Airbnb hasn't been the most popular company lately. Hosts are notoriously unreasonable, greedy (and sometimes lazy) , and the cleaning fees are exorbitant. It's absurd to see a home listed for $200 a night when the fees actually bring it to twice that. Unfortunately, this is the reality of renting from the company's hosts, and though more people are turning to hotels for their lodging needs, Airbnb remains an important option for large groups, pet owners, and people seeking extended stays. This…

Being a cat lady is no easy feat. While some people use the term in a derogatory manner as if we're resigned to a spinster's future and kitty litter-covered floors, being a cat-obsessed woman definitely has its challenges. For one, going on trips freely. When I head out for a vacation, I'm forced to give my roommate a long list of instructions that I'm not totally sure he'll pay attention to. It's that or pay a cat sitter to check in on my babies, and in this economy, that's getting more diffic…

I love animals. I have two rescue cats whom I adore and am eager to pet any dog that crosses my path while I'm on my way to and from work. We've even got an office dog, who goes by the name of Mousse. There's no question that his presence warms the hearts of the company's workers. He may even help improve productivity. But giving the okay for Mousse to join us Mondays through Wednesday was no easy feat. See, our HR administrator wanted to make sure that everyone in the office was comfortable wi…

There's not much in this world that we can count on. Except for maybe dogs. These tail-wagging best friends of “man” make life brighter for everyone, including people who don't own them. I know that when I

Whether you live in a city or a suburb (or maybe even somewhere more rural) chances are you're at least somewhat acquainted with your neighbors. Well, if they're not total maniacs who give off threatening auras. As much as I like my human neighbors, I'm far more excited about their pets. And you bet I know everything from their names to their favorite snacks and allergies. My boy Ash (gorgeous male tabby) who lives downstairs happens to be the brother of my own cat. He loves a Churu treat almos…

Dogs are precious. Even as a relatively new “cat person,” I cannot turn my back on the adorable, loyal, and sometimes stinky creatures I grew up with. The bond shared with a pet is strong, and there's something about a dog bond that can't be replicated. The eyes, full of devotion. Their grief when you leave home. Most of all, when I think about dogs, I think about Teddy, my family's long-deceased Wheaten Terrier. Teddy was amazing. He wasn't great with other dogs (he wasn't socialized early in…

Recently, a Twitter user ( @PhadkeTai) has sparked outrage and anger among pet owners and animal obsessives by suggesting that our beloved pets are incapable of loving their owners. The tweet, which quickly went viral - generated quite a heated debate and a lot of criticism from those of us who believe (or know!) that animals are indeed capable of love and emotional connection with their human companions. @PhadkeTai's remarks were perceived as insensitive and dismissive of the deep bonds that m…

I have a confession to make. I wasn't always a cat person. I might talk about them constantly, share memes about them, and think about kitties all the time, but for the first half of my life, I was a hardcore dog person. I think this is mostly thanks to my mom, who would denigrate felines whenever she saw them. She'd grown up with dogs, dachshunds to be exact, and felt cats were cold and unpredictable in comparison to her beloved weiners. Obviously, she was wrong. It's easy to simplify the diff…

A lot of people have been talking about how Elon Musk ruined Twitter. While the dude is undeniably insufferable, we regret to inform these folks that the app has almost always been iffy at best. Sure, there's a lot to be laughed at (and learned about) on Twitter, but there's also a lot that scares us. Pompous incels spouting dangerous vitriol , political know-it-alls who love reading their own words, and those people who really, really need to touch grass one of these days. To say that Twitter…

Shopping on Amazon can be tricky for a multitude of reasons. The most glaring being that Jeff Bezos' online shopping giant is known for its cruel treatment of its employees, and for putting small businesses, well, out of business. Another issue I've had is the sheer volume of fake reviews for cheap, poor-quality products hailing from China. Many of these products misrepresent themselves, and they're often ineligible for refunds. Always read the fine print. Though sifting through reviews and scr…

Some ridiculous diagnoses

It's been years since I had a dog of my own. Taking care of the energetic beasts isn't an easy feat, and it doesn't exactly suit the urban lifestyle - especially in New York City where we pay exorbitant rents for shoebox-sized apartments. While I happily accept my new cat-person identity, I enthusiastically enjoy dogs vicariously. This means cooing over photos of my friends' dogs, or spending time cuddling with my parents' adorable (and huge) canine companions. No disrespect to my cats, but the…

While we don't normally need an excuse to look at cute animals on the internet, but we'll take one when it comes up. And boy, did one come up this weekend. Twitter user @adamgreattweet (who happens to live up to his handle) penned a viral tweet about the differences between dog names and cat names. Despite the fact that it was a wild (and harmless) generalization, the quip went viral, racking up over 36k retweets and almost 500k likes.

It's elaborate

If you asked any of my friends, they would tell you I am addicted to cats. And they might not be wrong. I'm constantly discussing Gorgeous and Grigio, my sweet, sweet furry pets. But the reality behind this infatuation might be less sweet than one would think. If you weren't aware, a little parasite called toxoplasmosis gondii causes toxoplasmosis, a disease that can affect nearly all living creatures, though it is most commonly found in cats. Despite that statistic, it's been documented in hum…

Unique pet names are such a joy. There's nothing worse than meeting an animal who has the most basic uncreative name you could think of. As a child, I went to the neighbor kids' house, thrilled to find out they had guinea pigs. However, my glee subsided when I found out the horrid truth. They named their white guinea pig Snowball, their brown guinea pig Hershey, and their black and white guinea pig Oreo. That is an abomination. How could you be so uncreative to name a pet the most obvious thing…