We're happy to present this post from our friends at Yahoo! Shine. Find out what happened to the world's favorite Ikea monkey!

Up until a [few] months ago, no one would believe a monkey in a shearling coat would shop at Ikea.

But ever since Darwin, the well-dressed rhesus macaque monkey, escaped from his human mom's parked car and entered a Toronto Ikea with the same panicked expression seen on humans at the furniture outlet, we've learned that nothing is impossible.

So what first-world problems is the Ikea monkey facing in 2013? There's an ugly custody battle, a new home with none of the luxuries of suburban life, and too many Facebook pages to keep track of. 

"Hello world!!! Thanks for bringing me to Story Book Farm!! You all rock...I just wish I had a mommy to help me through these tough times!!" writes Darwin, or rather Darwin's Facebook "translator" at the animal sanctuary where the ten-month-old primate now resides.

Read on to get the latest on Darwin.

The perfect cats always find their way home, right? Check out this story of love lost and found from our partners at Yahoo Shine!

A California woman has finally found her beloved cat 13 years after she thought she lost him, thanks to a tiny microchip implanted under his skin.

Also on Shine: Should You Microchip Your Pet?

Jackie Sharp fell in love with her cat, Dallas, the very first time she saw him in the Petaluma, CA, animal shelter. It was a few days before Christmas 1997, and the little ball of black fluff was only about 2 months old.

Read on to learn more about this touching story.

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Yes, that's a cat on a toilet. And yes, he does look pretty pissed about it. The whole Internet has just discovered the Litter Kwitter, a potty training system for cats that was—up until this point—known only to a rare breed of ambitious cat owners.

Created by a woman who toilet-trained her own cat, the Litter Kwitter works like this: You put a color-coded litter-filled ring with a very small hole on your toilet bowl. As your cat learns to jump on the porcelain throne every time he needs to relieve himself, you switch to a ring with a larger hole. This goes on until your animal suddenly realizes he's standing on a toilet bowl, praying he doesn't fall in.

Related: 10 Least-Trendy Cat Names of 2013

It's great idea, but according to the people who write reviews on Amazon about cat toilet training, it's not that easy.

Please take a moment to enjoy some of the comments posted about the Litter Kwitter, because they are brilliant:

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People love cute cat photos, but Spangles takes cute to the extreme. The cross-eyed kitty, who was caught glowering goofily in pirate hat, now has a huge following on Facebook, and is making waves across the Internet as well.

She first decided to dress him up when she came across a tiger costume at a pet store. "I saw the tiger hat in PetSmart and it was so cute," his owner, 25-year-old Mary Buchanan, told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. "I put it on him and he just looked so adorable. I wanted to show others how cute he is."

Related: British Cat Burglar Takes Anything With His Paws

"He was born on July 4. So I came up with his name, Spangles!" Buchanan posted on Spangles' Facebook page, where she also posts plenty of photos. The 3-year-old mixed-breed cat was born with his eyes crossed, Buchanan told Yahoo! Shine, but "He can see perfectly fine. He has been checked out by a vet."

Related: Families' Most Inspiring Pet Tales

Spangles lives in Spartanburg, S.C., with his human, his canine siblings (Jen Jen and Mojo), and his feline siblings (Sunshine, Snowball, and Georgina). "My pets are my kids," Buchanan says. "My mom asked when she was going to get grand kids one day and I pointed to the animals playing and and told her those were her grand kids!"

"Spangles loves snuggling with me and he plays at night," Buchanan adds. "I'm a night owl so he has adapted to my schedule." And he's plenty willing to don crazy costumes and pose for Buchanan's camera. At least, most of the time.

Learn more about Spangles's love for crazy costumes here.

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This cat's trip to Disney is no fairy tale: Bob-bob came along on his owner's annual trip to Orlando – in her suitcase.

