When it comes to dogs, running and playing is easy to encourage. With cats, however, a more sedentary life style is usually preferred. Although there are lots of toys available to encourage your cat to exercise and play, cats can become bored with them very quickly. Cats can be a bit finicky when deciding whether or not a toy is worthy of their time. Feedback from many of our cat owners has told us what toys tend to work the best for cats. So, here is the list of options (not necessarily in order of popularity):

1) Food Dispensing Toys- Instead of or in conjunction with feeding meals from bowls, try food dispensing, especially for cats that are very food motivated. Some of these toys can be purchased from a retailer, but it is easy to make a homemade food dispensing toy by using an empty yogurt container or something similar. Drill holes in the sides that are slightly larger than the kibbles of food. Usually, the lid of the container will need to be taped closed. Then, food will fall out while your cat bats the new toy around providing a reward for playing. As your cat gets to know how to use them, make them more difficult. For example, put the yogurt container with holes in it inside of a larger container with holes in it so that it takes longer for food to fall out. Some of the commercially available food dispensing toys includes: the MultiVet Slim Cat Interactive Toy and Food Dispenser (by PetSafe), the Pipolino (available at www.pipolino.com), or Play-N-Treat Balls (by GoCatGo).

MultiVet Slim Cat Interactive Toy and Food Dispenser

Play-N-Treat Food Dispensing Ball

The Pipolino Food Dispensing Toy

2)  Toys to Chase- A good toy to chase is the Feline Flyer (made by Cats Claws), which is basically a wand with feathers attached to it that a lot of cats love to play with. Kitty Go Crazy (by Panic Mouse) and other similar toys that are battery operated and move “on their own”. Panic Mouse randomizes the motion of the wand that holds the feather or “mouse” that the cat chases so it stays interesting. An inexpensive chasing toy option is placing a ping pong ball in empty (dry) bathtub; many cats love to bat it around.

The Feline Flyer

Kitty Go Crazy (on the left is the motorized unit; on the right is the wand with the mice on it that inserts in the unit)

3) Boxes and Bags- Cats love boxes and bags, and talk about an inexpensive toy. They love to hide and climb in and out of them. If you use bags, only use paper shopping bags, NOT plastic bags as they can be hazardous. And for those that have front claws, boxes make great scratching posts. There are also boxes made for cats if you do not mind spending a little money. Peek-a-Prize Toy Box is one of the more popular ones. Your cat does not actually climb in and out of it. Rather, it is designed to hide toys to provide hours of entertainment.

Peek-A-Prize Cat Toy

 4) Laser pointers- Cats love chasing the light from a laser pointer. Some cats will spend 15-30 minutes running and chasing the laser light. Just make sure you do not shine the light in your cat’s eyes. There are several different types available on Amazon.com.

5) Make Feeding Time a Game- hiding small dishes of food in different places in the house (along with or instead of using food dispensing toys) or floaters (small handful of dry food floating on bowl of water) will make feeding more challenging making it less likely your cat will overeat.

6) Cat DVD- There is a DVD called Mewvie Birdland. Some cats will watch the twittering birds in an outdoor setting for several hours. Make the TV screen reachable so your cat can bat at the birds. The DVD can be set to play in a loop for extended continuous play. Mewvie also makes other cat videos.

Mewvie cat video featuring a squirrel

7) Catnip Toys- Most cats love catnip. With most cats, it causes them to “mellow out”. However, some seem slightly irritable when exposed to catnip, so it is not necessarily a good toy for every cat. But if you choose to try a catnip toy, I would suggest the catnip-stuffed cigar or mouse. Hiding these in a box can provide hours of entertainment.

Cat Game Apps for Smart Phones- there is a great app made for cats that is essentially a light or image that moves around on the screen for cats to play with. The three most popular are Pocket Pond, Cat Toy, and Cat Game.

Cat playing with an iPhone app

Bottom-line: Exercise and mental stimulation are essential to keeping your cat healthy. Toys are the best way to stimulate activity and provide a mental challenge. But any toy can become boring. It is important to use more than one of the options above and alternate them to keep your cat active. Also, if you purchase toys, I would suggest reading the reviews first as some can be pricey and rarely does a toy work well with every cat.

How well do you know the Westminster Dog Show? See if you can answer these trivia questions (answers at the bottom of the page):

 1) Which of the following breeds has won more Westminster Best in Shows than any other breed with a total of 13 wins?:

a)      Toy Poodle

b)      Shih Tzu

c)      Golden Retriever

d)     Wire Fox Terrier

 2) Of the following top 4 most popular dog breeds in the US, which is the only one to ever win a Westminster Best in Show?

a)      Labrador Retriever

b)      German Shepherd

c)      Yorkshire Terrier

d)     Beagle

 3) There is only one dog that has ever won the Westminster Best in Show three times; what dog breed is this dog?

a)      Standard Poodle

b)      Pomeranian 

c)      Smooth Fox Terrier

d)     Yorkshire Terrier

 Below are two tables. The first table shows the dog breed that won “Best in Show” from 1907 to present. The second table gives the number of “Best in Shows” by breed.

