Tips on Trimming Your Cat's Claws

Trimming your cat's nails is the humane answer to declawing. The best time to trim your cat's nails is when your cat is  relaxed or sleepy. Never try to trim your cat’s nails right after a stressful experience or an energetic round of play.

The Humane Society of the United States says, trimming a cat's claws every few weeks is an important part of maintaining your pet's health and protects him, you, your family and visitors as well as the sofa, curtains and other furniture.

The more regularly you clip the claws the less anxious the cat will get. Always reward your cat with a treat when you are finished. Keep a barber's styptic pen or styptic powder handy in case you accidentally cut into the quick. If this should happen, apply the powder to the nail to stop the bleeding.

                 Gently press the cat's toe pads to reveal sharp nails in need of a trim.

                                   Trimming cat's nail diagram showing the quick

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This Woman Helps Disabled Dogs Walk Again!

This story really got the tear ducts goin’.

In 2016, Butler, Pennsylvania residents Tanya and her husband adopted one-and-a-half-year old pup Joey, who had been found at six weeks with his legs intentionally cut off. Joey was rehabilitated and received prosthetics that have made a huge difference to his life.

They were so deeply affected by their experience with Joey, that in 2017, they started an organization, Joey’s P.A.W. (which stands for Prosthetics or A Wheelchair). Their goal is to help other disabled dogs achieve mobility through partial or full prosthetic and/or wheelchair funding.

To read more on this story, click here: This Woman Helps Disabled Dogs Walk Again!

Thinking of Getting a Pet Turtle?

Consider the risks to your health, the earth and the animals

Turtles may seem like low-maintenance pets, but those about to rush out and bring one home should consider that they require years (sometimes decades) of specialized care. Turtles can also transmit disease. Like all wildlife, these reptiles belong in their natural habitats.

To read more on this story, click here: Thinking of Getting a Pet Turtle?

Hamster Care 101: How to Care For Your Hamster

Hamsters are adorable, and if you had one as a kid, you probably remember them being easy pets to care for. That is, of course, because your parents likely took care of your hamster. As you can imagine, it isn't as easy to care for a hamster as it looked as a kid, but once you get into a groove, you may find that it isn't all that hard either. Consider the following your handy hamster care handbook.

How to Take Care of a Hamster: The Basics
If you are thinking about getting a hamster for your child, it would be best if your child is in elementary school or older.

“Unfortunately, this isn't the perfect small pet for young children. Hamsters require a lot of care, can get nippy [and] are not always great in tiny hands,” said Laurie Hess, author, exotic animal veterinarian and owner of the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics in Bedford Hills, New York.

To read more on this story, click here: Hamster Care 101: How to Care For Your Hamster

Cats Are Apparently Terrible at Catching Rats

Cats are good at so many thing — napping, chasing laser pointer dots around the room, napping, eating, and napping, just to name a few — but apparently they’re really, really bad at catching rats. A new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution explains just how terrible they are at doing one of the things they’re supposed to be good at.

As Wired reports, researchers led by Michael Parsons set up shop at a waste disposal facility in New York City in the hopes of studying urban rats in their natural environment. The original plan was to catch and release the rats and then study their behavior so that they could come up with more efficient ways of curbing rat populations. That’s when the cats spoiled their party… well, sort of.

To read more on this story, click here: Cats Are Apparently Terrible at Catching Rats

Holly Willoughby Horrified By Guest Calling For UK Cat Ban

A guest on This Morning is calling for cats to be banned in a bid to save the birds and 'help them thrive'.

Sally Jones appeared on the sofa to discuss a proposal to phase out cats in a New Zealand village to protect areas of The Bush and wildlife.

She admitted to agreeing with the idea of banning cats from some areas after she recalled watching one 'crunch' on a bird in front of her...

The journalist claimed that cats are 'evil' and that 55 million birds are killed each year by pets.

Sally told hosts Phillip and Holly, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: "I was watching a beautiful yellow hammer on our bird table... and within about five seconds a big grey cat had jumped on it and crunched it.

"There's something we can do about cats, I think there's lots of things we can be doing as humans... there's lots we can do but one easy thing we can do close to home is control the number of birds out cats kill."


To read more on this story, click here: Holly Willoughby Horrified By Guest Calling For UK Cat Ban

Mini Cows For Your Mini Farm

Yes, miniature cattle are a real breed and yes, they really are this adorable.

If you don’t have enough room on your land for a herd of big cows, consider getting minis for smaller acreage. They still produce milk like regular cows but don’t need as much space and don’t do as much damage to your land as normal-sized cattle might.

Miniature bull cows generally stand at 36 to 42 inches at the hip, which means they are about half the size of a full-size cow.

To read more on this story, click here: Mini Cows For Your Mini Farm

Mountain Goats Are Being Airlifted Out of a National Park Because They Crave Human Pee

Olympic National Park, located in Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, is faced with a daunting challenge: removing a ballooning mountain goat population that's developed a strong appetite for human pee.

Mountain goats aren't a native species in the park. Since their introduction in the 1920s, their numbers have blossomed into a staggering 700 ungulates. Now, with humans flooding the area and routinely relieving themselves on various hiking trails, the goats have developed an insatiable thirst for urine, which serves as a strong source of salt and minerals.

Acting in concert with the National Park Services (NPS) and the USDA Forest Service, park authorities have begun tagging, blindfolding and airlifting the goats to the nearby forests in the North Cascades via helicopter. Fitted with GPS collars, the goats are ferried in pairs to nine sites in the Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, per a Motherboard report. The sites should provide a more hospitable environment for the surging goat tribe where they can roam free of human interlopers.

To read more on this story, click here: Mountain Goats Are Being Airlifted Out of a National Park Because They Crave Human Pee