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No Wonder Cats are so Cool!

January 16th, 2012

Kooter the CatThe Spirit of Bo, returning to share some amazing cat trivia to let you know why cats are known to be cool: Yes, it has been just over a year since I left this earthly plane, but I still remain as an angel to those I left behind. Besides, do you really think I’d let Party Marty take over this blog entirely? Not in my nine life times!

As I was doing some research on the internet, I came across some fun cat trivia. It’s always interesting to read cool things about cats, as we are amazing creatures!

From cat-world.com, I discovered the following:

**Cats have been in existence longer than humans. Yeah…we rock it! We got here first!

**Cats perspire through their paws.  Did you really think we’d sport a sweaty look around our gorgeous faces?

**Urine from cats will glow under a black light. We’re so cool, even our bodily waste glows!

**A cat’s gestation is between 61-70 days.  Don’t know why you humans take nine months!

**Cats can jump five times their height! And you thought the dog was the one counter-surfing!

**The normal body temperature of cats is 102 degrees F. See? We’re hot stuff!

**Cats don’t kill their prey with their claws.  They hold their prey with their claws and let their teeth do the work!

**Domestic cats can walk while keeping their tail vertical. Yeah…and some of you can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time!

Now you have a few reasons why we claim to be cool! Check you later! I’m always around, if only in spirit!

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What’s In A Name-Top 10 Dog & Cat Names of 2011

January 16th, 2012

Is your dog or cat sporting the same name as many others on the block?  Check out the lists of top 10 dog and cat names of 2011:

Top Dog Names of 2011

  1. Bella
  2. Max
  3. Buddy
  4. Daisy
  5. Bailey
  6. Lucy
  7. Molly
  8. Coco
  9. Charlie
  10. Rocky

Top 10 Cat Names of 2011

  1. Kitty
  2. Tiger
  3. Bella
  4. Kitten
  5. Smokey
  6. Max
  7. Tigger
  8. Shadow
  9. Chloe
  10. Lucy
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Video: Fawn and Kitten In Love

January 14th, 2012

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Does Your Dog Over-Eat?

January 13th, 2012

Overweight DogParty Marty on the scene, always looking out for the dogs in my life! We recently had an inquiry from a friend who is concerned that her dog over-eats. While her dog is not fat, she thinks that the over-eating is stress and anxiety-related. As such, I put on my detective hat to see what might trigger over-eating in dogs.  Here’s what I found, as expressed in bigpawsonly.com:

One reason a dog may over-eat is to beat out a canine sibling in a race to get to the food. (This makes sense for our friend, as the dog in question is usually bullied by the smaller, more aggressive dog in the household.)

The dog could be depressed, anxious, or even suffering from a side effect of any medication he might be taking.

From a physical standpoint, the dog might have internal parasites, a tumor, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease or some sort of internal organ infection.

If your dog is suffering from a sudden bout of over-eating, rest assured that there are steps you can take to help your furry friend overcome this ailment.  Of course, it is wise to consult your vet if you think something is out of the ordinary, but in the interim, there are ways that you can control the intake of food your dog consumes:

Reduce the amount of food that you are feeding him.

If you have more than one dog, feed them in separate rooms.

Limit the times that food is left out. Don’t allow for free feeding or grazing during the day.

Get your dog one of those toys that makes getting food a bit of a game and a challenge.

Engage your pet in more physical exercise.

I do know for certain the one thing that would keep ME from over-eating, if I had that problem:  fill my bowl with brussel sprouts. Yuck!

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Winter Skin Care for Pets

January 12th, 2012

Dog Winter wreaks havoc on our hair and skin, causing dryness and the dreaded static electricity. We aren’t alone in needing to take special care of our hair and skin in winter, our pets have special needs too.

Here are some tips to help pets look and feel their best during winter:

  • The air inside can become quite dry, depleting moisture from pet’s skin and hair, causing dander to increase. To improve your pets skin and coat, brush them regularly and vigorously.
  • Give your pet fatty acid supplements to help skin and coat.
  • When grooming your dog in the winter, be sure not to cut your dog’s coat too short.  The longer coat provides extra warmth.
  • If your dog engages in a lot of outdoor activities in winter, be sure to increase his food supply to help keep his coat thick and healthy.
  • When bathing your dog in winter, be sure to dry him thoroughly before heading out for a walk.
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Funny Pet Picture of the Week

January 11th, 2012

This is true love if ever I saw it!

