January 26, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Does this scenario sound familiar? Your cat is sitting in your lap purring contentedly. You are petting her and she’s rubbing her head all over your hand. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the cat chomps down on your hand, jumps out of your lap and either runs off or sits on the floor glaring at you. In my experience, the cat does not bite extraordinarily hard; just with enough force to say “hey, knock it off.”
“When a seemingly contented cat suddenly turns around and bites,” says professional animal behaviorist Gail Green, “it’s because he or she has become overstimulated. Cats can go from happy to overstimulated in a matter of seconds.” In situations where your cat goes from purring to biting, your cat may simply be saying “I’ve had enough now thank you.”
The best way to avoid having to walk around with teeth marks in your hand is to learn to read your cat’s body language. The majority of cats will signal you, prior to resorting to biting, that they could use a break. Houdini for example (Houdini is a cat that lives in my neighborhood and uses my house as his own personal restaurant and playground, much to my dog’s disgust) absolutely craves attention. He loves to have his head rubbed and his back scratched. He frequently stretches out on the warm pavement and rolls over so we can rub his belly (yes - the cat likes having his belly rubbed - I don’t get it either). When he is being petted, he sounds like a motor boat he purrs so loudly. But he only likes attention in short bursts. After about 3 minutes or so, Houdini frequently starts twitching his tail (even while still purring), or he lifts his head from the ground and flattens his ears slightly.
This body language is Houdini’s ways of saying “I’ve had enough attention for the moment.” The one time I ignored these signals, was the one and only time Houdini ever bit me. Not hard, just enough so that I knew he needed a little break. So the next time you are petting or playing with your cat, watch for his signals that he has had enough.
How does your cat signal that he wants attention or that he needs a break? letitbit порно
January 25, 2009 | Filed Under Health Care, animals, cats, dogs | 4 Comments
Last night I went out my backdoor and stared at my backyard for awhile. Then I went out my front door and stared at my front yard. Then I went inside and demanded of my husband why there is no award for “best looking weed garden.” The truth of the matter is, I am a terrible gardener. I sometimes think that I walk outside and my plants shrivel up in fear. At the same time, I can grow some of the most impressive weeds you have ever seen in your life.
My neighbor across the way recommended I use Round-Up - but I refuse to use a chemical weedkiller on my lawn and so-called garden. Not only do I have a dog who insists on tromping through every plant he can find on his way to the car in the morning, but my house seems to be a favorite pit stop for neighborhood dogs when they are out on their morning or evening stroll. I don’t mind this in the least - my neighbors are extremely considerate about picking up after their dogs. My concern is that I do not want to be responsible for exposing either my pet or any of the neighborhood animals (there are also a lot of indoor/outdoor cats on my street) to a chemical weed killer. Fortunately, a lot of pet lovers out there share my concern. I found a great article on a site called Gardening Know How that gives ideas for pet-friendly weed killer using ingredients found in almost every home. Even a non-gardener like me can follow these suggestions!
- Boiling Water - As long as you don’t accidentally scald a passing animal, boiling water will kill any plant with which it comes into contact. The article suggests using boiling water for weeds growing out of driveways and sidewalks. Be careful using it around non-weeds because boiling water does not differentiate between weeds and non-weeds!
- Vinegar - This is the same vinegar that you find in your grocery store. Pour some into a spray bottle and spray it directly onto the weeds. For tough weeds you may have to spray several times over the course of a week. The advantage to using a spray bottle is that you can spray the weeds and leave other plants untouched.
- Salt - The trick with salt is that it prevents anything from growing. The article recommends salting an area where you are preparing to lay down a path or patio and want to ensure that nothing grows at all.
- Sugar - Unlike salt, sugar prevents growth temporarily so it could be ideal for clearing out an area where you want to plant plants in the future. The article recommends using sugar at the base of hard to dig-up bushes or vines. Since sugar can attract pests (and I already have an ongoing war with ants who seem to have a firm belief that they and I can share my house), mix the sugar with equal parts chili pepper powder.
- Corn Meal - This suggestion is probably my favorite because it will stop seeds from germinating but will not harm live plants. After doing battle this coming weekend with the weed field that has become my front yard, I plan to try this technique out.
Do you have a favorite recipe or technique for creating a pet friendly weed killer? I would love to hear from you!
January 24, 2009 | Filed Under cats | No Comments
“My cat doesn’t play.” This is probably the most common comment I hear from potential cat customers when I recommend a specific cat toy. The truth of the matter is that every cat plays - and adult and senior cats need to play just as much as their kitten counterparts. The difficulty comes not from the fact that adult don’t like to play, but that we humans don’t know how to play with our cats.
Kittens will play for blocks of time with anything that moves. Adult cats play in short bursts - generally no more than 10 minutes at a time. And their play mimics the hunting skills they would use in the wild to catch prey.
- Birds- When a cat hunts a bird, he stalks it then leaps up into the air swiping at the bird with both front paws. Wand toys are ideal for mimicking bird hunting behavior. Swing the lure of a wand toy slowly through the air just out of your cat’s reach. Once you have your cat’s attention, you can try changing the speed at which you which wave the wand, raise the lure up and down and even have the lure “land” on couches and chairs to encourage your cat to jump and climb and use a variety of muscles. I refer to wand toys as couch potato toys because I can lie on the couch when I come from home work and swing the wand around for my cat to chase. In order to keep your cat’s interest, be sure to let him occasionally catch his “prey.”
