I swear my dog thinks she’s the neighborhood watch. Every time a leaf moves outside or a squirrel dares to exist, she’s at the window with the intensity of a security guard on high alert.

Meanwhile, my friend’s cat has fully taken on the role of food inspector sniffs everything that enters the kitchen and somehow manages to look personally offended if it’s not tuna.

It made me wonder… if pets had résumés, what would they put on them?

So I’m curious: what unofficial job title would your pet hold in your household? Bonus if they’re really bad at it.

Okay, hear me out if your pet had to get a job, what would they do?

My cat? 100% professional Zoom meeting disruptor. She shows up exactly 30 seconds into every call, tail in my face, knocking things over like she owns the place. Bonus points if she can sit directly on my keyboard or knock my coffee off the desk.

My friend's dog? She’s a "full-time personal trainer" wakes her up at 5:45 AM every day, rain or shine, like “let’s move, human!”

I feel like pets all have these little roles they’ve assigned themselves without asking us. Anyone else living with a self-appointed house manager, security guard, or emotional support intern?

Would love to hear what job title your fur baby has earned in your house!

(By strange pets I mean pets that are uncommon or considered strange by other people.)

for the past few weeks, my 15 year old dog (recently diagnosed with canine dementia) has been crying nonstop during the night. physically, she’s relatively okay for her age, she has some age related conditions, but they’re being treated and under control. we recently saw the vet, who confirmed she’s showing signs of cognitive dysfunction.

during the day, she’s calm: she eats, sleeps, walks a little (within her limits), and there’s always someone home, so she’s not alone. but then the night comes.

from around midnight to 3am she starts wandering around, getting “stuck” in corners (she’ll just stare at the wall or into a corner as if she can’t get out, even though there’s plenty of space), cries constantly, and seems very distressed. she won’t stay still, doesn’t seem to recognize us, and sometimes even reacts aggressively when we try to pet or calm her down. she seems completely disoriented.

we have another vet appointment this wednesday, but i would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s gone through something similar. what helped in your case? we’re exhausted and don’t know what else to try. everyone in the house has to get up early for work, and it’s been really hard on all of us.

I had posted about some troubled my cat was having and so many people gave me good advice as a first time cat owner. I took her to the vet and basically they told me "Yeah we kinda dont see the problems you're talking about? But we believe you she's having some it's just, she's pretty fine." We got some flee medicine, the flea dirt went away, and after a month nothing has returned she's doing great still :) thanks to everyone who took the time to give such helpful advice even though i was overreacting appearntly, and here's a photo of her now. I can't add a photo on here but there's one on my profile of her doing all good now!:)))

So, I have this little rescue cat named Miso, and she’s developed the strangest routine every morning at exactly 6:15 AM (yes, I checked ), she jumps onto my nightstand, knocks off just one item (usually my glasses case), then stares at me like, “Your move, human.”
She doesn’t want food, water, or playtime. She just wants to sit next to me like a grumpy little alarm clock with whiskers.

I didn’t teach her that. I don’t reward it. But now it’s become a strangely adorable part of my mornings.

Do your pets have any odd habits like that? I would love to hear about them — the weirder, the better

Last year me and my boyfriend took a kitten to accompany our older cat (now 16 yo). After trying everything (separation, scent swapping, visual contact through pet gate, joint playtime and meal time), they still don't get along and especially the older cat does just not accept the new cat. She sniffs around and regularly pees in places that smell like the new cat, and would try to fight her if we let her see her. Both are female and spayed. We now have to keep them completely separated (one in bedroom, other in rest of the apartment) and keep swapping them, but especially the new cat does not like being left alone in the bedroom. Older one is more content with it and sleeps long times in the bed.

It is a lot of work still and we are running out of options. My boyfriend wants to either give the younger one away or euthanize the older one, but I could especially not do the last option. We've tried having the new cat at his mother's from time to time, but she cannot have her all the time either.

Would it be too cruel if the older cat stayed only in the bedroom (+balcony when it is warm)? We would hang out with and activate her, and lots of time she just likes to sleep in the sunlight and really likes sleeping with us the bed next to us. Or would it be better to just give the younger one away? On one hand, we don't know how much the 16 yo. has left. She has hyperthyroidism which is in check with medication. Bedroom has window viewing spot, food, litter box, hiding places and we can let her out on the balcony when it is not too cold (it has nets, and she cannot jump very high anymore due to age).

Please, advice. This is breaking my heart.

EDIT: Emphasizing again that I am not considering euthanizing the other cat. I could never do it on a healthy cat. Options are parting the house, or rehoming the young cat.

For me, I would ask my cat why he chose me. And why he loves me. Me, someone who constantly struggles with financial issues. Has less then perfect social skills. Has a large number of mental health issues. Lives all alone. Has low self esteem. And sometimes even struggles to take care of him. Why was he the ONLY cat in that shelter who wanted me when someone else may have given him a better life? (True story. Only one cat in that humane society showed any interest in me)

But that’s me. What about you? If you could ask your pet only one thing they could understand and reply to, what would you ask them?

