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Are commercial pet foods safe?

The health standards and the average life span of the pets are falling gradually in the recent years and it is noticed that a fair percentage of pets suffer from various health problems which includes physical as well as behavioral problems . Upon analysis, the pet nutritionists seem to agree that this is mainly due to the poor nutrition which is the root cause for all these problems among the pets. It is also found out the pet foods available in the market are not really as nutritious or healthy as it is being claimed.  The vets believe that the chemical additives used in these commercial pet foods are responsible for the deteriorating health of the pets.

It is found that the pet food contains huge amounts of BHTs, BHAs and Ethoxyquin which are responsible for producing the odor and also release certain gases which in turn make the packed pet food unfit for human and even animal consumption.

Even these pet foods sometimes contain traces of animal wastes and pathogens from the diseased meat. The Ethoxyquin used in these animal foods as preservative is in fact a potent herbicide and which is capable of causing damage to the liver and kidneys in the humans who are in prolonged contact with it. It is also found to be carcinogenic in humans. This chemical also has a range of harmful effects on the animals which include immunodeficiency syndromes, cancer of stomach, spleen and liver and many more which answers the rise in health issues in pets which are fed commercial pet foods.  Also the use of sweetening agents like sucrose and cornstarch causes a lot of stress on the pancreas which can cause diabetes and other ailments. Choosing the right food for the pets, preferably natural will help it lead a healthy life in these conditions homemade pet foods seems to be the safest bet.

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Homemade pet foods

There are a lot of different brands of pet foods available in the market. With so many options popping up on the supermarket shelves with a wide range of prices and not to mention the claims made by the manufacturers one cannot be so sure about what they are feeding their pets with and how safe or nutritious are these foods really. Adding on to the confusion is the frequent recalls of the products by the manufacturers. There is only one way to overcome this and that is by preparing our own pet food which is safer for the pets and also comforting to the owners as they will know what goes into their pets.  One can feed some of the nutritious food which they eat to the pets as well as they will be safe, wholesome and nutritious for the pets and also cost effective as well. The main ingredients of the pet food are meat, vegetables and starch. One can prepare large batches of the home made pet food and store in the freezer and use it as and when required.   Meat is one of the main ingredient and it supplies adequate proteins required by the pet.  The ideal pet food can be prepared by adding 40% of meat and 30% each of vegetables and starch. While switching the diet of the pets from commercial foods to homemade foods, it is preferable for the owners to do it under the guidance of the vet until the complete transition is done and the pet gets used to the homemade foods.

Feeding the pets with healthy homemade foods will reduce their exposure to various unhealthy preservatives, chemicals and additives which may affect their health.  The homemade pet foods helps the pets have a healthy and a long life and reduces the frequency of visits to the vet as well.

Filed Under: Feeding, Pets Care Tagged With: , ,

Basic Cat Care

Taking care of a cat is not a hard task, but there are many things you have to do that you may not think of when you first think about cat care. These tasks won’t take up too much of your time, but they are chores that must be done if you want to be a good cat owner.

Feeding your cat will likely be easy. You will more than likely be purchasing a premade cat food that simply needs to be scooped into a clean bowl daily or twice daily depending on your feeding schedule. For a special treat you may consider a moist food a couple of times a week for your cat. Other than the food all you have to do is make sure your cat has clean water readily available.

Another chore is keeping your cat’s litter box clean and fresh. You will have to change the litter frequently and keep it scooped out in between changes. From time to time you may want to completely empty it and then wash the litter pan out.

Brushing your cat may be a difficult job, or it may be easy. This all depends on the length of hair that your cat has. Cats do not often need a bath, but they may if they get into something messy or start to smell bad. You may also have to bathe them if they wind up with a flea problem.

As you can see, it’s not a difficult job to take care of your cat, but it will take some time and care. Following these easy steps will help your cat to be healthy and happy and live a long and wonderful life with you and your family.

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What to Avoid When Training a Dog

When a dog comes to live with you, it might have the best intentions of fitting in well, but the reality is that it’s an animal. It doesn’t play by the same rules as a human, and it needs to learn that your poker tables are not branches to gnaw on and your toilet paper wasn’t designed to use as a toy to string through the house. Fortunately for house owners, most dogs thrive on social structure. Once they learn the rules, they are happy to be part of the family and follow the family’s rules. Dogs are relatively easy to train once you put your mind to it. They can learn to sit and stay among other tricks. They just need regular attention and practice. There are also some actions you want to avoid when training a dog.

