Pet Health

We have been watching the news reports about Hurricane Harvey with both sad and happy hearts. Sad because, well obviously, this is a huge disaster for all of Southeast Texas and beyond and it is hard to even imagine the suffering and misery. But also with happy hearts because it is at least clear that emergency response finally includes pets as a matter of course. Almost every newscast includes photos of at least one pet, sometimes many, being rescued along with its people.

What can we say about Lucas? He’s a cat, a kitten really at about 5 months, happy go lucky, playful, a bit of a climber. He loves cuddling with people and playing with the other cats and kittens in the kitten room. He is not at all phased by dogs. Isn’t he a handsome dude, too?

We have been watching Hurricane Harvey slam Texas and Louisiana, and worrying about both the people and the animals caught in this storm. Which got us thinking that it’s time to nag you all again about how to be prepared for what Mother Nature will undoubtedly throw at us, in our case not so much hurricanes, but certainly gigantic blizzards, flooding, wind. The best thing you can do for yourself and your pets is to be prepared for the two basic emergency scenarios – you are either stuck inside your house or you are stuck with having to leave your house. So here are our suggestions for the basics.

Tink, which is short for Tinkerbell, is more of a scamp than a good little fairy. She loves to play with other cats, and we mean she is a serious no holds barred player. If your other cats are all reserved and well-behaved, Tink is probably not the cat for you! She loves people and kids, the more the merrier, and purrs the minute you pick her up.

I just adopted a new cat, Mandy, to keep my other cat, Jocko, company. They are getting along fine together, but there is a problem. The Humane Society told me Mandy was litter trained, but that is apparently not true. She keeps going outside the box. I yell at her when I see her do it but nothing is working and I am at my wit’s end. Can you help?

Do you worry about your paper towels maybe leaping off the counter and attacking you? We thought so. If you have papertowelaphobia, then Trouble, as you can see, is your guy. He will destroy those marauding beasts for you and leave them utterly vanquished in your kitchen. Or, if not, he is still your guy because he is such a great cat!

Don’t you just hate the word obese? I know I do. I just got back from the vet and she told me my dog Barley is “on the verge” of being considered obese. She suggested that I cut down on his food and treats (which I will do) and exercise him more. But he spends most of the day out in our fenced yard while I’m at work and I assume he gets plenty of exercise then.

Pumpkin gives new meaning to the word, Perky. He is a great cat – about one year old, friendly, sweet, with a beautiful soft coat and gorgeous golden eyes! He is used to poking and prodding grandchildren and a husky dog. He is interested in the other cats in his foster home but has not been formally introduced yet. But he is not aggressive at all so we expect that he would be OK with other cats with proper introductions.

Some cosmetic makers still test their ingredients on rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and rats, forcing substances down their throats and applying them to the eyes or skin of test animals. Often, the testing protocols do not require pain relief and animals suffer terribly The Humane Cosmetics Act (H.R. 2790), sponsored by United States Representatives Martha McSally (R-AZ), Don Beyer (D-VA), Ed Royce (R-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and Paul D. Tonko (D-NY), will end this unnecessary cruelty by prohibiting animal testing for all cosmetic products manufactured or sold in the U.S.