Archive for the 'Pet Supplies' Category
There is nothing my dog loves more than playing with his KONG dog toy. I fill the toy up with peanut butter and then toss it on the ground. My dog will chase the toy all over trying to get the peanut butter out.
When he finally figures out how to open the toy he runs in circles wagging his tail. It takes him a few moments to calm down enough to actually lap up the peanut butter. This activity never fails to entertain him – which is a good thing since he is always full of energy!
Cats are generally thought of as clean animals. They rarely have accidents in the house and seem to be perpetually cleaning themselves. While that is all generally true, nothing is worse than the stink of a cat litter pan.
To help cut down on odor I use a few tricks. First off, I put a disposable liner in the bottom of the cat litter pan. The liner catches any excess excrement that may soak through the litter and it also makes disposing of used litter easier. The second trick I use is adding a healthy amount of baking soda to the litter. Baking soda is great for soaking up odor – that’s why your mother was always putting an Arm & Hammer box in the back of the refrigerator!
Danielle, my younger sister, recently adopted Daisy, a Bichon Frise. The fluffy white dog had informally been Danielle’s for quite some time. Daisy’s former owners were too old to take Daisy out for long walks or bend over to play with her. The couple had been paying Danielle to take care of Daisy.
It only made sense to let Danielle adopt Daisy since the couple really could not care for her anymore, and a pet can be a strain on a fixed income. Danielle and Daisy were ecstatic. Danielle went out and bought new toys, a new dog bed, and a mountain of pet food to keep Daisy healthy and happy.
My best friend and her boyfriend of two years recently moved in together. They have a blended family of sorts; she brought her cat Fluffy and he brought his cat Snowball. At first, the two cats didn’t seem to like each other. They had each been used to being the center of attention that it was hard for them to tolerate one another.
To bring Fluffy and Snowball closer together, my friend bought them new cat toys. She put all of the toys in the center of the room and the cats came running. They sniffed around for a while and then began enthusiastically playing together. Now they are all one big happy, half furry, family.
When you think about grooming, there is so much more than a brush or a comb. This is especially true when it comes to your pets. Though we all love our pets their hair being all over, is something that we can certainly do without. There are ways to help the shedding process.
There are furminator for cats and furminator for dogs as well. Furminators are a great tool to help with the shedding process. Regular grooming will help eliminate the excess hair that can potentially get on the floor of your home. It also will help with pet dander.
The answer is: it depends. There is never a guarantee that any two animals (or for that matter, any two people) are going to be able to cohabitate in peace. Dogs and cats are two very different species of animal, and sometimes they will not do well at sharing a home. Under the right circumstances, however, they may become the best of friends.
If a puppy and kitten are raised together, they probably have the best chance of getting along. We have all known cats and dogs that played and napped together and how incredibly cute it looked!
If the dog came into the household before the cat, the way the two pets are introduced is very important. The cat should be at the dog’s eye level, and you should have a firm grip on both. Allow both to sniff and inspect, but if either seems aggressive or afraid, remove the cat and try another introduction later. A few minutes several times each day should result in visible relaxation on the part of both animals. Never leave a cat and a dog alone together unless you are positive they are comfortable in each other’s company. An unsupervised interaction could traumatize one or both animals so badly that they remain afraid of all other animals indefinitely. If they do get along, you will not only need to stock up on pet dog supplies, but cat supplies as well! It is a good idea to make sure that each pet has there own space, the dog a dog house and the cat a cat condo.
Bird owners should beware of ceiling fans. Ceiling fan blades can seriously injure or kill a pet bird. Birds naturally are drawn to the highest place in a room to roost. And, many times that’s the ceiling fan. If an owner isn’t paying attention and someone turns on the fan while the bird is roosting on it, the bird can become disoriented and fall to the floor, resulting in a serious injury. If a pet bird gets use to standing on the ceiling fan when it’s off, then he will probably think it’s alright to try to reach the fan when it’s on.
Birds and fans can safely coexist together. Clipping a bird’s wings is one way to make sure they won’t become accidentally injured by the ceiling fan. Responsible owners will also make sure the round bird cage stays in a room without a fan, this way if the bird gets out they won’t gravitate toward the fan. If you don’t have the option of keeping your pet in a different room than the fan, try to find a large flight cage so your bird can get some exercise.
In today’s tough economy, more people are downsizing their homes and cars to get rid of costly excess space. That means items that are easy to store in small spaces are in high demand. For example, in a small apartment, a crate for a large dog can take up tons of space. This is a waste of space if it’s not in use. A collapsible dog crate works just as well as a rigid plastic crate, but takes up a fraction of the space and weighs much less for easy portability.
A collapsible dog pens are easy to store in the trunk of a small car if you need to take it with you. Show dog owners often use dog pens while traveling. Depending on your needs, you can choose a wire crate or a soft-sided pen. Soft-sided pens can feature mesh, which helps air flow through the crate and prevent it from becoming smelly. However, some crafty dogs could easily chew or scratch their way out of a soft-sized crate. Be sure to take your dog’s escape skills into account when choosing collapsible pens. It should be easy enough for you to disassemble, but not easy enough for your dog to do so as well.
When I left the house for a couple days to visit some friends, I came back and upon entering, immediately noticed an obnoxious smell. Apparently my cat was unhappy that I had left, and had chosen to barf on the carpet right in front of the door. The smell was overpowering, and after cleaning up the mess, it just lingered and wouldn’t go away.
The next day another friend of mine came over and commented on the smell, I told him I couldn’t make it go away, but then he offered to let me borrow his furminator for cats. I didn’t know what that was, but he said it would get out the smell. I got it to the house, turned it on, and a few hours later, the smell was gone. I had no idea something like an air purifier could remove powerful odors.
My cat, Gizmo, is quite possibly the biggest drama queen of a cat. Ever. But she’s also my best friend and she seemed quite unhappy that the only play place she has in my apartment was the old loveseat that used to sit adjacent to the kitchen. I finally wised up started looking at cat condos for her.
Eventually, I settle on a townhouse-styled cat condo, which she absolutely loves. She plays and tears up the bottom “floor” before resting upon the post. Gizmo is still quite the drama queen, but at least she can scratch up something else other than my loveseat.