Cats and Coupons

I’ve mentioned once or twice before that pet clothing amuses me. I don’t dress my cats now, but as a child I could frequently be found putting baby doll clothes onto my cat and then pushing the cat around in the baby doll carriage. I came across formalwear for pets on a site called CozyPetClothes that made me giggle. Yes that’s right, formalwear! I’m not talking about Oscar de la Renta or anything, but I am talking about gowns and tuxes. I thought the little outfits were pretty amusing until I saw the prices. I can’t imagine ever spending $50 or more dollars on a pet outfit. Can you?

Did you know that the ASPCA has an assessment that strives to make the perfect person/pet pairing? I’m talking about the ASPCA Meet Your Match program. There’s one assessment program for dogs and another for cats. Dogs are assessed based on their friendliness, playfulness, energy level, motivation and drive. Cats are assessed based on level of interest in play, exploring, talking, and being the center of attention. After completing their evaluations the pets are assigned to colors. When a person goes in they give information about their ideal pet and are directed to one of the color categories. Shelters using this system have reported increased adoption rates and decreased return rates. I think this sounds like a terrific idea. What do you think?

Sites just for pet owners are becoming quite popular. I recently learned about another community just for pet lovers called Animal Attraction. It’s free to sign up for membership. Once you’ve joined you can create a profile for you and your pets. There’s a search enging to help members find new friends with common interests. Members can communicate with each other using chat rooms, message boards and instant messaging.  On the site you can share photos and stories, as well as look for and offer advice. Every day that a member logs in Animal Attraction makes a small donation to an animal charity. If someone joins as a new member on your recommendation Animal Attraction will donate $1. The site is a terrific way to meet others with the same interests while helping animals.

Thanksgiving is less than a month away. It’s the beginning of the holiday season. People visit each other more, increasing traffic in the home. Here are some tips for pet owners.

• Don’t give your pets bones such as turkey bones. They splinter and can harm your pet.
• Some people might not notice a small pet near their feet when they’re entering or leaving your house. Be sure your pet is put safely away somewhere in the house if your door is going to be open for a long period of time or frequently.
• Do not allow your pet to get in the habit of drinking from glasses, particularly alcohol.
• If you’re going to be out for a long day make sure your dog has someone to exercise him while you’re out.
• Do not allow your pet to eat candy, especially chocolate. Candy, especially chocolate, is dangerous to pets and potentially fatal. Make sure it is stored out of reach from your pets, as you would be sure to store ephedra diet pills away from children.

Dogs love to play with toys. Not all toyson the market are created equally, so be careful what you buy. Here are some tips on safe dog toys.

• When buying a new toy consider what it’s made of. Some toys contain materials or small pieces that should not be ingested.
• Choose the right size toy for your dog. Large dogs could swallow toys made for a much smaller dog.
• Don’t give your dog people toys, they’re made of different materials and have more parts and would be dangerous for the dog.
• Throw out toys that become worn or broken, before they fall apart and your dog swallows pieces.
• Speak to your vet about the difference between rawhide and other edible treats. Some vets feel rawhide isn’t safe when swallowed.

If you have an electric blanket, you might or might not be aware that pets and electric blankets don’t mix. Never put an electric blanket in your pet’s bed and don’t let them get too comfortable on yours. Your dog or cat might chew on the wire and cause electrocution. Or, a nail might accidentally damage the covering of the wire or the wire itself, making it unsafe to use. Be warm, but be safe.

If your pet was on my porch, would I know that he or she belonged to you? All cats and dogs should have identification, whether you think they need it or not. pets that are always indoors can get out accidentally and may not be able to find their way home. There are different ways to identify your pet. The two main ways are with a tag and a microchip.

• A tag is attached to the collar. It’s the least expensive way to identify your pet but tags can fall off, as well as get dirty, old and hard to read.
• A microchip is tiny electronic chip that is implanted under your pet’s skin by injection.The microchips are registered in a database that shelters and pounds check when an animal comes in. They are more expensive than tags but last longer.

No matter which way you choose make sure there’s a way to identify your pet if he or she gets out.

It’s not uncommon to see flyers and ads offering Callaway golf clubs in my area, we have a couple of golf courses near here. I was surfing today and found myself wondering if there was such a thing as a pet friendly golf courses. So far I have found out about one - Belgrade Lakes in Maine. Do you know of any others? I think it’s a terrific idea, and shouldn’t be a problem if owners bring supplies to clean up. What a great walk that would be on a nice day!

I live in New Jersey. Earlier this month Governor Ed Rendell of neighboring Pennsylvania passed a law cracking down on puppy mills within the state. Pennsylvania is considered by many to be the puppy mill capital of the country. Kennels and breeders will now be subject to tougher standards. Some of the things now required by law are provision of larger cages, daily exercise, twice annual veterinarian exams  and detailed records. We got a puppy in Lancaster, PA almost twenty years ago and when we picked her up we were surprised to notice the amount of puppies for sale in Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania now has what are considered to be some of the strictest laws in place in the country. It’d be terrific if one law could be written and approved in all states and we could put the puppy mills out of business, wouldn’t it?

