To keep your pet happy, healthy and comfortable while you’re away, you’ll need to leave a detailed set of instructions for your pet sitter. This guide will help you make sure you’ve covered everything. Write it Down Perhaps the best way to ensure your pet will be properly taken care of is to leave detailed,…
Cats and Dogs
How to Keep Pets Safe From Cold-Weather Hazards
Cool, crisp weather brings the potential for new toxins for your pets to encounter. Let’s briefly review some of the seasonal risks you need to be aware of in order to keep your pet safe. Rodenticides As the weather cools down, vegetation dies off and crops are harvested, mice and rats will often come inside…
Finding Special Sitters for Special-Needs Pets
As anyone whose pet requires a little extra time, attention, work or unique know-how knows, finding a substitute caretaker can be trying. It’s tough work finding someone who knows exactly how to manage the many day-to-day things you undertake on behalf of your beloved pets. More so when your pet has singularly complicated health or…
Ask the Vet: Can I Prep My Pet for Winter?
Q: How can I best prepare my cat and dog for the colder weather? A: Most pets are able to tolerate most weather in the colder months, as long as they have had time to acclimate. Extreme weather conditions are an exception. If extreme cold or severe weather is headed your way, pets should be…
12 DIY Tasks This Vet Says You Can Do at Home
As a rule, we veterinarians aren’t big on the DIY approach to animal health care. We’ve known too many pets who suffered the wrath of makeshift splints, botched wart removals, backwoods tail-docking methods and strange parasite-killing concoctions (some of which killed more than just the fleas). Which is why, excellent intentions notwithstanding, we always urge…
Why Flea and Tick Prevention Doesn’t Stop When Summer Is Over
Fleas and ticks are fighting back. It used to be that they would pester our pets between May and September — but now experts recommend that pet owners give parasite prevention products year-round to fight off the biting little buggers. What’s up with that? Warming Up to Ticks In the case of ticks, we are…
Forget Fido, Even Owning a Pet Fish Can Improve Your Health
Recently, James Wathen, a 73-year-old Kentucky man, lay in his hospital bed at death’s door. He had stopped eating and given up. But when nurses reunited him with his one-eyed Chihuahua, Bubba, Wathen rebounded, according to a report on Today. This heartwarming story is an example of the undeniable power of the bond between people…
8 Ways Your Pet Can Help Relieve Your Stress
Sometimes finding time to walk the dog or clean the litterbox seems like one more task to cram into your busy day. But it’s worth it. Here’s why: There are many ways our pets actually help decrease the stress we feel in our daily lives. To learn more about how and why animals help reduce…
7 Ways Your Pet Could Be Making You Sick — and How to Fix Them
Cats and dogs are wonderful for their companionship, affection and unconditional love, but as much as we hate to admit it, they’re not always the easiest to live with. Behaviors like barking, pulling on the leash and scratching can cause stress and injury. Plus, simply being near a pet can bring on the sniffles or…
What to Know About Intestinal Parasites in Dogs and Cats
Have you ever wondered why your veterinarian wants to check a sample of your pet’s poop? Well, a big reason is to look for evidence of parasites that could be living in your pet’s intestinal tract. Many intestinal parasites pose risks to your pet’s health and some can also pose a health risk to humans.…
