Book: Shift Your Habit
We recently got a review copy of a great new book called Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet
The author, Elizabeth Rogers, is also the co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Green Book. She presents the information in a great way. Everything is broken down into categories and shows how the “shift” can save you money, how it impacts the planet, and easy tips for making it work.
Here are a few great tips for future and current pet owners.
Early Adopter
The Shift: Instead of buying your new friend from a pet store or breeder, adopt one from a shelter.
Save $$: Up to $500 or more depending on animal and breed.
Save the Planet: Adopting a shelter pet not only saves a life, but it reduces demand for purebred animals, which are more likely to have medical problems due to genetic abnormalities.
Good for You: Adopting an orphaned animal keeps it from having to be euthanized. Most shelter animals are spayed or neutered, have been treated for worms, and have at least their first set of shots. If you’re not willing to go through the trials of house-training a young puppy or kitten, opting for an older shelter animal is an easy option.
Shift-It Tip: If you’re set on a purebred dog or cat, buy one from a rescue association instead of getting a pedigree from a breeder. Contact The Humane Society of the United States to locate a nearby rescue group.
Incredible Bulk
The Shift: Buy flea and tick medicine and any other pet medications online and in bulk instead of buying them one month at a time from your vet.
Save $$: Up to $125 per year or more.
Save the Planet: Buying a 12-month supply reduces packaging waste and also conserves the fuel you’d normally use to pick up your pet’s meds every month or two.
Good for You: Save time driving and sitting in waiting rooms at the vet office.
Toy Story
The Shift: You know how babies love to play with keys more than any other expensive toy made just for them? Pets are the same way. Instead of buying toys, you can delight dogs and cats with stuff you already own.
Save $$: Up to $200 or more per year on pet toys.
Save the Planet: Creating pet toys from items you’d otherwise throw away reduces manufacturing energy as well as waste, since you’ll be buying fewer toys overall and tossing fewer destroyed toys into the garbage.
Shift-It Tip: Here are a few ideas to entertain your pooch or feline: Knotted-up old towels, cut-up sheets, holey t-shirts, or other rags for tug-o-war; old—or orphaned—socks stuffed with catnip; cardboard boxes or paper towel rolls; old tennis or racquet balls; string; ponytail holders.
The book offers tips for every part of life. We really enjoyed it, and have found ourselves using it as a reference when we have needed to replace items. I like to look through it a lot because it offers ideas for how to use a lot of what is already in the house. Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet
Guest Post: Bonding with your kitten.
This guest post comes to us from Joy who writes on behalf of Animal Friends Insurance.
Bonding With Your Kitten
Whether you have bought a kitten, or your cat has given birth to a litter that you intend to keep, you will most likely want to bond with the new member of your family. Household pets can be very rewarding, and by bonding with your kitten you will create a wonderful relationship with it that will continue even when it has grown into an adult cat.
A lot of people find that they can bond more with their kitten once they have named it. This way you can use its name and it can get used to hearing and responding to it. You might want to write a list of pet names and choose the one that you think is perfect for your new friend!
One of the best ways of bonding with your new kitten is to play with it. With many toys for cats on the market, and many fun variations that you can make at home, you and your kitten can have a great time playing together. Not only will you be bonding by doing this, but you will also keep your kitten fit and healthy. Pet health is very important and you will need to keep an eye out for anything that may be wrong with your kitten so that you can get it seen to as soon as possible, and playing with it is a good way to ensure that your kitten is well.
Pet behavior is another thing that you may want to look out for. Every kitten has its own personality and quirks that you will find endearing and will love. Some kittens will have certain things that they do when they are happy or when they want attention, for example, and by observing this behavior you will be able to pinpoint your kitten’s emotions better throughout its life, which is a wonderful bond that you can share.
If your kitten is very nervous around you, it may help for you to get down so that you are more on its level. By sitting on the floor as opposed to standing up, your kitten may feel more comfortable around you and less fearful. This means that it will also be more likely to allow you to play and pet it which leads to a better bond in the long run.
