So you are ready to get a pet? Have you really taken the time to think it out? Or is this a sudden reaction to a pet you saw in a pet store? I have listed some tips on purchasing or adopting a pet. 1. What type of pet would fit your lifestyle? Are you away from home for long hours? DOGS: a. If you are getting a puppy, did you know that they will need to relieve themselves every 2-3 hours. It is very important that you do not leave a puppy alone for longer than 2-3 hours. They have no muscle control. If you must leave them make sure that you have left them fresh water and an area covered with potty pads or newspapers. Make sure that they are confined to a small area where they can not get out and possibly hurt themselves. b. If your are getting an older dog, it needs to socialize, and leaving him home alone for 8-10 hours each day can result in separation anxiety issues, not to mention excessive barking and sometimes destructive behavior to the house. c. Are you going to spend time with your dog, letting it out every morning and evening to take care of it’s business. If you take it out for walks, are you prepared to carry a dogie bag and clean up behind it…like every pet parent should do! d. Now, comes the Vet. Your dog needs to see the Vet at least once a year for all of it’s shots, and maybe sometimes if it gets sick. Are you prepared finanically to pay for this? I had two shih-tzu’s, they have both crossed over the Rainbow Bridge now. Their Vet bills ran me approximately $150 a year. Not to mention they where both sick before they passed. One had heart disease and the other one had cancer. Both required medications and at some point hospitalization which can be very costly. You should have your pet spayed or neutered when it is at the correct age. Talk to your Vet. This will cut down on the population of so many homeless animals. I am telling you this because while they are cute…they can be costly! The point is that if you are not prepared to properly take care of an animal don’t get it. Some of these animals only end up adding to the homeless population of animals. e. Some long-haired dogs require grooming every 4 –6 weeks depending on the dog. My shih-tzu’s where groomed approximately every 6 weeks at $50 each. In between grooming they had to be constantly brushed to keep their hair from matting. f. If you decide to purchase a dog, please do your research and stay away from the puppy mills! If you purchase it from a breeder or a pet store. Please spend the money within the next 2 days after purchase to have it checked over by a Vet of your choice. g. You must dog proof your home if you have a new puppy. Puppies love to chew when they are teething…and will chew on anything. Keep things out of the way! h. One last thing…do you travel? If you don’t have a family member or a neighbor to check on your dog…you will have to board it. Think about how often you travel, will it be fair for the dog to be boarded several times a month? CATS While a cat does not require as much attention as a dog, it does require attention! a. Before choosing a new adult cat or kitten, it is important to take time to research.. A cat's personality, age, and appearance, as well as the kinds of pets you already have at home, are all things you should keep in mind when choosing a cat. It is very important to know in advance exactly what taking care of your new kitten/cat will involve. b. I you get a kitten, it will need it’s first set of shots by eight weeks, and the second set three or four weeks later. Please spend the money within the next 2 days after purchase to have it checked over by a Vet of your choice. If you adopt, it will probably have already been checked by a Vet. c. Traditionally, cats are spayed or neutered at six months of age or older. However, some veterinarians recommend performing the procedure at an earlier age, to further ensure against unwanted pregnancies. d. Never feed a kitten cow's milk or human baby formula as this causes stomach upset and severe diarrhea. If a kitten is already dehydrated, this could prove fatal. This includes condensed/evaporated canned cow's milk! e. Your new kitten will instinctively clean itself. You can help keep your little kitten by cleaning them with a damp washrag. Often they need to have their little rear-ends cleaned…by you! f. Your kitten will start to scratch at things at an early age. This is the time to start training it! If you provide a small scratching post or pad and keep it wherever they usually play, they will learn to use it. Take time to encourage them to use it by enticing them with a toy or some catnip. Gives them praise when they uses it g. Most kittens naturally feel the urge to dig in litter as early as 4 weeks. If you interfere with your kitten while he's in the litter box, it may develop an aversion to using it. Be patient. Instinct will guide your kitten or cat to developing good litter box habits. h. Long-haired cats need regular brushing to keep hair from matting. But even short-haired cats should be brushed regularly to keep their coat in good condition. It’ll also keep them from swallowing an excess of hair when they groom themselves, which can cause fur balls. i. You must cat proof your home. Kittens especially love to run around and scratch and chew on things. It may be necessary to take your roll of toilet paper off of the dispenser. Cats love to play in toilet paper! j. One last thing…do you travel? If you do, you don’t have the same worries as with a dog. Depending on how long you will be gone you can leave a food and water dispenser out for your cat. You may also want a family member or neighbor come over and check on it. Please think about these things before you decided to purchase a pet,. Especially one from a shelter. They have already been through a lot and look at adoption as a new life! ****Never, ever give a pet as a gift! So many of these pets end up in the shelter!****
This is my true story, and what I experienced with my dog when he lost his companion. I got Sugar my sweet little Shih-Tzu in February 1996, at the age of about 6 weeks old. My husband and I both worked so she was alone all day. She did not have the run of the house while we were gone. We had her area section off with a food, water, bed, toys and potty pads. As she got a little older we purchased her a loveseat…yeah, a loveseat! We also purchased the little steps so that she could have access to get up on the loveseat. She soon learned to jump from the loveseat and sit up in the big picture window and look out. One evening a neighbor stopped us and told us that she sits in that window all day looking for us. The thought of her being lonely prompted me to get her a companion. I looked in the want ads and found that someone was selling Shih-Tzu puppies and had only 2 left. They were asking $200 which included shots and a can of dog food.
