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Container Gardening: Feeding Your Container Plants

It’s the end of the summer. The beautiful flowers that were cascading out of their containers have been replaced by the straggling ends of flowers that look like they have seen far better days. How can you keep your flowers blooming and your vegetables and fruits growing prolifically until the end of the summer is here? When you move from gardening in soil to gardening in containers, you have to change one big thing: the soil that you put into your garden. Moving even a small container full of soil can be a strain on your back. Moving an entire … Continue reading →

Ask a Pets Blogger: Mucus in Stool

First off, I’m sorry that this is such a gross question! I’ve noticed lately that there seems to be a lot of mucus in my dog’s stool. He doesn’t seem sick otherwise. Should I be worried? No need to apologize — owning pets often means you deal with a lot of gross things. (So says the woman with the dog who eats cat poop and barfs green grass in the living room.) Your problem is one that I’m actually familiar with. Moose (he who eats “kitty roca”) has experienced this in the past. Mucus in the stool can be a … Continue reading →

Prescription Diets for Pets

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I had an unusual call at the cats-only boarding facility this morning: a client from the vet side, looking for prescription cat food. More specifically, she didn’t want to have to drive a half hour to the office to pick up a prescription diet, and wanted to know where else she might be able to get it. She’d tried calling veterinarians that were closer to where she lived, without much luck. If your pets are on a prescription diet, your emergency shopping options may be limited. Here are a few ideas: When your veterinarian prescribes a special diet, be sure … Continue reading →

Are Your Kids Getting Enough To Drink?

A few days ago the heat index in our neck of the woods hovered around 105 degrees. It was a scorcher. My 3-year-old daughter and I high-tailed it to the pool where we remained for the majority of the day. My daughter splashed in the pool for hours. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to come out. However, pool rules state that food items and beverages cannot be consumed in the water, which meant if I wanted my daughter to consume liquids (and stave off dehydration) she would have to exit the pool. Dilemma. From what I could see … Continue reading →

Bird Basics: Finches

If you love birds but don’t have much time for a pet, or prefer to watch birds over handling them, then finches are the perfect bird for you.  They’re not too affectionate and don’t like being handled very much, so they’re the perfect pet for an observer. First a note: as with all birds, it’s best to purchase your bird from a reputable breeder.  Before bringing one home, make sure you’ve located a vet in your area that can treat your bird. It’s important that you get more than one finch, as they are social birds and will need the … Continue reading →

Cats Eating People Food

Yesterday a good friend of mine posted on her Facebook that she caught her two cats eating coleslaw. It’s not the first time her cats have gone after people food; one ate a strawberry last week, and when they were kittens she had to lock them in a room when I’d have lunch at her house. Otherwise they’d jump up on the table, put their paws in our water glasses, and otherwise view our plates as their personal buffet. When I think about it, I can recall many incidents of cats I knew eating people food. My old roommate’s cat … Continue reading →

Bird Basics: Canaries

Before bringing home a canary, it’s best to first ready its cage. Get a rectangular or square cage, not a circular one. Canaries find circular cages confusing and they might make the birds anxious or neurotic. The wider the cage the better, so canaries have some room to take short little flights. If your cage is previously used, clean it completely. Replace any materials previous birds might have pecked, such as the perches and the cuttlebone/mineral block. Cuttlebones and mineral blocks can be purchased from pet stores; they provide important nutrients like calcium for the bird. Make sure the perches … Continue reading →

Is Age Important When Buying Pet Food?

A recent survey conducted by polling company Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Iams found that most people consider ingredients the most important factor in what type of food they buy for their pets. The pet’s personal preference was frequently the second most popular factor, followed by price and then recommendations from friends or veterinarians. What’s got many pet websites and news agencies in a tizzy is the least most considered factor when people purchase pet food: age. Not the age of the food, but the age of the pet. Only one in ten people said that the age of … Continue reading →

What is Phenylketonuria?

If you read the labels on your foods… and you’re a diet soda drinker (like I am), you may have noticed a little warning: PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE. I always figured it was some sort of food allergy, mainly because the warning comes in the same place I usually see warnings about wheat, milk, egg, soy, and tree nut warnings. Phenylketonuria (also called PKU) is an inherited disorder where a person can’t process one of the amino acids found in many foods: phenylalanine or “phe”. Because the body can’t process phe, it builds up in the body. In infants and children, … Continue reading →

Easy Aquarium Plants for Beginners

Ready to add live plants to your aquarium? Here are a few plants that are hardy and easy to grow — perfect for beginners! Hornwort — a stem plant with spiraling forked leaves. It looks more delicate than it actually is! This plant is difficult to kill and grows very quickly — this helps slow algae growth in your tank. Amazon sword — a tall plant with very large leaves! This plant needs more sunlight than some of the others on the list, but the plant’s height helps it get the sun it needs. Because these plants are larger than … Continue reading →