7 Things You Should Know Before Going to Buy a Kitten

1. They are not unlike fast growing babies. They start off lying in your arms looking at peace with the world but before you know it they’re at the “toddler” stage and running up drapes and under rugs!

2. They are fussy eaters. Even the smallest kitten will spit out everything it doesn’t believe to be the very best available – oh and “the best” is very subjective, it depends less on the price/brand and more on the cat’s likes and dislikes!

3. Which brings us onto number 3, your kitten will grow into an opinionated cat with strong likes and dislikes. It won’t care if that’s your chair, your child’s bed, an antique sofa or fragile houseplant. If your cat likes it, it’s his!

4. If you have friends and family who don’t like – or even better, are allergic to – your kitten from a very young age will see these as their new best friend and insist on sitting on their lap!

5. Don’t believe what your cat tries to make you think – it is possible to train a cat to do certain things. Just take potty training as an example, you can train a cat to use a litter box, so it follows a cat is capable of learning. Unfortunately an ability to learn does not automatically mean a willingness to learn, especially in a cat!

6. A kitten will grow, and grow fast. Remember this as you think it’s cute to have that tiny ball of fluff curled up next to you on your pillow at night! Pretty soon that little kitten is going to take up all the pillow, and not be happy when it suddenly finds itself on the cold floor in a property fight over whose pillow it is!

7. A kitten will quickly worm itself into your heart and stay there – so make sure you only take enough money to buy one or you could end up bringing two or three home because you couldn’t choose between two of them, and then the third one looked so lonely!

Do You Really Know What Is In Your Pet's Food?

By: Baker Knight
You’ve probably heard the scary stories of feathers and beaks and other "things" commonly found in pet foods. Whatever the reasons, hopefully you will get out the ingredient list of what you are now feeding your pets and compare these notes. Many pet foods today use ingredients and supplements, such as by-products, artificial flavors and fillers, which those pets with sensitive systems may not be able to tolerate.

Pet food should contain:
NO Steroids
NO Hormones
NO By-Products
NO Artificial Colors or Flavors
NO Corn, Wheat, or Soy
NO Chemical Preservatives

So why shouldn't our pets eat a healthy diet too? Dogs and cats have the potential to live into their 20's when feeding on only fresh, natural, wholesome ingredients.

Pet health is dependent on the pet owner’s desire to have a healthy pet and is directly proportional to diet and nutrition. Pets require many different nutrients in their diets, often in very specific amounts. Natural pet food can help provide additional nutritional support that your pet may require for a number of different reasons.

Natural Pet Food is actually less expensive, and pets can live longer, healthier lives with the proper nutrition. Throwing out the commercial pet food and replacing it with natural pet food is the first step to optimizing your pet's health. The best part about giving your pet natural pet food is that there will not be any chemicals, or other artificial ingredients that they will be consuming that can harm them.

Today there are a wide variety of natural healthy pet food products to choose from and there's been a significant increase in the market share of natural and holistic pet food. Pet food sales are projected to hit 15.2 billion dollars in 2007.

Why would you feed your pet less than human quality ingredients?

Feeding and Keeping Your Dog Healthy

by: Peter Garant

A healthy puppy should be clear-eyed, somewhat roly-poly, loose-skinned, free from any skin trouble, hungry for its meals, and lively. It should not be timid or shy.

If the puppy seems warm or sleepy most of the time, ask one of your parents to take its temperature. A dog’s temperature normally is between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius. If its temperature rises above 39 degrees, call your veterinarian.

When you buy your puppy, ask what shots it has received and when it got them. If it has not received shots to prevent distemper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis, and rabies. take it immediately to a veterinarian to have them. Then get yearly boosters.You should also find out whether your puppy has been wormed. Most puppies have worms at some time.

For the first few days, you should feed your puppy the same diet as the owners did. If you wish to change the diet, do so gradually. Each day, feed a little of the new food mixed with the old.

Puppies 6 to 10 weeks old maybe fed 4 times a day. From 10 weeks to 6 months, 3 times a day should be enough. After 6 months, twice daily will serve. And after 1 year, once a day—plus a biscuit for breakfast—is ample.

