January 2026 – Pet Momma

Pet Updates: Progress, Experiments, and Winter Energy

It’s been a stretch of small updates, experiments, and learning curves — the kind of weeks that don’t feel dramatic, but definitely add up.

Stanley: Chews, Snow, and Big Feelings 🐶
I’m still on the hunt for safe, long-lasting chews for Stanley. The coffee wood “bone” is… fine. He likes it, but it does create small fragments, so it’s strictly a supervised-only chew. The pig ear was a bigger success — it didn’t last forever, but it lasted a few days, which feels like a win. I’ve heard good things about olive wood, so that may be next.

No idea what happened to this bone – disappeared very quickly!

Stanley is also not a fan of snow, but he’s learning to sprint outside, do his business, and come right back in. He will still choose to poop in his crate if he gets the chance, but the good news is that he’s not having accidents in the house.

Rubber mat in the snow has definitely been helpful

I do still have a BarkPotty set up in the garage. At the moment, Stanley’s approach is to sniff it carefully… then sit on it. He clearly doesn’t understand the potty part yet, but we’ll see if that changes with time.

Missing agility last week because of the snow left him a bit stir-crazy, so I’m exploring options like small dog playdates with the right dog and owner. It might be a little unconventional, but it could be great if I find the right match.

Puck: A Dental and a Whole New Cat 🐱
Puck had his dental and did great — though he ended up needing five teeth removed. The anesthesia hit him hard the first night, but by the next day he was back to normal… maybe even better than before. He’s been purring, snuggling, and clearly more comfortable, which makes me think those teeth may have been bothering him for quite a while. I’m just grateful he’s feeling good now.

Catlink Update: Two Boxes, Two Happy Cats 🐱
The open-top Catlink litter box experiment continues at my son’s house. It took a couple of weeks, but his cats are finally using it consistently.
Interestingly, one cat prefers the closed automatic box, while the other uses the open-top version, so he now has two automatic boxes and two happy cats. The open box isn’t self-cleaning as well as hoped yet, so he’s experimenting with different litters and adjusting the cleaning delay to give clumps more time to dry. If anyone has any ideas to help the cleaning process, let me know.

Hector & The Dragon: Very On Brand 🦜🦎
Hector is thriving — happily destroying boxes and whistling away. I showed her the snow from the warmth of inside, and she was completely unimpressed. I’ve also started toweling her for snuggles, and I think she actually enjoys it. Getting her more comfortable with handling feels like a good goal.

The dragon is doing well too and has been in and out of brumation, which is unusual for some dragons but very typical for her. She’ll disappear for a few days, then reappear, and repeat that cycle all winter.

Sitters, Boarding, and Trust 🏡

I’m also on the hunt for a new house/pet sitter — someone to check on the cats, Hector, and the dragon when we travel. I really like the woman I’ve used before, but she’s expensive, and I’m wondering if there’s someone else I’d feel just as good about at a lower cost. I reached out to a couple of recommendations today, and one of them may also offer in-home dog boarding, which I’m exploring as another option.

None of this feels dramatic — just steady care, adjustments, and paying attention. That’s kind of how most good pet care looks.

I’d love to hear from you:

What are you doing to keep your pets active?
Have you found a safe, long-lasting dog chew you trust?
How do you find a kennel or pet sitter you truly feel good about?
Share your tips in the comments — I’m always learning.

A Week of Pet Updates (and a Big Snow on the Way) ❄️🐾

It’s been one of those weeks where everything feels fine… but also slightly chaotic.

Stanley: Insurance Wins, Bones, and Snow Prep 🐶
I just heard that Stanley’s emergency vet claim was approved, and the amount will go toward my deductible.

I’m also still on the eternal quest to find chews that:

Aren’t rawhide
Last longer than five seconds

Today’s haul included two new bones and a pig ear. He’s currently very into the pig ear, and it actually seems like it might last a bit — fingers crossed. I also picked up a coffee wood chew, which is totally new to me. We’ll see what he thinks later.

With a 1–2 foot snowstorm expected this weekend, I figured it was smart to stock up now. I’m already worried about Stanley refusing to potty outside, so I’ll likely be shoveling paths just for him. I do have a Bark Potty set up in the garage, which he hasn’t shown much interest in yet… but it may come in handy if things get rough.

Puck: Dental Time 🐱
Earlier this week, Puck let us know something was wrong in a very Puck-like way — rubbing his face on us repeatedly until we noticed his breath smelled terrible. That led to a vet visit, where we learned he needs a dental cleaning and likely a couple of teeth pulled.

The good news: his bloodwork came back perfect, so he’s cleared for his dental on Tuesday.

I asked about pain meds while we wait and learned that cats can only be on pain medication for about three days at a time, apparently due to how their livers process it. Since he’s eating well — even dry food — we’re holding off and will manage pain after the dental instead.

Also: the cost of cat dentals these days? Yikes. I’ll be brushing his teeth going forward and doing everything I can to stretch the time between future dentals.

Hector & The Dragon 🦜🦎
Hector is doing great and was thrilled that I found in-the-shell pistachios for her at the store today. Small joys, big excitement.

The dragon is also doing well and has been in and out of brumation, which is a little unusual — but very on brand for her. She tends to hide for a few days, then reappear for a bit, and repeat that cycle all winter.

So that’s where we are: approved insurance claims, upcoming dentals, new chews, sleepy reptiles, and a whole lot of snow prep.

If nothing else, this weekend will involve shovels, pig ears, and a very small dog negotiating with winter. Let me know what your favorite dog chews are in the comments.

A Scary Saturday Night (and a Very Good Outcome)

Saturday night was not how I planned to spend the weekend.

