Lisa Spencer

Founder

Founder of pookii. Not a vet, and careful about the difference.

Lisa Spencer runs pookii, a UK platform built on one idea: that almost nothing about looking after an animal is difficult, and almost all of it is a date. When the last wormer was given. What the vet said about neutering, and how old the dog was when they said it. Which spelling of the name went onto the microchip database. None of that is hard to know. All of it is easy to lose, because you were told each thing exactly once, out loud, in a room, while holding a lead and a card machine and an animal who had just weed on the floor. She is not a vet and does not write as one. Where a page on pookii touches on health it says what a vet would need to see, names its source, and sends you to them. Where the evidence is thin it says so rather than rounding it up into advice. The rest of the site is the same argument in different clothes. A name is an acoustic decision before it is a creative one. A vaccination reminder is one practice's text message, not your pet's schedule. A record you cannot find is a record you never had.

Articles by Lisa Spencer

Cat Vaccines, and Why Your Indoor Cat Still Needs Them

Every cat needs the core vaccines, even one who never goes outside. Here's what FVRCP, rabies and FeLV cover, when kittens get them, and why adult shots end up on three different clocks.

The rabies vaccine for dogs, and why the certificate date matters

The rabies vaccine for dogs starts at 3 months or older, gets a booster one year later, then repeats every one or three years. Who sets those rules, and why the certificate decides what happens after an exposure.

The Bordetella vaccine: who needs it, and how far ahead

Most dogs that board or go to daycare need the Bordetella vaccine yearly. Nose drops can protect in two to three days; a first injection takes about three weeks.

Do cats grieve, and how can you help?

Cats can eat, play and sleep less after a companion dies, whether that friend was a cat or a dog. How to keep their days steady, and when a change needs a vet.

Dog vaccinations: which shots your dog actually needs

Five core vaccines for every dog, a few more depending on lifestyle, and three different booster clocks. What your dog needs, and when, from the AAHA guidelines.

Why do cats sleep so much? What’s normal and when to worry

Cats are built to rest between short bursts of activity. Here is what normal sleep looks like, why your lap wins, and which changes need a veterinarian.

Cat body language and what those faces mean

One minute your cat is leaning into your hand. The next, your hand has become an unpopular guest. How to read cat body language in context.

Why is my cat peeing outside the litter box

You can adore your cat and be deeply unenthusiastic about washing the comforter at midnight. Both feelings are allowed. But a new puddle is information, and the first thing to rule out is the one that cannot wait.

Cat Not Eating? Causes and When to Call the Vet

Usually your cat hears the pouch open from two rooms away. Today the bowl is untouched. Appetite is health information, so before you open a fifth dinner, work out what changed and call the veterinarian.

Girl cat names, and why the delicate ones lose indoors

She is not going to read the name. She is going to hear it once, across a kitchen, over a dishwasher, while deciding whether the thing she is already doing is better.

Dog and cat vaccination schedule: what is due, and when

The puppy course runs to sixteen weeks, not twelve. After that the appointment is annual because the clinic runs on a year, not because every component does. Those are different things.

Cat names, and what a cat can actually hear

She already has three sounds that mean food and none of them is your voice. A good name is one that can join that list, not one that reads well on a page of suggestions.

Dog names: how to pick one that works outdoors · pookii

You will say this word out loud several times a day for a decade. It has to survive being shouted, being shortened by strangers, and being typed by somebody not listening.

How long after 2nd puppy vaccination can they go out?

The second shot is not the finish line in the US, and the date most owners count toward is the wrong one. What the wait is actually measured from, and what to do meanwhile.