Recently the news outlets have been covering the story of Meow, the two-year-old cat that weighs 39 pounds, a whopping 27 more than he should. He's the equivalent of a 600-pound human. Although the news outlets have made light of the situation, obesity in our pets is no laughing matter.

Pet obesity is a huge problem that keeps getting bigger, no pun intended. According to a 2010 Pet Obesity Study performed by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 55.6 percent of dogs and 54 percent of cats in the United States are overweight or obese. That's an estimated 43 million dogs and 50 million cats.

Continue Reading "The Serious Promblems of Pudgy Pets" »

I was trying to think of an Earth Day post for pets and the closest thing I could come up with was an interesting story I read in the NY Times about earthquake emergency planning for pets in San Francisco.

Apparently the City by the Bay is taking things to the next level in this arena. I'm not really surprised by that since most things happen there about five to ten years before they happen anywhere else in the country, unless you live in Oklahoma.

Continue Reading "Disaster Preparedness for Pets " »

I spend a lot of time on feline behavior topics and much of the behavior we see with cats is related to multiple cat households and the indoor environment. Let me state up front that I'm a fan of keeping cats indoors. I think they are safer indoors and there are studies that confirm that indoor cats live longer and healthier lives than cats that are allowed to roam freely. That being said, the wrong kind of indoor environment may contribute to stress and "sensitive cat syndrome", a constellation of diseases related to a sterile indoor environment.

Continue Reading "Invisible Fence. Now for Cats too." »

Sometimes you just have to quote from the press release.

"On December 20th, Americans nationwide had the opportunity to vote online to raise funds for five national pet-related charities. Over the course of the day, Purina ONE beyOnd donated $200,000 total to the charities and the online voting determined how much of the monetary pool each charity would receive. 

Well, the results are in and here is the breakdown of how much each nonprofit will receive as a result of the online voting: 

Happy! Happy! Holidays!!!

Are we pet people out of control? I don't think so, but some folks who are not as "pet friendly" as we are might think so.

Looks like Christmas has become a pet holiday, sort of. This article, "We Woof You a Merry Christmas and a Happy Mew Year" from the WSJ, is hilarious on one level and oh so true on another! I'm already receiving cards from friends' pets! And, Twitter has hundreds of accounts written by pets. Additionally, my favorite online greeting card site consistently offers greeting cards from pets.

In our last post, we covered food and house guests, the two most dangerous components of holidays. Wow, that sounded almost Scrooge-like, but if you read the post you'll know what I mean. Today, all we really have left are decorations and a few miscellaneous dangers.

Under decorations, I include all the house plants folks bring in for the season. We bought our Poinsettias just last week so let's start with them. Everyone knows they're highly poisonous, especially to cats, right? The truth of the matter is that poinsettias are no more poisonous to your cat than the mums you bought along with them, but here's the rub. 

Lots of cats like to chew on house plants, especially new ones that just arrived. Yvonne's cat is a year round chewer. If these cats chew too much, they will usually throw up. The sap and resin of the Poinsettia is mildly irritating and excessive consumption will cause vomiting. The bottom line is to try to keep all plants away from cats unless you like to clean up cat vomit.

I guess we should have done this post before Thanksgiving, but there are still almost twenty days before Christmas and then there's the New Year, so our pets have plenty of time to get into trouble. 

When I think of holiday hazards I break them down into three general categories. Holiday food and spirits, holiday visitors, holiday decorations and a few miscellaneous items can all create dicey situations for our dogs and cats if we don't pay attention. I'll cover the first two in this post and the rest later this week.

Food gets lots of attention around the holidays.

Dr. Nancy Kay of Speaking for Spot, writes a great blog and has a fab book that I've recommended several times. She's showcasing some guest bloggers on her blog this week, while covering from survery (get well soon, Dr. Kay!) and this one seemed important to share with our readers.

Lots of people travel with their pets during the holidays. Maybe they're not traveling far, maybe they are. Regardless, taking your pet with you as you visit friends and relatives requires some thought. According to PetRelocation, sixty-three percent of pet owners say they travel at least 50 miles with their pets, during the holidays. I know I'm already planning a summer vacation back East and I'm bringing Chester, Emily and Olive! No way I'm leaving them behind!

I have a soft spot for pets and the elderly. I've always felt that our senior citizens are the true lifecore of our country. They give so much and ask for little in return. Mostly, respect. And, sometimes, the ability to have pets.

Recently I discovered the Pets for the Elderly Foundation - a group formed for "Joining friends together for life." They help pay the fees associated with adoption through a shelter. Included in their support is the veterinary exam and spay/neuter, where necessary.