pETs stOries

Baby otters: Cutest things of all time

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:13:00 +0000

This might be the cutest thing ever. Forget kittens and puppies, baby otters are the pet of the future. Unfortunately, according to Yahoo! Answers (which may or may not be accurate) having an otter as a pet is illegal in the United States unless you've gone through two years of otter school. Also, apparently otters bite, spray and are nocturnal. So unless you don't mind being bitten, smelling like...

The Sims Pet Stories

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Based on The Sims 2 Pets, the top-selling expansion pack to The Sims 2, The Sims Pet Stories is the second release in the new product line called The Sims Stories. Train, play with, and care for your Sims cats and dogs, and do your best to keep them happy. Count on many unexpected twists and turns in this easy-to-play, laptop-friendly version of The Sims. Choose from two different stories in the directed Story mode, taking on a variety of challenges as you compete in a local pet show and learn that even pets have their own personalities. Unlock rewards as you achieve set goals for your Sims and their pets. In open-ended Freeplay mode, create your Sims and their pets, design their homes, and teach your pets tricks. You decide how their stories unfold.

Pet Pages

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:20:00 +0000

Titan the Great Dane named world’s tallest dog

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:59:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES - The Guinness Book of World Records officially says an ailing 4-year-old Great Dane named Titan from San Diego is the world's tallest dog.

Owner Diana Taylor says Titan is blind, deaf, epileptic and undergoes acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments every three weeks.

He is also a gentle soul who is often mistaken by young children as a horse.

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The announcement came during a ceremony Thursday.

Taylor says Titan stands 42.25 inches from floor to shoulder, weighs 190 pounds and doesn't stand on his hind legs because it isn't good for him.

Titan took over the title from Gibson, a 7-year-old harlequin Great Dane from Grass Valley who died earlier this year after battling bone cancer

Heartworms Alert - Know the warning signs to save your dog's health!

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Has your pet recently been coughing, eating less, or being more lethargic than usual? If so, it is possible that your pet is infected with heartworms and may need immediate help and attention. Heartworms may infect a host for up to 2 years before any signs or symptoms are visible, and often when they are diagnosed it may be too late for some pets.

Heartworms are an infectious parasitic transmitted by mosquitoes that invades major organs in dogs and cats like the lungs, pulmonary arteries and heart. Heartworms grow and multiply within the pet body and can survive for up to 5 years. Heartworms cause damage and block smaller arterial vessels in your pets key organs leading to organ damage and a multitude of health complications.

The symptoms of a heartworm infestation are often difficult to recognize or may be overlooked or discounted as merely flu or cough-like symptoms. Coughing, weigh loss, lethargy, rapid heart beat, poor coat condition, diarrhea and loss of appetite are common symptoms. Treatment to rid a pet of adult heartworms is a costly vet procedure and involves exposing your pet to arsenic poisoning treatments to kill the adult heartworms - a procedure that can be fatal for aged pets or ones in deteriorating physical condition.

The best approach to dealing with the risk of heartworms is through and active prevention program. Prevention is the key to controlling and avoiding the health problems associated with these highly contagious and common parasites. A simple oral medication administered once a month is all it takes to protect your pets from the damaging effects of heartworm infestation.

Several heartworm medications are now available on the marketplace to provide preventative protection against heartworm infections. These medications do have risks and side effects so it is important that you read about them carefully. Regular prevention can be achieved by administering 1 pill per month - a small price to pay for your pets comfort and health, and a great hedge against expensive vet visits.

Marine bends rules to save dog found in Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:14:00 +0000

You couldn’t find a more contented dog than the mutt sprawled on the couch in the TODAY studio, his head resting on his master’s thigh, a loving hand petting around his abbreviated ears.

But if those ears — cut off near the dog’s skull — give the impression that there’s more to this scene than just the timeless bond between a man and a dog, you’d be right. They are the source of his name — Nubs — as well as a reminder of the war-torn land he came from: Iraq.

