american veterinary medical association.

Caruba, Flickr Ask proud pet owners and they'll tell you that bringing their furry friends into their lives was one of the best decisions they ever made. Pry a little further, however, and you might find that the decision to bring home a pound puppy or shelter kitty also upset their lives for a period of days, weeks, or months because they weren't properly prepared. For reasons that are usually no fault of the dogs or cats themselves, adoptive pet parents sometimes find that they've made a serious miscalculation as to whether they really have the time, patience or desire to regularly change litter or scoop poop. To help prospective pet owners avoid this adoption pitfall, we've put ...

MonkeyMagic1975, Flickr Do your cats live outside? Or come in and out of the house? If your cat does spend a lot of time exploring the great outdoors, there are some concerns and dangers you should be aware of. A sad statistic is that the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is half as long as an indoor cat's. In fact, according to PetPlace.com, it may be more like one-third: 5 years. The purpose of this post, however, isn't to shame you into locking your cats inside. Instead, we want to arm you with the information you need to keep your outdoor (or indoor/outdoor) cat safe in the great big world. To help us with this, we've enlisted the help of former American Veterinary Medical Association ...

Martin LaBar, Flickr As snuggly and affectionate as they are at home, let's face it: cats rarely make great travel companions. They don't like road trips, they don't like camping, and they never pitch in any gas money. And while driving across the country with a constantly meowing kitty in the backseat doesn't fit most people's idea of a good time, sometimes it must be done. The good news is that pet travel doesn't have to be torturous. In fact, the experts say that traveling with your cat can be relatively painless -- even pleasant -- as long as you and your cat are well prepared for the adventure. It's All About the Cat Carrier Before we get started, we must warn you that nearly ...