AniMeals Today – 5.21.13

Well, AniMealers, it’s TABBY TUESDAY at the shelter, and we have a lot of tabbies looking for homes!  Looking for sweet kitties?  We have em!  Looking for sassy kitties?  We have em!  Want loner kitties?  We have em!  Want friendly lap kitties?  We have em!

We are looking for foster families!  You do not need any experience, and all of the food and supplies are provided!  If you are interested in fostering, please visit http://www.animeals.com/Foster.html or call 406.721.4710.  Our foster families are heroes that save countless lives.  Thank you for opening your hearts and homes to these homeless babies until they are old enough to be adoptable. 

Be sure to stop by Zootown Thrift at 1444 W. Broadway, and, with every purchase and/or donation, you can VOTE FOR ANIMEALS in their “Pay it Forward” program!! We absolutely love the support from Zootown Thrift and from the community!!  

So, now that you we have just about every type of kitty adoptable here that you could want in your life, we hope to see you at the shelter TUE-FRI 8am-5pm and SAT 11am-4pm!  At our AniMania store (in the shelter), we also have a great selection of pet toys, pet supplies, dog and cat food and treats, litter and MORE!  

IT’S TABBY TUESDAY AT ANIMEALS!!!

 

Visit the AniMeals shelter, and ask to visit with our tabby kitties today!!! You will be so glad you did!  

SHELTER HOURS: TUE-FRI 8am-5pm, SAT 11am-4pm – Closed SUN & MON

www.animeals.com

 

FIVE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT DO THAT COULD BE DRIVING OUR DOGS CRAZY

You don’t have to even have a dog to know who Cesar Milan is!  Well, he has some advice for people with dogs in their family:

By Cesar Millan

 

Do you ever wonder what your dog would say if he could talk? Do you ever wonder what’s on his mind when he looks up at you with those big, warm, brown eyes?

You might be surprised to learn that what you’re doing to your dog is confusing him—maybe even driving him crazy. Here are five bad habits you need to stop before they wreck your relationship.

1. You’re trying to communicate with your dogs through words.

You adopt a dog from the shelter, and you know it is not the first time he has been adopted, but you are confident you will be successful. One of your worries is that the previous owner had given the dog a name you don’t like, so you have renamed him Riley. But will that confuse him? Guess what? Dogs don’t care much whether you speak to them in Spanish, or English, or Chinese, because they don’t hear words as words, just as sounds. It’s like the way that people spell out “w-a-l-k” and “l-e-a-s-h”; they may be fooling themselves but they certainly aren’t fooling the dog. That’s one of the reasons I love being with dogs so much—because they sense something much deeper than the words you use; they also read your body language. Which is why you can’t lie to a dog. When you speak to a dog you must speak from the inside, from your mind, your heart, and your body. Otherwise he will be scratching his head with his paw, trying to figure why he can see your lips moving with strange noises coming out.

2. You treat your dog like a child.

We all know those houses, right? The ones with the framed pictures of Twinkles all over the walls. Her name is embroidered on all of her pillows and emblazoned on toys of every kind, scattered from kitchen to bedroom to bath. And Twinkles’s owner never stops fawning over her as though she were a one-year-old. You can see how the human starts to get confused sometimes and starts thinking that Twinkles is a child—but of course Twinkles is under no illusions at all. She is a dog, and she wants to behave like a dog—that is in her DNA. And like all dogs, she wants to run, she loves to chase things, and she wants to use her nose to track. Your “baby” is also a Pack animal and needs the structure and discipline in her life to feel fulfilled and not become frustrated. There is nothing wrong with showing your dog love, but remember: first exercise, then discipline, and finally affection.

