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Blog posts Categorized under ‘Pet News (General)’

Avoid holiday hazards: Keep your pet safe this holiday season

Posted on: December 22nd, 2010 by

A dogs sits next to a white Christmas tree.
Christmas trees are generally the main attraction when it comes to decorating for Christmas. With its glowing lights and beautiful ornaments, trees are attractive not only to humans but to pets as well.

But Christmas trees can pose a number of hazards to your pet. Keep your pets safe from Christmas tree dangers this holiday season so you won’t have the need to use your cat or dog insurance.

A common danger when putting up a Christmas tree is the tree falling down and hurting you or your pets. Trees should be placed securely into tree stands and secured to a wall or window in order to prevent them from falling.

Another Christmas tree danger for pets is the needles of the tree. Whether you have a real or artificial tree, pets should not be allowed to chew on the needles. They can cause irritations in their mouth and intestines.

Ornaments offer another potential danger to pets. Tinsel should be avoided as it can cause intestinal blockages if ingested. Other types of ornaments to avoid are food ornaments like candy canes and popcorn. Glass ornaments or breakable ornaments should be placed at the top of the tree and out of your pet’s reach.

Electrical cords and light cords are also a danger to pets. Keep pets away from electrical cords to keep them from chewing them, which can lead to electrical shock or even death.

Before the holidays, it is a good idea to brush up on your pet first aid skills and to ensure you have a pet insurance policy for your dog or cat. Pets are more prone to accidents this time of year so being prepared with a dog or cat insurance plan is a good idea. Pet insurance policies also make great gifts for the dog or cat in your life.

Pet health: Dog food ingredients

Posted on: December 7th, 2010 by

A dog looks at a bowl of dog food.

When choosing pet food for your dog, it is important to check the ingredients. Labels can sometimes be misleading and you may think you are buying a healthy dog food when the food is actually not healthy at all.

Checking ingredient labels and comparing ingredients will allow you to choose a truly healthy dog food for your pet, and help to ensure your pet maintains proper pet health.

The first ingredient you will want to look for is the meat or protein in the food. The meat, or the meal of the meat, should be the first ingredient on the list. Meat meals are only found in dry dog food. The ingredients are listed from greatest amount in the food to the least amount. The name of the meat should be specified in the ingredient list as beef, lamb, salmon, chicken, etc. Avoid foods that list meat, meat meal, or by product as an ingredient.

The second thing you will want to do is check for the source of fat in the food. Choose a dog food with quality fats like olive oil, flax oil, canola oil, and chicken fat. Avoid foods with fats that are not specified. These fats will be listed as meat fat, poultry fat, lard, or vegetable oil.

Grains may or may not be listed in the ingredient list. Grains are not an essential part of a dog’s diet. Avoid foods that list grains in the first few ingredients and foods that include corn of any type. Corn is cheap filler that adds no nutritional value to the food.

Other ingredients to avoid include: artificial preservatives, soy, chemical additives, artificial colors and flavors, and artificial sweeteners.

For more information about which food is right for your pet, talk with your veterinarian.

Don’t just adopt a cat– find the right one for you

Posted on: November 11th, 2010 by

Two kittens wait to be adopted at a shelter.
When I worked at my local humane society, I witnessed as many different styles of adopting a cat as I saw different personalities and types of cats.

Some adopters left it up to fate. They would come in, look around for ten minutes, lock eyes with a certain kitty, and take it home. Others treated it more like buying a car. They would visit multiple cat rescue shelters, ask lots of questions about pet health and needs, and take a handful of cats out of their cages for a play or cuddle test drive.

The selection would only be made after inquiring about the return or exchange policy and cat insurance. Some ran a cat adoption like a beauty contest, picking the cutest cat they saw no matter what they were told about the cat.

My favorite adopters were the ones who had an idea of the type of cat that would best fit in their home. One young couple came in and seemed interested in a certain adolescent cat named Bruce. We made sure to inform the couple that Bruce was not of the laze-around, lap cat variety—he had a wild side. “That’s ok,” the woman assured me. “We like them with a little piss and vinegar.”

