Advice for Bored Cats

Question:

Hello, I am a cat, I am so bored. My owner does not play with me, I am not allowed outside, I have had the same stupid toys for years, I am getting fat and sleep all the time. My life is boring, what can I do to spice up my life?

Signed Bored Kitty

Answer:

Dear Kitty

It is up to your owner to make your life more stimulating and interesting. Sadly some cat owners just forget how important it is to play with their cats. Cats do suffer from boredom, although this is more common in dogs, no offense but this is because dogs are a bit smarter than cats. People tend to address the issues of boredom in dogs more directly, because if a dog is bored, it often becomes destructive.

I am not suggesting you become destructive in order to get your owner's attention, but you do need to do something. I realize your toys are boring, but perhaps if you play with them your owner might be motivated to buy you new toys. Most cat owners fail to realize that cats like toys they have not seen for a while. You might look at the same toy for days, but if your owner hides it for a few weeks then brings it out, you may show a sudden sign of interest in the toy.

Some cat toys are better than others. Most adult cats like cat nip toys (young kittens do not notice cat nip), but if you are overweight this might not be a good idea since cat nip is also an appetite stimulant. I suggest honeysuckle toys. These cat toys might be hard to find but are excellent. Your owner should have a variety of cat toys and should rotate them often, keeping some tucked away and swapped out on a weekly basis. Your owner should try to engage you in play from time to time too, as that will make your life more interesting.

A well placed piece of cat furniture can be a good idea. Cats like to look out the window so a cat tower with a resting spot near a window is great. Of course you will probably sleep there too, but cats do sleep for 16 hours a day.

Another thought is that your owner might consider adopting another kitty pal. Cats typically object to having a new cat introduced unless it is done slowly and correctly, but usually having another cat in the house does provide some interest, and is a good idea for owners who are not home often.

Related Reading for Cat Owners

How to Exercise a Lazy Cat

Advice for Breeding Betta Fish

Question:

Hi, I am a pet female Betta fish, and I always thought it might be nice to raise a little fishy family, but it seems impossible if I cannot be put with a male without worrying that he will try to fight me. How do we have a family?

Signed, Betta Babe

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Female_betta_fish_breeding.jpg

Answer: Dear Babe

As you know male Bettas often fight, which is why they are also often called Siamese Fighting Fish. Female Betta fish look an awful lot like a wild Betta male, it is just that through breeding, the pet Betta fish have just been bred to be fancier. As male Betta fish are very territorial a male will fight even the prettiest Betta babe, that is, unless she is in her breeding pattern.

In order to breed you, a female Betta, must be put into a roomy tank where the male lives. There should be a divider between you and the male, but water should flow between. This way you will both pick up each other scent in the water. If fed a good diet, eventually you will enter your breeding phase (as pictured above), often changing colors to show vertical stripes which will indicate to him (along with the scent) that you are a female fish. You may also start to get plumper and eggs with form within you.

The male will usually build a bubble nest. Some do this anyhow regardless of if a female is there or not.

At this point your owner can put you with the male, but you need to be supervised in case the male Betta gets rough. He will usually wrap around you and this is when spawning (fish mating) takes place. You will release the eggs and he will start to collect them and scoop them up into the bubble nest. At that point your owner needs to actually remove you, I am afraid the family will not be as you expected.

The male Betta fish is the one that looks after the eggs, picking them up if they fall out of the nest, he would fight you just to keep you away, and you might even eat the eggs yourself. The little fry (baby fish) will hatch in about two days, and three days later they should be able to swim on their own at which time the father Betta is removed so he doesn't start to eat them.


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Advice for Dogs with Vestibular Disease

Question:  Hello I am an older poodle, I was recently diagnosed with vestibular diesease.  I noticed I was not feeling well, I thought I must have eaten something bad, I was dizzy as heck.  I started falling over and couldn't seem to focus my eyes on things, I felt really sick.  My owner took me to the vet who diagnosed me with Vestibular disease, what does this mean?

Signed, Wobbles and Falls Down

Answer:  Dear Wobbles,

It is good that you have been diagnosed.  Vestibular disease looks a lot like a stroke in dogs, but is sometimes less serious, both problems are more common in older dogs than younger ones.  Vestibular disease is basically a problem with your inner ear and the nerves that run to the brain.  This causes dizziness and other symptoms, such as falling over, poor balance, and so forth, you may even find you are holding your head at a tilt.  When a dog feels dizzy they often do not want to eat, and may vomit.

