Pet Health

Happy birthday, senior Sammy! On June 15, Sammy the senior cat celebrated his 19 th birthday and, for his gift, this sweet senior cat received the best present of all…a new home where he can live comfy and happy in his golden years. Before he headed off with his new family though, the shelter staff and volunteers of Cincinnati Animal CARE wanted to throw the good boy a birthday bash! Cincinnati Animal CARE/ Facebook So, up went the streamers, and out came the sparkly, blue hat meant just for the birthday boy. Though he’d been with Cincinnati Animal CARE’s Kitty City only a week, Sammy captured hearts, and everyone gathered round to celebrate and lavish Sammy with good wishes. Cincinnati Animal CARE spokesperson Ray Anderson told HuffPost , “Sammy is just amazingly sweet, likes to cuddle, likes to be held, likes to rest his head on you and was definitely soaking up all the attention today.” But, how did such a good cat wind up in a shelter at 19 years old? Cincinnati Ani

Isn’t it darling when the fur siblings get along? Kitty sibs are just precious when they give each other kisses and snuggle in tight. And when the cat and dog are curled together, the best of buds, could anything be sweeter? But, as cat parents well know, it ain’t always sunshine and sweetness between cats and their housemates! Most cats have a naughty side and sometimes they enjoy serving their brothers and sisters a little grief when they’re feeling saucy. @maxandmilesmadrid/ Instagram While we don’t like to see the fur babes argue, those side-eye moments and sibling shenanigans do provide prime photo opportunities. And with social media at our fingertips, we get to laugh along with other cat lovers who understand that sibling rivalry is real, and sometimes hairy, among their critters! Check out these 16 cats being total jerks to their siblings just for funsies! One fluffy cat worries over brotherly pounces, asking, “He’s behind me isn’t he?” u/Lysie_loo/ Reddit A feline

Okay, we love kitties, but we know our purrecious angels can be a bit trying at times. Simply put, cats love getting into mischief. This troublesome streak is just one of the million reasons we love cats. That said, making amends for our felines can be a little tricky sometimes. Ask cat mom Kate Felmet. She’ll tell you how much she loves her cat, Esme, but she’ll also mention the steps she’s recently had to take in returning the scads of stuff her darling kitty stole from their neighbors. And her solution to righting her cat’s wrongs has proven to be both clever and funny. KOIN 6/ Facebook Esme began her career as a cat burglar with small steals in the house. First, it was doll clothes and fabric scraps Esme gifted her mother. Soon though, she started bringing back bags and paper from her sojourns outside. She also brought dead bird gifts too. “My mom is an avid bird-watcher and was quite distressed, so I began to praise Esme for anything she brought me that wasn’t a bird,” e

Here’s the tale of a fluffy kitten named Dove and her purrseverance in overcoming tough odds. Born in a California shelter, baby Dove was the smallest in her litter of five kittens. Not only the runt of her litter, her foster mom Angela shared, “Dove was born with two twisted front legs that bend inwards.” The twisting in her legs made it hard to get the nutrition she needed from her mom or even play with her brothers and sisters. If something wasn’t done to help Dove out, her small size and weak legs would make it difficult to thrive. But, the cat lovers of the California shelter weren’t about to give up on this sweet nestling. @fosteringlove.pdx/ Instagram Soon, Dove and her family were aboard a plane bound for the Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals . Once the feline family landed and checked into the shelter, Angela brought them home for some foster love. Right away, the experienced foster mom could tell mom cat Calliope was a devoted mother to her kittens, making sure their

Identifying and managing chronic joint pain in dogs Canine arthritis cannot be cured, and it’s not always possible to prevent it, especially as your dog ages. There are, however, things you can do at home to help ease or even delay its onset. Weight management, supplements, gentle exercise and regular veterinary care make a difference. Paying attention to subtle signs of canine discomfort and making adjustments to your dog’s home and treatment as needed will help you help your dog. Tags:  healthy living wellness from The Bark https://ift.tt/3x5T3ld

Australia has nearly five million dogs , with nearly 40% of Australian households owning one . But it seems that 40% of Australian dogs are not walked enough and that a similar percentage of dogs are overweight or obese . With colleagues at the University of Sydney, we are interested in collecting more recent data on these trends. So why do we need to walk our dogs? And how much is enough? Tags:  activities & sports lifestyle from The Bark https://ift.tt/3y0ueYb

Prisma has made my life better than I could have ever imagined. She has made me a better "hooman." Tags:  smiling dogs from The Bark https://ift.tt/3wXg4qy

Rylie was adopted from the animal shelter at three years old. She's a water loving girl and an excellent swimmer. Tags:  smiling dogs from The Bark https://ift.tt/3dnVZSq

Skip the arguments with a new dog-naming app Choosing dog names can be a source of conflict for couples. It’s not so bad if you like Jack and your partner wants to go with Jake, or if one of you likes Wren and the other likes Robin. Common ground may even exist when the choices are between Bogey and Divot or perhaps Inverse and Vector. But what if one person’s top choice is Killer or Gamora and the other has their heart set on Baby or Zoe? Those differences can be harder to resolve. Enter Dogname , a new app that helps people choose (with minimal wrangling) the perfect name for their dog. Each of the app’s 30,000 names is listed with its meaning and origin, and users go through as many of the listings as they want, swiping right if they like the name and left if they don’t. The names that both people like are saved as matches, facilitating the choice of a mutually acceptable moniker. