5 Surprising Facts About Your Pet Cat

Do you think you know everything there is to know about your pet cat? Here are a few surprising cat facts that may surprise you.

Unscented Litter

Rather than scents that pet owners love, preference tests indicate that your cat will prefer clumping litter with no scent. Make sure you keep your cat’s litter clean in a cat friendly, quiet location if you want your kitty to keep going to ‘the bathroom.’

The Tail’s Tale

How do you tell the mood of your cat? A cat’s tail tells the tale. Erratic twitching, low tails indicate your pet cat is on the prowl. Unhappy tail tip twitches indicate stop petting your cat’s tail immediately. Languid tail movements in an upright, tall tail indicate for you to continue with the petting.

No Eye Contact Please

Are you serious about getting your cat to love you? When eye contact is something you avoid, a cat will more likely come to you. The fact is that with strangers, cats don’t like eye contact and they will prefer going to the person who is not facing them. This answers the mystery of why a cat will always go to the only person in the room that does not like them.

Kibble Versus Canned

It is recommended by veterinarians that over kibble, cats should be fed canned food. Compared to dry food, there is a higher percentage of fat and protein in canned food. Plus, cat food that is canned has a higher content of water than kibble. Plus, cats with dental problems, elderly cats or finicky cats tend to find canned food more palatable.  Talk to your vet about this. For your cat, you might find that better health begins by feeding good canned food in measured amounts than an all-day buffet of kitty kibble.

Running Water

You might be surprised to find out how much cats love running water. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the health of your cat, one of the best investments you can make is a pet fountain for drinking. Cats find it appealing to be near running, cool water. For cats, this behaviour is natural since compared to a stagnant pool, water from streams are less likely to go through contamination. There is a tendency for cats to be dehydrated chronically. To get cats drinking more water, fountains for felines are proven to work. With proper hydration, many health problems that felines normally go through can be alleviated. Plus, it is more efficient and convenient than leaving dripping faucets on as you try enticing your pet cat to drink more water. 

Mark Perry is a dedicated veterinarian for Canada Vet with over 20 years experience. A farm boy born and breed, Dr Perry loves all animals but he has a special place in his heart for working animals, particularly working dogs and horses.

Pet Insurance—Should You or Shouldn’t You?

One of the greatest joys in life is being able to share your home with a pet cat or a pet dog. Not only do they offer protection, companionship and loyalty, pets also offer us love. Therefore, it is not much of a surprise that pets win their owners’ hearts rapidly and become members of the family. The bad news is that pets are just as likely to go through accidents or go through illness as much as every other family member. At times, this becomes even more true. From allergies, falling down the stairs, cancer or car accidents, it is not unusual for pets to need the expert care of veterinarians. This can even happen at a time when money is the last thing you really want to think about. For this reason, you get the chance to manage associated risks with the right insurance program for your pet. Most pet owners believe that finding affordable, flexible insurance programs will give you peace of mind when it comes to your pet.

Insuring Your Pet

Policies of pet insurance protect your pet against risks to wellness, illness and accidents. These are the type of expense that can arrive when you are expecting it least. Fees at the vet can be very pricey and you might have to face a large expense when you own a dog that becomes ill. If you buy insurance for your pet, the company will pay costs at the vet if your pooch or cat becomes ill. This may even protect you from large future expenses. As a general rule, there are available pet insurance policies for animals that include rabbits, pigeons, reptiles, turtles, horses, fish, birds, cats and dogs. You can keep your pet healthy and fit by availing of insurance policies that are right for your needs.

Claim Limits

There is a limit for pet claims for between two and four million for liability claims as of the year two thousand and ten. These also make an inclusion of endorsements that are not that common providing coverage for control, custody and care of pet clients from ten to two hundred thousand dollars for each occurrence.

Coverage

Usually, the pet insurance coverage includes negligence claims that include lost keys and fire damage. Plans of insurance also provide pet transport coverage. Most insurers for the pet industry also provide control, custody and care liability for every animal minus the loss of income that happened if the animal was involved in farming or other business ventures.

Mark Perry is a dedicated veterinarian for Canada Vet with over 20 years experience. A farm boy born and breed, Dr Perry loves all animals but he has a special place in his heart for working animals, particularly working dogs and horses.

