What products or methods have worked for you to get rid of fleas?

I have 2 indoor cats and a dog, I found fleas on my dog today and took him to the vet. I got a prescription for him, and over the counter advecta plus for my cats (if anyones used that lmk if its good, I havent used it yet bc Im trying to find more info first). I need to treat my house now but know nothing about this🥲 The vet recommended Viper spray but it needs time to air out and would mean taking the 3 out of the apartment and a few hours. Before I go with that I wanted to see if there was an alternative, since the only place to go is the car for that time. I've been researching and checking other posts on here, but most I found were several years old so instead of asking questions in the comments I thought Id make my own. Thank you in advancee, this day has gotten stressful fast😭

I wanted to add, I have my sheets washing on hot, and Im going to vacuum everywhere

Also also, I got Tropiclean flea and tick home and dog spray? I googled it more and it says not safe for cats, Im not sure if its meaning to be sprayed on them, which I only plan to spray furniture and the floors. Anyway if anyone has used that or has any info, Im still looking into it

This company is the biggest sc*m of all time. They signed me up for pet insurance without my consent for both my pets (who already had insurance) and charged me. My fault for not realizing until now, but an unbelievable sc*m they are stealing money from people.

I have a few cats who i have free-fed their entire lives. They're pretty good with regulating their intake. I have mixed some generic iams cat food with some of the more expensive instinct freeze dried bits to give them more nutrition. I recently took in a stray kitten who is very food motivated - specifically the instinct. He's not aggressive about it, he just likes to dig them out, play with them for a while, then eat them. This makes a mess and i dont want him hogging all the good pieces from the others.

I do give them puzzles with these and other treats in them basically daily.

Are there any machines or toys that automatically dispense some of the good stuff per cat so they can continue to free feed the regular cat food? The majority of them refuse to wear a collar, so I'd like to avoid that if possible.

If anyone knows of any such thing, please let me know!

My kitten had parasites, 2 different kinds and used the same litter box as my older cat.

Vet gave them both meds, but on the retest they pooled the samples and tested the fecal samples. They said they can pretty safely say that our other cat doesn't have parasites because the kitten is now negative.

Is this standard practice? Cost me like $130 for this test.

So last night I went to check on my turtle before I went to bed, and noticed a pink blob coming out of its tail. It went back in after around 5-10 minutes, and he seems fine now. He is about 6-7 years old, and around 2021-2022 this same thing happened, except it was darker, bloody, and didnt go back in. My dad brought him to the vet (I was in 5th grade) and they performed surgery on him. It happened a few more times afterwards, but they always went back in. This is the first time it has happened for roughly 3 years, and my parents think it is 'no big deal' and that he will be fine. What should I do?

Just recently this week we have woken up with multiple bites. Originally thinking they were mosquitoes but after coming across a flea on my arm yesterday afternoon we have now found at least a dozen or more.

The bites are new, our dog and cat aren’t scratching any more than usual. But we went from not having any bites and never have seen a flea in our house ever, to now coming across multiple in different rooms in our house almost overnight.

We gave our dog two flea baths, still haven’t seen a single flea in him when we comb him, however we did see probably around 8-10 dead ones fall off of him after his bath.

Is this something we can tackle on our own or is it already to the point we need to call someone considering now we’re getting bit excessively?

Our dog is on flea tick but we realized last month we forgot to give him his dose. Our cat was on revolution until recently too.

No idea what we should do here.

How do you keep track of your cat’s feeding schedule, vaccinations, medications, and vet visits? Do you use an app, a notes app, or just try to remember everything?

I’m curious what works best for you and what you wish you could organize better. Would love to hear your experiences! 😊

I'm been working on app, CubWell pet tracker log, would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Hi, not sure if I’m being the karen here.

I have a 6 year old foster who is a pretty big mess. He is terrified of other dogs, his reactivity is more in the realm of panic attacks and it’s very heartbreaking to watch. I have had him for 6 months now. But he does well with people and he has been to this vet before with no issue.

I’ve had him longer than I originally thought I would, so I’ve started to seek out ways to get him boarded. I asked the vet if we could do a temperament test for boarding to see how he would do.

