Questions in the Pets & Animals category.
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May 23
How should I love my dog less?
My (female) dog has a slew of heath issues: cancer of the mammary glands, pulmonary fibrosis, congestive heart failure, liver values that are off the charts and hormonal chaos. Amazingly, she is very sprightly & lively 6 months after the vet estimated she has at most two months left to live and most of her issues seem under control. But apparently, me loving her too much wreaks havoc with her hormonal system and makes her spontaneously go into false pregnancy & triggers her mammary tumours, which are popping in and out of existence depending on whether she is lactating or not. So ... how can I love her less? [more inside]
May 22
Best, effective, SAFE flea treatments for dogs and cats?
If you are also a teeny bit paranoid about this stuff and have researched current medications, please save me hours of searching about this online (once again): I need to treat the cat and the dog (separately of course). I'd like to use spot-on type treatments, and I've spent a long long long time each time I've done this in the past to search out what was effective but had the fewest reports of negative reactions. The current flea status is ... [more inside]
May 21
We have a deer in backyard with new fawns. Leave the gate open or not?
There is a deer with baby fawns in our back garden. Sometimes the fawns get shutout of the garden near a road / separated from their mum. Should we just leave gates open to prevent this, or take active measures to discourage them entirely? [more inside]
May 20
Looking for a dog toy that's soft on the outside, hard in the middle
My sweet and wildly energetic new rescue dog loves this stupid toy. It's a plastic ball that screams and shakes, with a padded cover. But she can crack the ball inside in a couple play sessions--we are already on ball #2 and it's only been a week! What are some other toys that are plush outside, but rigid (not just squeaky) inside? They don't NEED to make sounds; she loves the sounds but I think she'd be almost as happy with any other toy where she could chomp on its "bones."
What is the volume of a pigeon?
I've been able to find sources on approximate weight of a pigeon and how much blood a pigeon has, but what I would like to find is the mean volume of a typical, uncompressed, dry, London pigeon. (as in area that a pigeon takes up, not how loud it is). [more inside]
May 18
Getting used to dog allergy?
My family is interested in getting a puppy and I have some slight reservations. We would be getting something small and non shedding. So think of a Bichon or toy/mini poodle. [more inside]
May 12
Looking for non-toxic tub/shower cleaning products, cat edition
One of our cats likes to lick the tub a lot, and we need some recommendations for tub/shower-cleaning products that won't pose a danger of the little guy getting sick. [more inside]
May 11
I'm tired of hoovering every day.
We have two cats with two litter boxes and non-carpeted floors. Our cats constantly track litter everywhere. Would some kind of mat in front of the boxes help? Carpet? Some fancy silicone thing? How to keep the mat from becoming super-grody?
May 10
What to do with the other dog
So, a number of years ago we adopted two dogs. The family that adopted them from the breeder surrendered them to the breed rescue about seven years after they had been adopted. We, of course, adopted them as a unit with the expectation that they would live together forever. They have effectively grown up together and otherwise lived together their entire lives. One of them now has an inoperable tumor that, when it grows large enough, will necessitate euthanizing that animal. [more inside]
Is there a (cat) doctor in the house?
I have a foster cat with failing health. I'm attached enough that I might spend money out of pocket for a more expensive evaluation than the shelter can give but need to ballpark what it will cost. If any vets or cat owners can give me an idea what I'd be in for, click on through. [more inside]
May 9
How to separate dry pet food kibble from "dust" that accumulates?
Dry cat food bags start to get a collection of "dusty" scrapings from the kibble on the bottom of the package (just from kibble bits rubbing against each other during normal handling). My cats are really bothered by it and won't eat the last 1/10 of the bag. Is there an easy way to separate the junk out (like wheat from chaff?)
May 8
Cat spaying question
I am getting conflicting information from the internet / my vet / my friends, so: if you've had a cat who got spayed while under your care, for how long after the procedure is observation needed to make sure nothing is wrong? I work pretty long hours and I am trying to decide if it is safe to get my cat the procedure Saturday then go to work on Monday and leave her at home alone, or I'd better plan to take some days off. Thanks!
Why does the cat smell so good when his breath smells so bad?
I know this is a goofy question, but my housemates have been hassling me to ask, after I told them there's a place on the internet that Knows Things. [more inside]
May 6
I have a new cat and things are terrible.
Please tell me if there is anything more I can do to integrate a new cat into my household. Please. [more inside]
May 3
Agonizing about rehoming an adopted dog.
Am I the a**hole for going back on this adoption? [more inside]
May 2
How to re-locate 4 outdoor cats to new home with us?
Mrs. Thistledown and I care for four outdoor cats who have more or less adopted us. We love them a lot, but we're moving and we're worried about getting them acclimated to a new neighborhood. Need some ideas, complications within: [more inside]
April 28
Birders ahoy
I'm making a book for my friend's kids and have a spot-the-bird page (key). I wonder if you birders could tell me if I've sinned against nature too badly in the relative sizes of the birds. These are native and non-native Southern California birds. Thanks!
Aussie mouse
April 24
Horse
What do you call the mechanical life sized horse that you used to find outside of grocery stores?
My beautiful dumb cat has FIV and FeLV and is very sick.
Just back from the vet. He's lost 25% of his weight in 4 weeks and has an elevated white blood count and anaemia. No mouth ulcers. He eats just a few mouthfuls of his favourite canned food and is very lethargic. I want to know what to expect if he doesn't improve (acute), and what practical things I can do to help him. [more inside]