3 Techniques for Bathing Your Pet Cat

When your cat is going through flea-infestation, you will most likely want to bathe her. Since your cat will tend to wash herself anyway, you may feel that they won’t need bathing. However, it is always a good idea to give your cat a good washing once in a while for hygiene reasons not just for your cat but for your entire home as well. A bath reduces parasites and will help any allergic person in the house tremendously.

Everybody knows that cats do not like water, much less, taking a bath.  Even all the cartoons say as much.  But you can’t allow your pet kitten to sleep with you and not be clean.  You owe it to yourself to have a clean pet. 

Start Them Young

So, how do you go about this task?  Expert pet owners advise to start your kitty young.  That is, train your little feline to actually like baths.  Yes, you can do it.  It’s just a matter of positive conditioning.  Before you do so though, read up and find out how the experts do so.  There are multiple steps to follow when taking your cat a bath at home. Watch and learn.  Or you can ask your professional groomer how they do and what areas to avoid. 

Enjoy The Routine

For your kitty to enjoy this routine here is what you need to do.  In the sink or in your tub, place a towel or mat underfoot.  This is to make ensure that kitty does not slip.  Run lukewarm water.  Do not use cold water.  First dampen the paws then work your way up.  A small amount of shampoo or soap is all that is needed to create lather.  Make sure that the lather does not touch the eyes, ears, and nose of your pet.  Rinse thoroughly and completely.  Make sure there isn’t any residue left.  Remember, your pet will still clean itself after the bath.  Kitty cat will eat any residue left and that might induce a tummy ache.  Wrap your pet in a towel and dry it off completely with gentle rubbing. 

Gentle Massages Work

You can make this more pleasurable for your pet by simulating a gentle massage on its body.   Keep your kitty away from drafts till you are sure she is dry.  A once-a-month bath is just right as a routine.  If kitty really doesn’t like the bath, you can always finish the session with a treat or two as a reward for behaving.  The earlier you condition your cat, the better for you both.  Remember not to skip the routine.  Just follow through monthly and you’ll both be fine.  

Mark Perry is a dedicated veterinarian for Canada Vet with over 20 years experience. A farm boy born and breed, Dr Perry loves all animals but he has a special place in his heart for working animals, particularly working dogs and horses.

4 Expert Dog Grooming Tips for Every Responsible Pet Owner

Dogs are such lovable creatures. After all, they’re there for us when need them, right?  Isn’t it just proper to treat such a wonderful creature to the best grooming available so as to make the life of your dog more meaningful?  More and more pet dog owners are realizing the value of having a loyal, loving companion at their side each and every day. Not only is owning a pet dog one way to relieve daily stress, it is a great way to protect yourself from loneliness.

Creating a Daily Routine

Your dog will need a daily routine, too, just like you.  If you practice these on your lovely four-pawed friends, then they will live a long and incredible life shared with us.  It’s quite simple.  A dog needs to have their coats brushed, have their ears cleaned, have their nails cut, and need to have a bath. 

Brushing The Coat of Your Dog

Routine is what will ensure your dog a healthy, long life.  For instance, regularly brushing the coats of your doggies can be a happy or sad time for your dogs.  The experience is definitely what you make it. For your pet dog to enjoy this, use the correct brush with gentle strokes and soothing sounds, depending on the length of your pooch’s mane.  Shorthaired dogs can do with a monthly brush but medium length and longhaired dogs need a weekly to daily brush.  This is done to avoid matting on their hair.  Plus, brushing brings out the natural shine of your dog’s mane, giving it a healthy glow. 

Canine Ear Cleaning

Cleaning of the ears regularly is a must, especially on dog breeds with longer ears.  The ears can be places of infections for these types and can be very painful on your beloved house pets.  Swab water or mild alcohol on a damp, thin cloth and ran around the outer and middle ear layers of your dog’s ears.  Doing this once a week is recommended to maintain squeaky clean ears. 

