Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: < 1 minutes In 2018 I am resolving to get more sleep. Studies show that, for a human, eight hours of sleep nightly is optimal. Less than that, and you have problems with your health, concentration, mood and weight. Getting more sleep is easier said than done, though, if you live with a cat. A cat’s sleep cycle […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Want to know the secret to truly achieving your New Year’s resolutions? Set goals for your BFF: best feline friend. When you shift your focus on your cat, you may find you are more motivated to set and meet goals in the new year. This strategy has worked purr-fectly for me to the benefit of […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes To some dogs, and most people, the weather outside is frightful. Other dogs delight in romping and playing on snow and ice. Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies and other heavily furred dogs, not to mention their feline counterparts such as Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats, were built for snow and cold. But Toy Poodles and […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes One sure bet about New Year’s resolutions – they are always crafted with good intentions. Did you write down the same ambitious resolutions from last year: to eat more spinach salads and fewer pizzas or to spend more time on the treadmill and less time in the recliner in 2018? Realistically, what are the chances […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes From a pet’s perspective, ear handling and care can be unsettling and downright scary unless it’s conducted in a way that allows the pet to feel safe and comfortable. Why do pets fear ear cleaning and care? For an animal with fear, anxiety, or stress (FAS), ear care may seem threatening, especially if sensitive ear […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes The photo on social media shows a box of young kittens. The text says, “Kittens abandoned. Fosters needed.” You look up the rescue group and find they are local to you. Fingers poised over the keyboard, you ask yourself, should I foster? Having fostered kittens for a number of years, I’ve faced this scenario more […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you are looking to add a puppy to your family, it pays to consider purchasing from a responsible breeder. Basic reasons include predictability of size, coat type, and behavior. Conscientious and careful breeders check the health of a pup’s parents before breeding them. That is not an ironclad guarantee of good health, but it […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here in Texas, the warm weather continues to bring big-bug migrations from outside to the living room. The cats are thrilled with cricket carcasses and the occasional disoriented field mouse that takes a deadly detour. Thank goodness, both Karma-Kat and Seren-Kitty haven’t presented me with anything beyond a cricket drumstick. But it’s not unusual for […]
Reading Time: < 1 minutes Up to 69 percent of the feline pet population now live indoors only, and because of this, being run over by a car or run down by a coyote is not too likely. However, despite an indoor-only existence, cats are born with a hard-wired prey drive, and they continue to have the need to chase, […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Enriching the environment means providing suitable outlets to meet the needs of a species. One example: Cats have a hard-wired need to hunt and pounce. It’s great that cats are increasingly being kept indoors (they do live longer when indoors only), but we rarely meet their innate needs. Many zoos have a full-time employee whose […]