Ethel Maze, who runs the Maze Residential Care Home for disabled veterans, had a lot to do in the lead-up to her yearly jaunt to Florida. She had to confirm flight and hotel reservations for her group – 18 disabled veterans and volunteers – and find someone to watch her six pets. But according to the Orlando Sentinel's story on Bob-bob's unlikely journey, the 14-month-old cat was not trying to hear about staying home in Circleville, OH. As Maze packed the last of her things Monday morning, Bob-bob made sure he got packed as well, sneaking into her suitcase.

Related: Great Dane Zeus Now World's Tallest Dog

Mike Groleau, who wrangles the group's baggage, did think he saw the bag move – but it had been a long night, so Groleau just tagged the green suitcase and put it with the others. "This was the last bag I grabbed," he told the Sentinel, and "somehow it got zipped up."

Read on to learn more about Bob-bob's big adventure.

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The American Veterinary Medical Association has found that Americans own fewer cats and dogs than they did in 2006 – 2 million fewer dogs, and 7.6 million fewer cats, to be exact. It's not a huge decline in pet-owning households percentage-wise – 2.4 percent – but it's the first such decrease since 1991.

Karen Felsted of Felsted Veterinary Consultants in Richardson, TX presented the numbers at the AVMA's annual meeting in San Diego, and said the dip in pet ownership is "clearly" thanks to the bad economy, and called the dwindling "significant." Ownership of pets of all species had shown steady growth since 1986, when the AVMA began conducting the survey (it's performed every five years and surveys fifty thousand households). Between 2006 and 2011, though, the trend reversed itself. The AVMA's CEO, Ron DeHaven, theorized that people are less likely in the last few years to replace older pets who have died – because they may not be able to afford a new one. Keep reading for the rest of this story.

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If you've got a pet, chances are you'll need a kennel at some point. Lots of pet owners go with in-home pet-setting services, or take their pets along with them on out-of-town trips – but Tabby probably isn't welcome at a work retreat in Tahoe, and let's face it, sometimes you want a vacation from the pets themselves.

But you also want the boarding facility you pick out to be safe and comfortable for you pet. Lynn Gensamer, the executive director of the Humane Society for Greater Savannah (Georgia), listed a few key ways to make sure you're getting the best kennel experience for your pet in a recent article.

Related: Keep Your Doggie Door Secure

Her first recommendation: research the kennel beforehand. A lot of kennels have websites with virtual tours, or even cage-cams where you can look in on what's going on; you can also read up on customer reviews, or check Yelp to see if your neighborhood kennel is highly rated.

You can also learn a lot from an in-person visit, which any kennel of repute should be happy to accommodate. Take a tour; make some notes. Gensamer says that the whole place – "kennels, play yards, dog runs and rooms – should be clean and odor-free." Check both dog and cat areas, and talk to staff, especially the ones who'll be interacting with your pet. Mention any special needs, and make sure the kennel is equipped to deal with dietary issues, special beds for arthritic pets, or whatever specific extras your pet might require. Get a sense of how Fido or Fluffy will be spending the days – do they get to play outside and/or with other guests?

Y! Science: Huge Burmese python sets two records

Gensamer also suggests word-of-mouth research – asking friends and neighbors where they send their pets (or where they won't send them again). Some kennels, like some vets, just do better with dogs than cats, or with "behaviorally challenged" animals than with seniors; fellow customers are the best source for that kind of info.

What to check next, after the jump.

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Moving is a hassle, no matter how excited you are about your new home (or sick of that leaky shower head in the old one). Wrapping each plate and glass in paper, packing all your shoes by mistake, getting all the utilities changed over, reassuring your kids (and yourself) about the new school . . . it's really stressful. Adding the pets to that seemingly endless to-do list doesn't help.

And it's a tough time for them, too. Animals often pick up on anxious vibes in their homes and may respond by acting out, hiding (in a box you're about to seal with tape, sometimes), or running away. On the other hand, Fluffy may not be bothered at all — but God forbid she gets underfoot while the piano's getting loaded onto the truck.

