Cats N' Boxes

We all know that cats love boxes.  Just leave an empty (or not so empty) box anywhere near a cat and watch the fun. 

Wondering where your cat is?  You can either turn on the can opener (another sure way of catching their attention) or leave a box out where they can see it and become intrigued.  

Well, it turns out that big cats like boxes, too.  Tigers, lions, and leopards love boxes--just like domestic cats! Check out the following video from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla. that shows how their big cats play with boxes.

To find out more about Big Cat Rescue, their mission or volunteer opportunities, check out their website here.  

"Like" their Facebook page here.

Friday Funnies--Ultimate Dog Tease

Friday Funny!  Enjoy!

Pet Apps--Really?

You saw that right--Pet Apps!  

I know you're picturing your cat or dog clutching your smart phone or iPad in their furry little paws and chasing virtual mailmen or toying with pixel-birds.  Nope, these apps are for the entertainment of humans.   

Pets reluctant to cooperate for pictures?--no worries--use PetSnap!  It uses sounds to attract their attention and give you that oh-so-adorable head tilt that we find so endearing! 

PetSnap for iPhone

Do you ever wonder what your dog or cat is thinking?  Wonder no more!  

Cross Tuner for iPhone

If you have found a quirky, comical or useful pet app., please share it with us!

Wednesday Adoptables! Meet Wonderful Alice

Alice is a 7 year old black spayed female. She is up to date on her shots and is heartworm negative. She is good with other dogs and cats, and is approved for kids aged 10 and up. She weighs 58 lbs. Alice is energetic, but does not pull on a leash. She likes cats, and enjoys playing with them. She has a good temperament and is curious to meet other dogs.

Update from Alice's foster family 4/24/2013

Alice is a sweet, affectionate girl, who enjoys hanging out with her humans. She loves to cuddle up with her foster while watching TV or reading. She passed her first home alone test today, alone for 5 hours with free reign in the house and passed with flying colors. We think she napped the entire time. She has a wonderful temperament, likes to play but knows how to entertain herself when told to go lay down. She sits for treats and her meals. She's a petite girl, who would make a great city dog, as she walks great on a easy walk harness around the neighborhood and wags her tail whenever she spots a human who may give her some attention. A great gal!

To find out more about Alice or other Adoptables at Lab-Rescue, click here.

Patty-Cake Cats

I heard that today is YouTube's 8th birthday--so in honor of all the chuckles we've gotten over the years from those silly pet videos, I  thought I'd post this funny cat one.  Enjoy!

   

Friday Funny--Dogs in Cars

"Dogs are obsessed with being happy."--James Thurber

Yes, Mr. Thurber, we agree with that statement.  Especially after finding these pictures of happy, happy doggies enjoying a ride in the car. Have a great Friday, people!

How To Survive the SHEDDING SEASON!

I subscribe to a number of pet-related blogs and read those that catch my attention.  Being a dog walker means that I am the daily recipient of multiple (hundreds? thousands?) of dog and cat hairs that cling to my clothing and are occasionally inhaled.  This particular article from Dogster.com was well-written and loaded with great information.  Enjoy!  

How To Survive the Shedding Season

Wednesday Adoptables! Meet Spooky and Spanky

Spanky is a darling 10 month old little boy who has had a rough life so far, to say the least. He came to FARM with his mom Spooky after being in a deadly house fire. He was just a young kitten at the time. From there, he was at animal cont rol, and then went on to a foster home. To make matters worse, this little baby was missing an eye when we got him, and was suffering from an infection where his eye used to be. We had him neutered, had his eye socket flushed, and sutured closed to prevent further infection. He is current on all vaccines. As you can imagine, he is a bit shy, but such a little sweetheart! He is very bonded to his mom Spooky, so they must be adopted together. They are currently living at Feed Plus and when Spanky was in his foster home, he was able to come out of his shell. Please share, or if you think you can provide Spanky and his mom the loving, safe and stable forever home they deserve, come by and meet them at Feed Plus!

If you would love to give Spooky and Spanky a Fur-Ever home, please contact the Fallston Animal Rescue Movement at Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc., Fallston, MD 410-557-6161

Cat Clawing Making You See Red? (Or, How to Avoid Cat-Scratch Fever)

Here are some great tips shared by one of our Fantastically Fabulous pet sitters, Jessica:

Cats need and love to stretch their bodies and paws by scratching. This helps keep their joints limber and wear down the claws. They will often have a good stretch-and- scratch session after a long nap. But how can you protect your home from becoming a shredded mess?

1. 1)  Keep kitty’s claws trimmed. Get a good pair of claw clippers, I prefer the scissor style as the easiest to use. Trim off only the tip of the nail. Be careful not to cut the quick. If you do, apply a little stiptic powder or ordinary kitchen flour to help stop the bleeding.
   

