Category: Cats

Cat Constantly Meows and Drives Owner Crazy

First, you’ll have to find a better way to give her the message that sitting quietly is what earns her your attention. The quickest way to do this in cats is to teach them to sit using food. By approaching this problem in a systematic manner you’ll be able to turn the meowing noise off in just several days.

A Super Simple Method for Training Cat Tricks

Have you ever wondered why lions and tigers and other wild cats on T.V. can learn so many tricks while all your domesticated house cat can do is sit and meow at you for her meals? Well, not surprisingly, our domesticated felines can learn cat tricks as quickly as their flashier television counterparts, once their humans learn a few basic training secrets. In fact, once you know the secrets, you’ll be able to train cat tricks like a pro. Here is the basic approach followed by a simple cat trick you can train. General Tips and Approach to Training Cat

Release Your Inner Kitty Through Tricks and Training

As every kid knows, while America is a democracy, the American family is not. It’s a dictatorship and even the youngest family members are savvy to the balance of power. One such youngster explained it to me, “In this house,” he said, “the dogs are the lowest. The kids come next. The parents are above the kids. And the cats are on top.” Indeed with over 60 million cats in the U.S., cats are at the top in more ways than one. In their insidious manner, they’ve quietly surpassed the dog as America’s number one pet. It’s easy to see

Keeping Flea Products Straight

With so many canine and feline flea and tick products on the market, you practically need a course to help you decide which one to use. According to Ronald Baynes, DVM, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, knowing the mechanism of action is key to sorting things out. Organophosphates and carbamates (kills and repels fleas and ticks) Among the first class of products used on pets was the organophosphate and carbamate insecticides used in foggers, dips, and sprays. These anticholinesterase insecticides work by inhibiting acetylcholine esterase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at

Pets Predicting Earthquakes?

Haicheng, China, 1975. A massive earthquake hits. Buildings are demolished, roads destroyed, but thanks to an evacuation several hours earlier, thousands, possibly tens of thousands of human lives are saved. The Chinese claimed they’d predicted an earthquake within hours of its occurrence. Their forecasting system: animals. This success sparked the interest of the U.S. Geological Survey. What were animals cuing in on? How did their detection systems work? Could answers to these questions lead to the development of a high-tech earthquake forecasting system? Dr. Benjamin Hart, a veterinary behaviorist at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, was

Can Spaying Lead to Bad Behavior?

On an episode of “It’s Me or the Dog,” a show on Animal Planet, British dog trainer Victoria Stilwell tackled the problem of a bull terrier that exhibited mounting behavior. The first solution was to send the dog for a time-out when he mounted. However, the mounting was so severe that the trainer finally recommended neutering, which solved the problem. This case raises two questions: What other behavioral issues can neutering help address, and what is the rate of success? In general, it would be expected that spaying or neutering most likely affects sexually dimorphic behaviors — those that are

Low Stress Handling® Silver-Level Certification

Individual Certification at this level demonstrates to clients and employers the individual’s dedicated interest in Low Stress Handling®. Hospital Certification at this level demonstrates to clients and staff the hospital’s commitment to appropriately training staff in Low Stress Handling® methods.

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