The man petting him Monday while he talked to TODAY’s Meredith Vieira in New York is a Marine pilot, Maj. Brian Dennis, who met Nubs in October 2007 while on duty at a border fort in Iraq. There are a lot of wild dogs in Iraq, running in packs and hanging out around forts

Spirituality and Inspirational Pet Stories

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:59:00 +0000

I have always had dogs in my life, but my little Rat Terrier 'Terry' has taught me so much. Maybe it is because dogs work in and on all twelve dimensions, while we are still trying to accept the seven within our understanding. Through Terry I have truly come to understand the meaning of unconditional love and how that is a gift of the Divine.

We all love those dear fur people we call pets. I have my special stories about the animals in my life and how they helped me understand myself better or taught me something I was overlooking and I'm certain each of you has a story that relates to the spirituality of the animals in your life.

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Pet Pages Spirituality and Inspirational Pet Stories

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:52:00 +0000

2K Orphaned Kittens Put Woman in Debt

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:41:00 +0000

NEW YORK -- Afternoon sun pours through Tammy Cross’ Upper West Side one-bedroom apartment, bouncing off her salmon walls and soaking into her plush white couches. Yet the brightness fails to immediately illuminate the apartment’s rotating fixtures: kittens, all 15 of them.

One-by-one, the animals, as young as four weeks, poke their fluffy, minuscule heads out of the “nursery,” or Cross’ bathroom, and approach the company with an ease their foster mother says comes from the attention she has delivered to each of her approximate 2,200 "babies." They strut around on this early fall day, all bearing inquisitive expressions and names like "Willie," "Chunky" and "Wild Thing."

Cross, 51, bottle-feeds these orphaned and stray kittens, who often come to her sick, but always needing a home. Each weekend, Cross shows her kittens to prospective owners on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 72nd Street.

Cross founded Kitten Little Rescue Inc., a New York City Mayor’s Alliance-affiliated nonprofit organization three years ago. Cross has been tending to stray felines for 18 years, and housing them for the past 15 years in her cozy and surprisingly clean, apartment.

Kitten Little Rescue Inc. got its start 20 years ago, when Cross shopped for catfood for her two pets at an Upper West Side bodega late one night. The store clerk showed her four newborn kittens, huddled together in the basement. A car had hit their mother and the cow’s milk he was feeding them out of a teaspoon did not suffice -- one baby had already died.

“It was evident that the rest of these kittens were going to die,” Cross recalled. “The guy wanted to do the right thing but he didn’t know how -- he asked me to take them. I didn’t know, either, but I figured it out.”

Cross contacted the ASPCA, which later called on her to help bottle-feed stray kittens -- a time consuming task few public organizations have the resources or individuals to handle.

“Since then, there has been about five days in 18 years where I haven’t had kittens living with me,” Cross said.

Cross spoke with Zootoo Pet News on a Friday afternoon, after a morning spent bringing some of her current brood to the veterinarian.

“When they are this young, around four to five weeks, you have to give them a bottle every six hours,” she explained. “But if you get them when they are even younger than that, you have to be there to bottle-feed them every two hours, or so.”

She uses a human baby bottle, as opposed to a syringe, because it allows the kittens to drink at their own comfortable pace.

Kitten Little Rescue has a volunteer staff, but only two foster homes, and one individual who bottle-feeds, caring for the feeblest of the strays. Almost all of the animals come to Cross through New York City’s Animal Care and Control.

“My situation with ACC is, ‘Don’t call me, I’ll call you, when I have room,’” Cross explained of the demand for her services. “I take what I can, but I got to be honest -- it isn’t even a fraction of what needs to be done. What needs to be done is more trap, neuter and return, and people need to spay and neuter their cats.

“The kittens that I can’t take haunt me. Knowing that they are likely going to be destroyed, that I can only do so much, is just a really difficult thing to take.”

Aside from feeding the kittens, Cross tends to their medical needs: Fleas and diarrhea are common.

Cross cleans the apartment daily, getting down on her hands and knees to scrub the bathroom floor each morning. The kittens naturally gravitate toward the litter box, she says, but that understanding settles around the time they start eating solid food, at approximately six to seven weeks.

Kitten Little Rescue charges $150 to adopt a kitten, and $175 for an exotic breed. The fee, though, is barely enough to cover the animals’ medical and other needs, Cross says, noting that it costs $125 alone to get a kitten spayed or neutered. A recent graduate of nursing school, the New Yorker has gone $10,000 in debt to save those thousands of kittens. And she'll keep them until adulthood, if need be, until they find homes.