You have a lot of planning to do already, but a little pet-related preparation before moving day will save you a lot of stress during it. Our tips:

Keep pets out of packing areas. If you can, pack one room at a time, which minimizes literal and emotional upheaval, and close pets out of the room in question, so that they don't get pinned under heavy furniture, stuck in boxes, or get evil packing tape on their paw pads. This will also spare you tripping over them repeatedly.

Related: Bedbug-Free Travel With Pets

Call the experts. When you contract a moving company, let your contact know that you have pets, so they don't send a mover who's allergic to cats or frightened of dogs. Remind the foreperson of the team again when the truck arrives, and review any special instructions ("please don't open this bathroom door; the cats will escape"). And if you've got a cross-country move ahead and not just a crosstown one, ring your vet to see if mild sedatives are in order for your pet. Our cats hate car rides, but they slept through a move to Ontario with no side effects. Flying instead? Check and double-check with the airlines to make sure you understand their policies.

Make pets the "advance team." If it's possible, timing-wise, consider setting your pet up in the new home before all the books and furniture arrive — say, the night before. Dogs in particular like a schedule and may not respond well to disruptions, so easing them into the "new routine" in the new house ahead of time could really help. Select a small room with a securely closing door that you can make cozy with some familiar items — a sweatshirt that smells like you, for example, and a few toys, plus food and water dishes and a potty. This lets the animal get a feel for the sounds and smells of the new house, but keeps her safely out from under everyone's feet, and also unable to escape into a new and unfamiliar neighborhood.

Assign a handler. A kid who's old enough to take charge of a pet, but not quite old enough to be much help with the physical moving, is perfect for this gig, but you can also task a helpful friend or neighbor. Distracting the pet for several hours while the heavy lifting is completed may soothe the pet somewhat and will definitely cut down on escape attempts.

Send them on vacation. Subtracting pets from the equation entirely is a great option if you're moving within a smaller radius, and can afford it. Parking Fido or Fluffy at a kennel, doggie "spa," or with a pet sitter or trusted friend for a few days while you get the basics unpacked and organized will lower stress for all the creatures involved.

Any other tips we left out? Do you move the pets first, last, or in between — or stash them at your parents' house until the dust settles? Any funny stories of jailbreaks or accidentally packed felines? We'd love to hear them in the comments.

— Sarah D. Bunting
Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.

Elsewhere on Shine Pets:
House Cats Deadlier Than We Thought
Cat Photos Cheer Up Teen Cancer Patient
Why Your Dog Stinks

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We don't like to compare cats and dogs — both pets have so many lovable qualities! it's not a competition! — but we will give the edge to cats in one respect: they're self-cleaning. We adore dogs, but there's no denying that, when it comes to smelling bad, they've got cats beat paws down.

But why do dogs get so smelly sometimes?

Well, let's start with the obvious: they get dirty. Most dogs spend a decent amount of time outside, and they may spend part of that time rolling around in trash, poop, or other icky things (they do this to camouflage their own smell). Not every dog likes to do this…but yours may love it.

Or maybe Rex just got caught in the rain; a wet dog is a notoriously stinky proposition. That smell comes from bacteria that feed on the oils produced by a dog's skin, so the best way to beat that odor is to bathe the dog regularly; dry him thoroughly after baths; and keep him dry in between.

Related: Dog Thefts on the Increase

Groom your dog each day, too. Even a quick brushing before bedtime can help you spot and get rid of dirt and gunk that's clinging to his coat (or little "cling-ons" that might be lingering under his tail). Check between his toes to make sure he doesn't have anything stinky lodged there, or consider a quick foot bath just to make sure (hounds of our acquaintance will happily cut through their own urine or waste during walks).