 (trivia question answers: 1-d (Wire Fox Terrier won 13 times, Scottish Terrier won 8 times, and English Springer Spaniel won 6 times); 2-a (the other 3 have each won “Best in Show” once ; 3-c (Warren Remedy, a Smooth Fox Terrier, won “Best in Show” three times)

Playing in the snow can be fun, but be careful when temperatures drop below 32 degrees.

 So far, this winter has been rather mild. But it is probably safe to say, we are still due for some frigid weather before winter ends. A common question we receive from clients is, “How cold is too cold to let my pet outside?” The answer to this depends on several factors:

1. Age of Pet
2. Thickness of Pet’s Hair Coat
3. Body Condition of Pet
4. Size of Pet
5. Temperature including Wind Chill

Age of Pet: Puppies and kittens (< 1 year old) and elderly pets (usually greater than 10 years of age) are much more sensitive to cold weather compared to adult dogs and cats (1-10 years old). During the first few months of their lives and after they reach about ten years of age, their bodies’ heating systems simply do not work as well. In addition to this, lack of body fat (which acts as insulation) in puppies and kittens makes it more difficult to maintain their body temperature. Most puppies and kittens do not have adequate body fat reserves until closer to one year of age.

Thickness of Pet’s Hair Coat: The thickness of the hair coat varies with breed. Thicker coats tolerate cold weather much better than thin coats. However, shaving a thick coat negates this benefit. If you must shave your pet’s hair coat in the winter, make sure you have a sweater available to protect her from the cold weather when she goes outside.

Body Condition of Pet: It is good to keep your pet lean as obesity will shorten his life. However, there is one disadvantage of thin: they lack insulation to protect them from cold weather. Now, I am not suggesting that you feed them more during the winter. But I would recommend sweaters/coats (and possibly even booties) on cold days.

Size of Pet: There is a big difference to tolerance of cold between pets of different sizes. For example, a golden retriever will tolerate cold weather much better than a Chihuahua. This has to do with the “surface area to body volume” ratio. Surface area is the amount of skin exposed to the cold. Generally, the greater the surface area, the quicker the body loses heat. Body volume is the amount of tissue beneath the skin where the body’s furnace produces and holds heat. The greater the body volume, the slower the body loses heat. The ratio of surface area divided by body volume is a good indicator of how fast a body loses heat. Studies have shown that small pets have greater surface area to volume ratios and, therefore, lose body heat much faster than large pets. Therefore, the risk of cold weather to small pets (< 25 lbs) is much greater than the risk to large pets.

Temperature including Wind Chill: Always pay attention to wind chill. Temperatures must be at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit to cause frostbite. But it is not only the temperature that matters. Temperature combined with wind speed (what meteorologists refer to as “wind chill”) are the best predictors of frostbite risk. As you can see from the table below, most frostbite occurs at wind chills of zero degrees Fahrenheit or less.

Based on all these factors, we recommend limiting outdoor exposure to ten minutes or less when temperatures drop below 32° F (adjusted for wind chill). Small pets (<25 lbs), pets with thin or recently shaved haircoats, young puppies/kittens or elderly dogs/cats (>10 years old), and pets that are lean/thin should have extra protection (coats, sweaters, booties, etc) when temperatures drop below 32° F.

If you ever wondered what your pet was thinking while in the car, here is a humorous look inside their minds:

One of the most frequent questions we receive is “How do I get rid of my pet’s tear stains beneath the eyes?” The tear stain is the reddish brown stain present just below the inside corner of your pet’s eyes. It is caused from tears draining out of the eye onto the skin and fur. Small dogs and flat-faced cats usually have the most noticeable tear stains.

Although for most pets, it is probably unrealistic to completely eliminate the stain, there are definitely steps that can be taken to reduce it. Here are a few tips:

1)    Shave the hair on the inside corner of the eyes. You can purchase a pair of Oster clippers at most retail stores or online and simply keep the hair shaved beneath the inside corner of the eyes. Reducing the amount of hair greatly reduces the tear stain. If you are not comfortable shaving below your pet’s eyes, let us know and we can demonstrate this for you.

 2)    Use saline eye rinses twice daily to remove tear buildup in the fur. Eye rinses containing boric acid seem to work the best as the boric acid is a drying agent helping to keep the hair dry. There are a wide variety of products that range from rinses to wipes to powders. Read the active ingredients to ensure that it is safe for the eyes; usually it contains saline (sodium chloride) and possibly boric acid. If there are other ingredients present that you do not recognize, call us.