This month, one cat found a family after living with Cross for three years.

Yet the New Yorker says the joy she derives from saving those kittens is worth the debt.

“These animals -- I don’t know how to fully explain it, but I think they have a lot more wisdom than we do, and something about them brings out the goodness in most people,” she said. “I have had a seven-day-old kitten teach me more than a human has in our whole association. It’s really a learning experience. It’s not selfless work -- it’s very rewarding to me.”

Cross and Kitten Little Rescue volunteers, as well as adoptable kittens, are stationed at Columbus Avenue and 72nd Street each weekend afternoon, as long as it is over 60 degrees and sunny. At the end of October, they move to “The Pet Stop,” a pet store on Columbus Avenue, between 87th and 88th streets.

Schools fight families over autism service dogs At issue is whether the dogs are true ‘service’ pets or simply companions

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:34:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Like seeing-eye dogs for the blind, trained dogs are now being used to help autistic children deal with their disabilities. But some schools want to keep the animals out, and families are fighting back.

Two autistic elementary school students recently won court orders in Illinois allowing their dogs to accompany them to school. Their lawsuits follow others in California and Pennsylvania over schools' refusal to allow dogs that parents say calm their children, ease transitions and even keep the kids from running into traffic.

At issue is whether the dogs are true "service dogs" — essential to managing a disability — or simply companions that provide comfort.

Conjoined Twin Rattlesnakes Separated by Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Conjoined Twin Rattlesnakes Separated by Surgery: Born in the wild, the pair of female Western Diamond backs would have died quickly but instead they were given a second chance for life when a Good Samaritan took them to a wildlife center in Arizona.

NEW YORK -- Rattlesnakes in the deserts of Arizona are nothing new, but two baby Western Diamondbacks were a rare find on a construction site a couple weeks ago near Tucson, Ariz.

"I don't know the statistical chances but I have been at the museum for 25 years and this is the first time anyone has ever called us on such a thing," said Craig Ivanyi, executive director for living collections and exhibits at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

The snakes were conjoined twins, just days old when they were brought to the museum for help.

"We took an X-ray when we first received them and it appeared that they only shared soft tissue," Ivanyi said of the snakes conjoined behind the head and neck area. "But as they did they surgery there was a slight amount of vertebra and bony material shared between the two."

Eds. Note: This article is one of several news stories happening right now in the world of pets and animals. Be sure to watch the Zootoo Pet News videocast above to stay current.

Reptile and amphibian specialist, Jim Jarchow, DVM, performed the surgery on Friday, August 28. According to Ivanyi, the snakes' surgery was a first for Jarchow, who, in a similar procedure, has separated conjoined tortoises in his more than 30 year career.

"One was obviously dominant and the more subordinate one died sometime overnight and was found Saturday morning," said Ivanyi. "The other one appears to be doing well."

Without the surgery, Ivanyi says the pair would not have survived long in the wild.

"Twin snakes usually share one yolk sack and because they share all the nutrients, the weaker one was already going down this road before surgery," Ivanyi explained. "So it wasn't the surgery, it was the lack of nutrition.

"The smaller one would have died along this time table, but then, of course, with it being attached to the other one, it would have killed it as well."

Believed to be a set of female twins, the surviving twin is now doing well, although it could take several weeks to months for the rattlesnake to grow enough for a definite full recovery.

If she recovers fully, then the museum, Ivanyi says, will continue to tell her story and include her in an exhibit. But she will remain nameless.

"Normally we don't name animals here, especially reptiles because there is a fairly extensive collection," Ivanyi said of the museum's 100 species of various reptiles which equals hundreds of individual creatures.

If it sounds peculiar for a snake to be at a museum, that would be an understandable. However, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, as Ivanyi describes it, is "a living museum, a museum, zoo, aquarium, botanical park and natural history museum all wrapped into one. And because of the living museum focus we have, we have two staff vets that come out on rounds every week and a complete hospital."

As for the hundreds of species, Ivanyi says "some for educational display, others are breeding programs -- such as a small refuge population or one species which might be released back into the wild because there are so few of them out there."

