Question by danielle: Ever driven cross country with your dog or cat? Advice?
Ok so I’m going to be driving practically coast to coast just me, my dog and my cat. I have a German sheppard pointer mix 2yrs old and only about 30lbs so I plan to have her in the front seat next to me. She doesn’t need room to spread out cause she curls in a ball when she sleeps. Then I plan to have my cat in her carrier with the door open and a litter box on the floor in the backseat.
I know I will have to make a stop every few hours for a potty break, let them stretch their legs for a few minutes and get a drink. Neither one gets car sick, but they’ve never been in the car for 3 days. I have hotels planned out that are pet friendly along the way. I plan to get their health certificates this week and each are up to date on shots.

Any tips or advice from your past experiences would be great!

Best answer:

Answer by frank lynn
You sound like you have it fairly well set up. Honestly, you may be pleasantly surprised. We had a dog when we moved. He was not a traveler, but the three day move was easy on us with him. The only issue was that he wanted to sniff at things more than he needed to go to the bathroom. He slept 90% of the time we were on the road. When he woke up, we pulled over to give him a potty break.

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by Sentience

Question by Tigress: Carrier for two puppies?
Hi, Thank you for your responses. I will be getting two puppies, Maltepoos, age 14 weeks. I do not know how much they weight at this point. They are expected to mature to maximum 8 to 12 lbs. I live by the beach and would like to buy a lightweight carrier with good ventilation where I have the option of letting their heads stick out or not. Could anyone give me leads. I did see the dual classic carrier but do not know if it would be any good as it is a pocketbook style and I would prefer the carrier strap to lie across my chest with the bag in front of me for safety (don’t want one to hang out the front and other fall out of the back…).
B
Burlap would be fine if it were the right design…ugh. The stroller is an excellent idea I’ve seen twin canine ones, but unless you get the very expensive don’t know if it will work on sand. I did go to dog supplies stores, have a few ideas but no “perfect” one. I know dogs should be exercised and have legs duh but the puppies will not be able to climb the high steps to get on beach access boardwalk, and also don’t want to get them over tired and heated, will expect them to do more walking when bigger. Thank you all! Oh i just saw http://www.toughtraveler.com/dogbags.asp the Skipper tote, kinda ballpark type of bag.

Best answer:

