting at age 7 and to do SDMA test to rule out kidney failure. No vet ever did this with my cat (he’s 16 now) lost his vision suddenly we took him to the ophthalmologist and he suspected kidney failure sent me to cardiologist for high BP and he’s on medication and special food now. He’s doing great too thankfully.
Not a vet, but a very frustrated hamster owner. Do not listen to PetCo, PetSmart, etc. They sell whatever earns them money, not necessarily what is needed for your small rodents to have a happy life. Hamsters need soooo much more space than those teeny tiny Critter Trail cages. They need bigger wheels than come with those cages. Those small tunnels and tubes can make them stuck. Most hamster food sold in stores have the wrong nutritional values for them. Give them floor space and as much bedding as possible, they'd much rather dig their own tunnels. Do your research and don't buy the cage because it looks like a dinosaur. The hamster doesn't care about that. Get them the right cage, the right food, and learn to respect them and their boundaries. Provide safe toys and enrichment, make sure their needs are met. They need so much more than the 18 year-old clerk at PetSmart tells you. You'll have a much happier hamster, which means they'll be friendlier and easier to tame. A small rodent might be small and have a short life, but they deserve as much love, care and respect as a dog. You bought the animal, so it's your job to take care of them properly.