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What Does Your Pet Do All Day?

Some pets love the camera My engineering husband is a bit of a techie. He’s an odd sort, however, who never asks for any presents. Most gadgets he wants are expensive, so he feels bad putting them on any gift wish lists. Ever since we started dating, I would spend the months before his birthday and Christmas browsing the internet looking for suitable contraptions or other toys he might like. That’s how I discovered website thinkgeek.com, a site devoted to cool geeky toys, technology, t-shirts, books, and more. Given the breadth of Think Geek’s offerings, it was only a matter … Continue reading →

Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Kids Sleep with Fido

My daughter didn’t get a dog for Christmas. Oh no she di-int! And it wasn’t because of the exorbitant cost of raising a pup. Okay, maybe money was a factor. A huge factor. But now I have another reason why I am glad my oldest isn’t cuddling with a pooch. According to a new report, sleeping with Fido or Fifi may increase your risk of contracting dangerous infections. In addition to an exposure to fleas, worms, ticks, and other parasites, the CDC just released a new study that found pet owners, who share their beds with their dogs or cats, … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Cat

Between cats and dogs, the two most popular pets in America, cats are the more low maintenance. They can ostensibly be left on their own for longer periods of time, and they don’t require quite the same levels of attention as dogs. Because of that, however, sometimes people think they can just adopt a cat and let it be, when there are still several things to consider when determining if a cat is suitable for your lifestyle. First things first, you’ll have to consider your cat’s vaccinations. Depending on how young of a cat you adopt, and from where you … Continue reading →

Vacation Gadgets for Your Pet

With the summer travel season now upon us, many of us face questions about what to do with our pets when we go on vacation. Those of us who decide to bring our pets along on our trips, though glad to have our furry friends with us, then face further complications of keeping our pets situated and happy with the limited resources we have away from home. At the recent Global Pet Expo in Orlando, pet-minded inventors introduced a number of new gadgets designed to make vacationing easier for all members of the family, both two-and-four-legged. MSNBC reports the highlights. … Continue reading →

Gardening Dilemma: The Cats, Oh The Cats!

I have an ongoing war with the cats in our townhouse complex. This is a quiet and relatively peaceful war. It mostly involves cat pee, with the occasional #2 added in there for good effect. Yes, there are cats in my vegetable garden, and I want them out. Only one of the cats is my cat. In our complex, we have a high cat-to-garden-space ratio, with nine cats in a space half the size of a standard garden. No wonder there are marking wars, and no wonder they occur in my garden. What’s a gardener to do? I’ve tried the … Continue reading →

Ask a Pets Blogger: Hunger Strike!

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I have a seventeen year old cat. She’s pretty healthy for her age, but lately she’s been refusing to eat. Any ideas? When pets aren’t feeling well, they can be REALLY good at hiding it. So one of the first signs many pet owners notice is appetite changes. A call or visit to the vet may be in order here, to try to figure out why she isn’t eating. Some questions your vet may ask: How long has your cat gone without food? Is your cat experiencing vomiting or diarrhea? Is your cat going to the bathroom regularly and without … Continue reading →

The Things We Do for Our Cats

If you’re the kind of doting cat mama that I am, you do more than just clean litter boxes and take them to the vet for their annual checkup, don’t you? When you go on vacations you fret about their wellbeing and miss them like mad. (Even though no doubt you’ve either placed them in a great cat B&B like the one Aimee works at or with a trustworthy pet sitter.) Heck, you might even plan it so they can come along. Their safety is always first and foremost on your mind. When you have to take them in the … Continue reading →

The Value of Vacation

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One of the drawbacks of being a freelancer is that just about every day is a work day for me. If I’m not writing, I’m at the cats-only boarding facility — a job I took mainly so I’d have some work outside the home, and a chance to interact with people. There are many days when I do both. This week, I took two days in a row off. I wrote ahead so my clients would have their projects covered. Time off was scheduled from the cats-only boarding facility. I had absolutely nothing to do. It was great. I didn’t … Continue reading →

Diary of a Cat Care B&B: Sleeping Like the Dead

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Is your pet a deep sleeper? My two dogs tend to be pretty light sleepers. (The exception being when either dog is dreaming and “running” at the same time. That seems to be the deepest sleep for them.) I would think that since pets tend to have far more sensitive ears than humans do, they would sleep very lightly. (At least compared to sleeping humans.) But I guess it really depends on the pet. A coworker at the cats-only boarding facility was telling me a story about a deeply sleeping guest who gave her a scare. The cat in question … Continue reading →

Stress and Your Immune System

I’ve been stressed lately. Really stressed. It’s a combination of a lot of things coming to a head all at once, and the end result is that I’m cranky and I’m having trouble sleeping. Then I noticed another weird thing. My hands are sporting quite a few nicks and scratches from my part time job at the cats-only boarding facility. And those little wounds are taking a long time to heal — much longer than normal. That got me wondering how stress affects the immune system. In the short term, stress can actually boost your immune system. That “fight or … Continue reading →