The conjoined twin reptiles are one of many stories of animals being brought to the facility, says Ivanyi of the museum which does turn away exotic species, such as Burmese pythons or African tortoises.

But thanks to the rattlesnakes, the public is more aware of the work the museum is doing.

"Most people have been very fascinate by it, the fact of conjoined twins and then the surgical separation of them," Ivanyi said. "There's been a lot of supporters for taking on these animals."

Although the attention has come with some naysayers.

"There are those who are concerned about why we spent money to do this," Ivanyi said of the snakes' surgery. "But we are a complete non-profit organization, and it was within the normal rounds (of Dr. Jarchow) and it was our own hospital so there virtually was no costs in doing this surgery."

Robin Wallace is the editor for Zootoo Pet News and can be reached at rwallace@zootoo.com.

Tell us what you think about “Conjoined Twin Rattlesnakes Separated by Surgery” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com.

Gov't Kills Once-Endangered Cormorants

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:58:00 +0000

ALPENA, Mich. (AP) ―

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On Minnesota Lake, more than 300 cormorants and more than three dozen pelicans were found dead.

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The mostly bird-free skies above Lake Huron's Thunder Bay during the recent Brown Trout Festival were a welcome sight to anglers who have spent years competing — often unfavorably — with double-crested cormorants for their catch.

Federal and state agencies have waged war in recent years against the large, black waterfowl notable for their orange facial skin and hooked bills. Cormorants can dive up to 25 feet deep and stay under water more than a minute, gorging on yellow perch, bass and other species. Fish farmers in the Mississippi Delta say they devour $5 million worth of catfish fingerlings a year.

Ironically, cormorants were endangered in much of North America a few decades ago. Now they're so abundant — and destructive — that wildlife managers have blasted tens of thousands with shotguns, destroyed nests and covered eggs with oil to smother developing chicks.

The campaign is getting results, at least in some places. Cormorants haven't disappeared from Thunder Bay, but charter boat skippers say the days when gigantic flocks hovered like storm clouds are mostly over.

The perch fishery that crashed a decade ago near the Les Cheneaux island chain at Lake Huron's tip has rebounded since cormorant numbers there were reduced by 90 percent, said Dave Fielder, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist.

The Great Lakes cormorant population, one of North America's largest, has steadied at about 230,000 after rising exponentially since the 1970s. Continentwide, it's estimated at 2 million.

Yet debate still rages over the effectiveness and morality of lethal control, which has been tried in 16 states and a few sites in Canada.

Critics say cormorant growth was showing signs of leveling off before the killing began, suggesting the birds were reaching their natural capacity. They say the cull does more to chase them elsewhere than reduce numbers.

"You're making people in a few areas feel better, but no one really knows what the overall effect is," said Linda Wires, a University of Minnesota waterfowl researcher who helps conduct a biennial census of Great Lakes cormorants.

It's also inhumane, said Liz White, director of the Animal Alliance in Canada. Many birds wounded by gunfire dangle painfully from nests or branches until they die, she said.

"It's a pretty miserable thing to watch," White said.

Cormorants get little sympathy in Alpena, where sport fishermen at the Brown Trout Festival likened them to a biblical plague.

"You can't stand a chance against them," said Rick Konecke, a charter captain. "They're eating machines."

Large cormorant colonies compete with other waterbirds for food and habitat. On some islands, they ravage trees by breaking branches and stripping foliage for nests. Their highly acidic excrement alters soil chemistry.

Some 20,000 have overrun Middle Island in Lake Erie, reducing the canopy — the upper layer of trees — by 40 percent and endangering some of the Great Lakes region's rarest vegetation.

"If we don't try to control the cormorants, we are going to lose a valuable ecosystem," said Aaron Fisk, a researcher at the University of Windsor in Ontario, who studies effects on island soil.

Sympathizers say cormorants have their place in nature and the damage they cause is exaggerated.

They've nested on just 260 of 30,000 Great Lakes islands, Wires said, and there's little hard evidence they have taken a significant bite out of fish stocks. Invasive species, pollution and overfishing cause more harm, but cormorants "make an easy and targetable scapegoat," she said.

