Posts tagged "Cats"

Are Treats Making Your Pet Fat?

by Daphne Sashin (Subscribe to Daphne Sashin's posts): Mar 3rd 2010 1:00PM Filed Under: Pet Health, Animal Nutrition

We love giving our pets treats, whether to reward good behavior, keep them occupied or because we simply can't resist their plaintive stares or begging. But all those jerky treats, dental chews and milk bones are making our domestic animals fat.

"If I could only point to one factor causing the modern-day pet obesity epidemic, it would have to be treats," says veterinarian Ernie Ward, founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and author of "Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter – A Vet's Plan to Save Their Lives."

Vets and animal-nutrition experts point the finger at fattening pet snacks: Packed with sugar and carbohydrates, even the tiniest packaged cheese or bacon snack becomes what Ward calls "calorie grenades."

"It's that seemingly innocent extra 50 calories a day in the form of a chew or cookie that adds up to a pound or two each year. By the time a dog or cat reaches mid-life, it's overweight and health risks begin to skyrocket," Ward says. Obesity is being blamed for health problems such as diabetes, joint pain and breathing problems in pets.

That doesn't mean the snacks have to stop, but experts say treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your pet's daily calories. That's not much, considering a 10-pound cat needs less than 300 calories daily and a 40-pound dog should only get about 1,000 calories.

Making things trickier, manufacturers don't list calorie contents on their packages, and they don't have to.

Funny Cat Picture: Wake Up!

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Mar 1st 2010 9:30AM Filed Under: Funny Animal Pictures

Jairus, Flickr

"Good morning. My bowl is empty."

Roomba Cat Picks a Fight

by Eliot Glazer (Subscribe to Eliot Glazer's posts): Feb 26th 2010 11:00AM Filed Under: Funny Animal Videos

If you like cats, vacuums, robots, or YouTube, there's a good chance you've seen the iconic viral video featuring a cat riding a Roomba.

If, in fact, you've since moved on to more "important" matters that don't involve cats, vaccums, robots, or YouTube, may we interest you in a newer video featuring a cat, a Roomba, a dog, and some deep-seated resentment?

Keeping Your Cat's Teeth Clean and Healthy

by Jeanne Sager (Subscribe to Jeanne Sager's posts): Feb 25th 2010 10:00AM Filed Under: Cats, Pet Health

Werwin15, Flickr

They need them to eat, to protect themselves, yet for seven out of ten cats, teeth troubles begin by the time they are three.

The key to healthy feline teeth is regular at home and professional cleaning but many well-meaning pet owners don't know how important this is. And it's not completely their fault. "Most veterinarians don't address dental health in cats," says Dr. Michel Selmer, veterinarian at Advanced Animal Care Center in Huntington Station, N.Y. A vocal advocate for the importance of dental health in pets, Selmer devotes 20 percent of his practice to oral issues.

In honor of Pet Dental Health Month -- and for the sake of 70 percent of American kitties -- Paw Nation asked Selmer for tips on how to keep your cat's mouth in good shape.

The process starts when they're kittens, with pet owners using a finger cot or gauze and toothpaste made specifically for them. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommends dipping your finger in tuna water before rubbing it on your kitty's gums to make the experience more pleasant. If you're uncomfortable, or you have just adopted an older cat who won't stomach your finger in his mouth, a once-yearly cleaning at the vet's office is recommended by the AVMA, beginning after a cat turns two.

Funny Cat Picture: Flirting With Danger

by Eliot Glazer (Subscribe to Eliot Glazer's posts): Feb 24th 2010 9:30AM Filed Under: Funny Animal Pictures

Hollywood Poodle, Flickr.

"I like sitting on the stove -- it really freaks out my parents."

Top Reasons Dogs and Cats Visit the Vet

by Jeanne Sager (Subscribe to Jeanne Sager's posts): Feb 18th 2010 5:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Pet Health

Getty Images

Your dog's ears may be better at hearing than yours will ever be --- but taking care of them comes at a price.

According to an evaluation of veterinary claims filed with the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), canine ear infections were the leading cause of vet visits in the United States. In 2009 alone, VPI -- the company that insures almost half a million American pets -- received about 68,000 claims for ear related vet visits. The average cost per visit was $100.

Also among the company's top reasons for doggie vet visits were skin allergies at number two, followed by skin infection/hot spots, gastritis/vomiting and enteritis/diarrhea.

In cats, lower urinary tract disease was the most common concern -- the VPI counted 3,700 claims for cats with urinary issues, costing their owners an average of $260 a visit. The other common reasons felines went to the vet included gastritis/vomiting in the number two spot, followed by chronic renal failure, hyperthyroidism and diabetes.

Guitar Cat Gets His Groove On

by Eliot Glazer (Subscribe to Eliot Glazer's posts): Feb 18th 2010 1:00PM Filed Under: Funny Animal Videos

The last time you saw a cat strum a guitar this good, its last name was Stevens.