3. Your dog doesn’t have a job and he’s bored.

So many times people have come to me, worried because their dog has picked up an aggravating habit. Maybe he’s chewing the carpet, or racing in circles around the house, or showing surprising aggression. And so often the answer is the same: Your dog is getting bored—he wants something to do. Dogs aren’t born expecting to be waited on hand and foot, with meals produced whenever they are hungry; no creature in the animal world is. In the wild—from the time they are babies—dogs have to work for their food. They have to hunt it down or go hungry. I like to tell people that in Mexico, where I am from, the dogs are thin but they don’t have psychological problems. Dogs have been bred over the centuries for different jobs—from rounding up cattle to hunting to hauling. When their natural instinct is denied, they become frustrated, and that is when they start to show signs of aggressive behavior. So do what your dog asks and give him a job. Put a pack on his back when you go for walks or create obstacle courses so he can put his scent-tracking abilities to good use. You’ll see right away how happy it makes him.

4. You’re acting like your dog’s playmate, not pack leader.

You’ve watched Dog Whisperer and read my books, so you know how important it is for you to claim the role of pack leader from the time your puppy first joins the family. But then you come home, and it’s a beautiful summer evening, and your pup is telling you that she is ready to play. The next thing you know, you and your dog are racing around the back yard with a ball and all the rules have changed. At least the rules have changed in your mind—until you are ready to call it quits and go inside for dinner. How is your dog supposed to understand what has happened? You gave up on being pack leader to race into playing with her instead of making it clear that play begins only when she is calm and responsive. So now she is all turned around about who’s the boss. Remember: Being a pack leader is not a part-time occupation; it’s all the time. Your dog is always looking for consistency and structure, and without it she is going to become confused about when she is supposed to follow your directions and when you two are just buddies.

5. You’re tense and nervous around your dog

Your sister-in-law is one of your least favorite people. You hate it when she comes to visit—you know she is checking out your home, and you can see the critical disdain in her face. To make matters worse, whenever she’s near Mikey, your otherwise well-behaved mixed-breed dog, he goes crazy, as if to demonstrate your poor dog-handling skills. But he doesn’t know there are problems with you and your sister-in-law; he just knows that his pack leader is tense and nervous, so he may become tense and nervous too. Our dogs are incredibly finely attuned to us—we’ve been living together almost from the beginning of time! That is why they need calm, assertive energy to relax. Remember: Dogs are predators in the wild, so if they become nervous, their fight-or-flight response is almost always more likely to be fight. Nervousness in dogs will soon come out as aggression. It is how they deal with a problem.

Listen to your dogs. Listen to them carefully, for they are trying to tell you what they want. Their needs are really very simple, and if you satisfy those, you will have a happy and harmonious relationship. That is the kind of bond I have with Junior, as you can see from the photos on these pages. And I hope it will be the relationship you have with your dog.
Read more: http://www.cesarsway.com/magazine/5-things-that-drive-us-crazy#ixzz2TrwNQdZA

Selecting the PURRfect Cat Toys for Your Kitty’s Play Preference!

If you have one or more cats, you probably would do anything to make sure they are happy and have everything they need.   Choosing toys for your kitty, or kitties, can be daunting with all of the different styles and textures of toys.   Below is an article from petproductadvisor.com that can help you decide what kind of toys you should purchase for your feline family members:

Cat toys, there are tons and tons of cat toys on the market. But do you know your cat’s toy preference? Is your cat a birder, a mouser, or a bugger? Does your cat prefer toys that mimic birds, mice or catching bugs? There are many types of cat toys made for cats and each cat has his or her own preferences as to what stimulates them to interact.

Favored cat toys mimic predatory acts that cats would perform if they were to hunt for their food. Although your cat may not need to “hunt”, they still enjoy the actions and movements involved with the process of hunting from which they create a form of play. Cats love to chase, pounce, capture, carry, bite and roll around with good cat toys.

Let’s consider the types of toys and figure out what types of toys your cat likes best!

Types of Cat Toys

Some cats prefer toys that either mimics the sounds, textures, or movements of prey. Cat toys on the market may be designed to move, vibrate, twitter, squeak or swing simulating “prey” to induce a cat to react and play. Natural substrates such as leather, fur or feathers are popular, however, some cats prefer fabric or substrates that crinkle like plastic or foil. Some kitties like cat toys with no sound while others like squeaks, twitters, chips or crackes. Other like cat toys that move quickly e.g. very small balls that move across a surface, pieces of kibble that slides a cross the floor, or a laser light on a wall that they “chase”.