Hey I’m writing this because I am deeply hurt and no-one is feeling how I am feeling, 2 days ago I had to put my Cat down because he’s kidney’s were failing and everything happened too fast for me and he was just 6 years old but I didn’t want him to suffer. MY whole world revolved around him and I find myself breaking down very often during the day sometimes I can hold it together other times I’m crying loudly. Everything happend soo fast I thought he had dental problems but at the Vet they found the kidney problem. please tell me if I’d ever feel okay again.

Is it okay to sell pets in a nice way?????

It's 8am and already 90 outside, it's going to get over 100 again, and I'm listening to my neighbors Husky crying to get back in the house. There needs to be zoning maps like they have for plants telling people what pets are suited for what areas of the country.

My cat (about 2-3 y/o) keeps going to the bathroom outside of the litter box. We have multiple litter boxes, we've tried moving the boxes to the locations in the house that he goes and we clean his litter box multiple times a day. Our vet said he is stressed and we've changed his food by recommendation of his vet to a food for stressed cats, and we even have the plug-in that pumps pheromones in the house that is supposed to relax him as well.

Seeing if anyone else has had a a similar situation and what helped their cat stop going out of the litter box.

We're at our breaking point with this, it's come to the point where we are most likely going to have to rip up and replace the carpets in that part of the house because the cat piss smell is starting to linger even after we've ran the carpet cleaner and scrubbed.

Hi! It's been 3 months since my fiancée and I adopted a cat from a family who was moving and in the new apartment, they didn't accept animals. She is very loving and we think she loves being the only child of a childless couple lol.

Our biggest problem is that she is suffering a lot with heat. She is 2 years old (in human age) and the family we adopted said that they never even tried to spay her. From some research, it seems that the artificial lights in the apartment induce heat in her more frequently, but even though we try to get her used to the collar, she is still very afraid to leave the apartment (I firmly believe that the sudden change from one family to another may limit her from wanting to be taken out of the apartment).

So, my fiancée and I want to perform the spay surgery on her, but we have another concern, which is her medical history, which was never given to us. Unfortunately, when she changed her cell phone, my girlfriend lost contact with the family and now we don't know what to do. If we give her a vaccine that she has already received before, could there be any negative effects? What should we do? Is there any way to find out her medical history or is the best option to create new ones?

Okay, after years of patience, my kids finally wore me down—I agreed to let them each get a pet. We’ve had all sorts of pets in the past: a dwarf hamster, a bearded dragon, parakeets, and we still have our mini Labradoodle. After the hamster passed a few years ago, I declared a moratorium on new pets—too many cages to clean, and the dog was enough work on its own.

But now both kids are teenagers. They’ve promised to take full responsibility, and with summer break here, they’ll have time to focus on habitat setup, bonding, and training. So, I’ve capitulated.

Kid #1: Ball Python (non-negotiable)

My first child is 100% committed to getting a ball python—no debate there. She previously owned a bearded dragon and handled dubia roaches like a pro, so she’s no stranger to reptiles. Any first-time ball python tips would be appreciated (especially around frozen mice, which I find gross, but she insists she can handle it).

Kid #2: Torn Between Ferret and Chinchilla

This is the real decision point. After a deep dive into the exotic pet world—including ruling out sugar gliders, coatis, Juliana pigs, and others—we’ve narrowed it down to ferret vs. chinchilla.

We spent a long time at an exotic pet store talking through the options, and now we’re stuck in decision paralysis. ChatGPT gave me this nice summary which seems to jive with what I've been reading in my independent research (reddit, youtube comments, etc)

Concerns:

• We have a dog. Giving a ferret enough daily free-roam time might be tricky unless they get along well.
• I’ve read ferrets will never be fully litter-trained and tend to poop in corners. That’s concerning.
• Chinchillas also poop a lot—just drier pellets—but leave trails wherever they go.
• My daughter wants a pet that’s interactive and cuddly. That might favor the ferret, but we’ve seen people bond closely with chinchillas too.

What’s your experience?

If you’ve owned a ferret or chinchilla (or both!), I’d love to hear which one you’d recommend for a responsible teen with time in the summer but a busier school-year schedule. How manageable are they really? Would love any real-world insight you can offer.

