Search Results for: blog why is my pet fat

Mall Pet Stores: The Beginning of The End

I’ve been following the story of the move some cities in California made to ban all pet stores that actually sold animals. This was made in an attempt to curb the sale of dogs and cats sourced from puppy mills and kitten factories. I talked about how, as a teenager, one of the only stores I ever liked stopping at in the mall was the pet store. I wondered where that pet store got its animals. The era of pet stores in malls might be coming to an end. California-based company Macerich, which owns shopping malls all across the country, … Continue reading →

Which Peter Pan is the Best?

Charming is one word that we could apply to just about any Disney animated film, and even though 1953’s “Peter Pan” certainly is that, it’s devoid of charm when compared to the play/novel on which it was based. One of Walt Disney’s greatest strengths was his ability to take an older story and reinvent it for modern audiences. Doing so for “Peter Pan,” however, just replaces what is a wry and sweet sense of humor with silly slapstick, which seems cheap in comparison. A primary reason why Barrie’s book, and presumably his play, is so charming is its witty, very … Continue reading →

How to Help Your Pet Lose Weight

Are you not sure if your pet is overweight? Have you had trouble getting your pet to lose weight, or do those last few pounds refuse to come off? If you have any of these problems, today’s article is for you. Dr. John Lupo from the Malibu Vet Clinic posted some advice about maintaining a healthy weight for your pets on his local patch.com, and we’re going to examine it today. The first thing is to determine whether or not your pet is overweight. Obviously a veterinarian can do this, but why wait to see the vet? There are ways … Continue reading →

Insurance Blog Week in Review – Week of April 15-21, 2012

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Every week, the Insurance Blog Week in Review gives you a quick and easy way to “ketchup” on everything that hit the blog in the past seven days. There can be anywhere between 12 and 14 blogs that will appear. What did you miss this week? My Quest to Find Affordable Health Insurance is Finished Finally! I have found a health insurance policy that I can actually afford! I review the steps from uninsured, (when I lost my job and my health insurance in 2009), to insured in 2012. The Insurance Podcast Roundup went up on April 16, 2012. This … Continue reading →

Pet Obesity Rates Still Climbing

The trend I first wrote about two years ago is only getting worse. Pet obesity rates continue to rise in America, and unfortunately that’s not all. Not only are once-healthy pets gaining weight, ones that are already obese continue to put on the pounds. Cleveland’s Fox 8 profiles the epidemic. The Association for Pet Obesity recently ran a study that concluded 25% of cats and 21% of dogs are overweight. Those numbers are slightly up from the last study (and the last article I wrote on the topic) in 2010. As already mentioned, one of the most worrying parts of … Continue reading →

Cleaning Carpets Minus the Chemicals

In a previous blog I shared my experience dealing with the aftermath of vacuuming foam carpet cleaner before it had a chance to dry thoroughly. According to one reader, scrapping wadded up lint and gunk from the underbelly of my vacuum with a wooden chopstick is nothing compared to the negative impact foam carpet cleaner has on the human body. Do tell… The crux of the reader’s email was to inform me that chemical carpet cleaners are toxic and can cause a variety of health problems, plus they pollute the environment. Apparently, most foam carpet cleaners contain perchloroethylene, sodium hydroxide, … Continue reading →

More Foods That Are Fatal For Fido

Last time I talked about five common foods that are bad, if not fatal, to dogs. While some people may already be aware that things like chocolate and alcohol are bad for our furry friends, there were quite a few foods on the list I never thought twice about. After all, who would think that something as innocent as onion, garlic, or grapes could actually hurt your dog? Our pets are important to us and can change our lives in wondrous and happy ways, so we must be careful about what we feed them. For a full list of foods … Continue reading →

Pets Bring People Together

Way back when I first started writing for the Families.com Pets Blog, I wrote about how my father and I don’t always see eye to eye. If there’s only one thing we agree on, it’s our love for our four-legged family members. On the rare occasions that we chat on the phone, the main topic of conversation is the pups. How are my dogs, Moose and Lally? How are the dogs back in New Jersey? Who’s been to the vet, who’s got a new bad habit, what was the last three-dog walk like? (My parents have one dog and my … Continue reading →

Bad News for Fat Burners

I was a believer. One of the reasons I started running marathons and lifting weights was because I wanted to lose weight. I bought into the notion that exercise helped improve the body’s ability to burn fat for as long as 24 hours after a workout. So I ate whatever I wanted and then ran 7 miles a day and figured all was right with my fitness regime. Apparently not. According to new research, exercise does not give one a license to eat with reckless abandon. Researchers at the University of Colorado in Denver say their new study shows you … Continue reading →

Prince Chunk and Other Plus-Sized Pets

I have extra-large pets on my mind, since we had a return visit from the biggest cat I ever saw at the cats-only boarding facility. Mr. Big-But-Lovable tipped the scale at a mind-boggling thirty-three pounds the first time we met in late spring. This time around, he’s down to twenty-nine pounds… and I can already see a difference. Mr. Big used to be very rigid through his torso, and nearly unable to flex at the waist. Now, with just four pounds gone, he’s already able to bend more. It’s really encouraging to see such improvement with such a small change! … Continue reading →