But if a nice relaxing bubble bath or "pedicure" doesn't kill the stench, it's time to look elsewhere. First, try bathing the dog's bed, crate, and/or anywhere else he regularly lies down. If he's clean but his favorite sofa cushion is funky, he's just going to get smelly again in ten minutes. Wash his bed, any padding he lies on, et cetera on a regular basis — and if he's got a "home" chair or spot on the rug that can't be easily laundered, start putting a fluffy towel or bed facsimile in that spot so it's easy to run through the wash.

Y! News: Odor forces flight to turn around — twice

…Still catching a bad whiff? You may be looking at a medical issue, so enlist your vet to help solve the mystery. Fido may have a skin infection that regular bathing and dog shampoo won't defeat; dog breeds with skin folds may be more prone to this, so have your vet take a look.

Or is it Fido's breath? He's probably never going to smell minty-fresh, but particularly revolting breath could spell a dental problem like a rotten tooth or gum disease; bad breath could also indicate a digestive issue. Have a veterinarian take a look, and recommend chew toys and/or dental products that will keep the dog's teeth clean.

Ear conditions like mites can also create some unpleasant odors. Does your newly-bathed dog still smell like old shoes — and is he also scratching his ears or shaking his head a lot? It might be mites. Call the vet for a recommendation or some drops.

Or…maybe that funk is coming from the other end. Dogs can eat things they shouldn't and cause themselves gastric distress, including noxious flatulence; usually, though, you can trace a given series of poots to the coffee grounds or scrambled eggs Corky helped himself to last night. But if you know he's only eating his regular kibble and his gas is frequent and/or horrible, ask your vet about changing the dog's diet and/or running some tests. Most dogs are lactose-intolerant, so make sure he's not snacking on unauthorized cheese, and see what the vet has to say about probiotics (which help promote intestinal flora), getting more exercise (which can cut down on the toots), and feeding methods (wolfing down meals could lead to gas).

Maybe it's not just air, either. Secretions from a dog's anal glands can generate one of the worst smells known to humans. If your dog is prone to impactions or other problems "near the back door," you may have to ask your vet about expressing those glands regularly. …We know, trust us; we have a cat with this…"situation," and it is yucky and undignified for everyone involved. But you can handle it yourself…or you can wait until the pooch "handles" it on a vintage needlepoint pillow, or starts dragging his tuchis along the carpet in front of your new in-laws. Talk to a vet, and then possibly your groomer/doggie daycare provider, about managing a gland issue.

Keeping your dog smelling sweet — or at least not awful — is mostly a matter of prevention, it seems. Regular baths, paired with checks of your dog's ears, teeth, and paws; regular laundry; and regular vet visits should all help you not have to breathe through your mouth every time Rover enters the room.

How do you keep your dog smelling like a daisy? Or have you just learned to tolerate a certain funk? Share your secrets for a sweet-smelling pooch in the comments!

— Sarah D. Bunting
Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.

Elsewhere on Shine Pets:
Dogs Might Be Smellier, but Cats Are Twice as Allergenic
Why Your Cat Insists on Drinking Out of Your Glass
Design a Great Dog Yard

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Bedbugs: no insect grabs as many headlines. But you can keep them from grabbing headlines at your house by making sure your pet doesn't pick any up on the road. And it's not that difficult or pricey.

Jeff Ehling's Action 13 piece on protecting pets from bedbugs on the road featured several commonsense tips for bedbug-proofing your cat or dog – but first, he talked about whether a vacation infestation is even something you need to worry about. Well, unfortunately…it is. A research entomologist, Jeffery White of Bedbug Central, told Ehling that "any pet" could become a "food source" for a bedbug, including birds and rodents – and Ehling also cited a fairly disturbing survey that found 67 percent of pest-management businesses have treated hotel rooms for bedbugs. (Note: that means two thirds of the companies treated the problem – not that two thirds of hotel rooms have the problem. That's how we read it at first, and we totally vowed to sleep in the car for the rest of our lives until rereading the stat.)

