Pet Health

Two things. We realized that the column we wrote about the new rehoming website, which we called Adopt-A-Pet.com, was confusing because we had the name wrong. It’s rehome.adoptapet.com. Our apologies for that. Do check it out – it’s a great new resource. The second thing. It’s time for our annual party pooper column in which we try to ruin Halloween for pet owners. It’s our job and the message is simple. Pets HATE it when their people start acting weird and other people, also acting weird, start showing up at the door uninvited.

Boing! William is a handsome playful friendly boy, about four months old, who, like his sisters and brother, seems to have springs in his feet. He can and does jump anywhere. If you are all fussy about cats on your counters, or the top of the refrigerator, or the furniture, then William is definitely not for you.

It was only about three weeks ago that we wrote to you asking you to consider donating to one or more of the many animal welfare organizations working in Texas and Florida to save animals caught up in the hurricanes there. Well here we are again. Now Puerto Rico needs our help. You may be feeling a sort of numbness at the scale of this new disaster. Is there such a thing as disaster fatigue?

Tinkerbelle is a wonder. She loves people. She likes to sit in your lap and have her belly rubbed. She loves to play and especially likes those little balls with the rattles inside the best.

We don’t like it very much, but we all know that even for the very best and most caring pet owners, sometimes stuff happens. It could be illness, the unexpected loss of a job, even a natural disaster like a hurricane or a huge blizzard that destroys a home. Then, in spite of our best efforts, we have to find a new home for a beloved pet. At that point we discover that our options are limited.

Emily is a super-friendly momma kitty whose kittens have all been adopted. She’s happy to sprawl on your lap while you work at the computer, but will also happily be “crazy kitty,” playing with her favorite toy!

I am so upset. My beautiful dog, Maddie, has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn’t know dogs could even get breast cancer. Thank goodness, my vet says we caught it early and there are treatments, but she also said Maddie would have been less vulnerable to it if I had her spayed earlier than I did.

Mikey may seem a bit camera shy. But, he is in no way shy around people. He’s a big sweetheart of a lug and gets along fine with every person, including the little ones, and every animal in his foster mom’s home.

My cat, Sally, throws up huge gross hairballs, maybe a couple of times per week. Is this something serious? Should I take her to the vet? They are so expensive.