Cats and Coupons

I saw something new in the grocery store this past week that just cracked me up. It was Fresh Bites dog food. This isn’t your typical dog food in a bag or can, this stuff is refrigerated. Yes, right in the middle of the pet aisle in Shop Rite now sits a refrigerated case the size of a single wide soda cooler. The food comes in containers of bite sized pieces or a roll that you slice (like liverwurst). The stuff is expensive, one roll was about $7! I love my pets but that’s ridiculous.

While I was surfing today I cam across a site from the United Kingdom for an organization called the PDSA, a veterinary charity. The charity selects eight animals to compete in an annual Pet Fit Club competition, sort of like a Biggest Loser for pets. In November 2008 the organization selected seven dogs and one cat for the 100 day diet and fitness regimen. I thought only one of the dogs looked really big but the cat is absolutely immense! No question of the cat having gotten into any weight loss pills, that’s for sure. The competition should be ending soon, I’m curious to see who’s the biggest loser.

I was reading an MSNBC article from February about the contaminated peanuts. Basically the article mentioned that someone had given his dog tainted crackers and the dog died the next day from the salmonella. The article made me realize a couple of things I hadn’t thought of or hadn’t realized. Pets are susceptible to salmonella just like their owners. The pet can pass it to his owner by licking him. The CDC’s suggests that people do the following steps to keep themselves safe - regularly wash pet bowls, always thoroughly wash your hands after handling pet foods, avoid contact of human food and utensils with pet food,
and thorough cleaning of all cleaning surfaces.

Does your cat or dog prefer your things to their own? I’ve found that’s usually the case in our house. I buy the dog a bed, he sleeps on the couch. That same dog has always tried to con us into feeding him table food. I buy the cat a scratching post, he uses the laundry basket. I found a store that carries all sorts of sports gifts and found a really nice blanket I’d love to get for TJ. I realized the cat would probably spend more time on or under it than TJ would so I didn’t get it.  Maybe I should order the cat a people blanket….

I’d never heard of peternity leave until today. Peternity leave is the pet lover’s version of maternity leave - time off of work to care for an animal. I read on WSJ that there are companies based outside of the US that offer time to care for a new or ill pet, as well as grieve the loss of a pet. I understand offering an employee a day or two off to deal with the death of an animal. But to offer employees time off to care for new animals? I don’t see the need. I know someone who had constantly gets new pets. At one point she had 8 pets. At some point there’d be a job being held for someone that would be more appropriately given to someone that needed it. If a person can’t deal with the responsibility of a new animal they shouldn’t get one.

Found Animals is a California based non-profit organization that is trying to raise awareness of pet overpopulation through the use of  creative thinking and community partnerships. They are only focusing to reduce the amount of euthanasia within part of the Los Angeles area. If effective they then plan on rolling out the model within other communities. They are attempting to educate the public and promote the idea that every animal be spayed or neutered.

By now most of you have probably heard about the salmonella found in peanut butter made by the Peanut Corporation Of america. Many companies have recalled products containing peanut butter made at this company’s Blakely, Georgia plant. The recalls have expanded to include some dog treats, so check the salmonella page on the FDA website to be sure you haven’t got dog treats from that plant.

When winter arrives, as it has here in the Northeast, the outdoors can be a dangerous place for pets. Whenever possible allow your pets indoors during the cold. If you have an outdoor pet that absolutely cannot be allowed indoors, consider these five tips.

• If you have a pet that cannot come inside make sure it has access to a safe, sturdy, dry shelter.
• Rather than sleep on the ground, provide either a raised bed or straw to lay on.
• Remember the television show where the little boy stuck his tongue on a lamp post in the winter and it got stuck? The same thing could happen with your pet’s bowls if they’re made of metal. Use a bowl that can withstand the cold and elements.
• Remember not to leave winter chemicals out where pets can get into them, such as antifreeze and ice melting products. Don’t walk your pet where you’ve used ice melting products.
• If your pets are in the garage do not run the car while they are inside in order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

You are responsible for providing the best care possible to your pet, even if it is an outdoor one. After all, they can’t just plug in an electric blanket like a person inside can.

I love this! The Petcentric site is offering visitors the opportunity to send an ecard. Not just any ecard, mind you. This ecard is of cats or dogs performing Christmas carols. They’re called Critter Carols. Before sending your ecard you can customize the way your pet looks or even upload a photo of your own real pet. You can also choose which holiday song will be sung. You can either email your card or embed it with the supplied code. Give it a try, it’s a real hoot!

I found out about another Purina program today. This program helps both you and an animal organization of your choice. Purina Give A Bowl offers coupons for their pet food products, tips and adoption stories. If you download a $4 coupon from the site Purina will donate $1 worth of Purina pet food coupons to the participating animal welfare organization of your choice. The great thing for the animals is that if I’ve read it correctly registered organizations may receive an unlimited amount of donations. The great thing for people like you and I is that we can save a lot of money by using that coupon, that’s almost a free bag. Times are tough right now and I personally will find this coupon very useful, far more so than the one I got in the mail for diet pills. Go get yours now!

If you haven’t seen the Shiba Inu puppy cam on ustream then you’re almost out of time. The live web cam features six Shiba Inu puppies. The puppies are now six weeks old and all have homes waiting for them. I’m definitely far more of a cat person than a dog person but who can resist watching little fur balls wrestle. I lost more than twenty minutes watching these cute little pudge balls. Check them out, before they’ve gone to their new homes.

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.