Y! News: 21-pound lobster finds new home at New England Aquarium

We've all heard the icky stories about hotel-room bedspreads and, um, underwhelming attention to cleaning detail anyway, so, as much as we might want to believe that our vacation digs are spotless, it's totally possible that a previous occupant brought in bedbugs – and the little jerks are now looking for a ride out of town. Pet hair is perfect for that. Good news, though: according to the American Veterinary Medical Association's Kimberly May, the pests don't usually "live on pets long term," and also don't pose as much of a biting problem as fleas and ticks.

Related: Cat Allergies Twice as Common as Dog Allergies

Still: nobody wants 'em around. How to make sure Rex doesn't pick up unwanted passengers, and then infest your house:

Inspect hotel rooms and other lodgings. Do this before you bring your pet inside. It might take a few minutes, as White told Ehling that you'll want to check the out-of-the-way spots bedbugs prefer, like the headboard or the box spring. But you won't need a magnifying glass or specially-trained beagle; you can see bedbugs with the naked eye.

Monitor your pet's bedding. This is where an ambitious insect is most likely to hitchhike, so before you leave, treat your pet carrier with a repellent spray (make sure it's pet-safe, or ask your vet for a recommendation). On the road, eyeball the bedding regularly – and maybe confine it to the bathroom, where bugs are less common (and easier to spot). Check it each time you leave a hotel or rental, before you put it in the car – and before it darkens your doorstep at home, launder it in the hottest possible water. If the outside of the mattress is torn, giving critters a place to burrow and/or hide out, get rid of the entire shebang. If you can afford it, you might consider keeping a second carrier and/or set of bedding just for trips.

Monitor your pet. You'd do this anyway, and again, bedbugs aren't known carriers of disease – but their bites will annoy your pet, and if you see them, you can fight them. Ehling's piece suggests making a pit stop at the groomer's even before you get home and unpack, for a quick shampoo and de-bug before Fido flops down on the couch.

Ehling adds that flea and tick sprays aren't proven to fight bedbugs – but they can't hurt, and will of course guard against other parasites that WOULD do harm.

We're not trying to add to anyone's bedbug-anoia here – sometimes, all worrying about bedbugs does is give you phantom itchies – but when it comes to pets and travel, it seems pretty easy to stay on top of any problems. If your pet picked up a bedbug or fifty on the road, or if you've got any prevention tricks, please share in the comments!

— Sarah D. Bunting
Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.

More from Shine Pets:
Cat Helps Young Boy With Anxiety Disorder
8 Summer Dangers For Cats
Pet Telepathy: Can Real-Life Dr. Doolittle's Help?

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Don't worry — you don't need a degree in landscape architecture, or even a ton of money. According to Gabrielle Fimbres's piece in the Arizona Daily Star, small investments of time, money, and planning can turn your yard (or a small area within it) from a poop-festooned and possibly hazardous waste of space that's not fun for your dog into a neat, fun mini dog park that improves the value of your home.

Photo: Susi May

Fimbres interviewed experts Teresa Truelsen, marketing manager of the local chapter of the Humane Society, and Jason Isenberg, the owner and lead designer at Realm Environments and its subdivision, Petscapes, for inspiration. Check out the advice.

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The Fourth of July has so many awesome associations for humans: cookouts, trips to the beach, an excuse to bust out the red-white-and-blue clothing, and of course fireworks displays.

But what we hominids think of fondly as fun and exciting traditions, the dog is just hassled by. He's not allowed to belly up to the picnic table with his people, he's not really that big a fan of the goofy flag t-shirt he's forced to wear so you can get a cute Facebook photo…and he hate hate haaaaaates the fireworks.

But why?

Related: When Your Dog Hates the Car

The answer seems pretty obvious. …Well, it seems obvious to this sensitive-eared correspondent, who spent most of her childhood praying for rain on Independence Day so she wouldn't have to pretend to enjoy a fusillade of cringingly loud explosions. So, we can only imagine how it feels for dogs, whose hearing is much more receptive than ours (they have three times as many muscles devoted to it, and according to some sources, the range of frequencies a dog can hear is at least twice that of the range available to us). Keep reading to find out what the experts say.