Meat should be the main part of your dog’s diet. Fresh, canned, or frozen beef or horsemeat are good choices. It is not necessary to cook the meat, but it should be served at room temperature. With the meat, mix a dog meal or kibbled biscuit soaked in hot water, soup, or milk. You can get the meal or biscuit in the supermarket, feed store, or pet shop. Puppies need vitamins and minerals, and your veterinarian can give you vitamin tablets that your dog will enjoy chewing.

Other foods you may safely give your dog are well-cooked chicken, lamb, beef hearts, liver, and leafy vegetables. Hard biscuits of the right size for the dog’s mouth and dog candy will be appreciated too. A little cooked rice or dry toast may help the dog in illness or when it is recovering.

A puppy loses its baby teeth when it is between 4 and 5 months. It will be grateful for beef hide or rawhide strips to chew. You can buy them at supermarkets and pet shops. These strips are also very helpful in keeping the puppy from chewing your shoes and the furniture. Pet shops and markets also carry special hard marrow bones that help in teething and in keeping the new teeth clean and healthy.

Leave a bowl of water so that your dog can have a drink at any time—but remove the supply of water at 5 or 6 PM when you're housebreaking a puppy. This will help the puppy go through the night without mistake.

Food Toxic to Dog

Some human foods that should not be consumed by dogs, and most of us justify that a little won’t hurt, or we don’t even think of the potential danger at all. But the truth is that human food can be harmful to your pet, and in some cases, can be fatal. It’s important to know how certain foods can be unsafe so that you can avoid them for the sake of your animal.

Here is how a few of some of the most common “human foods” become harmful for pets:

Intoxicating Beverages, Such as Beer, Wine, Spirits:

Consumption of these beverages may lead to coma or possibly death. Symptoms of alcoholic beverage overdose may include excitement, depression, sadness, stumbling, cardiac arrest, and death.

Chocolate, Tea, Coffee, Coffee Beans and other foods containing caffeine:

Their content of caffeine, theophylline, or theobromine. Caffeine is one of the greatest culprits because it contains an alkaloid called theobromine. Theobromine acts as a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic, which in turn can cause a heart attack or other heart and nervous system problems in animals.. Chocolate overdose symptoms may include, excessive panting, hyperactivity, vomiting, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat, and death.

Grapes, Raisins:

Kidney failure may be caused by an unknown toxin which is present in grapes in raisins. Symptoms of poisoning from grapes or raisins may include abdominal pain, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, and a halt in the production of urine. Ingestion by your pet may be fatal and even cause death.


Onions and Garlic:

Onions and garlic are potentially harmful due to the fact that both contain thiosulphate, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia in cats and dogs. Of the two, onions are the most toxic, as consumption of simply one serving by your pet could result in anemia. Symptoms include anemia, lethargy, weakness, discolored urine, diarrhea, and vomiting. Processed, fresh, cooked, and powdered forms should be avoided.

Milk

Milk can harm your pet due to the fact that many dogs and cats tend to be lactose intolerant. The consumption of milk and milk products by a lactose intolerant pet creates a breeding ground for bacteria, causing vomiting and diarrhea.

Bones

Bones, although commonly known as a great treat for your dog, are potentially very dangerous for pets. Once eaten, bones can splinter and get stuck in the intestines, causing damage or fatality. In most splinter cases, the bones must be removed surgically.

Macadamia Nuts:

An unknown toxin present in macadamia nuts may experience undesired affects of the nervous and digestive systems. They may also have negative affects on muscles. Symptoms may include muscle tremors, stiffness, weakness, sadness, gastrointestinal upset, vomiting, and lethargy.

Mushrooms:

Different mushrooms contain different toxins which affect several body systems. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, shock, kidney failure, liver failure, hallucinations, diarrhea, vomiting, coma, and even death.

Prevention is the key, keeping these foods away from your pet to avoid possible toxic poisoning and overdose. If your dog is suspected of eating any of these foods get them to a veterinarian immediately.