Pet Health

I just adopted a new kitten, Harry. He is coal black, totally handsome, and was the last of his litter to be adopted. I think he must have been getting bored with no litter mates to play with because he seems to think I am his new litter mate, which I guess I am. The only problem is while I love to play with him, he is a little rough – tying to bite me – not in a mean way but it still hurts and he is only eight weeks old. How can I get him to stop?

I just adopted a new cat, Marvella, (no I did not choose that name, but she’s three and she seems to know it) and she seems very loving and friendly except for one thing. She will jump on my lap and act really affectionate and I will pet her and then suddenly she will hiss and try to bite me and jump down like she is really mad at me.

I just moved into a new house just outside of Oswego and there are woods across the street. At night sometimes I hear this eerie howling noise. At first, I had no idea what it was, but a neighbor told me there is a pack of coyotes living there and to keep my animals inside as they might attack them.

I’m a smoker. Not a lot, but maybe half a pack per day and mostly outdoors. My best friend has been nagging me for years and years to quit, but I just really like to smoke and I figure, it’s just affecting my health, which is good. But now she is trying a new tack by making me feel guilty about the effects of smoking on my cats. Is she right?

can’t go through my woods without gallons of Roundup because they are so infested with poison ivy and I am highly allergic. If I even look at it I seem to get it. But, my dogs run around in the woods all the time. It doesn’t seem to bother them at all. Should I be worried?

I was in the library the other day and there was another patron there with a dog that was wearing a little vest that said therapy dog on it. I thought it was really cute and said hello to the dog and the woman snapped at me and told me not to talk to her dog. What’s with that?

The Fourth of July is coming up, our quintessential American celebration and the official start to summer. But remember this, pets don’t have calendars. For them a human party is just one more opportunity to meet new people and beg for food. While they are fiercely loyal to you, they don’t have a patriotic bone in their body. So please, play it safe and try to make the holiday just another fun summer day for your pets.