Cormorants once were threatened by DDT, the pesticide that also nearly wiped out the bald eagle. The Great Lakes population stood at just 230 in 1972, but exploded after the chemical was banned. In the South, their winter refuge, an aquaculture boom created a magnet for hungry flocks.

"There's no precedent I can think of for a species that was in so much trouble to be doing this well so quickly," said Pete Butchko, Michigan director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife services program, which handles the culling operation. "It's just stunning."

Federal officials in 1998 allowed fish farmers in 13 states to shoot cormorants. Five years later, the government authorized lethal control in 24 Southern and Great Lakes states.

More than 73,000 cormorants have been shot under the 2003 order. Eggs in about 70,000 nests have been oiled, and 13,000 nests have been destroyed.

Supporters of the cull acknowledge it's unclear whether the aggressive response will succeed in the long run. Thus far, it's just thinned out cormorants in overpopulated spots. Biologists are debating whether to try managing them across entire regions or migratory flyways.

"If you're controlling them on one site and think your problem is solved, you're going to be surprised," said Mark Ridgway, a biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Escape from Certain Death

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Panajachel — Monday began at it’s normal pace with Ezzie making follow up calls to people who “put their name” on a dog at our quick little adoption event held on Saturday. We were all very excited about possibly having homes for 10 out of 12 puppies who are now in foster care.

Then a frantic phone call came into the office from Maribel D. on her way down from San Andres with a nursing mother and two of her pups. For those readers who don’t understand Spanish, the video below is Maribel’s description of the events that led to the immediate need to evacuate the mom and pups.

Evidently, mom had a family but was booted out because she continued to have too many puppies. She delivered her newest litter a few weeks ago. Some children in town decided to take her puppies away and she went wild. The kids were molesting her and when she defended her babies, the town’s people rose up against her. They beat her with poles, sticks, a hammer and threw rocks at her. There was such an uproar, it was decided that she would be publicly put to death by poison. All this because she tried to protect her babies who are only about 3 weeks old!

Maribel witnessed this, broke it up, grabbed mom and the two pups that where left, hired a flete (small pickup truck), called Healthy Pets and headed to Panajachel. At that moment, she believed the other 5 puppies to be dead.

Lady Luck, that seems like an appropriate name, and the babes had a restful night at Selaine’s. Then luck struck again! Maribel called to say that she and her husband had located all 5 of the puppies. Thankfully, mom and puppies are now reunited. As these pictures where snapped, Mom was “kissing” Selaine on the cheek! It makes it all worthwhile!

Locals — we need a foster home ASAP for mom and the puppies for a minimum of 4 weeks. Please consider offering this family a temporary space at your home and in your heart.

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:51:00 +0000

HURON, S.D. (AP) ―

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A search is under way in the Huron, S.D. area for a miniature horse that might have rabies.

Police Capt. Dan Marotteck says a helicopter has even been called out.

Authorities say the black horse might be ill with rabies or West Nile. It's been missing since Saturday.

Marotteck says the helicopter is being used in the search because the horse might be lying down in a field.

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:58:00 +0000

This just in from the FDA: Nutro food is recalling its Natural Choice and Nutro Max cat and kitten foods! The recall, announced today (May 21, 2009) by the FDA, does not surprise pet owners in America who have known for over a year that something was amiss with the Nutro food they were feeding their beloved pets. This recall only affects cat/kitten food. Not surprisingly Nutro claims that this recall is only for the cat food products listed below. However, SecurePet has been on this story from the start (read previous posts regarding Nutro). From the beginning it was suspected that something was ... Read Full Story

Clues to Detecting Fluffy and Fido’s Painful Secrets

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:52:00 +0000

To protect themselves from predators, animals naturally hide their pain. Your pet may be suffering even though he isn’t showing obvious signs. Advancements in veterinary science have decoded subtle telltale signs of animal distress. Observing your pet’s behavior is vital to managing his or her pain. How well do you know your pet? Use these five clues from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) to help you understand your pet’s body language.
Clue 1—Abnormal chewing habits

If your pet is showing abnormal chewing habits, such as dropping its food or chewing on one side of the mouth, it may have a dental disorder or a mouth tumor. Additional signs may include weight loss, bad breath or excessive face rubbing. Routine dental checkups are important to prevent and treat dental disorders and related pain.
Clue 2—Drastic weight gain or loss

