I'm about halfway through it right now and I really like it. I can't wait to find out what happens.

I agree with @Chris in VA -- It could simply be that kitten finds the bed a desirable surface. But you also want to make sure you have plenty of boxes. The general ideal rule is one for each cat plus one more. So ideally with two cats you have three litter boxes. And preferably in at least a couple of different locations, not clustered together. You could also try feeding her on the bed (the theory being that cats don't eliminate where they eat). Also, you can't assume it's not a UTI. I don't know of any vets who do a urinalysis as part of a regular check up. And even if one was done, if it was more than a few days ago she could have developed one. You may have to do a bit of retraining by isolating her in a small room with a litter box. I'd do it for at least a week.

That vet was totally wrong, for all the reasons @Indigo Blue said. In your shoes I'd want to do a course of metronidazole. It could just be due to a sensitive tummy, and maybe will eventually settle down, but when blood gets involved from either end, and especially when it's been going on for more than 24/48 hours -- yeah, I'd push for some metro.

Vinyl or laminate. Anything other than carpet.

I'm so sorry about your dog, @Ottakee. I don't walk alone. It's been decades since I was without a canine walking partner. If the dog isn't with me DH is. That's not out of fear, it's just the way it is. I really don't know whether I'd feel comfortable walking alone or not. I second the suggestion that you consider fostering. It sounds as if you'd be a dream foster for any pet rescue. Just check them out thoroughly before you volunteer (FB pages are often a good way to get a feel for how a rescue operates). The well run ones have people available for when a regular foster goes on vacation. Generally at most you pay for their food (and some groups even provide that). You should be able to specify what type of dog you're willing to foster--if you don't have time for a young, rambunctious dog you can say that you want a middle aged/senior dog who still has the energy for and would love a good walk.

Funny story (kind of), but the better lesson to be learned from it is to never even think about using a citronella collar. They are terribly, incredibly inhumane. I've had a reactive barker in the past. It's a hard thing to live with and a hard thing to train a dog out of. We were occasionally in a situation where I had to make sure the barking was minimized, so I gritted my teeth and used a bark collar. I got a very good quality one (TriTronics). And . . . I was amazed at how well it worked. Yes, the first time the dog barked was painful--I think it hurt me more than him (it was set on the lowest level). But the really amazing thing was that it had a very calming effect on him. After he learned (and he learned quickly), then putting that collar on was almost like giving him a sedative. He seemed almost relieved to have it on--it was like the collar meant he was off duty and could relax. That was a really unexpected benefit! Another thing you might try around the house is a Thunder Shirt. For some dogs it has that same subduing effect that @hjffkj mentioned about the Gentle Leader.

Yes, a person can be unaware of anxiety (and many other things). If a person doesn't know how to categorize what they're feeling, doesn't know how to label/name it . . yes, they can be totally unaware. I've suffered from that myself in the past. Part of it was lack of self awareness, and part of it was my younger self simply not having the knowledge to label a cluster of feelings or symptoms as "x" thing.

I think the way grammar and language changes is kind of fascinating, and I don't mind at all that they do change. But I'm old and stuck in my ways, so I suspect I will continue to hyphenate out of habit.

I was leaning toward "maybe," but the above pushed me over to "sure." With a trusted relative that close, and assuming you (and your DH) believe your 14 yo can handle it then I think it would be a very good experience for him. But for disclosure, I very much believe Americans tend to not give their teens nearly as much responsibility as they should be given, and that it does much more harm than good.

It may be that he just needs longer on an easy-to-digest diet. I hope that’s all it is.

Agree. Since this is an ongoing issue as long as you're sure he's not getting dehydrated then I'd wait until I could see the vet who has been treating him. What antibiotic was he on? Did he go back to eating his regular food after the antibiotic was finished? Not the vet prescribed food? Has the possibility of pancreatitis been ruled out? I had a dog who got giardia once, and developed a mild pancreatitis secondary to that. The vet said that wasn't unusual, that once anything in the GI tract got irritated the pancreas could become involved. She had to stay on a very low fat diet for six weeks to recover--first a mixture of chicken baby food and white rice, and then a slow transition to Science Diet canned i/d for the rest of the six week period. After that we slowly transition to a commercially available lower fat kibble and she was fine.

I've always been very pleased with Best Bully Sticks for all sorts of chews. They used to have a category for made in the USA products, which they don't have any more (and which hugely disappointed me when it went away). But at least they do disclose sourcing info for most of their products. They have odor free bully sticks. I won't say they're totally odor free, but I can barely detect an odor when I stick my nose right on them. My dog was kind of "meh" about Himalayan chews, but (1) he's not food motivated at all and (2) he's not a big chewer. So take his opinion on those FWIW. There are always risks and benefits to be considered with all chews, IMO. She's a cutie! Congratulations!!

LOL, yes! The current pooch thinks "Goodbye" means "come." I know it's weird, but it works for him. He's always been really attached to me, so when he was a young puppy and stubbornly wouldn't come in from outside (safely fenced area), I'd cheerily say "Goodbye!" and step inside, and he learned to come running. Not exactly a standard command, but as long as it works who cares? I'm all about doing what works for the dog, especially for dogs who are "just" pets.

I developed about a three inch diameter patch of eczema on my lower left leg a couple of years ago, out of the blue. I'd never had any before. Dry skin yes, but not eczema. I used all sorts of OTC moisturizers and hydrocortisone products, tried different body washes and detergents, and got a prescription for Triamcinolone ointment. None of them really helped, although the Triamcinolone ointment does take away the itch for a little while. About a year after the eczema popped up I was diagnosed with RA (although that wasn't a totally new thing--I'd had symptoms pointing to RA for years). I suspect mine is due to my immune system totally whacking out (I also have Hashi's), but I also think stress was the main trigger that caused it to go haywire. I feel so sorry for people who have a big issue with eczema. The itch and burning of my one little patch can be maddening. I can't imagine dealing with more.