Answer by John S
a burlap sack plus also shit

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Question by browneyesgirl132: Weird stray behavior?
So basically, I rescued a stray cat! But instead of feeling cheery for doing a good thing, I’m weighed down with puzzles.
I first saw this cat on the side of our house. After trying to call it over in cute little voices, it looked pretty scared and ducked into my backyard. I went into my house and pulled out some cat food, figuring it was some lost cat that got spooked. So try number two. I go out in the back, food in hand, just trying to get close to it. Didn’t seem all that interested in the food, and once again, it ended up retreating further back into some bushes. Alright, I know I’m not really helping now. I put the food on my porch and give up for a bit. A few hours later, I look out the window and it’s still back there. Okay, try three. I bring out the food once more, but this time I make a round-about journey and end up further along the bushes, gradually making my way towards it. Well, it seemed to have worked a little too well? The cat came right over to me with it’s eyes inquisitive. It rolled on the grass numerous times and charged right up for my legs. A liiiiittle too fast. Got me worried. It wasn’t frothing at the mouth or anything but it wasn’t quite acting how a usual stray would. I dropped the food (wasn’t sure if it wanted petting or was going to attack me) but it wasn’t interested in eating it. It just kind of sniffed to know what it was and then came after me again. The weird thing is, as it was rolling around and begging to be pet, it was growling. Well it hadn’t attacked me yet. Let it go and never see it again or get it into the cage waiting on the porch? I chose the ladder.
I don’t know a cat that doesn’t like being in a cat carrier, so it’s behavior in there is probably not the most importaint. I blocked off the kitchen door so that I could take a look at it in a home setting. If it was recently lost then it would be most easy to tell by if it settled down and felt comfortable here. Mmkay, let it out. The cat would not stop moving. It brushed itself against every wall, every appliance. It just wanted to be scratched and pet and scratched. I didn’t see any signs of mites in it’s ears, but it’s hard to get a good look when it thinks you’re trying to help scratch it’s itch again. Didn’t seem particular to one spot. It’s fur was nice and soft, not matted. No dandruff. After a half-hour, it finally got bored enough to roll around and lay down against my leg. But yet it STILL would not stop moving. Get this, even though it laid down looking content, it kept pawing the ground. Stretching out each of it’s front paws one at a time. The door slams on the other side of the house, my mother gets home. That deep growl starts in the cat’s throat again. Thank goodness the door was blocked off. When my mother stuck her head in, the cat popped up on it’s back legs, growling like a dog. In any event, my mom dislikes most animals so he ended up back in the carrier. Ah! But I did make note. Even after offering it food and water, it still followed me around, weaving between my legs like no body’s business. It’s even more noteworthy that I opened the back door and had to pretty much stop the cat from escaping again.
So I cleaned out the garage to make a space for him since we already own a cat and there would be hell if they met, plus my mother was none too happy about having a stray in the house. Already called the neighbors with no luck as to it’s owner. I let it out again in the garage and it acted pretty much the same. Never stopping moving, trying to be pet everywhere, growling when it heard voices from the house. I showed it a littler box, again hoping that it might give some indication of knowing what it is. It barely even made note of it. It did end up eating some, not as much as I would expect from a cat that skinny, but just the amount that my cat of the same size, eats for dinner.
It was already too late to call any shelters by then and I couldn’t find the number for animal control to ask them what to do.
Oh? Did I mention that it’s front two paws are declawed? There goes the “It’s a feral, let it free again.” option.
It’s strange behavior got me the most nervous. Does this sound like the cat might have the starting signs of rabies? It did give me a nip when I tried to pick it up at first so I’ve been biting my teeth about that. Where exactly am I suppose to bring it? My mother claims that she isn’t going to pay a vet bill for it and I have no money. I still don’t know what organization in my area I’m suppose to call.
Thank you for reading this mouthful, by-the-way. I hope somebody can offer some advice.

Best answer:

Answer by Coley Wallis
Sounds like he’s just a scared cat. I’ve had my cat for 9 years and he is as sweet as can be. But anytime he accidently gets left out all night the next day he is freaked out and growling. They’re drama queens. Scared or nervous cats do not like fast movements or loud sounds. He sounds like he is a house cat that got lost or dropped off. He’s used to people and affection but he’s still scared. He is probably wanting attention bad. He still might have some fleas itchin him thatbyou can’t see.

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Question by Percysmom: My cat died suddenly and I need advice! Stroke, heart attack?
I lost my cat this past Wednesday and I just feel so terrible. On Monday he fell down my stairs. I ran to him and steadied him but he walked like he was drunk, then did a strange thing with his eyes (looked back and forth at nothing in the room). He was fine in about 3 minutes.

Tuesday we were playing and hanging out. I took some photos (talk about intuition!) and noticed his two front legs shaking ever so slightly. I had already called the vet and got him an appointment for the next morning before I saw the shaking (I was grooming him so he would look even more handsome!).

The vet took his blood, temp, listened to heart beat BUT I don’t remember her looking in his eyes. She was a new vet, never saw her before. I should have insisted on my old vet, but did not.

After the appointment I brought him to my parents house as it is near the vets office (in the suburbs of Chicago). He lived there for 6 months and LOVED it there. It was a beautiful day and he laid in the sun, ate grass, played with twigs, rubbed himself against my Mom and I while we ate lunch outside. All in all, it was a wonderful day.

