Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Does Fear Free matter? Are you kidding? Here’s an example. My own 15-year old cat, Roxy, went to the veterinarian recently for some medical issues. She’s actually fine with going into her carrier and the car ride, and in the past she has never minded the veterinary visit. This time, however, both Dr. Natalie Marks […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes We’ve heard it before–cats are not small dogs. They differ in nutritional requirements, training techniques, and body language. People often find feline communication more difficult to interpret than that of dogs because it can be so subtle that nonverbal communication cues are completely missed or misinterpreted. Misreading a cat can land us on the wrong […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Because they do not have bills to pay, annoying in-laws, difficult bosses, because they live in the present and don’t concern themselves about what was or what might be, because they are forgiving, because they delight in small things, because their very presence is so delightful to so many others that they often walk into […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I was in college, several members of the football team lived in my dorm. I’m five feet tall, and whenever I walked down their hallway, one of those huge guys would pick me up, give me a big hug, and tell me how cute and tiny I was. I know they didn’t intend to […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you’ve ever had a massage, you know how relaxing it can be. There’s something about the touch of a massage therapist that can make stress melt away. Turns out the soothing aspects of massage are not just for humans. Your pet can get relief from stress through massage too. According to the American Massage […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Recently, Oklahoma approved “medical marijuana” for people. I live in neighboring Texas, and the news has prompted debate not only over the purported benefits for humans, but also for our pets. Besides the potential for physical benefits, it’s thought that these products may help anxious and fearful pets during veterinary visits or other scary, angst-producing […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last fall, my husband and I lost our 11-year-old German Shepherd Magical-Dawg in September, and Seren-Kitty in December just shy of her 22nd birthday. The sadness ambushed our emotions for weeks and months. It also haunted Karma-Kat, and he slept with Magic’s collar for a week between bouts of crying, increased clawing, and other attention-seeking […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The feline nose is the cute-as-a-button spot we love to “boop” and is of course responsible for the sense of smell, but a cat’s nose is also an important part of feline communication. Besides sniffing out food or danger, one of the most important tasks it performs is to help cats feel comfortable with humans. […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2014, my husband and I moved cross-country from the Midwest to New England, a trip that involved transporting our five indoor housecats, a newly trapped feral cat, and our older dog. I planned ahead to try to ensure that this trip would be as stress-free as possible for the animals. We had a successful […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes While the pet dog is snoozing on the couch after a meal, a walk, and a game of fetch, the service dog is on duty. She is always ready to work, even in the middle of night. Because of the nature of the work — looking for something amiss, something dangerous — these working dogs […]