It is my fault that I did not medicate him prior. I thought it would be a quick appointment (based on what they told me) and the lobby is not usually full of dogs (we schedule late afternoon appointments). I felt that medicating him would influence the temp test; I thought we should be sure he could be handled by strangers without being under the influence. They told me this was all they needed and he would not be interacting with other dogs. Stupid, I suppose. Lesson learned.

We arrived on time. Empty lobby. All was well. Until we’re still waiting 45 minutes later and suddenly we have 3 dogs in the lobby. Foster and I are hiding in the corner and that’s when they finally call his name.

Queue the meltdown. The vet is able to get a leash on him, but when taking him across the room, he just screams. No aggression, just utter terror. The tech apologizes. I said it’s not your fault, we can reschedule and I will come back when he’s medicated. I apologize. I am nothing but kind but it is pretty mortifying.

When I call to reschedule, they tell me he failed the temperament test because the vet “couldn’t do anything with him”. I said it wasn’t fair he was temper tested in a room full of dogs when it had already been established he’s dog reactive. I thought it was in the file. The vet is the one who originally told me when I first brought him in. I’d like a chance for a redo when he is properly medicated. They reluctantly agree but make it known they “don’t usually allow reschedules once they’ve failed” and frankly, they were really short, rude and clearly irritated with me.

Am I the problem? Am I being a karen? Of course they need to look out for the best interest of the staff and other patients but it’s a vets office and THEY PRESCRIBE anti anxiety medication/sedatives for him. I apologized profusely for not medicating prior but I didn’t think we’d be sitting for 45 minutes, only to be called once the lobby had filled up. If they tested him even 20 minutes after we arrived, he probably would have passed.

Do I need to let this go? Or find a new vet?

Edit to add: the vet wanted to put their own leash on him. I had him leashed prior, of course.

Been wrestling with this issue recently. Childhood dog has had a rough year.

Shes 11 years old and has advanced dental disease. Her mouth is in rough shape. We actually had her scheduled to get surgery earlier this year, but all of her vets advised against it as her bloodwork was concerning.

Further testing leads us to find out she almost definitely has multiple myeloma. Further testing is available but the internist we spoke with said he’s about 99% comfortable she has this cancer. Other vets no longer want to do the dental surgery because they are not confident she can survive the anesthesia.

I spoke with an oncologist recently who said we could put her on treatment for the cancer, which may extend her life by a year or a bit more. I expressed my concern is that even if we get the cancer under control for a while, we have no way to properly treat the dental issue. Her primary vet even said we’re getting to the point where we need to think about quality of life as there’s not much we can do about the teeth except antibiotics if an infection arises and basically dog ibuprofen to manage the pain in the meantime.

For context, the dental issue has been progressing in a bad way. Every few weeks it seems we have a new emergence of an infection or significant bleeding. Last night she was bleeding profusely out of her mouth , talking dripping all over the floor, my bed covered. Clearly uncomfortable.

My whole family is pretty much on board with putting her down now. But I’ve been having a hard time believing now is the time to do it. Even after last night when she was bleeding and hurting and couldn’t sleep, we get up this morning and she’s having fun outside, eating her breakfast, jumping off furniture. That makes me think that there’s still enough quality of life to keep pushing on for awhile and just deal with the bad days as they come.

Is there a part of me being selfish here? Subconsciously trying to milk as much time with my pet as possible? There’s the flip side of not wanting to put her down while she still has some good days, but also will it be selfish letting it get to the point both the cancer and the dental issue have her in even worse pain and poor health in a few months and I’m putting her down at her absolute lowest? The oncologist said pick 5 things your pet loves to do, and if they can no longer consistently enjoy 3 of those 5 things, then quality of life probably needs to be questioned. Which has made this harder because she does still do a lot of those things when she’s feeling well/dental issue isn’t popping up.

I have been so torn on this idk how to process it

I have an aussie/lab who likes to sleep under my bed (I still have no idea how he gets under there!). It is starting to smell under the bed so I am hoping to find a carpet deodorizer. I can't use powders because I cannot get a good vacuum under the bed (I do use an iRobot to vacuum regularly but that's subpar). I am not fighting pee/poop stains and smells -- just general dog hair and smells. Anyone have any tricks or suggestions?