Earlier that morning, I gave Stanley his Sentinel heartworm pill — one that had originally been prescribed for our old dog, Cali. I had checked with our vet ahead of time and was told there was no reason to throw the medication away as long as it wasn’t expired and Stanley had reached the appropriate weight range. I believed he had.

At first, everything seemed fine. But by dinnertime, Stanley wouldn’t eat and was unusually quiet. A couple of hours later, when we got home after being out, it was clear something was very wrong.

He barely got up to greet us. I carried him upstairs and noticed he was wobbly, shaky, and clearly off balance. He was holding his ears strangely, staring at the couch but unable or unwilling to jump up. He wandered aimlessly, almost like he was drunk or disoriented, and still refused food.

My son and I did some quick research, and everything pointed to the same answer: vet immediately. Thankfully, I had just gotten pet insurance — and off to the emergency vet we went.

The ER Visit

Stanley was taken back right away. After an exam, we waited for about an hour while he sat wrapped in a blanket on my lap, unusually calm and quiet — too out of it to even be nervous.

When the vet came in, she told us his vitals were all normal. She asked detailed questions about what he might have gotten into, and the only unusual thing we could identify was the heartworm pill.

She walked us through our options:

Hospitalize him overnight with monitoring and bloodwork, or assume a medication reaction and treat him with subcutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea medication, then send him home if I was comfortable monitoring him.

Given that his vitals were stable and I could be with him all night, we chose treatment and brought him home. I didn’t want to leave him.

The Aftermath

Stanley slept curled up against me all night. I barely slept — waking up often to check on him — but he rested peacefully. The next morning, he was still quiet, but he did eat breakfast.

By Sunday night, he was acting like himself again: playful, alert, and eating normally.

I checked in with our regular vet and also contacted the heartworm medication manufacturer to report what happened. What makes this especially confusing is that the medication he reacted to did not contain the additional dewormer — that ingredient is actually in the medication he’s taken before without any issues. At this point, I’ve thrown out the remaining pills and won’t be using them again while we figure out the best path forward.

For now, I’m keeping a close eye on him and plan to take him to agility class tonight — with zero pressure. If he’s not feeling it, we’ll leave. Simple as that.

Stanley does seem to be a sensitive little guy; he’s had a moderate vaccine reaction in the past as well. I’m hopeful this was a one-time issue and that we were simply lucky. Planning to work with my vet to make sure we find a safe path forward.

Grateful for Pet Insurance

I’m really thankful for pet insurance in moments like this. I have a free plan through Nibbles, which I got when I signed up for their credit card, and it made the decision to go to the emergency vet feel a little less stressful.

Of course I would have taken Stanley no matter what, but removing the immediate financial pressure helped. I used the card to pay for the visit, and the next morning I received an email asking if I wanted to submit a claim — they automatically recognized the charge as a vet hospital. All I have to do is reply with the reason for the visit and they handle the rest.

I opted to include office visits in my coverage, so the cost should be covered or applied toward my deductible. I’m also reaching out to the heartworm medication manufacturer, since they sometimes reimburse expenses related to drug reactions.

Opinion: I’ve never used pet insurance before, but after seeing a friend go through spending a huge amount of money for leg surgery for her dog, I thought I would try it with Stanley. Pet insurance doesn’t change your decision to seek care — it just makes an already stressful situation easier to manage.

In Other (Much Lighter) News…

My son set up the new open-top litter box yesterday — the one I won from Catlink. It’s the Scooper Open-X. It looks like a great design! He wanted to try it first since he’s had ongoing litter box issues with Martin. I really like the look of it and I’m hopeful the open design will be appealing to Martin.

He said setup was very easy, and while it’s larger than a standard litter box, it doesn’t take up an unreasonable amount of space compared to other automatic options. I’ll share more once we see how Martin feels about it.
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Sometimes pet ownership is routines and progress… and sometimes it’s terrifying curveballs. I’m incredibly grateful that Stanley seems to be okay — and that we listened to our instincts when something felt wrong. Have you had a scary moment with your pet? Share in the comments….

New Year, Same Pets (With Big Plans) 🎉🐾

I hope Santa was good to all the pets!

As we roll into 2026, I’ve been thinking about what the new year might look like for our pets — not in a “new year, new you” way, but more of a small tweaks, steady progress kind of way.

Stanley’s 2026 Goals 🐶
Stanley has a busy year ahead. The plan includes: More classes, starting with agility next week, Ongoing general manners and obedience work, More nose work, which he truly loves
And maybe — eventually — working toward his Canine Good Citizen.

While I do consider him housebroken at this point, there’s still one thing I’d really like to solve: the occasional pooping in his crate. Switching from blankets to crate pads (on a trainer’s advice) has helped, but we’re not all the way there yet.

I’m also toying with the idea of giving him an indoor potty option. I know how much he absolutely hates the cold, and winter isn’t doing either of us any favors. TBD.

Cats: A New Litter Box Experiment 🐱
The cats are doing well overall. My son is currently testing out a new open-top automatic litter box I won from Catlink — and I’m very curious to see how this goes.

The real question: will Martin (our occasional couch offender) prefer the open-top setup and have fewer “accidents”? Fingers crossed. If he approves, it could be a game changer.

Hector D. Byrd: Still Unwrapping 🎁🦜
Hector D. Byrd is doing just fine. She’s still slowly opening one of her Christmas presents — very on brand for her. New things take time, and she likes to move at her own pace. Honestly, same.

That’s where we’re starting 2026: plans in place, expectations realistic, and everyone mostly doing okay.

I’d love to know —
Do you set goals or plans for your pets in the new year, or do you just let things unfold?

Here’s to another year of learning, adjusting, and doing the best we can for the animals who run our lives. 🐾✨