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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Petpourri

It is that time of year again, the Christmas holiday season, when our dogs and cats have access to more food items that can either be fatal to your pet or at least make them very sick. Here are some of the worst that you should never feed your pets or make sure they do not have access to the following:

1. chocolate (seems dark is worse than milk but it is best to avoid giving or letting your pets get access to any chocolate)

2. onions

3. xylitol (found in sugar-free gum and candy)

4. grapes and raisins

5. avocados

6. macadamia nuts (they should not be fed most nuts. Some dogs tolerate peanuts just fine whereas others can develop allergies like people do or eating the nuts will give them diarrhea - I know this one for a fact!)

7. fatty and fried foods

This is a short list, I'm sure there are many others, but some of these are more readily available this time of year than at other times. But at least be sure to keep this particular list of foods out of the reach of your pets.

Meko and Kitsu eating a special Thanksgiving dinner....without onions or anything else that is not good for them!

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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Petpourri

If you have both cats and dogs in your family and are having trouble getting the two comfortable living in the same house, this article, together with last week's article on Friends and Foes will hopefully help bring calm and contentment back into your home.  To continue from last week:

6. Let them smell each other, from a distance. Bring  a shirt or towel with your dog's smell on it to the cat and place in near the cat's bed or somewhere around its area. And do the same with the cat - use a towel or blanket with your cat's odor on it and bring it to the dog's area. Then also rub the item from the dog on the cat and the item from the cat on the dog, to get the other pet's smell on them. Once they have been around the other's scent for awhile, it won't seem like you are introducing each of them to a stranger.

7. Make sure your cat's litter box is in a private area, away from the dog.

8. Be sure to trim your cat's claws, which can seriously injure your dog if the cat feels threatened. DO NOT ever declaw your cat - it is a painful experience for the cat and your cat will feel completely defenseless around the dog.

9. Your dog and cat should also have their own eating areas. Your dog will most likely want to eat the cat's food so for this reason alone their food should be separate (your dog will eat more than its share and gain unwanted weight and your cat will be hungry all the time.)

10. Let the pair figure out for themselves if they want to be friends. You really can't force anything between them.

Hopefully having dogs and cats in your home will result in a harmonic atmosphere for all concerned. If the dog or cat is stressed around the other all the time, perhaps finding one of them another home is the only and best solution.

(This article was excerpted from an article at animalplanet.com)

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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Petpourri

Do you have a dog? or a cat? or both? If both, do they get along? When my sister's kids were growing up, they always had dogs and cats. Her daughter, who was allergic to cats, loved cats. The cats, as it turned out, thought they were dogs and hung out with the dogs as part of the pack. But when they have never been around each other growing up, they have a natural instinct to dislike each other. To assure that your cats and dogs don't 'fight like cats and dogs', follow these rules and you should be ok.

1. Puppies and kittens have the best chance of being buddies. Just make sure that your over-enthusiastic puppy is gentle with the much smaller kitten (especially if you have a big breed dog). But when they start off being friends from day one, they most likely will be life-long friends.

2. Some dogs, like terriers and hounds, are trained to hunt small animals so they probably are not good candidates for sharing a home with your cat. Ask your vet or your humane society which dogs make good pairings with cats.

3. Make sure you take your time introducing your new dog to your cat and speak in quiet tones to not alarm either one. Don't rush the introduction - let them approach each other at their own pace.

4. Put one or both pets in their respective cages and definitely, if out of their cages, keep the dog on a leash. Neither should feel trapped or forced to connect if they aren't ready to do so.

5. Make sure your cat has a safe room, away from the dog. His litter box, toys, food, and water should be within reach without having to have any contact with the dog.

                                                                                  ......More tips next week......