Pain directly influences your pet’s weight and eating habits. Animals carrying excess weight have an increased chance of tearing ligaments and damaging joints. Pets with arthritis or muscle soreness may not want to access their food because bending over is uncomfortable. Arthritis pain may also cause pets to gain weight while their eating habits remain the same due to lack of exercise. Pain can also cause animals to loose their appetites which will lead to weight loss.
Clue 3—Avoids affection or handling

Did Fluffy used to be active and energetic, but now sits quietly around the house? Avoiding affection or handling may be a sign of a progressive disease such as osteoarthritis or intervertebral disc disease. Although your pet may appear to be normal before petting or handling it, the added pressure applied to its body may expose sensitive and painful areas. Hiding is also a sign of pain. Because the animal is hurting, she will hide to avoid a vulnerable position (this allows the pet to prevent painful interactions).
Clue 4—Decreased movement and exercise

Osteoarthritis or joint disease is the most common cause of pain. Pets that limp may be reluctant to go up or down stairs, exercise, or play. Weight and joint injuries can also go hand-in-hand. Losing unnecessary pounds will help overweight pets decrease pressure on sore joints and reduce pain. Consult your veterinarian about exercises, diets and medical therapies that can help improve your pet’s health.
Clue 5— “Accidents”

Pet owners often believe that “accidents” are a result of behavioral issues. Although behavioral issues may cause unwanted surprises, going to the bathroom in inappropriate places may be caused by pain. Pets with sore joints or arthritis may not make it to a convenient location due to painful obstacles like stairs.

Urinary tract infections also may cause a messy situation. In addition to having “accidents,” symptoms of a urinary tract infection may include, lethargy, fever, tender lower abdomen and difficulty urinating. Even after the urinary tract infection is dealt with it may be necessary to get a new litter box because the cat makes painful associations with the old litter box.

The lack of verbal expression does not mean that your pet is not experiencing pain. Minor behavioral change can be cause for alarm. Being aware of your pet’s habits can help you and your veterinarian assess and treat your pet’s pain. Pain management has become an integral part of your pet’s overall healthcare. Diagnosing and managing pain is among the 900 standards an animal hospital is evaluated on in order to become accredited through AAHA. For more information about the advancement of pain management, check out the

Mischievous Cat? He Just Might Be Bored

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Mr. Whiskers has done it again: He's knocked over the potted plants, batted belongings off the dresser and chased people around the house.

Cats like Mr. Whiskers aren't just rebellious. Sometimes, they're just bored.

Signs of Boredom

Those who share their home with a cat might be under the impression that their companion lolls about the house all day, doing nothing at all. On the contrary, cats—for the most part—are more inclined to spend their days playing.

If they're bored, they might meow, chase or pester, escape or engage in repetitive behavior like knocking objects off shelves. They entertain themselves and might think it's fun to be destructive, especially when that behavior attracts their person's attention.

It's important—even when the cat knocks over the plant that was just repotted—not to punish him. After ensuring he has a clean bill of health, assess his needs at home, paying close attention to his personality, which will give hints to his mental and physical needs. Younger or more social cats usually require more stimulation than older or shy cats.

Banish Boredom

Using a toy or game to play with a cat usually helps him release his energy. Cats have a natural prey drive and love testing their pouncing, stalking or chasing skills. Even a paper grocery type sack (handles removed) makes for a fun game of hide-and-seek.

Some cats will even fetch a ball if thrown to them, and positive reinforcement can be used to teach cats tricks.

Banishing kitty boredom can be as simple as setting up a bird feeder outside a window. For cats who enjoy climbing, a tall scratching post with perches could do the trick.

It can be a challenge to figure out which activity any cat likes best, but—above all—don't force him to do something he doesn’t want to do. Find an activity or toy that he already enjoys. He'll be less likely to be bored and destructive if he has playtime scheduled with his favorite person.

