I usually focus on education, law, and career tips, but today, I’m veering off-topic to share something close to my heart: pets! As you may know, I have a soft spot for animals. My current three-pet household (one dog, two cats) keeps me busy, and this holiday season, I’m fostering three puppies. Yes, you read that right—three! My house is now a zoo.
I’ve made a few changes around my home to ensure it’s puppy-friendly, functional, and prepared for the chaos and joy of fostering. A friend recently asked how I manage a multi-pet household and what products make life easier. That got me thinking: why not share my favorite pet-care tips and tools here?
So, I’m putting together a gift guide/checklist for pet parents of cats, dogs, or both. Whether you’re a seasoned pet owner or considering bringing a furry friend into your life, this guide will include practical, tried-and-true items and tips to keep your home (and sanity) intact.
By the way, the puppies are from Angel City Pit Bulls (ACPB), a local rescue that focuses on saving pitbulls . ACPB is close to my heart because, as a firm believer in #adoptdontshop, it is the rescue where I adopted my pup Rosie. So if you want to adopt one, reach out to the rescue and submit your application!
UPDATE: The ACPB foster puppies were flown to Utah on January 11, 2025 to go to the Best Friends Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah! Local rescues, including Angel City Pit Bulls, are clearing their rosters of dogs and cats who can be moved to rescues in other cities and states to make way for the increased volume of pets entering shelters in Los Angeles as a result of the wildfires.
I’m not sure if the foster pups’ final destination was the Kanab Sanctuary or if they’ll be moving on to another rescue in Salt Lake City. I’ll search those rescues to learn where they’re at so I can help promote their adoption. Buckwheat, Tupelo, and Wildlfower are the sweetest (likely) pitbull/border collie mixes and it was my honor to foster them in my home for the past few weeks. It’s a rewarding experience.
Automatic Pet Food Dispensers
Life gets busy and sometimes I am away from home during meal times. But this doesn’t mean that my pets have to wait for their meals because I am a big fan of automatic cat feeders and automatic dog feeders.
Automatic pet feeders are particularly helpful for those times when I’m away from the house during a meal time. In these situations, I use the pet feeder app on my phone to dispense whatever amount of kibble I want. I also give them a little bit of kibble each day, which I do by pre-scheduling the feeders to dispense a specific amount of kibble at the same time each day.
My dog is about 70 pounds so I like a feeder that can hold a good amount of kibble, like this feeder from PetSafe. I like the easy-to-use app and that it’s designed so that my pup can’t break her way into the feeder! It’s been four years and none of my pets have broken into it yet!
I have two cats and they have an automatic feeder, too! They have a PetLibro feeder that has two bowls so they can eat together when the machine dispenses the food. It also has a cool camera feature that comes in handy when I’m away from home and want to confirm that they’re eating. Because of the camera feature, I was able to see that my dog Rosie was eating their food! I called her through the feeder, which features a speaker to talk to your pet, to tell her to stop but this only worked a few times. After a while, Rosie figured out I wasn’t home and kept eating the cat food!
So, I recently ordered a new version of the PetLibro, which I have yet to test out. I’m hopeful it will work out because the new Pet Libro feeders require an RFID tag. Each feeder will be set up so that it dispenses only when the cat assigned to that feeder approaches it. I haven’t finished setting them up but I’m excited to try them out! Hopefully, this would mean that the kitties will be able to eat their find and protect it from their hungry sister.
I haven’t tried an automatic feeder for pet food but my boyfriend has! Most recently, he ordered this PetSafe Automatic Feeder (check it out here). It’s a game-changer for managing meal times, especially if you have a busy schedule.
Pet Food Plates
When I feed my kitties canned food for breakfast and dinner, I switched to a flatter plate to eliminate stress on their whiskers which can occur if you use a bowl. I use these silicone baby plates and they’ve been great. The kitties like them, the over-spill has decreased, and it’s very convenient that I can wash them in the dishwasher.
For the foster puppies, I initially used the same silicone plates I use for my kitties but they didn’t work as well as I wanted. Puppies are messy eaters. They step into their food and push their plates around. Luckily, I found these handy silicone baby plates with suction cups. This was a game changer! These plates stick to the ground and the puppies can focus on eating instead of chasing their food bowl around.
For kibble, I use this weighted baby bowl to feed kibble to the puppies. It’s helpful for single servings. When I feed them kibble all at once, I use a stainless steel multi-pet feeder bowl the rescue let me borrow. It’s similar to these bowls.
Hydration Stations
I have at least two water sources for my pets at all times. Since Rosie is bigger, I have a large stainless steel water bowl on a stand so it’s easier for her to drink out of. The cats like it, too. The kitties like this PetLibro water fountain. The spout has a steady, quiet stream of water that falls into the top level so the kitty can drink the water falling from the spout or the water on the top layer of the fountain. The water is constantly moving and getting filtered so if your cat prefers drinking water from a moving source (IYKYK), then this may be a good match for your kitty. Coincidentally, the puppies run to drink water from this water fountain together. It’s really cute.
Toys
- Cat (and puppy) tunnel
- Cat Dancer: this wand is my cat’s favorite toy! I have it in my Save & Subscribe so it comes on a routine basis since my kitties destroy the cardboard pieces over time. At only a few dollars per wand, it’s good value for a lot of play time!
- Dog wand: this is Rosie’s favorite toy from puppy school and I’ve bought it several times for her ever since. We use it to play outside and I once used it to lure her into the water at the beach!
- Chewing bones: I used to buy these for Rosie often and the puppies have a small one. Always be sure you’re around when they chew on these or anything else that is hard to avoid choking hazards.
Puppy Pads
I used puppy pads briefly when I had my puppy and I am going through a lot of them now that I am fostering 3 puppies! The puppies are in a play pen for the most part. I line the floor with a tarp, then with XL puppy pads, and a few regular size puppy pads. This way, if the puppies do their business, I can remove one of the smaller puppy pads and replace it with a new one without worrying that my floor is getting dirty.
Also, be sure to check your local Costco or other big box retailer. They may have good deals on puppy pads!
I hope this list is helpful if you’re getting a new puppy or kitty soon and don’t know where to start. If you have any favorite pet products, drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear what works for you!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click on the link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the blog!
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