Dog parks are popping up all over the place these days. Every major city has at least one, and hundreds of towns of all sizes now have parks where dogs are free to roam off leash. These grassy confines usually offer amenities such as toys, obstacle courses, fresh drinking water and areas reserved specifically for pets to “do their business.” There are also strict rules about how canines and humans alike should behave at dog parks.
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At the end of this review, you’ll have a chance to win one of two free copies of the “Cooking with Cats” coloring book. Please follow the instructions at the end. We will notify the lucky recipients via email in order to get their mailing information. Look for an email from thecontemporarypet@yahoo.com.
Jess Erskine, a self-taught illustrator, is making waves in the adult coloring book field with her latest release, “Cooking with Cats.” The charming coloring book is filled with delightful images of cats of all shapes and sizes pretending to be anything from donuts to sushi.
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This is the tale of my long-suffering husband, Bruce, and how his proposal of marriage was nearly ruined by my dog and his cat. In 2004, I was going to spend the weekend with him and spend some time with his daughters. On Christmas Eve morning, Bruce had to go to work until noon while I worked remotely from his house.
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There are many theories as to why most cats don’t like baths, and all of them are probably at least partly true. There are, however, some cats who do like getting a bath or being partially submerged in water. They aren’t common, except in a few particular breeds such as the Turkish Van, a stocky cat native to Turkey that likes to swim or lounge in any available water.
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Some days the words just aren’t flowing when I write and I struggle to come up with a topic that is seasonal and that will interest my readers. Today was one of those days, but then I visited the Facebook page for my pet blogger support group: BlogPaws News and Boost Group and I started reading some posts – Wow! – there are some crazy-good bloggers there and I quickly found an article that I know will be appreciated by all the pet lovers who visit my blog.
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This week, the question is from Lori Hilliard, editor of “The Contemporary Pet.” We’re ALL still learning and are happy to take advantage of our wonderful contributors to answer our pet behavior questions.
“My dog Soldier always picks out a particular flower in my flower beds and will pee on that one flower each day until he kills it, then he’ll move on to another one.
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Oh, the thrill of celebrating the 4th of July! Crowds of family and friends, sparklers, firecrackers, fireworks, tons of food…all of it’s festive and fun – at least, it is for humans. For pets, our Independence Day celebrations can cause illness, anxiety, injuries and even death if we don’t take some steps to safeguard them. Dogs in particular are likely to suffer from anxiety and behave in uncharacteristic ways when they are subject to more noise, activity and (to their eyes) strange behaviors.
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Peanut Butter, our cranky but lovable old cat, has staked out her territory on Soldier’s orthopedic dog bed and handmade dog quilt. We’re used to it; so is Soldier. In my experience (and I’ve had tons of it!), cats rule the roost in most homes where there is a cat and a dog in residence. It may be a Maine Coon Cat intimidating a tiny Teacup Chihuahua, which almost makes sense when you look at their respective sizes.
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Most cat owners have had the less-than-pleasant experience of coming across a hairball their precious feline has hacked up. Hairballs are the tangled knots of hair that cats swallow when they’re grooming themselves. Cats cough up hairballs when they can’t pass them through their digestive tract and get rid of them in feces.
Minimizing Hairballs
Grooming your cat regularly will decrease the number of hairballs, especially if your cat has long hair.
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A reader from Michigan recently asked whether he should adopt the runt of the litter of pups for a family pet. We put the question to some of our subscribers and got a wide range of answers, some based on science and others based on personal experience:
“My family got their first pet when I was probably six years old. I remember going to see the puppies a few weeks before they were weaned and falling in love with the smallest pup in the group.
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