This is a question for dog owners. I know they make Halloween costumes for dogs. I noticed a bunch of them in the local party store yesterday as well as some in Target. Their costumes were just clothing, there were no words on them. This week I came across an online store that carried funny t-shirts for dogs. I found myself wondering exactly who is supposed to be seeing these shirts and reading them besides the owner?

Money’s tight for everyone these days. With everyone tightening their belts, donations are down. With donations down the charities are hurting and need help more than ever. People like you and I can help lucky animal shelters win some money in the America’s Favorite Animal Shelter Contest. Care2 is sponsoring this contest and will be donating a total of $15,000 to the animal shelters and rescue groups that receive the most votes in this contest. First Prize is $10,000. Second prize is $3,000. Third prize is $1,000. Fourth and fifth prizes receive $500 each. This contest is being held to increase awareness and reward shelters and rescue group. Adopt-a-Pet.com is also also sponsoring the contest and will be donating $1,000 per week forfive weeks to a randomly selected participating shelter. Adopt-A-Pet will also be giving the 20 contest participants who recruit the most people a $50 gift certificate for pet products. Contest ends 11/01/08.

Did you ever hear any of the names of crossbred dogs? According to wiki, this type of name actually has a name itself, portmanteau. Still don’t know what I mean? Think Brangelina. Really though. A schnauzer and a yorkie cross is called a snorkie. A Pekingese and a Poodle cross is called a Peekapoo. A Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle cross is a Cockapoo. A Goldendoodle is a Golden Retriever crossed with a Poodle and a Labradoodle is a LabradorRetriever crossed with a Poodle. Have you heard of any other ones? I think most of them are funny, so please feel free to share.

One of the things I’d really like to do in our home is redo most of the floors. When we moved in the house only had hardwood flooring. Over time we put carpet into the boys bedroom as well as the living room. Three dogs and about six cats later, the exposed hardwood and all of the old carpeting look worn. It’s no secret that homes with pets endure things that other homes don’t, such as hairballs, shedding, dirt, drooling, dripping, accidents and claw sharpening. All of these things are hard on flooring and cause them to age and need replacement more frequently.

I remember when we originally started looking for carpet it was a real chore because you had to drive from store to store to see all of the different flooring choices available. These days it’s much easier to shop for flooring, you don’t even need to leave your house. Empire Today is a flooring company that brings samples to your home and gives you a free estimate. Installations are done the next day. They carry a wide range of products including carpet, hardwood, ceramic and laminate flooring. I wondered how their level of service was so I read through a number of the Empire carpet stories as well as the other Empire stories and found that their customers seem very pleased.

If I were replacing the hardwood in my house I’d get laminate flooring and carpet in all high traffic areas. Laminate flooring looks amazing, is less expensive than wood, is easy to clean and doesn’t scratch like hardwood does. Also, because it wouldn’t trap hair and dander like carpet, it’s a healthier and cleaner alternative to carpet. I’d replace the pile in the boys bedroom with a berber because they’re extremely durable and there’s no pile to get squished or ruined. Empire Today carries both products so for me it’s be a one stop shop. (Talk about your one stop shop, they also carry window treatments and bath/shower liners.) Most of all, I don’t have a lot of time to waste so I’d appreciate Empire’s convenient in home service.

Lots of people know that there are certain things I do by phone or online. Buying dog food is one of those things. We buy the big bag. I couldn’t stand buying it locally. What a pain (literally, in the shoulders and back) to have to pick up the huge bag in the store, get it into the cart, get it out of the cart, get it into my truck, get it out of my truck and get it into the house. So we started ordering from a couple of places online. One of the first places we ever used was PetFoodDirect.com. They have categories for dogs, cats, birds, fish and other small animals. They carry a HUGE selection of products including food, treats, toys, accessories, grooming, health, travel and training. They probably sell products from every brand you’ve ever heard of and some from brands you’ve never heard of. They have a free shipping section and a red tag sale section as well. The one tip I have for them is to order at least a week in advance, because they seem to have a delay of several days in getting orders out. They ship from Pennsylvania and I’m right next door in New Jersey and it still takes 4-5 days for us to get an order. In comparison to your local store, prices at PetfoodDirect range from less expensive to the same price. Each month they draw a name from contest entries and the winner receives free pet food for a year. To enter all you have to do is give your email, zip code and type of pet. By doing this you’re saying it’s ok to receive their email coupons, which offer discounts on your next order, usually between 13-22% off. If you shop smart you could save enough every order to cover the cost of an online trading transaction. Happy shopping!