Keep your home in mind when adopting your next shelter cat. If you have very small children, an older, gentler cat who has experience with families might be a better match than a kitten. If you prefer solitude and quiet nights, there may be a shy cat hiding in the back of her cage, just waiting to be rescued by a kind soul. If your home sees a lot of visitors, a spunky tomcat might enjoy meeting all your friends.

Describe your home life to the shelter workers or volunteers and let them share with you the knowledge they have of the cats they work with every day. As much as they would love all the cats to find homes, it’s more important that each cat find the right home, so they don’t end up back where they started.

After selecting the perfect cat for you, it will be a good time to look into finding the best pet insurance for your cat. Cat insurance can be complex– so be sure to ask as many questions as you can about pet insurance plans and how they work. By doing this, you’re ensuring your kitty will be a healthy, happy new member of the family.

Lessons from a shelter dog

Posted on: November 3rd, 2010 by

A Labrador looks towards the sky.
Although I never knew much about pets or pet health in general, I’ve been a die-hard pet lover since the day I came home from school in the 2nd grade and met a gorgeous, 50 pound yellow Lab mix that my mother had adopted from the shelter.

I didn’t know a dog would start living with us that day, and I don’t think my mom did, either. She only visited dog rescue shelters out of curiosity, and when she saw the petite Lab with the brown nose, she asked to meet him. When his gate was opened, he sat in front of my mother and lifted his paw to shake. “I’ll take him,” she said.

I was only 8-years-old at the time, I have one distinct, life-changing memory from childhood thanks to that dog. One day, I realized that he was there to meet me every day when I came home from school, and that he just loved laying next to me no matter what room of the house I was in. It was then that our relationship changed from housemates to best friends, and also when my biased belief that Labradors are one of the best dog breeds began. It was around then that I also began to get a deeper understanding of pet health, and behavior.

A recent study at the University of Zurich found that children become less selfish around age 7 or 8. For me, the catalyst to this lesson was a lovable Lab, appropriately named Buddy by my father. Buddy was always with me growing up, and that included a cameo in my high school senior pictures.

The summer after graduation, before I moved away for college, I learned another life lesson thanks to Buddy. One day out of the blue, he died peacefully in our back yard. Even though he was no longer with me, his immeasurable love gave me so much. Buddy taught me love, tolerance and friendship. He was the best buddy a kid could ask for.

Finding your veterinarian

Posted on: October 14th, 2010 by

A dog is tended to by a veterinarian.

“Of all the things I miss from veterinary practice,
puppy breath is one of the most fond memories!”- Dr. Tom Cat

Finding a veterinarian is often a personal journey, just like finding the perfect pet and choosing an upstanding pet insurance company. There is no rule that says you have to pick the closest veterinarian or the cutest dog or cat. Your personality might gel better with the vet across town, and the quirkier looking cat at the shelter just might steal your heart.

Even if you get a referral from a friend who loves her veterinarian, the chemistry just may not be there between the two of you. There is nothing wrong with taking time to perform veterinarian clinic comparison, pet insurance comparison, and pet food comparison. Such actions just prove that you are a caring, responsible pet owner and that you are concerned about pet health.

It’s well understood that the number-one reason veterinarians choose their field is because they love animals. We would all love to believe that when we take our beloved pet to a vet clinic, the people treating him sees in him exactly what we see. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. A vet clinic is still staffed with people who are at work, and may not be having the best day. Your pet is probably stressed out and not on his best behavior, either.

Likewise, you’re probably as stressed out as every other pet owner there that day, as well. Everyone needs to work together calmly to get to the goal: a happy, healthy, comfortable pet. But during this process, you don’t deserve to be made to feel like a number, or your pet like he’s on a conveyor belt.

If you can find a clinic that remains professional through the chaos, and communicates patiently with you until you understand, you may have found your veterinarian. If you feel calmed by a vet’s bedside manner, and he takes a moment to look into your pet’s eyes when they aren’t shining as brightly as they once were, you may have found a gem.

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