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When we think of summertime dangers for pets, we're probably thinking mostly about dogs. Dogs spend more time outside; dogs tend to have a more intense relationship with what's on the picnic table; dogs are more likely to like the water.

But some cats hang out outdoors, or near pools and ponds — and too much sun can have harmful effects on our feline friends, too. Now that summer is officially underway, it's a good time to review the hot-weather dangers that might face our cats — with a little help from this rundown from PetPlace's Dr. Dawn Ruben.

Keep reading for tips.

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You may have heard that infants who grow up in households with pets can develop resistance to allergies — and a new study may have nailed down why.

Research suggests that exposure to all sorts of dirt and dander is beneficial in terms of exposing a child's immune system to, and strengthening it against, various allergens; as researcher Ganesa Wegienka put it, "Dirt is good." And children who live with — read: "roll around and play with" — dogs and cats are less likely to become allergic to those animals later in life, as long as the exposure occurred during the first year of life. The study appeared in the journal "Clinical & Experimental Allergy," and followed over 500 kids until age 18; teens who had lived with a cat during their first year had a 48 percent lower risk of developing a cat allergy. Meanwhile, teen boys who had lived with a dog were 50 percent less likely to develop dog allergies — but the rate was not the same for infant/teen girls who had lived with dogs, for reasons researchers still don't quite grasp. (They theorize that baby boys may play with dogs differently.) Keep reading for more details.

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We have joked many, many times, while checking out at the veterinarian's office, that our cats should get paper routes or jobs at Starbucks to help defray the costs of their care. Two out of three of the felines at Pets HQ are old, and between the senior-wellness checkups ($175 a pop), the specialty food they need for their "dietary issues" ($85 a case), the professional claw-clipper I hire to catch and manicure a surprisingly spry 17-year-old orange tabby . . . it adds up. And that's not counting all the Fresh Step, paper towels to handle cat vomit, catnip, sisal mice, pet-sitters, emergency surgeries because someone thought he was a dog and chewed on a table leg, and so on and so forth. We've never considered sitting down with a pencil and paper and adding up the total cost of the cats over a lifetime, though, because we don't particularly enjoy crying hysterically.

Fortunately, Petplace.com saved us — and you — the trouble. Alex Lieber has an interesting piece up about how much it costs owners to "raise" various pets, be it small dogs, big dogs, indoor cats, or outdoor ones, over the lifetime of those pets. And the figures surprised us in several ways. Keep reading to find out the stats.

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Summer is officially underway — and for many of us, that means barbecues, cookouts, beach bonfires, and other outdoor affairs. But what's a lot of fun for humans can present dangers to our pets, so before your next big backyard bash, add these pet-safety pointers to your pre-party checklist — it just might save you a trip to the vet. (Or to the grocery store to replace the platter of hot dogs Gracie just wolfed down.)

The summer-party staples your pets should avoid:

The picnic/barbecue spread. Human food isn't indicated for pets the rest of the year either, but it's especially important to keep little snouts out of the potato salad at this time of year. Dr. Louis Murray, interim director of the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in NYC, explained to Petside's Talia Argondezzi that "Pets are very sensitive to changes in their diets" — and the upset stomach caused by a "middle-aged" potato salad in a heat wave will hit small pets even harder. 

Murray added that pancreatitis, a serious and sometimes fatal inflammation of the pancreas, can proceed from eating "greasy, spicy, fatty foods" — all mainstays of barbecues.

And while you might follow the rules and not give your pets cookout food, your guests might not know better. Plus, parties can get chaotic, and many pets will take advantage of a busy backyard to perform a little quality control on the deviled eggs.

So, while it might sound cold-hearted, your pet (and you) may have a better time if she's in a cool basement or air-conditioned room with a bowl of water, a little of her own kibble, and the door closed.

Keep reading for more tips.