I’m absolutely exhausted.

I got my husky girl last October. We have 11 acres and potty training was going well at first.

I trained her first to have reliable recall and to use bells hanging on our door to go potty - this was awesome. I just had to open the door, and when she did her business I gave her treats and celebrated.

This was a flawless system until she was about 6 months old. Then, she started ringing the bells literally every 2-5 minutes so she could go play outside. She clearly wanted to be outside like always so I ordered a 100ft dog lead for her. While waiting for it to come in, if she had just gone potty, I ignored the bells for about an hour, and then let her out.

This is when things got messed up.
She had a few accidents the first day and I was like alright, well, I literally can’t take her out every five minutes, and the lead will be here in a few days. (I had no other way of securing her outside) It is what it is and it’s okay.

Well she also stopped ringing the bells (as I wasn’t responding every single time) so then she was just going in the house. awesome.

The lead came and she would NOT go to the bathroom with it on. She hates having any sort of leash on her. Okay. Back to free rein dog then. System was broken as she wouldn’t use the bells OR go with the lead. So I started letting her out every 2 hours on a routine.

THEN she was pissed that she had to come inside and would BOLT. So great. Now the recall was lacking too.

Anyways.
My dog is backwards now and only poops and pees indoors.
I’ve tried crate training and she doesn’t mind her crate at all on the surface but she was eating less and less and still wouldn’t use the bathroom. After 4 days, she started drinking less water too so I ended that.

Since then - She pees outside when I let her out and say “go potty”, and her recall is back to what it was, but I can’t get this dog to poop outside - and if she has to pee in between me taking her out, she just goes.

Are there ANY ways that she can tell me she has to go potty without her using it as a way to play outside literally nonstop?????

I’m so tired of this….
I’ve been thinking of building a dog run and putting a doggy door to it from in the house so she can use the bathroom and play as she pleases as that seems to be her main goal.
If I do this, how do I train her to go in a dog run instead of outside as she’s totally backwards as far as where going to the bathroom is appropriate. IM GOING CRAZY

EDIT: With the bells - I couldn’t just let her have total free rein if I wasn’t watching her outside because there’s zero fencing and we have coyotes abundantly. The lead was so she could be outside, close the house, where I could still hear her and other animals from inside.

My dog (a Chihuahua mix) has been refusing to put any weight on his paw all day. I wasn’t home until about 4 and didn’t see him before so I don’t know if he was acting like this before but my dad said he has been licking it a lot all day. He wasn’t being super weird or anything, he was taking a nap/snuggling, which is normal for him. However, when I went to feed him, he didn’t react normally. Typically, when I feed him he jumps off the couch and runs over and starts barking nonstop. Tonight though, when I was making his food he didn’t react at all and just sat there, even with me calling him over. When I put his food down and called him over again, he just sorta looked at me. I went over and picked him up to go to his food, and when I set him down he kept his paw up and just stood there, which is very unlike him (he normally starts eating right away). I tried to get him to eat a few more times, but he refused. I picked him up again to look at his paw to see if there was something in it. I didn’t see anything, and was touching it and lightly pushing on it and he didn’t react. It looked a little swollen, but not horrible. He didn’t want to go on his walk, again, VERY unusual for him (out of my 3, he’s the most enthusiast by far) but he didn‘t budge. Tonight, (that was around 6:30 and this is 11) I looked at it again. He still didn’t care if I touched it but it looks a lot more swollen. I gave him some dog pain killer so hopefully it’s not hurting but I’m not sure what to do or what‘s wrong with his paw. Any advice?

Good day! I was stricken with the worst news ever, my bb boy cat got tested positive for "Parvo". Yesterday, he suddenly didn't want to eat breakfast with me then I tried to feed him chicken and his favorite treat but he didn't want to budge, he vomitted suddenly then I had to rush him.

I had him admitted for 1 day and got him the first aid he needed, now he's back with me as I am unable to keep on with the vet bills... The Vet provided us a prescription and updates while he was away, and I hope he does get past this bc idk what I'll do without him.

