Some pet tips and helpful suggestions...
Keep a spray bottle of water handy when pets get in one of their misbehaving moods, as everyone does occasionally, just a quick squirt will deter the behavior immediately. This works especially well for cats but will work on dogs too. This is a very humane and effective punishment.
Keep scratching posts handy for kitties, AND show them how to use it! A demonstration by you to your kitty WILL show him/her how to use the post ... then place their paws on it and voila! they will get the message, kitties ARE smart, contrary to what some say. If it doesn't work and kitties persist on clawing furniture or curtains, you can revert to suggestion number 2 (the squirt bottle)! Whatever you do.. try not to have kitty declawed... except as a very last resort. Did you know that this is the equivalent to cutting off a human's fingers at the knuckles? Another suggestion would be the Soft Paws which are covers for claws and are available at most pet stores or your veteranarian.
If you have to introduce new kitties to your dog or vice versa.. remember they will adjust to each other it just takes a little time and patience. Keep the kitties confined behind a screen etc.until the dog gets used to their scent. Then there should be no problem with the adjustment. Since I have had to introduce 8 kitties to our dog at different times I know personally that this DOES work.
Did you ever ask yourself why your house smells of cat odor even when you have scrubbed it clean of any signs of cat urine? Well if you have a male cat(or even sometimes a female) that is NOT neutered, it will continue to spray in your house if it is confined. It is just the nature of the unneutered cat. This is mostly true of male cats but I have heard of female cats doing it if there are too many kitties in one house. That is why many people think that cats stink. But the true fact is that cats are the cleanest animal in the animal kingdom. But male cats will spray as a means of marking its territory if it is NOT neutered, and YOU will never find all the spots that has sprayed.
Keep litterboxes clean... Your kitty does not like to use a dirty litterbox anymore than you like to use a dirty toilet. So they will find a cleaner place to go just as you would. So scoop and clean the boxes regularly, at least once a day or more if you have more than one cat, and your kitties will not go elsewhere. Remember too that if you kitty choses not to use the litterbox, there may be another underlying reason such as a urinary tract infection or some other serious problem. Don't assume that your kitty is just misbehaving. For some more info & tips on cats click here
Contrary to what many people belive, domesticated animals of all kinds CANNOT survive on their own. They are thousands of generations from their ancestors who lived in the wild. House pets such as dogs, cats, birds, fish and even reptiles are now domesticated and depend on humans. If you abandon or free your pet to the outdoors you are assuring its inevitable death after a great deal of suffering from hunger, sickness and possibly at the mercy of real wild animals such as wolves, mountain cats etc. in some areas. So please before you get ANY pet be sure you know all the responsibilites involved with caring for it, and after getting it find that you cannot care for it... find it a worthy home. DO NOT abandon it!
Last but not least.. and I'm sure you've already heard this hundreds of times.. don't leave your pet in the car when it is very hot. Your pet WILL suffocate in a matter of minutes. Also if pets are kept outside, think about them when the weather is very hot or cold. Be sure to provide shelter from rain, and cold. And be sure to give them plenty of food and water in both hot and cold weather.. this is necessary for them to sustain body functions in extreme weather.
Some Flea Control Info...
One of the biggest complaints of pet owners is FLEAS. Having 10 cats and a dog has made me VERY familiar with them! However due to fantastic new developments in flea control it no longer needs to be a problem. Two of the most effective that I have found to work wonderfully were Advantage and FrontlineTop Spot both of which are applied directly to the pet between the shoulder blades. It lasts 30 days on cats and 60 days on dogs and can withstand water. It is rather expensive, approximately $8.00 for a one month dose per animal, but the results are well worth it. It instantly kills any fleas that are on the animal, therefore being the most effective method.
The second method is called Program which is ingested by the pet, usually by putting it into their food, and prevents the fleas from reproducing. It is also effective but the animal will still have fleas, just fleas that cannot reproduce, thus eliminating the population of the fleas. It too costs about $8.00 per dose. Both of these are harmless to your animal and are recommended and sold by your veterinarians. The only reason that I am endorsing these products is because I KNOW from experience that that work.For more information on these products click on their name.
The third is of course the long standing methods of flea collars, spray, balms, powders ect. These all work to a degree but do have drawbacks, such as they don't kill the fleas as quickly or effectively, nor do they prevent reproduction. Some of the new flea collars claim to prevent reproduction but since I have not tried them I cannot vouch for this one way or the other. For some more detailed information on flea control click here
I hope these suggestions are helpful to you in dealing with your pets. Remember no one ever said having a pet was easy, but the rewards of their love is well worth the effort! If you think about it... it doesn't matter what color we are, what we look like, or what we've done in our past or present, our pets love us unconditionally.