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So this is my little guy Mayhem. He’s probably about 12 - 13 years old, and starting about 10 days ago, he developed an issue where something is periodically causing him pain. In the video, you can see him jerk his head back 3 times over the course of about 30 seconds. This is very mild, comparatively. Sometimes, it hurts him so much that he yelps when it hits, and it just makes me feel awful because I don’t know what I can do to help him.

He had a dental a couple months ago, and 4 of his teeth were removed. I suggested to his vet that it might be tooth pain, but he does not believe this to be the case. Mayhem’s gums look good, and he has no problems eating. Also, when he does want to play, his favorite game is “bite the shit out of the human’s hand”, and doing so doesn’t cause him to jerk or yelp in pain, so I don’t think it’s a tooth ache.

One suggestion the vet had is that it could be a pinched nerve. He gave Mayhem some muscle relaxers, but these did not have any effect on him; he still had the periodic pain at roughly the same frequency and intensity. The next step according to the vet is to do an MRI, but that’s going to be about $3000 - $4000, and might not find anything useful. If it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll find a way to make it happen, but that’s going to be quite a struggle for me, so I’m looking for other things I can try to troubleshoot what’s going wrong with him.

I know that this is a bit of a long-shot, but if anybody here has experienced a similar issue with their little guy, or has experience as a vet and can offer suggestions for things to check or medications to try, I would be grateful.

Hi! I'll leave home for a whole week this spring and I'm wondering what's best for my 9 years old indoor cat. I have two options:

1. Ask my retired mother to come home for like 30-45 minutes a day to replenish the food/water, empty the litter box and just be with the cat for a while (to pet her, play with her). My mother doesn't mind at all and has the time for this. My cat isn't shy with her.

2. Bring the cat to a coworker who owns a caretaking company (at his home) for animals. The cat will be in an unknown environment but will have a human presence multiple times per day, will have her own room with food, water, toys and a litter box. My cat will never be totally alone because my coworker works from home. I'll need to pay him of course but money isn't an issue.

So... I don't know what's best for my cat. she's a rescue and was abandoned 2-3 times in her past. Should I go with 1, with a familiar environment but with less human presence or with 2, unfamiliar environment but with frequent interactions with a stranger?

Thanks for your input!

We’re not doing so well with the news. We’ve had him since he was a 8-week-old puppy, and we’re definitely not ready to say goodbye. He’s the sweetest and quietest husky you’ve ever met.

Anyway, I guess I’m posting just as a coping mechanism, but I guess post your messages for him or us, his caretakers, and we’d love to share them with him or appreciate your admiration for him.

Image Alt text: a smiling Siberian Husky in a yard with grass, a tree, and a brick feature in the background. The husky is looking upwards behind the camera. He has light blue eye, a black and white coat with a hint of tan on his legs, and a raccoon-like mask printing around his eyes.

[Image description: A brown and white tabby cat on a couch near a window, cat has one paw out towards the camera with spread claws.]

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this is Champion! he's a rescue and his face has since healed a bit more from his encounter with demodex mange. he was found on the side of the road in pain and unable to see, and had to go through treatment for most of his time as a puppy.

he has behavioral issues, like resource guarding, and has arthritis already (diagnosed when he was a year old) plus anxiety, but Champ is on medication and doing great! I'll be taking him in to get injection treatment for his arthritis soon too.

I'm just really proud of my little guy (he's thirty pounds) and where he's at, and wanted to show him off. he's my first dog that wasn't a family dog, too.

maybe soon I'll post his brother.

I'm not sure what kind this is, maybe an Eastern Garter Snake? I don't see many snakes around here.

My Devon Rex baby

I now have an account on this instance. So here is the official greeting picture of the piggy gang, happily munching.

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It likes digging holes. It hides in it's shell when I get close, but otherwise isn't bothered by us.

Not sure why, maybe the metal is cold so she cools herself when she's a bit warm. Totally ignoring the cooling mat she got lol

From Boing Boing