Barking can be a real issue with dogs. You want them to protect your house and family, but sometimes it gets to be too much. For example, your dog might bark when someone knocks at the door, but they refuse to stop barking even after you tell them to be quiet since the person is a friend. Avoid yelling at a dog when it barks. In the dog’s excited state, it could perceive that you are playing the barking game, too. This will just excite the dog more. Instead, train the dog to stop barking by praising the dog once it quiets, or shake coins in a metal can to distract the dog when it’s barking, then praise it immediately when it quiets.

If your dog is chewing something it shouldn’t, then slip it a doggy chew toy and praise the dog when it chews that rather than the original item. It won’t understand if you yell or hit, so avoid those actions. You want to reward the dog and teach it by using positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement.

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Dye Allergies in Cats

One problem that is very common among cats is sensitivity to food dyes and food coloring. This is a major problem for cats because so many of the cat foods have dye in them. For some cats it can cause occasional minor stomach upset, and in others it can be a major problem.

No matter how serious the case is, you will likely want to get your sensitive cat on a diet that won’t upset her stomach. Even in the minor cases it is likely not comfortable for the cat to feel an upset stomach on a regular basis.

One of the options for helping your cat with this is to change her over to an all natural dye free food. These are often sold at vet’s offices or at pet supply stores. These are very similar to other foods that you would buy for your cat, but they don’t have the artificial colors and other additives in them. This is a great choice because it is easy for you as an owner. This may cost a bit more than buying regular grocery store cat food, but the overall savings in time and headaches is well worth it for you and your feline friend.

Another option is to start making your cat’s food at home. You can look online to find many great recipes for foods that you can cook for your cat. Some of these may take some time and effort to prepare, but you can create a diet for your cat that will be unmatched by any prepackaged food you can buy at the store.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you do something and quickly. You don’t want your cat to suffer from the pain and discomfort of an upset stomach, and you want to save yourself from having to clean up additional messes that can be caused by the cat vomiting or having loose stools from her stomach issues.

Filed Under: Medical Care, Pets Care Tagged With: , ,

Animals and Healing

There’s a wonderful connection between humans and animals. Many people seem to bond with animals – a bond that lasts for a lifetime. When it comes to treating addictions, these bonds that are created with animals can help in the healing process. In fact, it’s been proven that animals can help human beings reconnect with their normal life after addiction and get back to the person they were before the addiction took over. You can find more information about pets and healing from an addiction at Rehab-International.org.

Below are some of the ways animals help with healing.

Building Relationships

When someone becomes addicted to a substance or gaming, often the first thing to go is their relationships with others. Addicts become withdrawn and only need the “love” of their addiction. During the healing process, an addict needs to discover how to nurture relationships again. This is where the help of a pet comes in. Pets can help a human to learn how to nurture and provide unconditional love. Pets tend to give a lot of love, so introducing a pet into rehab is very comforting to an addict. The pet is always around, which helps the addict to remember there are people who love and care about him outside of rehab.

Assuming Adult Responsibility

Another basic human function that is gone when an addict chooses the addiction is adult responsibility. Again, a job, family, or school are not nearly as important to an addict as their addiction. Pets in rehab help the addict re-discover how to care for something else. This is a great way to reintroduce responsibility and overcoming the selfishness that was introduced with addiction.

Pets have a wonderful way of helping addicts heal and recover their lives. Many rehabilitation programs actually recommend pets be a part of the recovery process.

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Dealing with the Death of a Pet

Having to put a beloved pet to sleep can be one of the most heartbreaking things you and your family will ever experience. There is nothing that can be said or done that will completely erase the heartache that is bound to be felt in this moment. You want nothing more than to end your pet’s suffering and pain, but you hate to lose your friend and companion. There are a few things you can do to make things better for you and your family during this time of heartache however.

First, don’t try to hide from the pain. Many people rush out and try to get a new animal to fill the hole that their pet left behind. This will not work. You may learn to love another animal again, but you will never fill that empty gap that your old pet did. Spend some time mourning the loss of your dead pet before you consider bringing another one into the home.

When the procedure takes place, do not feel pressured to be there for it, or to be away from your pet during it. Some people want to be there for the last moments of their pet’s life, but others will be happier remembering their pet as the happy carefree animal they were, not the dying creature that sits before them now. Do what feels right in your own heart.