Grooming is a fantastic bonding experience for you and your kitten. It is also something that you need to introduce early in your kitten’s life so that it can get used to it. Cats that aren’t used to being groomed may not like it and will become quite agitated with the situation, so pick up a brush for your cat and get rid of any knots it may have, or just brush as a comfort for your kitten so that it can get used to the experience.
Looking after your kitten’s well being is of utmost importance, not only for bonding but also for its health. Ensure that your kitten is fit, healthy and has sufficient food and water. It is a good idea to feed your kitten at the same times of the day, so that it gets used to a regular routine with you. You will need to take your cat to the vet yearly for a check-up to ensure that everything is fine with your furry friend and that there are no problems that you may not have noticed. You may want to buy pet insurance, so that you can be sure that medical bills will not be an issue if any health problems do arise with your cat. Cat insurance will set your mind at ease and give you the peace of mind that, even if something bad were to happen, your kitten will be looked after sufficiently.
Whether you have got your new kitten yet or not, you are sure to create a wonderful bond with it by following these tips. By doing things with your kitten and by observing its behavior, you can begin to learn what it likes and dislikes and get to know what your cat’s personality is like. As it grows up, you will feel more and more connected to your wonderful new pet.
The 2010 Olypmians (and Pets)
Have you been watching the 2010 Winter games? We have been! We love to watch as the athletes compete for their countries. It’s so much fun, with so many different sports to watch. Did you ever wonder if your favorite athlete had a pet? And did you wonder what kind of pet they had? Well, the folks at PetSide.com just happened to put together a list as part of their Olympic coverage. Check out the Vancouver Olympians and their pets! I thought that this photo of Mirai Nagasu (figure skating) with her pet Chihuahua named Kousuke (she also has a cat named Gig) was super cute.
Anyway, be sure to visit PetSide for more Olympic coverage, and to learn more about the pets of the Olympians.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund Public Registries
I recently got an email from the Animal Legal Defense Fund. They are pioneering legislation in California to make public animal abuse registries. In our opinion, this is a wonderful idea, and we wanted to help them spread the word. Here is the press release, which explains why they are trying to do this. Please take time to read it, and if you are in California, get in touch with your representative and encourage them to support this if you believe it’s a good thing.
COTATI, CALIF. – The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) today announced an effort aimed at creating public registries in each state of anyone convicted of felony animal abuse. This could include violence (torture, mutilation, intentional killings, etc.), sexual abuse, and animal fighting as well as neglect (such as hoarding). Such registries would help protect animals, pet guardians and communities by preventing repeat offenses from anyone with an established history of abusing animals.
Through its campaign, www.ExposeAnimalAbusers.org, the animal protection organization is promoting model legislation that state legislatures could enact. Such bills have been introduced in the past by elected officials in Rhode Island, Colorado, and Tennessee, and the first-ever bill for a statewide registry in California was today announced by its sponsor, State Senator Dean Florez.
ALDF points to the following examples for why a registry is needed to help animal guardians, law enforcement and shelters protect their animals:
- Robert Rydzewski: In 2004, the then 29-year-old upstate New Yorker shot his neighbor’s dog in the face twice. Two months later, he killed another neighbor’s Welsh Corgi with an ax. Rydzewski was convicted of “torturing or injuring” an animal, and he has since been arrested for assaulting people and resisting arrest. His whereabouts are unknown.
- Shon Rahrig: While living in Ohio in 1999, Rahrig allegedly adopted several cats and a puppy from local shelters and tortured them sadistically. He poked out the eyes of a cat named Misty, broke her legs and jaw, cut off her paws, and left her bleeding in a laundry basket. His girlfriend turned him in, and he took a plea bargain that admitted abuse of only one animal. Rahrig was forbidden to own an animal for five years, but he was subsequently seen at an adoption event in California.
