Tagged with 'cats'

Many cats will respond excitedly to tasty treats as rewards, but others might prefer something like playing with their favorite toy.

Some of the prettiest household plants can be the most lethal to furry friends. To safeguard the pets in your house and neighborhood, check out this list.

Lilies

They’re especially harmful to cats and certain species are toxic to dogs too. Even small amounts of any part of the plant can cause severe kidney problems.

Oleanders

They’re shrubs with white, pink and red flowers. They contain compounds called cardiac glycosides, which can cause heart problems, hypothermia or death.

Sago Palm

These grow in Southern states and along the West Coast. It has a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk. Eating this plant can be fatal in up to 75% of cases. Look for neurologic changes, seizures and liver failure. Symptoms can appear within 15 minutes to 3 days. All parts are toxic, but the seeds are the most dangerous.

Marijuana

As it becomes legal in more places, watch your pets around this plant. Consumption of any part of the plant can cause mild neurologic signs (stumbling or altered mental state) or more serious complications, like seizures and even a coma.                           

Azalea/Rhododendron

This type of flower contains substances known as grayantoxins, which can produce vomiting, drooling, diarrhea, weakness and depression of the central nervous system in pets. Severe azalea poisoning could ultimately lead to coma and death from cardiovascular collapse.

Pothos

If chewed or ingested, this common houseplant can cause significant mechanical irritation and swelling of the oral tissues and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract.

Tulips

This beautiful flower is toxic to dogs, cats and horses. If ingested, it can result in vomiting, depression and diarrhea. The highest concentration of toxin is in the bulb.

Reference

ASPCApro

How well do you really understand what your pooch is trying to tell you? Many of us are still struggling to interpret our animal friends’ barks, growls, and whines, as well as wags, shakes, and licks. It can be tricky to read the signs correctly.

There are a lot of misunderstandings about behaviors in animals and how they express them. See if you can recognize the meaning of these common mutt moves.

1. Your Doggie is Licking her Lips.

    A. She’s hungry.
    B. She’s stressed out.
    C. She just ate some peanut butter.

Answer: B. No, dogs don’t worry about their e-mail inboxes or to-do lists, but they can still experience both short-term and chronic stress. When the dog is not happy, it increases the probability of our getting bitten, so avoid any sudden moves (like approaching from behind or petting immediately) that could cause your pup to snap.

2. You can see the Whites of your Pup’s Eyes.

     A. He’s surprised.
     B. He’s curious.
     C. He’s afraid.

Answer: C. The whites of the eyes appear whenever the head turns one way and the eyes go the other. In lay, this can happen when the dog is faking you out by appearing to look away but coyly looking at you. But if you’re out in public and see the whites of a dog’s eyes, that’s usually a sign he’s trying to look away out of fear, or to signal his desire for this interaction to be done.

3. Your Hound Freezes Up.

     A. She needs space.
     B. She’s getting ready to pounce.
     C. She’s feeling nervous.

Answer: A. Dogs will freeze and have a lack of behavior when they want a person or another animal to back off right away. You may see this happen in a crowd or even at the vet’s office.

4. Your Dog’s Tail is Wagging Like Crazy.

     A. He’s happy.
     B. He’s upset.
     C. It depends.

Answer: C. You may think a wagging rear means a happy dog, but that’s not always true. It’s important to look at the rest of the body for context. If his muscles, face, and ears are relaxed, he’s probably in a good mood, but tense body language can be a sign that your pup is actually unhappy. In fact, in both dogs and cats, a neutral tail is the best sign they’re content. It shows their body is at ease and there’s no tension in their muscles.

Your pup may have a better understanding of language than you think. Researchers used fMRI to monitor 13 dogs while they listened to human speech. The scientists discovered the animals processed both the meaning of words and the tone in which the words were spoken, using similar areas of the brain that humans do. 

Article and quiz courtesy of Health.com

Sitting around all day can really start to get to your pet. It's important to provide healthy ways for our pets to burn off energy because otherwise dogs and cats can become anxious or depressed or exhibit negative behaviors, such as chewing and clawing.

When boredom strikes, these easy tips will entertain dogs and cats while sharpening their brains. 

Follow Their Instincts

Does your dog like to dig or scavenge? Tap into your dog's natural tendencies by filling a stuffable toy with treats. For your cat, they need to climb, and they feel most confident when perched up high. Place a shelf or ledge by the window so they can see what’s interesting outside.

Get Fresh Air

When walking your dog, allow time for leisurely exploration of neighborhood scents. Dogs see the world through their noses. Sniffing around promotes brain health, like when you do a crossword puzzle. Cats enjoy the outdoors too. Let outgoing and social felines become accustomed to a harness and leash while indoors by rewarding them with treats, then take them out for a supervised prowl.

Keep Your Pets Busy

Experiment until you find a game that piques their interest. If your dog likes to tear up toys, look for items designed for extreme chewers. Cats enjoy ping-pong balls, empty boxes and paper bags, and playthings that crinkle or chirp. They also need scratching posts for sharpening nails and stretching. If you don’t provide posts, they’ll scratch whatever’s around.