Many cats love toys that can be tossed up with their paws, swat at and bit! Some cat toys are enriched with catnip to entice play.

Figure Out What Kind of Cat Toys Your Cat Likes

Buy several cat toys and roll them or toss them to your cat to determine his or her preference. Watch to see which type of toy is most interesting to your cat. For example, you may see a trend of your cat preferring toys that simulate birds such as bird shaped toys, toys that chirp, toys made of a bird-type substrate (feathers) or toys that create bird-like movements (fluttering toys). Other cats will prefer toys that mimic “catching small rodents”, such as cat toys shaped like mice, toys that squeak, toys made of fur, or toys that have encourage jerking movements. They may also enjoy tossing, biting or carrying their “prey”. Movements that simulate bug catching are a favorite play type of many cats. You can test this by giving your cat a kibble of food to chase, use a laser light on the floor or wall, or by playing with a string with a knot on the end and moving it quickly.

When introducing cat toys, introduce them one at a time. Use different sizes, shapes and textures. Try fur, feathers, fabric and leather. Roll them, toss them, slide them, and move them in different ways and speeds. When using dangling cat toys such as wands or sticks that have a dangling toys, play with your cat by dangling the toy in front of your cat and slowly…. move it away. Try the feathery options that fly and mimic bird feather movement. These work really well and will often provoke a “pounce” in cats that like that type of toy or play activity. You might find that you cat likes a crinkle ball that rolls or bounces and makes noise when they “attack” it that simulates some of the movement and sounds of prey.

Once you figure out what your cat prefers, you can vary the sizes and types of cat toys within that category.

Features to Consider in Cat Toys

• Style
• Shape
• Ability to move/flutter/fly
• Ability to make sounds
• Safety – no parts that can be swallowed
• Durable
• Interesting to the personality of your catIdeal Choice of Cat Toys
• The ideal choice of cat toys will depend on your cats toy preference. Offer a variety and rotate cat toys often. If you don’t yet know your cats preference, some good initial choices is a feathery flyer, some round crinkle balls, a laser pointer, and something stuffed with catnip. Shopping Tips for Buying Cat Toys
• Don’t buy too many cat toys at first but have enough to distract your cat. Buy more cat toys as you know what types of toys your cat prefers.
• When choosing a cat toy, consider safety. Make sure that no parts of the toy can be swallowed or eaten. If you are unsure how your pet will react with a toy, make the play time supervised and hide toys when you are not with your cat and able to observe their behavior.
• Many cats love catnip. Cat toys are often available with cat nip or you can grow your own fresh cat nip. More Tips for Using Cat Toys
• Offer your cat a variety and rotate them out periodically to keep them “fresh” new and exiting to your cat. A reasonable rotation is to hide the current cat toys every 2 – 3 days and replace with others.
• Consider homemade cat toy options. It is easy to create homemade cat toys of empty paper bags, rolled up paper balls, milk bottle “rings” or empty toilet paper rolls. You can also stuff a light weight sock or make small catnip toys of spare fabric. Some owners will hide treats around the house so cats will learn to look for treat around the house when they are not at home.
• Make time to play with your cat every day. The ideal daily play time is 8 – 12 minutes per day per cat. Use some of the interactive cat toys such as laser lights or dangling “flyers”. Alternatively, you can toss toys or roll balls to interact.

It’s PLAY TIME at the Shelter!

(Maybelle was semi-interested in the toy Karyn had…)

(Maybelle couldn’t hold back anymore…she had to attack the toy!)

(Portis could no longer sit back and watch….he HAD to jump in!)

(“why do humans only stand on their back two legs most of the time?”)