- Mice- When cats hunt mice, they lie in wait, pounce and then bite. Toss and bat toys are ideal for engaging mousers. You can drag a toy mouse slowly across the floor or roll a ball across your cat’s line of vision. You can also drag wand toys across the floor, over and under furniture, and have the lure end “peek” out from under a chair or cushion. Have a paper bag or cardboard box nearby; I’ve found that cats frequently like to hide while they are “stalking” their toys.
- Fish - When cats fish, they wait by the water’s edge then reach into the water with a paw and flip the fish out. Wand toys are perfect for mimicking cat fishing behavior! You can drag the “lure” portion of a wand toy around the floor, just like a fish swimming in a river. For variety, you can make the “fish” swim slower and faster, “jump” out of the “water,” and make some sudden changes of direction.
Keeping adult cats active is vital for their mental and physical well-being. Cats of all ages love to play, it’s just us humans who have to learn how to play appropriately with them.
January 21, 2009 | Filed Under animals, cats | No Comments
If some says “patron saint” and “pets” or “animals” in the same breath, it’s usually assumed that that person is talking about St. Francis of Assisi. It turns out that while St. Francis is пизда залупа сперма the patron saint of animals in general (and the environment as it turns out) dogs and cats also have patron saints of their very own.
When I set out to learn more about this, I had to start by learning exactly what was meant by “patron saint” (I figure if I am not a 10% sure, at least one of my readers is unsure too). According to Wikipedia, a patron saint is a transcended being who can be asked to intercede with God on his or her behalf (that’s a re-wording of the definition but you get the idea).
St. Roch is the patron saint of dogs. According to legend, Roch lived in France in the 14th century. During his lifetime, he contracted the plague and retreated to the forest to avoid spreading the disease amongst his families and loved ones. While living in the forest, a dog befriended him, brought him food and licked his wounds until he recovered completely.
St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats, is believed to have lived in Belgium in the 1600’s. Unlike St. Roch, her association with cats is rather indirect. The water from her well and cakes baked in her oven were believed to repel vermin - hence the association with cats. Oddly, she is sometimes pictured as having a mouse at the end of her staff.
January 13, 2009 | Filed Under animals | No Comments
Every year around Easter, hundreds of rabbits hop into the homes of new owners. Sadly, the majority of those rabbits will shortly be hopping straight into the rabbit hutches of the local ASPCA or Humane Society. According to an article on ZooToo Pet News, 95 percent of rabbits purchased around Easter time wind up “dumped within their first year as pets.”
So if you found a bunny in your Easter basket this year, here are some tips, courtesy of petplace.com, to ensure that you and your bunny start off on the right foot:
- Provide spacious, indoor housing
Rabbits need plenty of space to hop. Provide him a cage (no aquariums please!) a minimum of 6 times the size that your rabbit will be when he is a full-grown adult (unlike with dogs, you should not start with small cage and up the size as the rabbit grows). In the cage be sure to provide your rabbit with someplace soft to rest his feet. Most local pet stores will provide quality rabbit bedding. Sea grass mats (sold at Cost Plus), as well as shredded newspaper also make good bunny cage padding. And be sure to keep the cage inside. Rabbits are sensitive to temperature changes and easy prey to local wildlife.
- Put A Litter Box In the Cage
Rabbits will vary in what they will use as a litter box. A cardboard box, lined with shredded newspaper and some hay (a great attractant) should work for most rabbits. Avoid clay-based, clumping, and pine or cedar based litters - these can be fatal for rabbits! As long as you keep the box clean (you will need to change the box almost every day if you use newspaper and hay) rabbits will pretty much train themselves to use the litter box. The most important thing you can do to encourage litter box usage is to have your rabbit neutered or spayed.
Hay (a product called Timothy hay is ideal) should be available for your rabbit to feast on at all times. The Rabbit Network (a phenomenal source for information) also states that fresh leafy greens should be offered daily. We recommend at least three different ones from the following list: kale, dandelion, collard greens, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine, escarole, chicory, dill, cilantro, parley, swiss chard, oregano and mustard greens. Carrots should be limited to about 1/2 per day depending on the size of your rabbit as they are high in sugar and calories, but the leafy tops can be fed freely. Typically they should receive 2 cups of greens per 5 pounds of body weight. Pellet diets should be used for supplementation purposes only.
Rabbits generally do not like being picked up, handled, and cuddled. They feel much safer with their feet on the ground, and will demonstrate their dislike of being handled by biting or scratching. Rabbits are also surprisingly fragile animals. A rabbit that is squeezed to hard or dropped (for example by a child who has just been bitten) can easily wind up with a fractured leg or spine.
Your rabbit wants and needs to spend time outside his cage. Ideally give your rabbit 3-4 hours of supervised out-of-cage play time every day. You will need to take extra care to bunny proof the room in which your rabbit roams. Rabbits can and will chew on everything from toxic house plants to electrical wires. Wrap wires and phone cords in a protective coating (or take them out of the room entirely) and remove plants you do not want eaten. Rabbits are also extremely good jumpers and can hop up onto sofas and counter tops that you would assume are out of reach. Also block off any openings - including behind radiators - that you do not want your rabbit to enter. Even large rabbits can make themselves fit into seemingly impossibly small spaces.
- Provide A Variety of Toys
Rabbits love to chew, shred, roll, and explore. Most pet stores (Petlane amongst them!) will sell a variety of rabbit safe toys. Offer your pet a variety of toys and be sure to rotate in new ones every few days to help prevent boredom. If you have not yet purchased any rabbit toys, paper towel and toilet paper tubes (including a couple stuffed with hay) and an old phone book are great starter toys.