Your vet might give you medication to help with the nausea.  They might be able to treat the problem causing your inner ear to be such a trouble maker for you, this could be an infection, or other cause.  Sometimes vestibular disease starts all on its own and goes away on its own, but this could take weeks or months.

I know that as a human, or dog, being dizzy is no fun.  You need to take it easy, go for short walks in safe places.  Do not go up or down stairs without help.  Try to stay calm, and relaxed and hopefully you will be feeling better soon.

Vestibular disease is not deadly, but it is very stressful, and difficult to experience, you may have some long term side effects (such as a permanent head tilt) even after you are well.

Dog owners can read more about Vestibular Disease to learn how to help their dogs, and what to expect.

Advice for Cats who are Sneezing

Question: Hello I am a four year old cat, it seems that every now and then I get the sniffles. Nothing too bad, but it is annoying. What is the matter?

Signed All Stuffed Up and No Place to Go

Answer: Dear Stuffed Up

Hi there, it sounds like you may be suffering from seasonal allergies, these are common in people, and can be a problem for cats too.  Snow mold is a problem in the spring, and later plant pollens can be an allergy irritant. Even ragweed, which is so commonly associated with people's allergies, can be an allergy causing problem for cats. Most seasonal allergies only last a few weeks. You can also be allergic to everyday things, such as dust in the home, or chemicals used around the house.

It might be best for you to stay inside when you find you have seasonal problems, or have your owner talk to your veterinarian about getting you some medication to relieve your symptoms. If you do have allergies to such things your owner can buy special wipes to clean your fur as this will remove the pollens from your fur. If the medication does not help your symptoms you might have a reoccurring upper respiratory tract infection. It would be best if you stay inside if this is the case too, because you do not want to spread it to other cats.

photo source

Question: Help I am a young kitten. My friend is typing this because my eyes are so crusted over they are glued shut. I keep sneezing all the time, my nose is plugged, and I feel terrible, what can I do?

Signed Little Snuffles

Answer: Dear Little Snuffles

This definitely sounds like an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, or URTI.  This can be caused by either bacteria, or virus. If it is bacterial a veterinarian can give you some medication to help clear it up.  Viruses pretty much have to pass on their own, you can help by keeping your body strong.

Your owner may try to wipe the mucous from your eyes very gently with a warm, wet, cloth. They should keep you inside, in a warm room, possibly even with a humidifier. Sick kittens need to be kept comfortably warm, and given plenty to eat and drink. Your owner should feed you a small amount of canned kitten food (chicken mush) and mix it with water, sort of like a chicken soup. This should be done at least 4 times a day, with unlimited dry kitten food.  Feeding should not be done in a plastic bowl as plastic bowls cannot be disinfected correctly.

Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, especially in kittens, should not be ignored. Sometimes called "Cat Sniffles", this can get worse (I don't want to alarm you but they can develop into pneumonia), and can spread to other cats very quickly. With a little rest your problem should pass much like a cold in people, but if you get worse, start panting like a dog, have blood in the mucous, or are lethargic and stop eating, you really should get proper veterinarian attention.

Links to Help Owners with Sick Cats

Sick Cats - Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

Can I Catch a Cold from My Cat?

Advice for Captured Wild Born Kittens

Question: Help, my sisters and I were born wild but recently were abducted and put into a cage, the food is good, but they keep holding us even when we hiss, are we safe?

Signed Freaked out in Captivity

Answer Dear Freaked

Hopefully your abductor is a kind hearted animal welfare person who is working to rescue you and tame you so you can find a good home with plenty of good food and a warm place to sleep at night.

What will usually happen when people try to tame wild, or feral, kittens, is that they put the kittens into a cage or small area just until the kittens learn to trust them. They will probably hold you a lot so that you stop hissing so much, and eventually will start to purr and even enjoy the attention you get. Once you become more friendly to people they will hopefully either keep you out of the cage, or try to find you a new home.

Depending on how old you and your sister kittens were when first caught you might become tame in less than a week. Do not worry, it sounds like the people are feeding you and holding you, so this is a good sign.

Tips on how to Tame a Wild, or Feral Kitten

Keep the kittens in a cage, such as a large dog kennel, or rabbit cage. Give them plenty of dry food and water while in the cage, but only give them canned kitten food when you are with them. The cage should also have a litter box, blanket, and a few toys. Find many opportunities to take the kittens out of the cage and hold them, even if they hiss. Do not let children hold them when they are still nervous and frightened, if dropped this could traumatize them worse.