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2. 2)  Provide an acceptable scratching item. Is your cat a vertical scratcher, leaning on upright items? Try a tall scratching post or mount a cardboard scratcher firmly on the wall. For horizontal scratchers, items that lie on the floor are best – cork, cardboard, a piece of upside down carpet, or even a log with tree bark on it. Anything they can really get a grip on will work. Make sure the item is firmly fixed so it doesn’t slide around. Put this item near a favorite napping spot since this is prime scratching time!
   
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1. 3)  Stack the deck by applying a little catnip on the scratcher if your kitty is partial to it. Try dragging their favorite toy over the scratcher to encourage them to dig in. This makes a great daily play session, as well. 
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10. 4)  Put aluminum foil sheets on the corners of your furniture. Cats don’t like the metal against their claws and will avoid it. Do NOT use foil with food residue since they may try to eat it! After a few days try removing the foil and see if they return to the item. 
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1. 5)  Some kitties like to scratch on audio speakers because they are sturdy and the fabric tears nicely. Try applying packing tape with the sticky side out. Fold over 3-4 inches on each end and stick it to the item. Kitties hate sticky paws. Don’t use duct tape as the adhesive will be hard to remove. 
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1. 6)  Consider a motion-sensor air sprayer, available online and at many local pet supply stores. These run on batteries and emit a loud hiss of air if kitty gets near a forbidden item. Highly effective and harmless. Tip: these also are great for training them not to walk on kitchen counters. 

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1. 7)  The good old spray bottle filled with water works beautifully. Set it on “stream” and give kitty a spritz JUST as she reaches up to scratch. Don’t yell, let her associate the act with the spray, and not with your voice. I’ve become an expert at the spray-over-my-shoulder technique when they think I’m not looking! 

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9. 8)  If you catch kitty in the act of scratching an unacceptable item, clap your hands loudly to interrupt them, then direct their attention to the acceptable item.
   
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11. 9)  Kittens are enthusiastic scratchers and their claws grow amazingly fast. Keep them trimmed regularly and confine kittens to one room until they have learned which items are acceptable to scratch. Don’t be surprised when they experiment on different items to test “scratchability”. It’s your job to be vigilant and watch them carefully as they explore. 
    

Two Cats + One Pug = Funny Friday!!

How many of you enjoy entertaining your dogs and cats with flashlights or laser pointers?  I admit it--I've done it.  It's hilarious and the animals seem to enjoy it, too.  And while one should always be careful with the laser beams and our sweet fur-kids' eyes, they get a workout and so do our abs when we chuckle and guffaw at their antics.  Enjoy! 

Cats vs. Laser Pointer

We Never Said Dog Walking Was Dignified

A typical day in the life of a dog walker

(Thank you Lisa, for sharing)

April 3rd

7:53 pm - Receive text from a client asking if I can stop by as her daughter will be at a friend's house.  And oh, by the way, the puppy cannot run or jump because she has stitches from being spayed recently.

 

April 4th

 

7:15 a.m. - Leave house to go to a morning visit for a vacation client.

 

7:30 a.m. - Discover the road to their neighborhood is closed--in both directions!

 

7:30 - 8:15 a.m.  - Drive aimlessly through the county trying to find a detour to get to the dog.  Call Manager to look at map. We both conclude that there is no other access to the neighborhood!  Contemplate parking the car and walking 2 miles to the house.

 

8:19 a.m. -  Client from last night sends a text to say her daughter will now be home, but please come anyway.

 

8:25 a.m. -  Beg police officer at the road barrier to let me through to get to the poor dog. (He does!)

 

8:35 a.m. - Finally get to my first morning visit - one happy dog, one happy walker!

 

11:08 a.m. - A client with  a pool texts to say the pool is being opened today -- note in the house to cover every aspect of dog care during pool care--this should be interesting. 

 

11:17 a.m. - A client texts to say she is leaving work early - no need to come today.

 

11:52 a.m. - Visit Golden puppy (the one with the stitches)  and spend 20 minutes trying to convince her she should not run or jump.

 

12:20 p.m. - Drive past client house with the pool - pool people are there. Decide they do not need any help from the dogs to open the pool. Will go back later.

 

12:40 p.m. - Visit another Golden puppy who likes to pee on the area rug near the door. I get smart and move the rug before leashing him up to go out. We get outside and he sits down right at my feet. I congratulate him (and myself) on getting outside in time, only to realize he's not sitting--he's squatting--he's actually peeing on the mesh part of my brand new walking shoes.  Before you know it,  my sock is soaked as well. Now who's the smart one?

 

1:30 p.m. - Back to the vacation client dog who will not leave my shoe alone;  courtesy of the leaking Golden puppy.

 

2:15 p.m. - Return to the client house with the pool. Pool is now open, but so full of chemicals that I need to keep the dogs away. I leash the Newfoundland (she loves the pool and has a mind of her own).  Her brother, Burmese Mountain Dog, pees.  Newfoundland just sits down and looks at the pool. I bring them back to the deck and shut the gate - leaving the leash on the Newfie so I can take her to pee again later. I take the other dog in for a treat and find poo in both the dining and living rooms on BRAND NEW area rugs! After cleaning up the

mounds of BMD bm's  I check on our precious darling on the deck. I reach for her leash to take her out again; but now it's in three pieces, rendering it completely useless. I guess she told me.