How to Handle Matted Cat Hair

by Melissa Ehret (Subscribe to Melissa Ehret's posts): Feb 17th 2010 4:00PM Filed Under: Cats, Pet Grooming

Wicked Cat, Flickr

Cats are meticulous creatures but that doesn't mean your pet can't use help in keeping up its coat. Certain long haired breeds -- such as the Persian, Himalayan, Maine coon, for example -- are especially vulnerable to mats and need to be groomed daily. If you fall behind, your cat can develop knots in its fur that not only detract from the animal's natural beauty but can also be painful to the cat.

The Right Grooming Tools Make a Difference
According to B.J. Fox, a prominent breeder of Persians and Himalayans in Greenbriar, Ark., one should use a professional steel comb on long matted hair, not a brush. Fox, who worked for many years as a pet groomer, prefers using a 7.5" steel fine/medium comb. A different grade may be better suited to your cat's coat.

Combing Techniques
As a pioneering breeder of chocolate and lilac Persians, Fox has seen her share of mats in her cats' hair. She offers this tip: "The end tines of the comb will be your friend if you use them properly. Start at the end of the hair shaft at the mat and hold the base of the mat so that it does not pull the skin of the kitty. Gently use the end tine of the comb to separate the mat and dislodge it so that you can begin to work it loose, little by little, until you can get to the skin."

Bow Wow Boots; Camel vs. Croc

by Evan Jacobs (Subscribe to Evan Jacobs's posts): Feb 12th 2010 6:00PM Filed Under: Chew on This

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the Web each week!

Camel vs. Crocodile

The battle for ultimate domination of the animal kingdom has begun in Australia. Who will win? Crocodiles or feral camels? [via Timesonline.co.uk]
Do I Have To Wear Them?

The New York Times tests and rates boots for dogs to help you better humiliate them. [via New York Times]
We Wuv Our Cwitters

Who took a Reuter's poll determining pet owners prefer V-day with their pets? You did! [via New York Post]
Diabetes Defying Doggy

When an elderly man went into hypoglycemic shock, his dog saved his life. His cat watched, yawned, then fell asleep. [via People Pets]
Cheetah Prison Break

Three cheetahs briefly escaped their enclosures when they swam across the barrier moat. Strangely enough, they doggy-paddled. [via Chron.com]

How to Grow and Dry Your Own Catnip

by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman (Subscribe to Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman's posts): Feb 12th 2010 4:00PM Filed Under: Cats

Maggie Osterberg, Flickr

Those glazed eyes. That feisty demeanor. And oh, the twitchy bliss. Clearly, someones been dipping into the herb again. Not that herb, but the kitty herb of choice: Catnip!

Growing your own kitty psychedelic is not only less expensive then the pre-packaged variety; it's a connoisseurs delight (at least as far as kitty is concerned). Many local pet stores now stock the live plants for your growing convenience. Harvesting and drying catnip is something any pet owner can easily do.

Harvesting Catnip
Nepeta Cataria, or Catnip, is a herbaceous, perennial herb that can be found growing in the wilds of North America. This hearty relative of the mint family is incredibly easy to grow. About the only problem you'll have is finding a place to plant it that is inaccessible to your cats! The chemical nepetalactone is what triggers the familiar and predictable response in our four-footed friends, but lesser known is the calming effect that some believe it has on humans as well. For this reason, many alternative practitioners regularly recommend catnip as a beneficial tea to soothe the nerves. Though, according to the website Drug.com, there hasn't been scientific research to support this claim.

Catnip typically grows to a height of about three feet and is ready to harvest when it's reached about a foot tall. Don't feel you must wait until any official harvest, however; pinching small quantities from it throughout the growing season will not only help the plant fill out, but is a great way to give kitty a sample of what's to come. Extra pinches can be thrown into a wide-mouthed jar and left to dry on their own.

Moderncat's Modern Finds: Valentine's Day Picks

by Paw Nation Staff (Subscribe to Paw Nation Staff's posts): Feb 8th 2010 4:30PM Filed Under: Cats, Photo Galleries

With so many cat products hitting shelves every week, we asked our favorite kitty-centric blog, Moderncat, to round up their faves in our column, Moderncat's Modern Finds.

Let your kitty know how much you love her this Valentine's Day with some of these cool gifts made just for her.

10 Underrated Animal Movies

by Mike Koehler (Subscribe to Mike Koehler's posts): Jan 29th 2010 3:00PM Filed Under: Celebrity Pets

Everyone has heard about Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Black Stallion, Lassie and other animal superstars. But there are animal-themed films out there that have crawled, slithered or swam under everyone's pop-culture radar. Here's a list of some of those underrated movies that you may not already have gotten your hands (or hooves or paws) on.

The Cat From Outer Space (1978)
One of the many good-hearted, wacky, live-action Disney films from the 1970s, "The Cat from Outer Space" stars a tawny Abyssinian as the alien Zunar-J-5/9 Doric-4-7, who just happens to look like a cat. Ken Berry and Sandy Duncan adopt the cat (they call him Jake), and hijinks ensue when it turns out Jake needs gold to power his spaceship.

