The Pet Pundit

Five ways we pick pets names

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:11:05 +0000

A few weeks ago, I asked readers to share their pets’ names. After reviewing your e-mails, I realized that a pet’s name can provide as much insight into a pet owner’s personality as it can about the pet himself. Here’s my take on the five ways we name our pets. First, there are “human names,” like [...]

Who defines humane treatment for farm animals?

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:35:40 +0000

While this column focuses on companion animals, my background includes time on Capitol Hill, where I worked on companion animal, wildlife and farm animal issues. So I am going to step off the curb and address an article by Mike Barnett, publications editor for Texas Agriculture Talks, a publication of the Texas Farm Animal Bureau, about [...]

Count your Mutt in the Mutt Census

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:18:18 +0000

After you fill out your national census form, there’s an opportunity to participate in the National Mutt Census, too. While purebreds are registered and accounted for through the American Kennel Club, there never has been a registry or census for the nation’s mixed breed dogs — until now. Mars Veterinary is conducting the National Mutt [...]

Xylitol and a major pet emergency

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:26:04 +0000

When Tarin Goodnight, a student at Texas State University, ran to the store, she didn’t expect to come back home to a pet emergency. But during the short time she was away, her then 18-month-old Chihuahua, Carmen, had jumped onto her desk and eaten four pieces of nicotine gum, leaving the paper wrappers as the [...]

Bella beats Max for six years in a row

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:49:44 +0000

Max ruled the top spot in the list of the top 10 most popular dog names. But Veterinary Pet Insurance crunched the numbers on its more than 475,000 insured pets to determine 2009’s most common pet names, and Bella beat out Max by more than 400 dogs. Max may have slipped in the polls with dog lovers, [...]

Dogs don’t listen? Here’s why

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:00:38 +0000

Letters about “stubborn dogs” that don’t seem to listen flood my e-mail. Margie G. says, “Whenever we go for walks, I say my dog’s name, but she doesn’t turn her head to look at me.” Gina says she must ask her dog to “sit” several times before her dog will even think about complying. “What am [...]

Helping children cope with pet’s death

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:35:27 +0000

When I was 7 years old, my little dog Pepper saw a cat across the street and ran out the open front door. Before I could get outside to catch him, he ran into the street and was hit by a car. I remember screaming and crying. I was overwhelmed by what I had just [...]

Why do dogs like squeaky things?

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:23:33 +0000

Does your dog go crazy every time you bring home a squeaky toy. Does he grab it and shake his head back and forth as if he is trying to kill it. After the squeaker stops working, does he drops the toy and never touch it again. Well, once upon a time, when dogs hunted and [...]

Searching for a way to use contraceptives with pets

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:37:19 +0000

In February 2008, Texas A&M announced the university would do a study on birth control for wild animals and eventually cats and dogs. This would be a transformational event in the battle against animal population control. Unfortunately, in a recent conversation with Dwayne Kraemer at Texas A&M, he said “preliminary studies were not panning out the [...]

When a cat bites after petting

Cathy M. Rosenthal — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:00:06 +0000

A readers says, “Sometimes when I pet my cat, he starts twitching his tail and then bites my hands. This is very distressing for me. I love him, but it really hurts me when he does this. Am I doing something wrong? How can I make him stop?” This is actually a very common behavior. Your [...]