There are no words that can ease your pain, but talking about the procedure, and more importantly, talking about the great life your pet lived with your family and friends can help. If you have the chance to sit around and talk about the funny things your pet used to do, or the great memories you had with your pet, you and your family can begin the mourning process and will be able to think back on the life of your pet with happiness.

Filed Under: General, Pets Care Tagged With: , ,

Going on Vacation? Why Not Take Your Dog?

For people who like dogs and also like to travel, there are plenty of options. It used to be much more difficult to travel with a dog, but it’s gotten easier in recent years, as more and more places have become dog friendly. These hotels and other establishments are seeing the benefits of being helpful to people who want to bring their dogs along on their trips. It actually brings more business into the hotel or other place of business, and it doesn’t really cause a lot of hardship or even any more money than not allowing dogs. Some businesses can even make more money, because they will be chosen over a place that isn’t dog friendly.

It’s not just places to stay with your dog, though. You’ll want things to do during the day, and you’ll want to be sure that you can get hold of a veterinarian if you need one. In addition, if your dog needs a special kind of food or medication, you’ll need to bring it with you but also make sure you can find it where you’re going to be, just in case you need it. There are so many options for animal friendly places and things to do anymore, and you can use Canada 411 to help you find them. Then, you and your dog can have all kinds of adventures.

There are trails to hike and streams to fish, and you’ll want to be sure to pack snacks for you and your dog, as well as plenty of water. Because animals are small, they can dehydrate very quickly. If you don’t bring enough water, you could put your dog (and yourself) in danger if you get lost or if you just take longer than expected to get back from your adventures. Being prepared is a great way to have fun with your pet.

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Hosting a Pet Adoption Event

If you are someone who cares about animals, you may wonder how you can help with the pet population problem in our country. There are many things you can do; of course having your own pet spayed or neutered is one of the best. However, you may want to do something extra to help those pets out there already looking for a home. Helping launch an adoption campaign or event is a large undertaking, but one that can have great rewards. Not only will you be helping pets find homes, you will help individuals and families find the perfect companion for their lives.

Many humane societies and animal shelters would love to have more events to encourage adoption, however most are operating either on a meager governmental budget or strictly on donations. This means they may not have the staffing to get out in the community and encourage adoption.

If you are an interested volunteer, get in touch with the shelter in your community and see if they would be willing to let you host an adoption event.  In many cases they would be thrilled that someone is taking an interest in helping find homes for dogs and cats that may otherwise be put to sleep due to overcrowding.

Once you have their okay, you need to find a location. If there is a large local event like a fair or craft show, this can be a great place to hold it. You will already have a large number of people gathered, and by having the animals on hand, you will be able to help visitors find a pet that would enrich their lives.

This is a very low-cost way of helping with the pet population. You will only need to purchase a banner to attract potential owners to your selection of animals. At the end of the day, hopefully you found homes for many of these pets, and who knows, you may have met your new pet yourself.

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The Joy of Cats

Many people don’t consider themselves to be “cat people.”  If you have never had a cat as a pet, you may not understand the enjoyment and life they can bring into your home. Cats are often thought of as being anti-social pets. This may be the case sometimes, but in others it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Many of the friendliest cats are mixed breeds. I have certainly met more friendly tabby cats than I have Persians or Himalayans. If you are considering bringing a cat into your home you want one that will mesh well with your lifestyle. If you have a family with children you want to be especially careful in choosing a cat that won’t hurt your children, but also one that will enrich your lives as well.

If you want more control over the type of pet you will end up with, you may consider adopting an adult cat. Many rescue organizations and no-kill shelters take time to get to know the cats they have, this helps prospective owners choose a cat that will work well with their family.

Kittens can be a lot of fun, but it is hard to know what that cute little kitten is going to be like when he or she becomes an adult. There are a few things you can do to help determine what an adult cat will be like. First, choose a kitten that is active, curious and playful. The shy little kitten may be sweet, but will be more likely to be a withdrawn, loner of an adult cat. When you get your kitten home, spend lots of time with it, and introduce it to many new people. If you cat gets used to new people as a kitten, she won’t be so scared of them when she grows up. Finally, play with your cat anytime you have the opportunity. Encouraging play will encourage the cat to be more social and seek out love and affection from others as well.

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