Tag Archives: pets

4 Reasons to Helicopter Parent Your Pet

It has been said that helicopter parenting might not be the most ideal parenting style. Kids need some room to make mistakes and learn from them. That being said, there are a lot of great reasons why you should helicopter parent your pet. Reasons Why You Should Helicopter Parent Your Pets Pets Don’t “Grow Out of It” Babies and toddlers go through a stage where they put everything they can grab into their mouths. They will grow out of this stage eventually. Pets, however, will always have a tendency to try and eat things that may or may not be … Continue reading →

A Warning for Parents with Pet-Loving Kids

That’s my daughter with her pet snake. Okay, that slithery creature never actually made it home with us.  Thank goodness!  However, other slimy critters have sauntered, swam and slipped into our lives due in large part to my child’s obsession with being a pet owner. We’ve had Lola, Pongo, Charlie and Charlie II. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of exotic animals, but when you are a parent of a pet-loving kid, you learn to master the fine art of sacrifice. You also learn the importance of doing research on the type of varmint your child so desperately wants to … Continue reading →

A Street Cat Named Bob

About a month ago a friend lent me a really heartwarming book.  I blew through it in a weekend.  I’ve never done a book review for the Pets blog before, but this seems appropriate.  The book is called “A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets,” by James Bowen.  Don’t worry: this isn’t a real tear-jerker of a book.  It’s a sweet, inspirational story of how a very special cat inspired a lost man to take control of his own life. James Bowen was a recovering drug addict in London.  He’d just … Continue reading →

Microchip Law Passed in the U.K.

The British government has just passed a controversial new law: all dogs are required to have microchips by 2016.  After then, the owners of any dogs found without microchips will be fined the equivalent of nearly $800.  The government isn’t marching door to door testing dogs for microchips, but the owners of any unchipped dogs taken to shelters will face the fine when they come to pick up their dog. The move is controversial because it’s seen as the government interfering too much in private affairs, as an Orwellian move.  Officials say they have everyone’s best interests at heart.  No … Continue reading →

Bird Basics: Finches

If you love birds but don’t have much time for a pet, or prefer to watch birds over handling them, then finches are the perfect bird for you.  They’re not too affectionate and don’t like being handled very much, so they’re the perfect pet for an observer. First a note: as with all birds, it’s best to purchase your bird from a reputable breeder.  Before bringing one home, make sure you’ve located a vet in your area that can treat your bird. It’s important that you get more than one finch, as they are social birds and will need the … Continue reading →

Unusual Pet Products

On a recent MSN list of “unusual ways to make a buck,” 5 of the 21 items on the list were about pets.  That doesn’t seem like that many, but it’s the largest single category on the list.  The pet inventions are Pet Rocks, Doggles, Petite Amande, Pet Butler, and Neuticles.  Given the age of that first item, it doesn’t require much explanation; we all know what it is. Let’s look at the other pet products on the list in increasing order of ridiculousness.  That means Pet Butler is up next.  It might seem crazy – a butler for your … Continue reading →

Preparing Your Pet for the New Baby

When you are preparing for the birth of your baby, it is important to make sure that everyone in your home is also prepared for baby’s arrival. Your spouse or partner is probably at least somewhat prepared, and if you have other children you have probably spent at least some time getting them ready for the arrival of their little brother or sister. When you think about preparing your family for the birth of a baby, it is also important not to forget about your pets. Pets have feelings, and plenty of them. Those feelings, and the ways that our … Continue reading →

Meeting the Neighbor Dogs: Part 2

A month or two ago I wrote about how the neighbor’s dog began visiting our yard during the day.  I thought maybe interacting with him could help Chihiro calm down about other dogs.  Unfortunately, I think the opposite has happened. I really should have known better.  Chihiro has been wary of other dogs ever since getting attacked by one (even though she won the fight, because the dog that started it was a little Puggle), so when teaching her to feel comfortable again around other dogs, I should take her to neutral territory with dogs I know and trust. For … Continue reading →

Why Cats Do Weird Things: Pawing Around Water

We know why cats play with their water: they paw it and lick it from their paws, to try to make their water ripple and thus seem fresher.  Cats love fresh water.  But I’ve noticed Cole sometimes do something a bit stranger than that: he paws around his water bowl.  He doesn’t actually dip his paws in, but he scratches at the floor around the water bowl.  Why is he doing that? There isn’t a clear answer as to why; a lot of cat behavior is mysterious to us.  But there are a few educated guesses out there.  The first is … Continue reading →

What To Do about Neighbor Cats

I keep going back and forth on whether or not to let my cats outside.  Cole doesn’t have much interest, but Chrestomanci certainly does.  I know he’d be happiest as an indoor-outdoor cat, but I don’t know that I’d be happiest with him as one, and I don’t know that it’s worth the stress.  One day in the summer when we let him out with us, he wandered off.  He came back a few hours later, just as my husband said he would, but by then it was dark and I was very upset until he showed up again. Another … Continue reading →