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:07:00 +0000

Pet adoption happy tails

Cinderella

From Meghan of Warminster, PA:

After having our second child, we decided to adopt an older cat and began searching everywhere for the perfect one! "Cinderella" was originally named "Kennedy." She is seven years old and an absolute love! Her original family gave her up due to allergies in the home. My three-year-old adores her and my nine-month-old laughs every time she sees Cinderella. She's very tolerant of the girls loving on her. She's the perfect addition to our family.

pets news

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:10:00 +0000

NEW YORK -- As obesity continues to plague our country, man’s best friend seems to be affected by the epidemic as well. That’s right, one in four dogs are considered overweight.

While potentially dangerous diets and strenuous activity seem to be falling to the way side of fast food meals and the convenient lifestyle, medical professionals are searching for alternative options to fight the flub.

From throwing the Frisbee around to taking long walks, many turn to their furry friends to stay in shape -- which research suggests is a healthy and fun way to work up a sweat. Other pet owners, however, just look to them as a comfy couch companions, which not only has an adverse affect on their own health but could perpetuate the increasing number of chubby pets.

It begs the question, how is the weight of a pet related to the weight of their owner? And, how do your eating habits impact your pet? Take the above polls to "weigh" in on you and your pet's exercise routine.

Tell us what you think about “Poll: Do Overweight Owners Equal Chubby Pets?” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com

St. Paul Police Transport Baby Giraffe In Style

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Instead of your typical criminal, local police detained Como Park Zoo and Conservatory's newest baby giraffe, followed by a convoy of police vehicles giving the 3-month-old giraffe celebrity-like security.

What was being called, "Operation Longneck" was an effort by St. Paul police to help transport the young giraffe to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Clinic for a small procedure -- by way of a police trailer typically used for the department's Mounted Patrol Unit horses.

Once at the clinic, the giraffe underwent a procedure to help slow the growth of his ankle bone, as it was found that one side of the bone was growing much faster than the other.

The not-so-tiny baby giraffe was placed back in his home at Como Zoo later in the afternoon, both in good health and good spirits.

Como's baby giraffe was born May 5 and has been on public display since June 5. The ankle procedure ensures healthy growth and development in the years to come.

Advisory Group To Issue Moose Recommendations

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Advisory Group To Issue Moose Recommendations

Source: CBS

An advisory committee charged with figuring out ways to address the decline of Minnesota's moose population will issue its recommendations on Tuesday in Duluth. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources created the committee last year.

Marriage eludes high-achieving black women

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:32:00 +0000

Michelle Obama may have become an archetypal African-American female success story — law career, strong marriage, happy children — but the reality is often very different for other highly educated black women.

They face a series of challenges in navigating education, career, marriage and child-bearing, dilemmas that often leave them single and childless even when they’d prefer marriage and family, according to a research study recently presented at the American Sociological Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

Yale researchers Natalie Nitsche and Hannah Brueckner argued that “marriage chances for highly educated black women have declined over time relative to white women.” Women of both races with postgraduate educations “face particularly hard choices between career and motherhood,” they said, “but especially in the absence of a reliable partner.”

The 'care' cat -- how to deal with aggressive cats

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:46:00 +0000

From the PurinaCare Pet Health Library This article touches close to home. I used to have a "care" cat, as we called them at the Cat Hospital, where I worked. Care cats are very aggressive and don't like to be handled by very many…

Found in: Shine

I So not kidding about this

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:45:00 +0000

So there's this dog in the neighborhood. And this dog is a purebred adult male who still sports a rather large set of testicles.

This dog is named after the lead in a comedy series from the sixties. Let's call him Beaver Cleaver. His name isn't reallyBeaver Cleaver, but for the purposes of this story, that's what we'll call him.It's important to note that we can't refer to him as just Beaver, because the dog's name is Beaver Cleaver. I have attempted to call the dog just Beaver on several occasions, and each time I was quickly scolded and corrected. The dog's name is Beaver Cleaver.

As I mentioned, Beaver Cleaver still has his reproductive organs. Consequently, he has developed all the bad habits of a mature male dog, including but not limited to compulsively humping every dog he happens to pass on the sidewalk.

My dog recently happened to be one of those innocent and unsuspecting passersby, and while I'm fully aware that most dogs like to hump now and then, you have to understand that I once witnessed Beaver Cleaver humping air. Empty air.

So recently, while Beaver Cleaver was humping my dog, his owner sort of laughed, with a snorting, pig-like grunt and said, "Beaver Cleaver, stop it. I don't understand why he does that," as if he were completely unaware of the gigantic sac dangling between Beaver Cleaver's legs.

