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When I went outside this morning to clean my basement's window wells, I found a strange object buried in the dirt of the window well. It was larger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball, round, white, covered in dirt. I rolled it out with a stick and brushed the dirt off, it looked like a very small coconut. When I opened it up there was nothing but dirt packed inside, no bugs, etc (thought it might be a cocoon or bee's nest). Any idea what it could be? I have a picture of it. I live in lower Westchester, NY & we don't have any unusual animals around, we have skunks, raccoons, squirrels, field mice, and an occasional possum.

My cat is 6 years old, female, fixed, and recently has been eating very little and pooping every 2 days instead of every day. This is unusual for her but otherwise she is fine. Saw the vet in March or April, & she had clean bill of health. She is peeing the same amount, she has not lost or gained weight, she is still playful and cuddly. She is not straining in the litter box or crying/meowing. Is it normal for eating and pooping behavior to change? I am thinking of giving her some Lactone to ease possible constipation; I'm also wondering if the very humid weather is just getting to her and making her less hungry, therefore she poops less.

Her litter box is clean and I am not feeding her a new food, so I am not sure why she is acting this way. Would take her to the vet but I was out of work for 6 months until recently & do not have the funds yet.

My cat, a female tabby, is 6 years old and I adopted her from a rescue when she was 9-10 months old. She's wonderful, but I feel bad because when I am out of her sight, she will cry these very plaintive meows. She does it when I leave the house, or even when I just go into another room. Most times, she will drag her favorite toy mouse around with her as she cries. She gets plenty of affection, is well fed, always has a clean litter box, was fixed before I adopted her, and does not have any medical issues - does she just have separation anxiety, and if so, how can I help her?

I apologize in advance if this grosses anyone out. My little nephew accidentally pooped in his pants while sitting on my leather couch. Now I cannot get the smell out! I tried soap, bleach spray and several other cleaners. Any suggestions?

Early this morning, between 5:30 - 6:30 am, my cat pulled a piece or two of potpourri from my bookshelf onto the floor. I was half asleep but pretty sure I heard her crunching on it. She ate breakfast around 7, now it's 4 p.m. and she seems fine, has not vomited or anything. I called my vet of course, but have been unable to reach him today. I read online that potpourri is poisonous to cats and dogs, but she seems fine - is she in any danger?

My brother & I both swear there is a taste difference between white and yellow American cheese. Others have argued we're crazy lol. Just curious as to everyone's thoughts.

My 4 year old, female cat was diagnosed with feline urologic syndrome a week ago. My vet prescribed a glucosmine & chondroitin supplement 1x/day, an antibiotic 2x/day, and a special diet by Purina, both dry and wet. I am very fussy about food and am hesitant to feed her non-organic, all-natural food, but she's been doing 100% better since we started. I'm not sure if that's due to the meds, food, or both. Can I switch her back to all-natural food?

She is a fixed female and lately she's been going in her litterbox every 5 minutes! She is urinating normally and having normal bowel movements, but in between that she goes in and out. It looks like she's trying to urinate because little drops will come out. Is something wrong with her, like a blockage? If so, how is she still able to produce a normal volume of urine? I am calling the vet tomorrow but would like some reassurance.

I grew up in an apartment building and I remember my best friend lived on the top floor. She had a small door under her kitchen window that always intrigued us. There was nothing inside, it was maybe a foot across and a foot high. Any idea what this was? It was not a dumbwaiter (that was on the other side of her kitchen). I never saw anything like it again and my apartment did not have one.

I have a friend who is ready to check into a rehab for his drug addiction, however, he is on methadone maintenance and does not want to quit it. I was told by a rehab center in NYC that no New York state inpatient program will accept a methadone patient if they are on more than 40 milligrams, then a mental health clinician told me that is not true. Does anyone know of an inpatient program in the 5 boroughs or Westchester County NY that will allow him to be maintained on methadone? I googled but could not find much. Thanks.

Hi everyone - recently I decided to go vegetarian. Even when I ate meat, I was a "clean eater" - I ate foods with no or very little unrecognizable ingredients. I love the Morningstar Farms grillers but was surprised when I read the ingredients - I didn't recognize a lot of them. Can anyone tell me if these products are actually healthy? Cellulose gum, caramel color - not even sure what those are.

Not sure what all of this means, from liver biopsy:

Trichrome & reticulin stains show focal, mild portal fibrous expansion, but fibrous septa are not present. Mild, focal steatosis is compatible with hepatitis C infection. No iron or alpha-1-antitrypsin globules are identified with special stains (Prussian blue, PAS-D).

Numerical assignment for the above stage of disease:

Modified Ishak scheme: stage 1/4

Metavir scheme: F1

I'm making tuna noodle casserole - you know, with cream of mushroom soup & egg noodles - what I have on hand is frozen spinach, frozen broccoli, or frozen string beans. Which do you think would taste best mixed into it?

One month, I had to have mushrooms on or in everything I ate.

The next month, I ate tuna and pickles every day for about a week.

Also had a month where I went crazy with marinara sauce. Ate it on plain bread, drowned my pasta in it, actually ate cold spoonfuls out of the jar!

I bought this stupid metal toothbrush holder and put it on my marble sinktop, now I am left with a huge rust ring! I tried bleach, Mr. Clean erasers, nothing has worked. Does anyone have a solution? Thanks!

If I am sick, I really only want to eat peanut butter & jelly on graham crackers, Campbell's chicken & stars soup, or (and this is odd) shepherd's pie.

Years ago, I recall someone saying that "el buste" means "bullsh*t" in Spanish. I tried to google this and found nothing. Just curious if someone can confirm or deny? I am sure it's not a literal translation, it might be regional dialect?

Just curious what people think, I like names that are a little different but not too different. I know some middle names repeat but I'm fond of them:

GIRLS

Susan Lynne

Amy Lynne

Marcheline Holly (I've loved Marcheline since before Angelina Jolie - it's a character in my favorite book)

Francesca Nicole

Valentina Lauria

Alexa Christine

Nora Bethany

Kathryn Sage

Olivia Loren

Jacqueline Theresa

Kathlene Marie

Dana Lynne

Danielle Elise

Nancy Laura

Lisa Giselle

BOYS

Nicholas Grady

Brendan Sean

Declan John

Ryan Vincent

Douglas Vincent