Love You Much

Photo from icanhascheezburger.com

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Second-hand Smoke and Pets

January 10th, 2012

No Smoking SignJessie, the conservative dog with the right attitude: I have to confess. I am not a fan of cigarettes.  They smell. They look disgusting. They are hazardous to one’s health…even mine…and I don’t smoke. But if you are  pet owner who does smoke, you can be making your dog or cat sick.

As the number of pets in America outweighs the number of people, it’s pretty obvious that folks love their pets, and those who truly do love them would never consider abusing them in any way, right?  If you smoke, however, you are hurting them….possibly even killing them.

Oral and nasal cancers claim the lives of hundreds upon thousands of animals unnecessarily every year. Take cats, for instance. With the exception of our own Party Marty, they are quite particular about their overall hygiene and bathe frequently by licking their fur and their skin.  When doing this, however, they can ingest the toxins from cigarette smoke. Gross! As such, a high number of cats are developing squamous cell carcinoma, also known as oral cancer.

Dogs are also at risk to secondhand smoke, especially long-snouted dogs that can develop sinus and nose cancer simply because they have a much bigger surface area of exposure to the toxins from cigarette smoke. Dogs with medium snouts are at an increased risk for lung cancer because their sinus passages cannot effectively cleanse the smoke from all of the nasty carcinogens before they reach the lungs.

My advice? Quit smoking if you own a pet that you adore. They will love you for it, and they will be around a lot longer to do just that – LOVE YOU!

Thanks to smokingkills.com for this helpful information.  Some days, I just have to speak my mind, you know?

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Don’t Assume You’re Not A Cat Person

January 9th, 2012

Bo and JessieToday marks the one year anniversary of Bo’s passing, one of the founders of this blog and my beloved feline friend.

As many other people say, before I met Bo I’d always fancied myself a “dog person”, didn’t hate cats, just didn’t really give them much thought.  Once I met Bo, though, all of that changed.

When I decided I wanted to adopt a cat, I went to the nearby PetSmart and met the cats that were available for adoption.  All were nice, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to any of them.  I decided to mull over the choices and return the next day to make my decision.

The next day, I went back to the adoption area, and lo and behold, there was a rather large orange and white tabby cat, that upon seeing me, locked his sights on me and began talking to me, wouldn’t stop.  In looking at his information, it showed his name was Bo and he was considered a senior, with his age estimated to be 6-8 years old.

Once I met him, I knew he was the one for me and home with me he came.  I didn’t know then that he would see me through many of life’s ups and downs, always there to comfort me when I needed it and celebrate with me during the good times.

Although it’s been a year since he passed away, I still miss Bo’s talking, his sitting on my lap, and even the way he’d pull my hair if I didn’t get up when he thought it was time in the morning.

For those of you that declare yourselves “dog people”, believe me when I say you just haven’t met the right cat yet!

The picture with this post is my favorite of Bo, with fellow blogger and doggy sister Jessie.

I miss you Bo-Man!

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Book Review: Pampered Pets On A Budget

January 8th, 2012

Pampered Pets On A Budget: Caring For Your Pet Without Losing Your Tail was written by Jeffrey Barnes, a pet vet expert and Kristen Levine, an expert in the field of pet lifestyle.

This book is a quick read at 74 pages, but contains a lot of good information for pet owners. Topics covered include: Choosing Pet Health Insurance, Online Pet Resources and Veterinary Terms and Definitions.

The book is written in laymen’s terms, which is especially valuable in the chapter that covers vet definitions and terms. There is also a highlights section at the end of each chapter.

I would recommend this as a good overall guide for pet owners that want to provide their pets with good care without breaking the budget. The book is available through Amazon.com in either paperback or Kindle version.

A copy of the book was provided for review but there was no compensation given that influenced this review in any way.

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Simon’s Cat Video: “Snow Business”

January 7th, 2012

It’s cat vs. bird in this snowball fight of epic proportion.  Enjoy!

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