Baby's Come Back! Hero Cat Who Saved Family From Fire Returns Home

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Jan 22nd 2010 3:00PM Filed Under: Cats, Pets News, Hero Pets

Flickr/annushka_74

Baby, the 13-year-old cat whose persistent pestering in the middle of the night saved her owners from a house fire, has come back home, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The heroic kitty had been missing since the pre-dawn hours on Monday, when Baby and her owners (Letitia Kovalovsky, seven months pregnant with twins; boyfriend Josh Omberg) escaped the fire that ravaged their house in suburban Chicago. With a bedroom blazing and smoke filling their house, Baby sprang to action when smoke detectors failed to signal an alarm. She jumped all over Omberg, rousing him from his sleep.

But when the family escaped, unharmed, from the house, Baby ran off. "Cats scared in house fires often return after the scene clears," Assistant Fire Chief Mike Weber of the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District told the Northwest Herald.

Luckily, Baby did just that on Tuesday afternoon, reports the Chicago Tribune. Apparently lured by some food left in a live trap cage that had been set on the home's front porch by Omberg, Baby was spotted sitting in the cage the day after the fire.

Omberg happily retrieved Baby from his employers, who made sure the heroic cat remained safe. "I thought she would come back," a relieved Ornberg told the Chicago Tribune.

Funny Cat Picture: Gesundheit!

by Eliot Glazer (Subscribe to Eliot Glazer's posts): Jan 21st 2010 9:30AM Filed Under: Cats, Funny Animal Pictures

Flickr/Whimsically Ordinary

Next time, hold the pepper.

The History of the House Cat

by Rose Martelli (Subscribe to Rose Martelli's posts): Jan 20th 2010 4:00PM Filed Under: Cats

Flickr/dcysurfer

Cats are the most popular house pets in the United States. It's estimated that Americans have as many as 90 million feline friends roaming the hallways of every one out of three homes, staking out their favorite nap spots and clawing at our furniture upholstery. Of course, we weren't the first people to enjoy their company.

As popular culture often reminds us, it was Middle Easterners -- and, most famously, the Egyptians -- who first demonstrated a reverence for the cat. In fact, a 2007 study published in "Science" states that every species of domestic cat originally descended from Felis sylvestris, a Middle Eastern wildcat whose nomenclature means "cat of the woods." (Wonder if that's also where Sylvester got his name?)

The study also postulated that the domestication of Felis sylvestris began about 12,000 years ago, just as ancient Middle Easterners were transitioning from nomadic, hunting populations to agriculturally based, stationary societies. Whereas dogs would've been helpful to hunters, cats -- and their pantry-guarding and rodent-hunting skills -- would prove instrumental to the successful storage of grains and other farmed goods. (True to what we know about a cat's nature, it is believed that humans didn't necessarily seek out cats to catch mice; cats simply showed up on their own accord where there were mice to be caught -- and, of course, eaten.)

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Camouflage Animals

Madagascar Day Gecko
The green Madagascar Day Gecko lives in the dry regions of forests in Madagascar and neighboring islands. They usually grow to be between four to six inches long. Their tail makes up almost half of their length.

Getty Images

Camouflage Animals

Argentine Horned Frog Reptiles
The Argentine Horned Frog, also known as the Horned Frog or Pacman Frog, originated in South America. The green and black amphibian, which can grow up to six inches long, is a popular pets and can live for as long as 10 years.

Camouflage Animals

Walkingstick
The Walkingstick takes its camouflage abilities to the next level by creating the appearance of a stick or twig to hide from predators. While they normally stand still, these insects are able to walk around as though they were a twig caught in the wind. They can be found in tropical forests or woodlands all across the world.

Camouflage Animals

Dwarf Puff Adder
Found in Nambia, the venomous Dwarf Puff Adder hides from the hot desert sun by burying itself in the sand, where only its eyes show.

Camouflage Animals

Stonefish
Often resembling a rock, the brown colored Stonefish camouflages itself perfectly in the ocean. With 13 venomous dorsal spines on its back, the Stonefish can cause tissue damage and respiratory distress, which can lead to cardiovascular shock if left untreated.

Camouflage Animals

Chameleons
Chameleons, the quintessential color-changers, can transform their skin color when their mood, temperature or the amount of light around them is altered. Their hue, which can vary from yellow and pink to brown and black, is also altered when they communicate.

Camouflage Animals

Green Anole
Often confused with chameleons, Green Anoles turn brown when they're stressed or sick. Found in the trees and shrubs of the Southeastern United States, these lizards are popular pets.

Camouflage Animals

The Eastern Wood Frog
The Eastern Wood Frog tricks competitors by changing colors to match its surroundings. Found in North American woodlands, the frog also has a dark black patch from its eye to the base of its front limb that can change colors.

Camouflage Animals