Any tips or help pls, I can't lose this kind boy. I found him while I was on my way to work on May 1st 2026 now he's 5 months old. He's been a good boy who sleeps with me, although the orange cat behavior strikes and he'd scratch/bites me whenever he feels zoomy

Someone said I was wrong about the carb percentage in a food. I plugged it into the calculator I was showed to use by the feline diabetes group. It ends up less than one 1% DMB going by what the can says but there's a random faq about it which I can't see on my app that says it's 14% carbs from 5 months ago. The diabetic calculator I was given SAYS there's no carbs. I found a similar food, same name and brand but pouch instead, which using the calculator says 14% DMB. But Petco says that one is 9% DMB. I called them, they don't know. They don't even know if there was a formula change within the last 5 months on their OWN BRAND. They are forwarding it to whoever makes it to get the exact percentage but I won't know for a few days. There is no room for carbs according to the can info and if there is any it shouldn't be 14%. I'm hoping I have enough fancy feast cans for his huge butt. He's a huge cat.

The calculator has never been wrong before when the brands have their numbers right. Idk if the calculator is wrong this time or if they messed up a number

Anyone planning to start a dog-boarding kennel? Looking for some feedback!

Hey everyone!

I'm working on a beginner-friendly toolkit for people interested in opening a small dog-boarding business.

The idea is to help people understand property zoning, permits, startup requirements, and what to check before investing money in a kennel.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has started a kennel or is currently planning one.

Three quick questions:

1. What's been the most confusing or difficult part of getting started?

2. Have you had trouble understanding zoning or permit requirements?

3. Would you be interested in reviewing a free draft checklist and telling me what's missing?

I'm developing this as a potential digital product, but I'm not selling anything here. Just looking for genuine feedback.

Thanks! 🐾

I told my boyfriend that I dont like idea of in door out door cats

I was kinda judging that fact people do that and he didn't like it

Because he also did that too and he felt like I was judging him(despite me not knowing that about him)

He said I think my way is the best way and other people's aren't

Me personally i just dont like the idea of indoor outdoor cat

I never have ever since i was younger and I would perfer if people didn't do it.

he said that I shouldn't worry about other people when I don't need to worry about other people and just worry about what I do in my life, and if I do worry about my life, I'll be much happier. Yes, they are apex predators but, like, at the same time, it's like I would prefer if they just stayed inside and go outside with surprised visions or catio

(Sorry speech to text at the last part)

Situation that I’m hoping someone else has been in and can give ideas- my 10 yr old female cocker spaniel isn’t full blown incontinent, but every time she wakes up she lets go of a couple drops of pee so I have to have her wearing some form of diaper.

The washable reusable ones are great, but the flap of skin between her leg and body seems to be slightly itchy/irritated for her so I want to see if there’s any other kind of diapers someone’s tried?

I tried researching and the only real different ones I could find were male dog diapers but obviously that isnt feasible for my female dog lol

Took both of my cats there for a wellness exam on Monday. I asked for a claw trim for them as well and the vet tech was fine with it. No problems with the first cat. Second cat, she took to the other room and they were gone for a weirdly long time. Suddenly another tech came into the room and said "sorry, we're just finishing up." I asked what happened and she was like "um, well, he kinda threw up on the other tech and then pooped himself immediately afterwards.... it's ok though it happens."

I've never felt more embarassed in my life 🙃

Colostrum was recommended by the vet. Nothing else is needed. I found two brands for cats one for dogs. All are just pure colostrum.

Wholistic and Raw paws are the cat ones

Native pet is the dog one.

I know native pet. Idk the other two. It's just pure colostrum so idk if it matters whether cat or dog or if the brand matters...

Sorry to ask. I was told what to look for but there's not many choices but still hard to choose

Hello! My bf has a place that is 3 floors, the main floor is really the only one that is used. Do we flea bomb each floor? It... has been over a month now with us trying to get this sorted. Any advice is greatly appreciated 🙏

(I know Im on reddit so, additional advice if you have it: Pup is going into the vet Monday. Bf has been very nervous and I feel like it's not my place to tell him what to do.... But I think pets are family so it's our duty as caretakers to do right by them. I am fronting the entire cost of it and upcoming pet bills. How do I navigate a situation where someone is like "no knowledge means I dont know and I dont know means we're safe". What is a gentle way to say thats not acceptable >.>)

The kind of spot where you look at them and think, how is that comfortable?