And you know, that's fine – I don't mind that Beaver Cleaver and his owner are in complete psychopathic denial. But just then, just as Beaver Cleaver's owner gave that piggish snort, my husband mistakenly thought that our dog was making the noise, and explained to me, to Beaver Cleaver, and to Beaver Cleaver's owner (the one who had actually snorted), "Snort snort snort. He's snorting!"

Welcome to the harried world of animal health care

noreply@blogger.com (don) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:48:00 +0000

Human health is on the minds of many Americans as we wind down this long, hot summer season amid a swelter of protests and steamy politics on the subject of human health care reform.

Meanwhile, I'm still toiling over burnt pads, heat stroke, near-drownings, allergies, insect bites and barbecue-rib dinner indiscretion (read: diarrhea). That's summer's cruelty in a nutshell for most veterinarians.

PAW PRINT POST: Connect with fellow animal lovers, news, photos

PET EXPERT VICTORIA STILWELL: Chaining dogs unleashes bad behavior

Despite my veterinary doldrums, it's times like these I can honestly say I prefer my lot over my colleagues' on the human side. In fact, that's almost always true —— that is, if you except those moments when I ponder my paycheck's paucity relative to my physician friends'. But then, that's the subject of another column's bitter whinge.

For today it's all about the biting human health care debate and how American animals factor into the divide. Because —— as I'll posit for your consideration —— their health care system is not so very different from ours. Not fundamentally, anyway. And yet there's much that human medicine can learn from how we do things in the animal arena.

Sure, pets have no third-party payment system that meddles in their health care delivery. Not a formal one. Nonetheless, they do come attached to intermediaries that act as such. We, their owners, effectively serve as animal HMOs when we decide what works for our non-human brood and what might not —— cost-wise.

So how different is that from what you experience when you're told your plan can't afford to cover an MRI for your chronic back pain or work up your diabetic parent for the possibility of primary pancreatic disease?

Not that veterinary medicine suffers from the same kind of blanket, systematic atrocities, and it's not as insidiously, bureaucratically fraught. But the upshot is still the same. Because from a provider's point of view, it's still so wrong.

Can you imagine having to deal with back-to-back appointments where the first pet gets a top-notch radiation oncologist and the next is put down for the same condition? It happens to me weekly. The disparity would be especially disgusting were it not for veterinary medicine's cold comfort: euthanasia.

Much has been made of how posh animals have it, relative to many humans. Undeniably, pets at the high end have fewer hoops to jump through and a fee-for-service environment that's customer-driven. Compared with much of human health care, ours is a system that's almost a pleasure to navigate.

I'd never leave you waiting for an hour. I'd fire a surly receptionist or a technician too rough with my patients. My fees are low for what I do (not to mention my staff's). I work hard to please you because I know my clients can take their business elsewhere. And of course, because I care — not only for your experience as a customer, but because you play a huge role as my partner in serving the overall health of your pet. All of which makes me a satisfied worker.

Utopian, perhaps … but only if you can pay for it.

It's not that veterinarians don't care for those who can't afford it. It's because we're not equipped, financially, to service low-income patients through any particular system. There's no cost-offsetting, Medicaid-style option. Consequently, we can't afford to underwrite all our needies —— at least not routinely —— and still service the rest of our patients in the competitive fashion to which they've become accustomed.

Just as in human health care, veterinary medicine is stratified into the have and have-nots. The divide is chasmic … and utterly calamitous for the low end. And we live with it, why? Because we accept that if human health has got it so bad, how can we expect to do any better?

Still, here's the scary truth: Despite the hand-wringing, I believe we accomplish far more per patient than the average doc.

Animals can't tell you where it hurts when you ask. But their veterinarians have more than an inkling as to where the damage lies. Perhaps this perspective makes us better at pinpointing exactly where the human system goes wrong. Perhaps our competitive system, overall job satisfaction, low-cost structure and significant (if comparably paltry) paychecks provide an insight into what ails human health.

Sure, I can tell you where it hurts. Just don't expect me to tell you how you fix it. Not while I still can't serve every animal who needs me.