Weekly Trick – Trained Cat Shows Off!

No tricks for the doggies to learn this week, I just watched a video of a cat doing tricks, for treats!

For all the naysayers out there, cats will do tricks for treats.  Moogley does just that and he’s clicker trained!

He is an amazingly bright Bengal cat that can cross paws, back up, push a ball, and many other tricks.

Watch the video to see this little smartie in action!

 

Recipe Friday – Doggie Meatballs

Yes another recipe for doggie meatballs, these have more veggies and sound even good enough for us humans to eat!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground beef

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

• 1 carrot, shredded

• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

• 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (you can omit this if your dog is allergic)

• 1 large egg (this is not necessary if your dog is allergic, the meatballs will still form properly)

• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric

 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin pan or a baking sheet.

• In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Fill each muffin tin with about 1/4 cup of the mixture, or form the mixture into 10 balls and place on the baking sheet.

• Bake about 15 minutes to ensure the meatballs are cooked through. Let cool completely on a rack.

Recipe Note: Makes about 10-12 meatballs (depending on the size you make the meatballs, for smaller dogs, smaller meatballs would be better).

Remember you can omit any ingredient if your dog is allergic to something.

Also, remember to feed in moderation.

Cats vs. Houseplants – A Happy Medium?

For those of us with houseplants, we sometimes notice the leaves look a bit…chewed up from time to time.  Cats are notorious for chewing on things they shouldn’t, but can cats and houseplants coexist?

Most of the time, keeping plants out of areas where cats play, or spraying the leaves with bitter tasting spray can leave cats with a bad taste in their mouth (literally) and they will learn to leave the plants alone.  Some plants can survive if you use apple cider vinegar and water mixture.  Cats will not like that taste (most won’t anyway).

Also, putting large rocks over the potted soil can sometimes discourage cats from playing and digging in the dirt.

If you need more help with this issue, here is an article that gives more complete information that will hopefully help stop our ever curious kitties from digging!

 

Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Have you noticed that your cat has had chronic vomiting issues, have they had diarrhea often?  Do they tend to have bouts of indigestion?  This is not just something that will “go away”.  This could be what is called Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The first thing to look at is what you are feeding your cat could be what is damaging the intestinal flora.  What needs to be done is an immediate scheduling of an appointment with your vet and tests need to be performed to see if it is indeed this disease.

There is a great article that explains in great detail what this disease is, what tests are needed and how to treat it.  I would suggest joining this website as it contains a wealth of information on caring for cats.

I have friends whose cats have this disease and who have lived long and happy, healthy lives once it has gotten under control.  I hope this information is helpful to those who have cats who may be suffering from this disease.

 

Play Therapy For Cats

Many cats need to play to get out the “kitten crazies” or to just let off some steam.  It’s always good to establish a routine of playing with your kitty several times per day.

Some cats are aggressive towards people, due to trust issues, abuse, or just too much energy at times.

If your cat is aggressive towards people, an option is to get a playmate for your cat.  If this is impossible,  we need to redirect the aggression and we become the stunt-kitty and establish a playtime routine with our cats.  Usually 2-3 times per day for 10-20 minutes each playtime is sufficient.

When we first adopted Isis, she didn’t know how to play or what play was, so we would start with play intervals of two minutes, 5 times per day.  Now that she knows how to play and what playtime is, she loves to play, HARD twice a day for 20 minutes at a time, and one other playtime alone for about 10 minutes.

I recently read an article that can help learn how to use play therapy for a people-aggressive cat and how to keep your cat satisfied and tuckered out!

Weekly Trick – Go To Bed

Your dog can learn this trick with a little patience and a lot of praise!

You will need a dog bed, a leash and treats (in moderation).

First, walk over to your dog’s bed and say “go to bed” in a calming tone.  Have a treat handy so that they can see it.  Once the dog walks over to the bed tell them to lie down in a calming tone.  You can use a leash here or not, to get them to focus on learning this trick.

It may take a while for your dog to go over to the bed and actually lie down, practice this trick in short intervals, no longer than about 5-10 minutes.

Once your dog learns the trick, you can take off the leash if you have used one, and they should no longer need the treat.

Here is a video of the trick.  It is NOT ME in the video.

Have a great weekend!

Recipe Friday – Frozen Icy Treats

With the warmer weather on the way (or here to stay depending on where you live), here is a nice, cool treat that is sure to make your dog sit up and beg for more.

Ingredients:

• 2 cartons plain or vanilla yogurt (32 oz each)

• 1 small can tuna in water (8oz.)

• 2 tsp. garlic power (I know that some believe that garlic is toxic for dogs, so if you are worried about that, leave it out.  I use it in my recipes from time to time in SMALL DOSES, especially when flea season is upon us.  It is a good, natural repellent).  Here is more information about garlic and dogs.  Read and research information and judge for yourself if you wish to use this.  You may omit this ingredient from the recipe and it will not change anything but the flavor.
  

• 24 3 oz. plastic cups (not paper)

Directions:

Open yogurt, if they are full to the top use a spoon & scoop out one cup (these will be frozen as plain yogurt).

Put half of the can of tuna in each yogurt container add the garlic power (1 tsp. in each) & stir thoroughly.

Use a spoon & scoop the mixture into the cups.

When feeding this treat to your dog, remember moderation.  Also, make sure to get the treat out of the plastic cup before giving it to your dog.  Placing them in a warm water bath for about 30 seconds should help loosen it enough to get it out.  (Do not submerge the treats underwater).

Place on a tray & freeze overnight.

Makes about 24 treats.

Finding a Good Pet Sitter

As summer and vacation times are fast approaching, finding a good pet sitter for our furbabies becomes extremely important.  If you cannot take your pets with you, this can be a daunting task.

If you live close enough and have family members you can trust, they can always be a good option.  Similarly, if you have a good friend who can come over and house-sit, you are all set.  For those of us who cannot do that, pet sitting is another option.

You can also contact kennels if you are okay leaving your pet at one of them.  There are also pet hotels, which can be very posh and very expensive.  Call around and go and visit the kennels in person and see if it is a place you wouldn’t mind leaving your pet.  Also, check online reviews, the BBB, and any place else before deciding where to have your pet stay when you go on your vacation.

If leaving your pet at home is the most reasonable option, here is an article that might help you find a good sitter.  A great thing is that there is a National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.  You can check out credentials and such on your potential sitter.

Hopefully that helps and everyone, including our furbabies have a wonderful summer!

 

 

 

National Poison Prevention Week

Since this is National Poison Prevention Week, I figured I would put an article here with more and updated lists of items that are potentially poisonous to our furbabies.

If your pet exhibits any signs of poisoning (lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, unable to walk/stand, etc) get your pet to an emergency vet ASAP.  If you need to, there is a poison control call center.  You may have to pay for the call, but it is well worth it.  The number is 888-426-4435.  Program it into your phone, keep it by your phone, put the number on your refrigerator.

Let’s all keep our pets healthy and happy and keep the toxic items away from our curious babies.

Flea Control For Dogs

As promised, here is a posting for flea control for dogs.

We all know that fleas are a problem and because of the warmer weather and the craziness this year, fleas could be a huge issue this time of year.

IF you are looking for natural ways to control fleas, here is a great place to start.

Boosting your dog’s immunity is the best and biggest defense and will help ward off the bugs.

There are alternatives that can be bought (usually 6 month supply, find out how much your dog weighs first before ordering).  I have not used this brand, I prefer the natural remedies, but a friend has used this and says it is effective.  The choice is yours, but I would research it before using anything on my pet.

I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather, especially our furbabies.  Keep them safe and healthy and free from fleas and ticks this season and all year long!