- Vikki Kittles: Since 1982, Kittles has been run out of four states for hoarding animals. Time and again, she has been caught housing dozens of sick, neglected animals in squalid conditions. An Oregon prosecutor convicted Kittles in 1993 after finding 115 sick and dying dogs crammed into a school bus, but she has gone on to hoard animals again in Oregon and other states several times since.
“Animal abuse is not only a danger to our cats, dogs, horses, and other animals, but also to people, said ALDF Executive Directory Stephen Wells. “Many animal abusers have a history of domestic violence or other criminal activity, and there is a disturbing trend of animal abuse among our country’s most notorious serial killers.”
Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, David Berkowtiz (“The Son of Sam”), Albert DeSalvo (“The Boston Strangler”) and Dennis Rader (Kansas’ “BTK killer”) all abused animals before their other crimes, as did many of the teenagers who went on shooting rampages at their high schools: Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris (Columbine, CO), Luke Woodham (Pearl, MS) and Kip Kinkel (Springfield, OR).
“But it’s not just about how animal abusers end up also hurting or killing humans,” said Wells. “It should be motivation enough to protect our animals from repeat offenders – and any abuse of any kind.”
Through its campaign website, ExposeAnimalAbusers.org, ALDF allows the public to urge their state lawmakers to propose legislation for state registries.
While no state has passed a bill to date, a proposal in Tennessee is currently pending. In 2008, an earlier version of this bill passed the Tennessee Senate, but stalled in the House of Representatives. The current bill’s sponsors are Rep. Janis Sontany and Senator Doug Jackson.
“We operate shelters in the hopes of giving abandoned pets a second chance at a loving home, not subjecting them to lives of continued abuse and neglect,” Florez said. “A registry of abusers would help ensure animals are not being adopted out to convicted abusers, end the cycle of abuse and increase the likelihood of finding these pets the forever home they deserve.”
About the Animal Legal Defense Fund
ALDF was founded in 1979 with the unique mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system. Visit www.aldf.org.
Guest Post: Cancer in Cats
Cancer. The word strikes fear into the hearts of everyone. The mind always envisions the worst when you hear it, regardless of its type. Is it fatal? Always the first question you ask. There are so many types of cancer that it’s not unusual to hear the diagnosis even for your four-legged friend. Cancer really just means that something is going wrong, breaking down in the body. It is being attacked from within.
You would like to think that cats would get a pass on this particular disease, but that’s not the case. Cats are also vulnerable to a large variety of diseases including lung and skin cancer. It just doesn’t seem fair. The bottom line is, if you suspect your cat of having something wrong with her, go see your vet. As with most cancers, the sooner it gets diagnosed, the faster you can begin treatment and hopefully eliminate it.
Signs that your cat might be afflicted with cancer vary greatly since there are so many types. They include anything from unexpected weight loss to change in behavior. The Animal Cancer Foundation and The American Veterinary Association both have excellent information about what to look for. When in doubt, check it out.
Treatments for cancer vary almost as much as the types of cancers. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments are costly but effect solutions that work in similar ways to humans. Additionally, there are some cancer-fighting drugs available at varied costs.
One solution, and the treatment I am recommending, is ES Clear for Cat Cancer by PetWellBeing.com. It is an affordable holistic alternative to other costly treatments.
As described on the product site, “ES clear is a unique combination of specially-selected herbal extracts, designed and formulated by a leading naturopathic vet.”
ES Clear has been specifically designed to:
- Restore energy levels
- Aid in the healing process
- Reduce pain and discomfort
- Strengthen your cat’s immune system
- Help slow/reduce tumors and the spread of cancer to surrounding cells
Its effectiveness has been proven many times over and the testimonials pepper the site. But one of the important benefits of this cancer-fighting remedy is its cost. It is well within the price range of the average working person who might hesitate at higher priced alternative treatments.
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Denton Fowler wrote this article for www.PetWellbeing.com, which offers prevention and treatment products for cancer in cats and Cushings Disease in dogs.