Here is where it gets difficult…my Mom had an appointment, so I put him in his carrier-a nice new one. It was a bit warmer so I faced the side flap towards the AC (which blocked my view of him a bit). I proceeded to chat on my cell phone all the way home. He meowed once (not unusual, he was good in the car). I gave him a pet through the flap. About 10 minutes from home, he pooped in the carrier (only a 35 minute ride). While I should maybe have been nervous, my other cat ALWAYS poops in her cage so as I was almost home I lowered the windows for fresh air.

As I carried him in, he freaked out in the carrier to the point the soft sided flap almost ripped opened. I let him out in the hall and he walked funny inside. Then I noticed he was panting and salivating terribly. I freaked and my friend, who has a sick cat, told me to get him back to the vet. I tried to give him water the carried him out to my patio for air. He crawled under a bench and laying on his side began pawing at the dirt and rocks above his head. I was in a sheer panic. My vet, of course, happened to be OFF that afternoon and the emergency operator could not get through-there went 5 minutes (which felt like days). I googled ER vet, first one too far. Found another closer to my condo in the city. I scooped him up and ran for the car, no carrier just him in my arms-which he did not like at that moment at all. I set him in the passenger seat and began frantically driving to the office. He jumped up and down from the foot well of the car to the seat and seemed upset. He calmed down for a couple minutes and I pet him and reassured him thinking things were calming down. Then he started doing almost flip flops and just freaking out, which caused me to start crying hysterically and driving even faster. He then vaulted into the backseat and curled up very tightly under my seat. I kept talking to him and feeling his breathing, but in all the drama I managed to get totally flipped around and lost about 5 minutes being lost (in my own city!). By the time I got him to the vet, he was dead.

Everyone says there was nothing I could have done. They remind me I had him at the vet that morning, I was “tuned in”, etc. I cannot help but be upset he suffered, although until that moment I do not believe he suffered a day in his life (except maybe when I accidentally stepped on his tail once or twice, lol).

He was 15 and a solid 18 pounds. He always had bad teeth and I refused to have his teeth cleaned recently because of his age (they put them under for the cleaning).

I know this is long, but I am suffering and wanted to know if anyone had anything this traumatic happen with their kitty. I miss him so much, but feel like I have not even come to terms with his departure from my life because I keep beating myself up for the way he died.

Please, someone help!
I forgot to mention his right eye was dilated (his left eye was perfectly normal). He looked up at me one last time in the car on the way to the ER vet.
His blood work, which was reported to me Thursday morning when I spoke to the vet, was 100% perfect. I had been wondering if the wet food I gave him made him sick, etc. My vet says he had a stroke and the one on Monday was a mini stroke. There was no head trauma, so the dialated pupil must have been the result of what happened in his little brain.

Thank you to everyone writing, it REALLY helps! Please keep the comments coming.

Best answer:

Answer by sarah
ETA: If you want to know the cause, I’d call your vet – she should be able to give you some ideas. I would be inclined to think stroke as well – especially since he seemed “with it” during his episodes. Also, stroking would cause him to aspirate – get fluid in his lungs, which could be the frothing that you were seeing. The only thing you could have done was see it coming years ago. Probably the only indication on an ordinary exam would be a heart murmur, although stroke/heart failure can be as simple and as fast as a muscle tear.

Oh man, I am so, so sorry.
My dog died in October – she had had a handful of “episodes” throughout her life, but had had bloodwork and full-body x-rays two weeks before, and an echo 2 mos before. The night she passed away, she had had another episode, which I learned was a stroke (poor gum color). She stroked again on the way to the emergency clinic, and passed away in the waiting room.
You just have to cry until you can’t anymore! The best part is that I KNOW I had made her life as wonderful as I possibly could, just as she did for me. You get to remember all those years, the cuddles and playtimes. I know its hard to think about anything but his last few days at this point, but you’ll get to remember the good times. And they were so worth it!
I sat there and thought, “man! Maybe I should have done another echo…” but chances are, nothing would have looked irregular. It was just a fluke.. and he was telling you that it’s time, and that he doesn’t want YOU to have to make the decision.

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