 3)    Tetracycline and Tylosin: For unknown reasons, these two antibiotics have proven effective at eliminating or reducing tear stains. There is a product called Angel Eyes (and there are several other similar products) that contains tylosin and is used specifically for this purpose. Although it is effective at controlling the tear stain there is a legitimate concern that using antibiotics to control a cosmetic problem may not be wise. Any time antibiotics are used for a long period of time, there is a risk that bacteria in or on your pet’s body could develop a resistance. Resistance to an antibiotic can be a significant issue if your pet ever needs the antibiotic for a more serious infection. Therefore, although a lot of people love Angel Eyes, we recommend not using it except in more severe cases and only for short periods.

4)    Cosmetics: Some show breeders use white cosmetics to cover up tear stains that they cannot remove. These are a very temporary fix and work best before a dog show or for a family photo rather than for long-term control.

Berries contain compounds that can slow down brain aging.

Researchers at Tufts University have discovered that old rats with diminished brain function suddenly regained memory, balance, and motor skills after eating blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries. There is hope that this groundbreaking research will help reduce the occurrence of Alzheimer’s Disease in humans… or at least slow it down. Since cats and dogs have a similar deterioration of brain function as they age (called Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in our pets… but it is very similar to human Alzheimer’s), it seems likely that providing your pet berries every day may help his brain function as he ages. And, frankly, most of the commercial treats we feed our pets on a daily basis are much less nutritious than berries.

So what is it about berries that is so special? Berries have always been known to be very nutritious. They’re low in calories, fat free, and a good source of fiber and vitamins. But their beneficial effect on the brain has been linked to substances called polyphenols. Polyphenols are natural compounds that have anti-aging, anti-cancer, and heart health benefits. It is thought that polyphenols protect the brain through their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. However, the latest study suggests that they do one other thing that helps to improve brain function: they seem to be able to activate the brain’s natural house-cleaning process, helping to remove toxins and other compounds that can interfere with brain function.

Besides the berries mentioned above, acai berries, cherries, plums, pomegranates, and walnuts are also rich in polyphenols. So, next time you want to feed your pet a commercial treat, you may want to try berries or walnuts instead. That way both of you can add years of quality to your lives. Bon Appetit!

Jeff with his bald eagle, Freedom

I received this by email the other day. What a powerful story. Here it is:

 “Freedom and I have been together 11 years this summer. She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way even after surgery, it was broken in 4 places. She’s my baby.

 When Freedom came in she could not stand, and both wings were broken. She was emaciated and covered in lice. We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vet’s office.  From then on, I was always around her. We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in.  I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

 This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked like death was winning.  She was going to be put down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go to the center that Thursday, because I couldn’t bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear. I went immediately back to her cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle.  She was ready to live.  I was just about in tears by then.  That was a very good day. We knew she could never fly,  so the director asked me to glove train her. I got her used to the glove, and then to jesses, and we started doing education programs for schools in western  Washington. We wound up in the newspapers, radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.

 In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of chemo.  Lost the hair – the whole bit.  I missed a lot of work. When I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time and time again.

 Fast forward to November 2000. The day after Thanksgiving, I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for the results.  I went in Monday, and I was told that all the cancer was gone.

 So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her up, and we went out front to the top of the hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them pressing in on my back (I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my eyes, and we just stood there like that for I don’t know how long. That was a magic moment.  We have been soul mates ever since she came in. This is a very special bird.

 On a side note:  I have had people who were sick come up to us when we are out, and Freedom has some kind of hold on them.  I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us and I let him hold her. His knees just about buckled, and he swore he could feel her power course through his body. I have so many stories like that. I never forget the honor I have of being so close to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom.”

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Many cat owners are faced with the challenge of keeping their cat off their countertops.

Cats love to jump and climb. And this often means they get into places that their owners prefer they would not go. One of the most common of these places is the countertop. So how do you keep them off the countertops? Most cat owners have heard of the spray bottle method. Anytime their cat climbs on the counters, all you have to do is spray her with water and, at least in theory, she will stop jumping on the counter. Unfortunately, this seldom works. Why not? Cats quickly learn that the only time jumping on the counter is a bad thing is when Mom and Dad are home. When no one else is home, the countertop is simply irresistable.

Strips of tape with the sticky side up make an excellent deterrent for cats that like to jump on the countertop.

So, if the water bottle does not work, what is the best way to stop cats from jumping on counters? In my experience, placing masking tape (or occasionally, something stickier) sticky side up on the counter is the best deterrent to cats jumping on counters (see photo below). The great thing about this method is that it works even when you are not home. And most cats will stop jumping on the counter after only a few bad experiences where tape stuck to their paws.

The tape sticks to their feet when they jump on the counter acting as a deterrent even when you are not home.