Movies to Watch with Your Dog This Holiday
Only so much eggnog and sugar cookies can be consumed before your family eventually plops on the couch, ready to snuggle in for a traditional evening of movies. But since your dog is truly a part of your family, why not let him or her pick the flick this time? Here are a few holiday …
When the Temperature Plummets, Should You Feed Your Pet More?
With winter comes crisper temperatures, waning daylight hours and more time padding around your house in wool socks. It’s a time when we crave comfort foods bubbling with cheese, as if a primordial instinct compels us to add another layer of insulation before we hibernate for the season. But what about your pet — do …
Acute vs. Chronic Pain: When Your Pet Needs Help
Your dog or cat can feel pain in all the ways you do. Maybe it’s the throbbing of a sore tooth. The dull ache from an old knee injury. Or the sharp stab of a cut on a paw pad. The difference with pets’ pain is that they don’t always tell you when it hurts. …
Help Homeless Pets Celebrate Thanksgiving
Many families extend a Thanksgiving invitation to friends who don’t have family nearby. Since dogs and cats are part of the family, shouldn’t we offer the same courtesy to animals in the same predicament? In other words, why not share some Thanksgiving love with shelter and rescue dogs and cats? Here are a few ways …
What Strikes Fear into the Hearts of Pets?
With Halloween around the corner, friends and neighbors will do their best to send a shiver down your spine. But have you ever wondered what frightens dogs and cats? Pets can develop fears and the exaggerated fears known as phobias. But unlike the make-believe ghosts and goblins of Halloween, some pets’ fears are so real …
A Taste of the Wild Guide to Pet Grooming
Pet grooming at home isn’t always easy. Have you ever tried to keep an unwilling dog in your bathtub? Or tried to wrestle with the pointy ends of your cat in a futile effort to make them a little less pointy? Bathing, trimming, shaving, snipping … not every at-home pet grooming task is suitable for …
Are Pet Wellness Plans Worth It?
The term “pet wellness plan” can be confusing. After all, why would your pet need a wellness plan if it’s already feeling well? Perhaps a better phrase is “preventive care plan.” The whole point is to be proactive and to prevent health problems from happening to your pet in the first place. This approach protects …
Why Does My Cat Have a Belly Pouch?
Many cats have a pendulous pouch that swings back and forth from the abdominal area when they trot across the room. Is it the saggy remnants of a previous pregnancy? The droopy remains of a fat paunch? The feline equivalent of a muffin top? And is it normal for a cat to have a belly …
Back-to-School Essentials: A Checklist for Your Pets
Your dog or cat has spent more time with the kids in the last year than ever before. More time licking up the trail of cookie crumbs behind your child. More time rolling in the fresh-cut grass. More time curled up, fur to skin. In fact, if your pet entered your household during the pandemic, …
Why Do Cats Need to Knead?
For some cats, kneading seems like the pinnacle of Zen contentment. They close their eyes and rhythmically press one paw, then the other, often extending and releasing their nails at the same time. In this meditative state, they may drool slightly or rev up their purring engine to the loudest setting. But what’s behind this …