We took Sugar with us to pick out her companion. Sugar who was about 10 pounds now was much bigger than the 2 little puppies that they showed us. I had told my husband on the way over that “which ever one is attracted to her…will be the one we will get!” It didn’t take long for little Domino to zero in on her. He started trying to chase her and he could barely walk. It was really funny because she was trying to avoid him. I decided then that he would be the one. We had already came equipped with a carrier, and placed Domino in it on the backseat with Sugar. While riding along Sugar began to bark, I looked back and Domino was out of the carrier crawling up on her. We pulled over to put him back in. My husband swears that he latched the gate! We laughed and joked about calling him Houdini! Sugar and Domino bonded immediately. Her motherly instincts kicked in and he started following her around everywhere. As time passed, I realized that was the best thing to do. When we would arrive home they would both be in the window and start having fits when they recognized the car! We would have to slowly open the door so that we would not hit one of them!
Sugar was the dominant one, always barking the loudest, pushing Domino back at treat time, pushing him away from the water…and trying to get all of the attention. Domino was very quiet, hardly ever barking and became submissive to her. He let her run the show! She would be the first at the door if anyone knocked. If I was on the phone, she would immediately start barking loud. She could roll her eyes when she got mad…she was a little pistol! In August of 2008, Sugar was diagnosed with heart problems. She was put on medications and eventually had to be returned to the animal hospital to be put on oxygen. Sugar crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on October 2, 2008. The first couple of days after losing Sugar, Domino was walking the house, sniffing in every corner. I know he was looking for her. He would not eat and began to scratch himself. He scratched out a patch area on his leg. I took him to the Vet who ruled out any type of allergy. He was put on medication and a few days later he began to take on her personality! He started barking loud, running to the door when someone came. His appetite picked up. Because I had lost her only a few days earlier I had not removed her bed. He started sleeping in her bed. He even started barking when I got on the phone! I called the Vet and asked what was going on with him. He told me that sometime a companion pet will take on the deceased pet’s personality. He said that Domino did not know where she was, and that now he was the alpha dog…no more following her around, he was in charge now! After a few days he stopped the sniffing and looking around the house. He no longer scratched himself…but wanted all the attention. If my husband and I were sitting down together, he would jump up in between us. Of course, hubby knew he had to move over! He started this new thing of standing at the top of the stairs around 9:00 p.m. barking. The first time that he did it, I went up to see what was wrong. He beat me to the bedroom and jumped in the middle of the bed! Neither of them had ever slept in my bed at least now when hubby was home! They had beds downstairs and upstairs! I came downstairs and told my husband that he was calling us to go to bed. My husband replied with what, “now he is deciding when we need to go to bed!” This went on for a few days until I decided to put a stop to it. I blocked the staircase off and finally he realized that he was not in charge of us! You guessed it, a few days later I awakened in the morning to find him asleep at the bottom of our bed. My husband said, “maybe you should call the Vet.” I told him that he was just lonely and was missing Sugar. I would wait until my husband fell asleep and put him up in the bed with us. For some reason he would crawl over and sleep on my husband’s feet. I would pull him away hoping not to awaken hubby…and he would crawl right back. Finally, hubby gave in, and Domino was sleeping with us every night! Domino crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 25, 2011. I will be writing a story about him soon. It’s only been about 4 months since I lost him and I am still grieving my baby. I took it really hard when I lost Domino. When I lost Sugar I still had him. Now that he is gone, my house is really quiet…empty. When my heart is ready I will be giving a forever home to a homeless animal…I will never pay for a pet again!
The American Society for the Prevention for Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says, Cats’ claws are a vital part of their arsenal for both offense and defense. They use them to capture prey and to settle disputes among themselves as well as with other animals and people who are hurting, threatening or annoying them. Scratching with the front claws is normal, instinctive behavior for cats. The purpose of this activity is to remove old, worn fragments of nails. Though scratching is normal for cats, this behavior can be destructive and costly in the home It is a must that a declawed cat be confined indoors, since the claws are its primary means of defense. Many times a veterinarian will have to deal with severe injuries to a declawed cat that "just slipped out" and got attacked by a dog because they will, based on individual personality, choose either to fight or run- with or without claws. The procedure of declawing is know as Onychectomy. This procedure is not advised for older cats since cats claws are attached to the last joint therefore the whole last joint is removed. Before you make the decision to declaw your cat, you should know that, declawing is not like a manicure. It is serious surgery. Your cat's claw is not a toenail. It is actually closely adhered to the bone. Try not judge people for decisions made as long as they were thought out and without malice or cruelty involved. There was a man who loved his cat dearly and the cat would play fight him. Unfortunately, this man had AIDS and risked serious infection with the slightest scratch. It was an older cat and being mean spirited was not a candidate for adoption. He chose to declaw the cat and the cat recovered well and he continued to play fight with his owner. Remember that declawing is not a natural nor health saving process, though it may be the only way for you and your pet. And it is harder on the cat.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