 

3:00 p.m. - Go home to walk my own dog,  who is distracted by my not-so-sweet-smelling shoe.

 

3:45 p.m. - Wash shoe - Febreeze heavily.

 

4:00 p.m. -  Raid son's Easter basket for a Reese's Egg because I forgot to eat lunch. 

 

7:00 p.m. - Back to vacation client wearing a different pair of shoes.

 

8:30 p.m. - Finally get a shower and fall into bed so I can get up and do it all again bright and early tomorrow.

 

The good news? It wasn't raining!

 

Would I trade this life for something more dignified? Not a chance. It's the best job ever!

 

 

Adoptables--Trinket

Hi! I'm Trinket!! 

I've had a few tough moments in my life, but I am hoping my luck has turned and that I will find a loving home where I can get better and heal. Even though I have had some hard times, somehow I have managed to keep myself upbeat and full of love, and this is what has helped save me. And since I am GREAT with kids-- as you can see in the picture-- and good with other dogs-- I hope this will help me find my forever family. 


You may be wondering what makes me a "special needs" pup… Well hopefully this will be temporary. I arrived to Animal Control with a very visible leg deformity, and so I wasn't really high on their " fit to be adopted out" list, and then when the shelter became full, I almost ran out of time. Lucky for me, volunteers noticed me and my sparkling personality and campaigned hard to save my life... I almost became a Facebook celebrity, if I may say because they felt so strongly that I deserved a chance. 


And thanks to all their hard work and all the wonderful people, I am here today!! 


The good news is that, my care taker and rescue took me to have X-rays done of my leg and they firgured out it isn't a deformity that is wrong with my leg! They learned that my elbow was broken as a puppy and unfortunately my leg was never reset, so it healed back funny. The doctors say my leg can be fixed and my friends are raising the money to have it done. I do have to admit, it doesn't feel very good to walk like this, and it does hurt, but I try to ignore it and stay happy and upbeat, because I do realize I am still a lucky pup! However I would really LOVE to have my leg fixed so that I can walk and run like the other dogs do. And that is what I am hoping for-- I cannot have my surgery until I am in a furever home that is willing to help me with recovery. Until that happens, I have to wait for my surgery! (The surgery and follow up visits is fully covered by my caretaker-- so don't worry about that! I just need a forever family to help me heal!)


A little more about me: I'm about 2 1/2 year old girl, who is great with children of all ages and good with other dogs. I love attention to myself though, so may do better as an only dog in a home setting. I'm told, I'm sweet as pie and hope that you will consider welcoming me in your family, help me get my surgery so I can be a normal pup!


Love,
Trinket

For more information about me, please contact my friend Dara at dara@tabbytime.net or http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MD63.html

If you are able to help chip in for her surgery, It would make a huge difference. Trinket says thank you very much! http://www.gofundme.com/1x89z8

All rescued dogs are vet checked, microchipped, vaccinated and spayed or neutered. All adoptions are refundable for up to 60 days. Adoption fees range from $100 to $400 depending upon the age and breed of the pet.

Cat Shaming--Why Should Dog Owners Have All the Fun?

  

I am a creeper when my owner is showering.

I bit my owner on the rear when she was bending to clean my litter box.

I try to pass off three-day-old, flattened roadkill as my own catch.

I somehow got the lid off the urn, then I sneezed in Grandma's ashes.

I diligently perform "cat opera" at 4 a.m.

Friday Funnies

This week's Friday Funny is dedicated to the adorable and endlessly amusing Pug.

The Pug Head Tilt

The iPug

Pug Walking Up the Stairs

It's Spring! Time to Kill the Fleas

Spring……green……flowers……fleas.  Ack!

I found this article with some good information  Let us know what has worked for you and your dog.  

Flea Control Products for Dogs

Adopt Me! Wednesday

 This is Cricket! She is a 15 mo. old "mini pit" in Bel Air, being fostered by the wonderful people at No Kill Harford .   She is an active girl and has some leash aggression but once loose she plays with everyone.  She does fine with the cats in the foster home.  Cricket is almost house trained; she came into rescue with at urinary tract infection so it took a little longer to control her bladder.

She is a love, up to date on vaccinations, spayed, tested negative for heart worm and Lyme disease and is microchipped.

Please contact foster mom Cindy at:  haganscrazyacres@yahoo.com  to set up a meeting with this lovely girl! 

 

Spayed/Neutered • Up-to-date with routine shots • House trained • Primary colors: Black, White or Cream • Coat length: Short

But How Do I Know My Cat Really Loves Me?

I used to believe that cats had a reputation for being a bit more subtle than dogs in their communications with us humans.  But, after reading this article:

How Cats Display Affection

I've come to realize that cats are indeed a bit shout-y in their declarations of love--if you know what to look for.