Was it a one-off, or have they decided that's their bed now?

Hello!

Our local exotic pet expo lines up with my soon to be four year olds birthday. We are planning on taking him to the expo and letting him pick something out.

About us: I currently have an 18 year old cat I have had for 16 years and two rabbits. I have experience with rats, hamsters, crested geckos, tarantulas, snakes (king/milk), bearded dragons, budgies, dogs, and scorpions. Needless to say I love the exotics!

Child in question fairly recently lost a 2 year old dwarf hamster. He did really well on gentle handling.

Of course I plan on caring for whatever animal we get myself.

Child has expressed interest in isopods, lizards, and frogs

I don't want anything that has to be fed live food 😅 mostly just due to logistics of getting it

What are your suggestions?

ETA I also don't want a heat lamp. I almost burned down my parents house when I was a kid by putting it on the floor to get a lizard out 😬

TIA!!

ETA again: I think I knew the answer and I just needed to hear it from y'all again! I have reached out to an isopod breeder that will be at the expo and they are going to have an enclosure set up and ready to go for us to pick up at the expo ☺️

My dog has been showing some aggressive behaviour lately, and I am trying to understand what might be causing it. I know aggression can sometimes be linked to fear, stress, past experiences, or discomfort, but it can be difficult to figure out what is actually triggering it.

For those who have dealt with something similar, what helped you understand your dog’s behaviour? Did working with a qualified trainer or veterinary professional make a difference?

I want to handle the situation responsibly and make sure everyone stays safe while figuring out what is going on.

Had a deeply frustrating and eye opening experience trying to foster to adopt through Cause 4 Paws. I am an experienced local and international foster and this has to be the most unprofessional organization I have come across and I have seen a lot. The coordinator, Helen, explicitly confirmed a dog named Anaisa (not special needs or a difficult breed) was on hold for me. Based on that promise, I went out, prepped my space, and bought all the required gear and trackers she had mentioned was needed on the phone.

​She promised to set up a group chat with airport pickup details for Sunday, but never sent anything. After I cleared my entire Sunday schedule waiting on her, she only messaged me late Saturday night (because I prompted her first) claiming Anaisa was sick during transport and was being placed with a vet tech instead- this I could absolutely understand. What happened next was what made this situation look very sketchy.

​She told me to reach out on Tuesday for an update, but left me almost three full days without a real response back, or update on Anaisa's health. I messaged her Tuesday morning like she asked, and she left me on read (read receipt and everything) all day. She finally texted back near 10:00 p.m. (prompted by an email) with another personal excuse, completely dodging every direct question about the dog's actual health or when she'd be coming to me, as was promised. I was more concerned for the dogs health and safety and they were more concerned on the fact they wanted no text or email communication- It’s very clear she refuses to put anything in writing via text or email and only wants to do everything through phone calls so there's no paper trail.

​When I finally received an email from their main team to for a check up on Anaisa, another representative (Sue) emailed me back and literally tried to gaslight me, saying: "You must have misunderstood because being on hold does not mean that she is on hold for you." On the phone call Helen had explicitly stated Anaisa would be marked on hold for me, that I would foster to adopt and that they would require my help for Airport transport (which I am familiar with.)

​I am amazed by the total lack of transparency, zero respect for adopters' time or emotional investment, and outright dishonesty. If you’re looking to foster or adopt in Ontario, save yourself the headache and go with a reputable rescue that actually communicates honestly.

I’m about to move into an apartment and don’t have the money to take her to a vet for flea treatment rn and won’t till sometime in the next month or 2 and she started getting bothered by them! I 4 months ago or so she got a 3 month flea treatment medication

I hear advantage is good but I’m so scared to uses topical treatment because I’ve heard about some brands in the past that caused major issues and I’m super scared of anything happening to her but I’m breaks my heart to see her scratching constantly from fleas!

I’ve been trying to do my own research before I buy it but I wanna hear from people who have experience with it to is it good? Have you had any issues? How long do I wait after applying it to put her around another cat again?

( She has play dates with my sisters cats usually they stay in their respective bedrooms)