shedding.

Miss Claeson, Flickr Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "Complete Kitten Care" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Cat." Many cat owners discover wads of wet fur -- hairballs -- late at night when they step on them with bare feet. Cats seem to instinctively choose to decorate the most stainable portions of the carpet. It's normal for cats -- especially those with long fur -- to experience hairballs once in a while. Cats spend up to 50 percent of their time awake grooming, and swallow fur in the process. What doesn't end up in the litter box comes out the other end as nasty cigar-shaped hairballs. But ...

Watch videos from Paw Nation Brief Grasp, Flickr Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "Complete Care for Your Aging Dog" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Cat." Shedding may be a big hairy deal, but it is normal. Floating fur increases the challenge of keeping just-washed apparel a Fido-free zone. Unless you're a passionate pet lover who considers pet hair to be a condiment, understanding how to tame the hairy mess will keep your pet's coat and skin healthy and simplify housecleaning. Why Pets Shed It's not the temperature that prompts shedding. Light exposure, either to sun or artificial light, ...

Swiffer Delightful as we find the warmer spring weather (and, trust us, we do find it quite delightful), with it come a few extra messes. Specifically, dog-related messes. Nobody is more aware of this than the dog whisperer, Cesar Millan, who worked with Swiffer research and development experts to show how he gets a handle on three of his top pet messes, including springtime shedding. You can check out video of him doing just that on Swiffer's Facebook page. And now, Millan and Swiffer have joined forces to launch the Messiest Mutts Sweepstakes, which will run through Apr. 12. The contest winner gets to go to the Dog Whisperer's ranch for some training! Think you could use a bit of dog ...

Anna Westhoff Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife Anna adopted as a puppy in late 2009, and the first dog Ben's ever had. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to tidy up because we had company coming. Truth be told, sweeping the apartment usually is Anna's gig. What I figured would be a quick task turned into a two-hour job due to the massive amount of pet hair I found in every nook and cranny. Now I know why Anna talks about our pet-hair problem the way she does; fur seems to appear everywhere you look. I admit that I had no idea before how bad it was. I've had our cat, Nora, for a long time, so I know she does some shedding, ...

Flickr/smile4camera Most dogs shed. Even the ones that the breeder or pet store call "no shed dogs" are still bound to leave some fur behind. It's a nuisance, but it is the small price we pay for our pet's love and companionship. Still, shedding raises many questions: Why do dogs seem to shed more in winter? Does heavy shedding indicate a health problem? Is it possible to prevent or reduce shedding? We chatted with Dr. Donna Spector, a board-certified veterinary Internal Medicine specialist from VCA Animal Hospital to get the lowdown on the shed. Do dogs shed more in the winter? Dogs appear to shed more in the winter, however, this is most often an illusion! Most dogs shed year-round. In ...