It's a common issue with lots of puppies, especially breeds that generally like water. There are a number of other tricks you can try if the rubber grips don't work. This is one problem for which a stand can help. You can also put a water bowl inside a bucket, and even weight the bucket down with a brick or two if necessary. That's not exactly an aesthetically pleasing solution, but it's usually needed only for a limited amount of time.

I think it depends on the person's settings. My list is set to private.

^^This, exactly.^^ I was raised in the south, during a time when dropping in to visit was common. And I miss that feeling of informal familiarity a lot. I'm an introvert, so anything unplanned involving other people throws me off anywhere from a little to a lot, but I do enjoy the visits and I know the socializing is very good for me. Drop in visits almost always leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling even if I do have to get through the momentary dread first. But I'm almost always at least decently dressed, and my house is almost always at least decently clean/tidy (those have always been true, even when I had babies/toddlers), and I'm at the point in my life where I usually have some time to spare. I think time is one thing that has caused the cultural change around here--people in general are a lot busier than they used to be, or maybe it's that their priorities have changed. I tend to think it's as much the latter as the former.

Most groomers and vets will tell you the bolded is a myth. There was probably some truth to it decades ago when the few pet shampoos that were available were all extremely harsh. That hasn't been true for a very long time. The dogs I know who are bathed the most are the ones who have the best skin and coats. But of course correlation doesn't equal causation--the dogs I know who are bathed the most are also the ones whose owners try to feed them the best (which varies depending on the dog), make sure they're kept flea free, make sure they get plenty of exercise, etc.

My dog is eight next week, we got him at 11 weeks old. In all that time he has consistently been bathed every 10-12 days. I used to use very expensive, specialty products that are typically only used for show dogs or other dogs who are kept in full coat (think products that are way more expensive than most people would think of buying for their own hair; these are not products you can walk into a pet store and buy). A few years ago I got tired of spending that much, having to special order, etc., and started using Pantene on him. There are quite a few show dog people who swear by either Pantene or Dove products for their dogs. Mine has done fine with Pantene, just as well as he did on the much more expensive products. There is little/no truth to the idea that dogs need different products than humans due to pH levels. First of all, the range of pH levels in human products tends to be very close to the range found in dog products. Also, there's a range of skin pH among various dog breeds. This is the best article I'm aware of on the subject (make sure to click and read the link to the pH article from 2011). Now--would I use a human product on a dirty dog who is only bathed every few months (most dogs who aren't bathed regularly are in fact very dirty, despite owners who claim otherwise)? No, I probably wouldn't. I don't know if a human product would adequately clean those dogs. I also probably wouldn't use a human product on a wire coated dog. But for dogs who aren't terribly dirty or smelly or wire haired -- I think human products work fine. For fleas/ticks I use Nexgard. For heart worms I use Heartgard. ETA: In my long winded reply about shampoos I forgot to say -- If you prefer to use a dog specific product then just about anything you can pick up at Petsmart, Petco, etc. should work okay. I've liked all the TropiClean products I've used. Some Walmart stores (and maybe Target, too) usually stock a few Oster dog shampoos and I've liked them, too. I personally don't like Burt's Bees dog product line. The ones I've used are too watery and didn't seem to clean/fluff very well. But I need products that leave my dog's coat fluffy (makes clipping him better/easier), so what I need in a product may be different than what you need.

Yep. And they are SO MUCH FUN.

I believe you are NOT supposed to use calcium with added Vitamin D for dogs. You want just plain calcium.

A couple of more resources if you're interested in doing a nutritional consult with a board certified veterinary nutritionist: Weeth Nutrition Services UGA Vet School I believe both of those do remote consults directly with the pet owner, not having to go through your primary vet. I know that Dr. Remillard (in my first post) works directly with pet owners. I believe both Dr. Remillard and UGA will formulate home-cooked or raw diets. I don't think Weeth will do a raw diet. ETA: I know of several other places that do remote consults, but AFAIK those require working through your primary vet. I can post those if you're interested. I'm just assuming that if you consult with someone you'd prefer to do it directly.

I saw some traffic cams from along the coast of NC and SC and yeah, it was bad. But it's always bad on Labor Day with people returning from long weekends at the beach, so it's hard to say how much (if any) it deviated from normal bad.

Another commercial option you could try is one of the "prescription" hydrolyzed protein foods. It's the protein molecules in foods that trigger allergic reactions. My extremely elementary level understanding is that in the hydrolyzed protein foods the molecules have all somehow been broken down into such microscopic particles that they fly under the immune system radar and are thus incapable of triggering an allergic reaction. So in theory a dog who is highly allergic to (for example) chicken could still eat a chicken based hydrolyzed food. I believe both Hill's and Purina make hydrolyzed protein foods, and Royal Canin may also make one. If nothing else you might could use one of those foods to tide him over while you figure out the logistics of a raw or home-made diet and supplements. Those foods are often fed while doing a food allergy elimination diet, which could also provide useful information. If he reacts while eating one of those foods--that would be a good indicator there's something going on besides food allergies. I have to say that your vet (1) didn't recommend doing some testing to figure out whether your dog's issues are allergies, IBD or something else and (2) didn't recommend one of the hydrolyzed foods for a young puppy who is suspected of having that many allergens would make me re-think continuing to use that vet. Also . . . giardia can cause significant GI issues that can come and go. And it won't always show up under a microscope since the cysts are shed intermittently. If he were my dog I might consider doing a course of metronidazole, just in case.

We were on I-40 for a bit this morning, through central NC. Lots of power trucks were headed eastbound toward the coast.