Search Results for: blog those dreaded allergies

Pets Have Allergies Too

It’s that time of year: my car, porch, deck, and even some of my plants, are covered in a yellow dust. Pollen season is upon us, and for many unfortunates that means it’s time to suffer through allergies. As is true with many things, humans aren’t the only ones that might be affected by the dreaded plant powder. All this past week my dog has come in with her snout, muzzle, and sometimes even her eyes, covered in pollen. She didn’t seem any different than normal, however, which leads me to believe that despite her many itching problems pollen is … Continue reading →

Baby’s Animal Fur Allergies

Bringing a new baby home to a house with pets can be nerve-wracking. One might be concerned with how the pets will react to the child. Even if a pet doesn’t seem jealous of the baby, will it know to be gentle enough around the infant? Will exposing a newborn to a house with pets, and the many allergens they release, cause the child to grow up with sensitivity to that animal? Earlier this year I covered the former concerns in depth. Today I’m going to look at the latter: are children who grow up in a home with pets … Continue reading →

Those Dreaded Allergies

After a year of having severe allergy problems, including a persistent cough, that followed my seasonal allergies and never went away, I finally went to the allergist. There I heard the news that every pet owner dreads: I’m allergic to one of my animals. My exchange with the doctor went something like this: he told me I was allergic to cats. I said that was strange, because although I’d been having problems I currently own a cat and have lived with one at several points in my life. I’d been told I had other severe allergies, so I guessed my … Continue reading →

Living with Dogs Might Improve Baby Health

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a real reason to keep our dogs around our babies? Some people are terrified of the idea, thinking that it’s dangerous to let dogs around small children. At first it’s best never to leave dogs alone with babies, to make sure the animals know to be gentle around them. However, we pet owners know that some dogs are great with babies. There have already been some studies about how being around dogs in the first year of infancy can help reduce the chances of a child later developing allergies to dogs, but what about … Continue reading →

What’s Best for a Cat: Inside or Outside?

Did you know that attitudes toward cats are almost completely opposite in the United States verses the United Kingdom? Not the entire thought about cats, but whether or not they should go outside. In America a popular thought is that it’s better to keep the cat inside. Conversely, in Great Britain it’s often considered cruel not to give a cat the option of going outdoors. Our neighbors lived for a while in England. They applied to the RSPCA for a cat and were almost denied because they didn’t have a kitty door that would allow the cat to go inside … Continue reading →

When Fur Flies

One of the first articles I wrote as pets blogger here was about how cats and dogs really can get along. I worked hard to make sure that my cat and dog, even if they’d never be fast friends, tolerated each other. I’m happy to say that while Chihiro and Cole don’t cuddle as much as I wish they would, they definitely seem fond of one another. Unfortunately, that’s made me complacent. It’s easy to forget that pets, like humans, have individual personalities. Just because one dog and one cat get along, that doesn’t mean all will. That’s the hard … Continue reading →

Buying Pet Medication Online

I don’t usually have a lot of deals to post here. That’s because the majority of discounted pet items I see are too localized: coupons in the local Penny Saver, sales specifically at my branch of Petco, that sort of thing. This weekend I made my annual bulk purchase of our various pet medications and treatments. Then it occurred to me that I’ve been using discount websites for pet purchases for years now and I’ve never remembered to share the scoop. If you’re a pet owner I’m sure you’ve heard it before; when buying your flea treatments, heartworm medications, and … Continue reading →

When Cats Drool

Last week when taking my shift at Petco to look after the shelter cats housed there, I met the strangest feline. He was a real sweetheart; he adored being petted and wanted to climb onto my shoulders. But he drooled. As I held him a puddle grew on my shoulder. I would have been concerned for this cat’s health except that the shelter’s feline coordinator left a note saying that he was fine, drooling was just something he did. Still, I found the experience so odd I decided to research drooling cats. Cats actually drool for a number of reasons, … Continue reading →