(Maybelle was trying to figure out why it stopped moving…)

Awesome pictures by Devin!  See what you are missing by not being at the shelter right now?  Escape the gloomy weather with the bright lights and fun of AniMeals!

www.animeals.com

Top Ten Ways to Help Prevent Your Cat from Urinating OUTSIDE the Litter Box (via petmd.com)

#10 Define the Problem

The first thing you need to do when you discover pee where it doesn’t belong is determine whether it is the result of spraying or inappropriate urination. Spraying is a result of cats marking their territory, and is generally just a splatter, whereas inappropriate urination will be a larger puddle.

#9 Tackle the Problem Quickly

You will want to address any urination outside of the litter box quickly, before it becomes normal behavior for your cat. If your cat is spraying, try making it feel more secure in its territory, as that is often why cats get possessive. In a multi-cat household, it may help to provide separate living areas for each cat.

#8 Thoroughly Clean the Mess

Be sure to thoroughly clean all areas where your cat has peed outside the box. You really want to be sure you’ve eliminated the odor, not just for your own sake, but so the smell doesn’t draw your cat back to that same spot.

#7 Add an Additional Litter Box

One litter box is often just not enough. The general rule of thumb is one box per cat, plus an extra one. Think about it – if you were on the second floor of your house, would you want to run all the way downstairs to use the bathroom? Neither does your cat. Making it convenient for your cat to use the litter box will usually avert problems.

#6 Address Litter Box Location

Think about where you have the litter boxes located. If you have multiple stories, you’ll want at least one on each floor. If your litter box is too tucked away, somewhere inconspicuous, your cat may not bother to go find it. If your cat keeps peeing in the same spot despite your best efforts, try moving the litter box over that spot, and then slowly moving it back to where you want it.

#5 Try a Different Box

An enclosed litter box may fit nicely within your decorating standards, but your cat may not agree. Enclosed boxes can be small, dark, smelly and difficult to turn around in – not conducive to cats doing their business. You will also want to make sure the sides of your litter box are not too high for the cat to easily step over – especially as the cat reaches old age.

#4 Clean Your Litter Box Regularly

A dirty litter box is one of the first things that will send a cat peeing elsewhere. Cats are very clean creatures by nature. Would you want to go walking barefoot through your cat’s litter box? Well, neither do they. Be consistent about cleaning out the box and changing the litter.

#3 Check the Type of Litter

Heavily perfumed litter may seem the better choice (who wouldn’t want to smell perfume rather than a dirty litter box?), but cats tend to disagree. They also like to stick with the familiar, so if you adopt an adult cat, it may urinate outside the litter box if you switch up the standard, non-perfumed litter. Studies have shown that amongst cats, the all-around favorite litter type is a loose, clumping, unscented clay litter containing activated charcoal.

#2 Observe the Social Dynamics

Conflicts between multiple cats, or the introduction of a new cat, may cause inappropriate urination. Occasionally, the case may be that your cats got into an altercation in or near the litter box and it has left one of them with associated bad memories.

#1 Consult Your Veterinarian

If inappropriate urination has become an issue with your cat, the most important thing you can do is make an appointment with your veterinarian. Your cat’s doctor will perform a physical exam and urinalysis to determine if the problem is medical. Urinary tract infections and kidney failure are just some of the common health issues that either cause a cat to produce more urine, or add an increased urgency to urination. If your cat is given a clean bill of health, you can then move on to addressing environmental or behavioral issues.

(courtesy of petmd.com)

 

Pet Tip of the Day – 5.16.13

WELLNESS EXAMS ARE VITAL

Just like you, your pet can get heart problems, develop arthritis, or have a toothache. The best way to prevent such problems or catch them early is to see your veterinarian every year.

Regular exams are “the single most important way to keep pets healthy,” says Kara M. Burns, MS, Med, LVT, president of the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians.

Annual vet visits should touch on nutrition and weight control, says Oregon veterinarian Marla J. McGeorge, DVM, as well as cover recommended vaccinations, parasite control, dental exam, and health screenings.

(courtesy of pets.webmd.com)