Cold Weather Tips

Brrrr—it's cold outside! The following guidelines will help you protect your companion animals when the mercury dips.

Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.
During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm, dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.

Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him, and his fur, in tip-top shape.

Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.

Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

Originally published by the ASPCA. 

Want to create a special holiday treat that your cat can eat? Here's a fun cat-friendly recipe for your cat this holiday season:

Holiday Cat-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup of raw hamburger

½ teaspoon shrimp paste (see Asian food section of your local grocery store)

¼ cup shelled shrimp, washed in hot water, and minced

½ teaspoon catnip

Directions:

Mix shrimp paste with the catnip and then hand work it into the hamburger.

Add minced shrimp to the hamburger mix and make into little meatballs.

These can be fed raw immediately, or baked at 425° F for 10 minutes.

            Recipe from Dr. Basko, Holistic Vet

Dog Friendly Holiday Recipe

Looking for something yummy and safe for your dog to eat this holiday season? Check out this delicious recipe below:

Holiday Dog-Friendly Recipe:

ingredients

1 cup shredded roasted turkey meat

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 sweet potato--baked, skin discarded and potato coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cranberry sauce

directions

In a medium bowl, combine the turkey and breadcrumbs. Mix gently with your hands, then mix in the egg and sweet potato. Shape into two 1/2-inch-thick patties.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Top with the cranberry sauce and let your canine enjoy!

Recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also for possible distress for our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if they munch on undercooked turkey or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic drink. Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling Thanksgiving that your pets can enjoy, too.

Talkin’ Turkey

If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s boneless and well-cooked. Don't offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria.

Sage Advice

Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish, but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.

No Bread Dough

Don't spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal's body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.

Don't Let Them Eat Cake

If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.

Too Much of a Good Thing

A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don't allow your pets to overindulge, as they could wind up with a case of stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse—an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In fact, it’s best keep pets on their regular diets during the holidays.

A Feast Fit for a Kong

While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner—perhaps with a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables (try sweet potato or green beans) and dribbles of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.


Originally published by the ASPCA. 

Beating Boredom - What Indoor Cat Owners Need to Know

Cats are predators, made for a life of action. As more and more cat owners opt for keeping their cats securely indoors, cat behaviorists are seeing a new cause for behavior problems: boredom. Many cats simply do not get enough stimulation in their secure indoor environments. That can lead to a myriad of behavior problems or simply to a bored, sleepy, and often overweight feline.

The right amount of stimulation is essential for our cat's physical and mental well-being. There are many ways in which we can enrich our cats' lives, so let's review our ten ideas for fighting kitty boredom:

1. A cat enclosure is a great way to let your cat enjoy the atmosphere of the great outdoors while keeping her safe.

2. A window sill shelf is probably a more viable option if you live in an apartment. Even if you have no access to a backyard, and thus can't build an enclosure, you can still place a cat shelf right next to a properly screened and secured window, allowing your cat a safe place from which to look out and check out the street.

3. Speaking of shelves, the more cat furniture you can put up for your cat, the better. Whether you call them cat trees, cat gyms or cat condos, providing your cat with solid and stable places to climb and perch on, will add more space to her territory and more places to explore.

4. Cat toys are a great weapon in your fight against kitty boredom! Try a variety of toys, to see which ones your cat prefers. Keep the toy collection out of reach, and provide your cat with only 2-3 toys at a time, rotating them every few days. Read more about cat play and cat toys here.

5. Catnip can be a great way to spice up kitty's day. Try it with your cat to see if he or she reacts to catnip, as not all cats do. If catnip works for your cat, you can use it in toys or just sprinkled around in a nice little heap, once in a while. If catnip doesn't work for your cat, you may want to try honeysuckle instead.

6. Interactive play is a great way to relieve kitty boredom while strengthening that special bond between you and your cat. Try fishing rod type toys, where you can simulate a hunting scene, by moving the object around as if it were a mouse or a bird. Make sure your hands do not come into contact with the cat during those games, as cats will naturally be aggressive towards prey.

7. Work-For-Treats type toys can be a great option for some cats. Instead of just giving out treats to your cat, leave them in a toy such as the Play-N-Treat Cat Ball, with some dry kibble treats inside. The extra play and work will keep Kitty entertained and happy while you're away.

8. Send your cat to the movies. Or rather, try letting Kitty watch nature-show DVD's produced especially for cats.Not every cat responds to recorded shows, but some do find them fascinating, so it could be worth a try.

9. Depending on your cat's character and your neighborhood, you may consider training your cat to walk on a leash for some joint outdoors excursion. This solution is not for every cat, and the training process can take a while, but some owners and cats find it a good arrangements and there's nothing quite like a supervised walk outside.

10. Lastly, if you're worried about leaving your cat alone for long hours, consider getting him or her a feline playmate. Obviously, there are more aspects to be considered when it comes to the decision of whether or not to adopt a second cat. Not all cats benefit from having another cat introduced into their lives, and you could be looking at a long and demanding introduction process. Usually, this is a better solution with kittens or younger cats, but it could also enhance the life quality of some older, more sociable cats.


Originally published by The Cat Site.

Pets & Camping Safety

Are you taking your dog with you on a family camping trip this summer? Don’t forget to be prepared for pet care! It’s important that your pet is up-to-date on parasite prevention and has plenty of food and fresh, filtered or sanitized water to drink at the campground. Also, be prepared for safety by ensuring that your campground of choice allows dogs to visit, and that your dog has a place to sleep, preferably inside the tent where they won’t be bitten by insects or pestered by wild animals! Be safe, and the trip will be that much more fun!

Over-the-Counter Medications & Pets

Pets are often curious creatures, wanting to check out things around the house. Because of this characteristic, it’s important to always store dangerous substances like medicine far from their reach. Pets have been known to accidentally ingest whole packages of pills and the results are often serious, sometimes fatal. Keep your pet’s safe at home by storing your medicine safely out of their reach.