Join the Fun

Pets thrive on interaction. Walk you dog on different routes to keep them stimulated. Play fetch, blow pet-friendly bubbles or join an obedience class. Kitty cats love to "hunt." Use a pole with a feather on the end, drag it erratically, then make it “die” when your cat pounces. Provide a treat as a reward so they think they’ve captured the prey.

Make Mealtime Engaging

As your pet would have to do in the wild, make them work for their food! Hide kibble under paper cups and tell your dog to “find it,” which encourages them to use their nose. Place pieces of your cat’s food on each stair or inside an empty paper towel tube. Food puzzles, which require animals to figure out how to release a snack, are another creative option. 

Article courtesy of Family Circle, Nov. 2016

Sitting around all day can really get to your pet. When we don’t provide healthy ways for our pets to burn off energy, dogs and cats can become anxious or depressed or exhibit negative behaviors, such as chewing and clawing.

When boredom strikes, these easy tips will entertain dogs and cats while sharpening their brains. 

Follow Their Instincts

Instead of punishing your dog’s desire to dig or scavenge, tap into these natural tendencies by filling a stuffable toy with treats. Cats need to climb, and they feel most confident when perched up high. Place a shelf or ledge by the window so they can see what’s interesting outside.

Get Fresh Air

When walking your dog, allow time for leisurely exploration of neighborhood scents. Dogs see the world through their noses. Sniffing around promotes brain health, like when you do a crossword puzzle. Cats enjoy the outdoors too. Let outgoing and social felines become accustomed to a harness and leash while indoors by rewarding them with treats, then take them out for a supervised prowl.

Keep Your Pets Busy

Experiment until you find a game that piques their interest. If your dog likes to tear up toys, look for items designed for extreme chewers. Cats enjoy ping-pong balls, empty boxes and paper bags, and playthings that crinkle or chirp. They also need scratching posts for sharpening nails and stretching. If you don’t provide posts, they’ll scratch whatever’s around.

Join the Fun

Pets thrive on interaction. Walk you dog on different routes to keep them stimulated. Play fetch, blow pet-friendly bubbles or join an obedience class. Hunt with your cat by using a pole with a feather on the end. Drag I erratically, then make it “die” when your cat pounces. Provide a treat as a reward so they think they’ve captured the prey.

Make Mealtime Engaging

As your pet would have to do in the wild, make them work for their food! Hide kibble under paper cups and tell your dog to “find it,” which encourages them to use their nose. Place pieces of your cat’s food on each stair or inside an empty paper towel tube. Food puzzles, which require animals to figure out how to release a snack, are another creative option. 

Article courtesy of Family Circle, Nov. 2016

Has Fido or Bootsie been looking a little pudgy lately? It’s definitely a possibility considering a new study reveals 54% of dogs and 58% of cats are overweight or obese. Surprisingly though, up to 90% of owners don’t realize their pet has gained too much weight, which is a problem because extra weight on your pet can cause diabetes, cancer, and heart and joint diseases, among other conditions.

Why More Pets Are Plus-Size

For one, dogs are less active than ever, in part due to increasingly sedentary owners who take them on fewer walks.

But perhaps the biggest reason both dogs and cats are too heavy, is simple: we overfeed them.

Most owners eyeball and overestimate portion sizes, and many equate food with love and dole out too many treats. What’s more, many people no longer have a clear idea of what overweight actually look likes because so many animals are heavy these days. 

How To Tell Whether Your Pet Is Overweight

You should be able to easily feel (though not see) your pet’s ribs. Try the knuckle test: hold your right hand out flat, palm down, then run your left fingers over the knuckles at the base of your right fingers. That’s what your pet’s ribs should feel like—easy to count without having to push into your pet’s body.

Or look at your pet from above. The body should have an hourglass shape—broader at the chest, with a tuck before the hip bones. For the most accurate assessment, ask your vet to check your pet’s body condition score. This score, based on a 5- or 9-point scale, determines a healthy weight and allows your vet to offer personalized feeding and exercise advice.

3 Tips For Safe Weight Loss

If your pet is too heavy and you’ve ruled out a separate underlying cause, follow these tips.

#1: Nix treats

Store-bought treats and chews have little nutritional value compared with commercial foods and some contain 100+ calories each. Healthier rewards: For dogs, carrot and apple slices, green beans, or plain popcorn, and for cats, offer tiny bits of zucchini or cooked chicken or fish.

#2: Assess portions

Check pet-food labels to make sure you’re feeding your dog or cat based on his or her ideal weight, not current weight. Use a measuring cup to be sure you’re not over- or underestimating. 

#3: Get up and move

For your heavy but otherwise healthy dog, work up to at least two brisk 30-minute walks a day. Most large breeds can handle two 1-hour walks. Exercise your cat with a feather teaser several times a day, have her chase the red dot of a laser pointer, or put some of her food in a food-dispensing toy that releases kibble when she bats it around.

Article courtesy of Prevention.com