Trimming Your Pet Dog’s Nails

The most excruciating thing for a dog to undergo is a nail trim.  It is best that vets or professional groomers do this to avoid cutting away the skin underneath a dog’s nail.  However, if you feel you can do this yourself, get a special trimmer especially tailored for dogs.  Once a month will do for nail trimming.  Bathing is the most enjoyable part for dogs, as they love water.  No difficulty here.  It’s a wonderful treat.  Enjoy the bonding moment.  Have fun taking care of your beloved canine!

Mark Perry is a dedicated veterinarian for Canada Vet with over 20 years experience. A farm boy born and breed, Dr Perry loves all animals but he has a special place in his heart for working animals, particularly working dogs and horses.

Cheap TREATment options this Howl-o-ween!

Treat yourself and your pet this Howl-o-ween with CanadaVet’s freakishly low prices on Advantage and K9 Advantix!

Now available in 8 pipette packs, which means each pipette is cheaper, K9 Advantix and Advantage  provide fast relief from adult fleas, other nasty biting parasites and are gentle enough to start good flea control habits early.

K9 Advantix Product Benefits: 

• Fast flea killing action within 5 minutes near the application area with rapid onset
• Protect your dog from ticks by repelling and killing the ticks
• High percentage of mosquito bites repelled up to 95%
• Water proof for up to a month 48 hours after application on dogs
• Repels mosquitoes

Caution For DOGS ONLY: TOXIC For Cats

Advantage Product Benefits:

• Stops fleas biting within five minutes around the application area; killing all adult fleas within one hour of application
• Long lasting with up to a month of reliable flea control and protection
• Safe on puppies, lactating & pregnant dogs
• Safe on kittens, lactating & pregnant cats
• Water proof for a month; so it lasts, no matter what your pet gets up to

 

Buy 8 pipette packs of K9 Advantix and Advantage this Howl-o-ween and save!

6 Top Tips for Naming Your Pet Dog

With thousands to even millions of names to choose from, how can you possibly find a pet name for your own puppy and make sure that this is the absolutely perfect one?

One of the methods you can use for creating a short list of pets names for your own furry pal is to begin with the type or kind of pet name you want him or her to have.

One fact that may surprise you is that these days, more than half of all names for pets are either nicknames or names for humans. Largely, people have a tendency to name their pets the way they name a human baby. A portion of pet names is based on the perceived personality or appearance of pets. For example, an active dog is named Dash or Comet and a black puppy becomes Charcoal, Midnight or Blacky.

There are a few things you can keep in mind when going through dog name selection. Keep in mind that you will be calling the name of your pet dozens of time each day to scold, praise or call your pet. For this reason, finding one you love calling out is essential.

Breed Inspiration

Your pet’s heritage or breed may be able to provide inspiration that is useful. For instance Irish Setters or Wolfhounds, Scottish Terriers, French Poodles, German Schnauzers or Dachshunds and Oriental Burmese or Siamese dogs may help you find a name with the same origin as the breed.

Appropriate Names

Your pet will not remain a puppy forever, so finding a name that can grow with your pet is recommended. For instance naming your Saint Bernard “Baby Bernie” may not be appropriate when he becomes a full grown adult dog.

Your Pet’s Behaviour

Once your pet gets home, wait a few days and start observing his or her behavior. The appearance, affectionate tendencies or personality that is apparent may help you decide on the perfect name.

Similar Sounding Words

Find a name that is not too similar sounding to commands you intend your dog to learn. For instance, the name Fletch might be too near the word “fetch.” Avoid names that rhyme with Down, Come, Sit, Stay and No. Dogs may get confused when the commands you are teaching them sound too close to their name.

Limit Funny Names

Deciding on a name that you are happy to call out or that is easy to yell out is recommended. In the park, for example, would you really want to repeatedly call out “Flea Bag” loudly when looking for your pet?

A Few Syllables Works Best

Pets can recognize certain names with ease. When you use a one or two syllable name for your pet, they tend to respond better and recognize it more rapidly.

Nonetheless, keep in mind that naming your pet should be fun and finding the perfect name won’t be too difficult with these tips in mind.

Know more about the author: Mark Perry is a dedicated veterinarian for Canada Vet with over 20 years experience. A farm boy born and breed, Dr Perry loves all animals but he has a special place in his heart for working animals, particularly working dogs and horses.