When the kittens are more relaxed they can be given more space, such as being allowed loose in a bathroom. They should not be outdoors until wormed, and vaccinated, or ideally, not outdoors at all.

Further Reading

What Happened to the Kittens in the Picture? (above)

How to Tame a Feral Cat or Wild Kitten

Rescuing Orphaned Kittens

Advice for Broody Hens Waiting for Eggs to Hatch

Question:  Hello I am a hen who has been sitting on eggs for a number of days now, just wondering whey they will hatch. I am very concerned because I have heard all kinds of stories that hens eggs do not always hatch.

Signed Expectant Mother

Answer: Dear Expectant Mother

If everything goes well your eggs will hatch into chicks at about 20-21 days from the day you started to sit on them. It is true that there are some things that can go wrong, and sometimes eggs do not hatch, in fact it is very likely that not all your eggs will hatch.

Let us look at some of the reason eggs do not hatch.

If you do not have a rooster the eggs are not fertile and will not hatch. They will not hatch if you did not mate with him before laying the eggs.

Some of the eggs you may have laid first might have gotten cold and died before you started to sit on the clutch of eggs and acted broody.

Sometimes there are problems with bacteria, or cracked shells. If the eggs are not cared for correctly (brooded and turned) they will not hatch. However I do not want to alarm you, there is every reason to expect that the majority of your eggs will hatch just fine.

Tips on Hatching Chicken Eggs

Hens should be encouraged to use nesting boxes that are slightly raised off the ground, and lined in straw.

Hens will lay many eggs (often 1 a day) before sitting on the clutch of eggs. When they do sit on the eggs they are said to be “broody”. Eggs will generally hatch within hours of each other at about 20 – 21 days after being brooded. Typically not all the eggs will hatch and those still not hatched should be disposed of after a few days (the hen will not sit on them much more after the other chicks hatched).

Some people take eggs and raise them in an incubator, in this case it is important that the eggs are kept warm, and turned at least twice a day, up until a few days before hatching. Even after hatching, human raised chicks, must be kept warm. Those with a hen will run under her body for protection and warmth.

Chicks need chick starter ration to aid proper growth and development.

Links

Our Cochin Chicks

Why Won't My Chicken Eggs Hatch?

How Chicken Eggs are Formed

Advice for Pets who are Attracted to their Relatives Sexually

Question:  I am a young male dog. I was raised with my mother but all my brothers and sisters have gone on to find new homes. Well lately I have been kinda feeling interested in my mom in what is called a sexual way. My owners are horrified at my attempts to mate with my mother, but I cannot help it. Am I wrong to feel this way about my mother? What can I do?

Signed Hot Dog

Dear Hot Dog,

Your sexual feelings are normal, and are caused by your hormones. Normally a male dog would have been taken away from its mother so it would have these feelings, but not towards its parent. Sex is what makes puppies and when related dogs breed there is a chance the puppies will have deformities. Some deformities you can see, such as eyes spaced too close or too far apart, but some deformities you cannot see, such as a small heart.

Your owner should not be upset, they can either have your mom spayed, or have you neutered, or both.

Question: 

I am a young male cat, my sisters and I grew up together as kittens. The problem is those girls are now teasing me to mate with them. They have a smell that I cannot resist, they meow a lot, and rub against me. As I get older I find their actions more attractive. I totally want to have sex with my sisters. My owner thinks this is wrong, and has thrown water on us and even kicked us. I need to know if this feeling is wrong why does it feel so right?
Signed Tom

Dear Tom

Your owner should not punish you for a natural behavior, instead they should neuter you, and spay your sisters, so this behavior is prevented. You will also be happier if you are neutered, and they will be happier if spayed because for them the feeling of being in heat can be annoying. It will eventually be impossible to ignore your feelings of sexual attraction to your sisters unless your owner gets you, and/or them fixed.

Hope that helps!



photo source

Note to Pet Owners: Some pet breeders do allow related cats, and dogs, to breed, this is called inbreeding, but there are risks of deformities. Some of the deformities from inbreeding are listed below:

Facial deformities, eyes too close together, too far apart. Large heads, cleft palate. Under bite, over bite.

Ears that are not placed correctly.

Tails that are too short, crocked, or kinked.

Heart defects, liver defects.

Weaker immune system.

Smaller size (inbreeding is often used to create stunted pets marketed as “teacup pets”).

Shorter lifespans.

How to Find Low Cost Spay and Neuter Options for Your Pets