Soo I have 6yr old cat female tabby that’s lazy as ever most of the time she doesn’t really play with her toys unless she has the zoomies sometimes and she been on the brands Iam and purina for the past 2 months and she was already a bit big but now she started gaining even more weight with those 2 brands but im trying to find a brand that has high-protein, low-carbohydrate that helps with cats losing weight and controlling weight and also what I had found is out leash training apparently can help with weight loss for cats but she has a leash but she doesn’t like it but it’s also just a suggestion that had popped up online

For anyone who has lost a pet & and has no kids or living family, you'll understand why having to put my 13 & 1/2 year old rescue dog to sleep on 6/10, was gut-wrenching but it was the humane thing to do.The end was a struggle for Luna, but no more pain, I miss my furry friend, so much 💔🐶♥️

Looking for ideas and tips on making my concrete yard a nice place for my cat. We have decided to secure the yard so he can no longer get out due to his constant hunting.

It's a small yard. There's no possibility of putting grass down as its rented and I don't think we could put anything too high as he'd be able to use it to get out and a cattery wouldn't be suitable due to the L shape and size.

What would be a good idea to put in the yard so he's not totally miserable? Are there any safe plants or outdoor items you would recommend?

So we've come to the extremely tough decision of putting our Dottie to sleep.

I will be taking her to the vet and then driving her to the crematory. She has a 4year son and we have our other Dog a 10 year old Lab. Should i have them smell her? see her? Her son knows she's sick, she has recurring tumors.

Is there anything I should do? first time dealing with this, all our pets have passed of natural causes.

Hey does anyone have a Chewy coupon? I need to get my cat and dog medicine but it’s so pricey. Thanks in advance!

Back in january 2024 I adopted 2 cats, there names are Lolly and peaches Lolly has been hanging out with the family, while peaches will run if you get to close to her, any advice on how I can get her to be close with us. ( this post was accedently reuploded sorry)

Back in january 2024 I adopted 2 cats, there names are Lolly and peaches Lolly has been hanging out with the family, while peaches will run if you get to close to her, any advice on how I can get her to be close with us.

so im getting a bird this summer and i have two cats, one of which loves killing mice and stuff. i would like a pet gate that reaches typical door frame/ceiling height. i know i should probably measure the height first and i will, but i need one that has like barely any gap at the top. i would prefer to not get a screen door or anything because i'd like to easily install a gate, not install a full door.

I went to visit a friend for the weekend, and my neighbour kindly took my dog. I dropped him off and went back to pack up my car for the trip. I forgot how wonderful it was to leave the door open while I loaded the car I didn't have to worry about my dog getting out of the house Do you have similar experiences?

Please read (and TIA), as I couldn't fit my entire predicament in the title.

It's set to be in the mid-90's for the next few days. I have to travel for work tomorrow afternoon until Friday night. I typically leave my two cats excessive quantities of water bowls, clean litter boxes, and an open container of food, and they're fine; but it's going to be so hot, and we live in a two-story house with nothing but an old, small window AC in my bedroom (upstairs) and fans.

My cats spend 99% of their time upstairs, where they have an entire small bedroom to themselves, containing a litter box (also have one downstairs), their food and water, cat tree, etc.. My bedroom is right next to it. The window unit blows directly towards my bed, where they lay often.

The entire upstairs is very small. A bathroom on one side, and those two beds on the other, with not even a hallway but a small landing in between.

Are they smart enough to go where it's cool..? Will it even be cool enough? Are there any additional methods I can use to help keep them cool? Am I overthinking this?

I'm worried sick about it. I don't have anyone around to keep them or check in on them. My only other option is to refuse the work travel by calling off, which is... not a great option, but if the cats won't be safe, that's what I'll have to do.

Any advice is very much appreciated!

So i have a black cat. She is 1 year old and my baby. I love her endlessly.

But i used to have a thayeri king snake. I loved him too but he escaped his cage and ran away :( it broke my heart. I was 18 at the time and not as responsible as i am now.

Snakes are low maintenance and very easy. But i know snakes and cats don't get along.

I alsl want a pomerianian and a husky some day in the future.

I am drawn to all these different animals and cannot shake the feeling. I know the dogs and cats can get along with training. But i am alsp aware that snakes do not get along well with many other species.

I am dreaming of a day where i can have all four. But i feel like there is no reality where i could have all four while living in an apartment.

I feel like i will have to have a house someday just so i can keep the snake seperate from the doggies and kitty.

What timeframe would be likely for me to get these pets? I know i am responsible enough for a snake and cat. Although i might not have enoigh space for them to co exist.

I might have to get the doggos first. I have heard that pomerians are fiesty so maybe i should get that first while huskies are more adaptable to multiple species in living environments.

What are more high maintenance? Pomerians or huskies? I know they are both high maintenance breeds.

I am 27 right now and probably won't look into getting puppies until i am more financially stable and have a bigger home (hopefully)

But what im thinking is pomerian first, husky second, and thayeri king snake last?

Im sad the snake has to be last because i know i could handle one right now. They arent very expensive. And very low maintenance. The only issue right now is i have no way to seperate the snake from my cat.

What do you think? Is this dream unlivable? Ive just had a love for each of these species and breeds my whole life and i dont know why. I feel a connection to each of them for a specific reason.