Post archive for September 2010

How to Recognize a Healthy Cat

Whether you are buying a kitten or cat from a breeder or adopting one from a shelter, you want it to as healthy as possible. Optimally, kittens should be at least eight weeks old before being taken from their mom and littermates. If you are getting a kitten or cat from a shelter, try to find our as much as you can about its past and its personality.

The Healthy Cat Scan

Eyes should be clear of film or discharge – and look alert.
Ears should be clean (white or light pink) and not sensitive to touch.
Nose should be clean with no discharge.
Mouth should have healthy pink gums, and no offensive odour.
Coat should look healthy
Kitten fur should be fluffy and glossy,

• Whiskers should be long and unbroken.
• Skin should be free of lumps, growths, or swellings – above and below the surface.
• Paw pads should be uncracked.
• Cats should be responsive, energetic, and curious.

Vet’s hint: Some breeds, like the British shorthair, are naturally laid back, other, like the Somali, are anything but. Nonetheless, there’s a big...

Get Rid of Fleas and Ticks For Good!

Keeping Ticks Off Your Pet

How can you prevent ticks from attaching to your pet? The only guaranteed preventive is to keep your pet indoors at all times (yet that won’t help if your home is infested with brown dog ticks! If your home is infested, you should hire a professional to eliminate the ticks.)

Avoid taking your dog into areas with brush or tall grass during the height of tick season. Apply spray before every outing, and keep your dog’s coat trimmed short so you can easily find ticks.

Groom your pet everyday and remove ticks that you may find. When grooming, take special care to inspect the ears, between the toes, under the tail, and all over the body. Use a flea comb (a very fine toothed comb, available at pet stores) to dislodge the smallest ticks (deer ticks are about the size of a pinhead).

Reduce the number of ticks in your yard by keeping lawns mowed short and shrubbery clipped. Use an outdoor tick spray at recommended intervals.

Apply a flea and tick spray to your pet, too. Be sure not to miss the ears, feet, and tail. Fluff up the hair on long-haired pets to be sure the spray gets to the skin. Apply the spray to a cloth and rub that on your pet’s head.

Even though you use a tick spray, you should still check your pet for ticks. Do so every day when you brush your pet, and take a closer look after your pet is outdoors in shrubbery or...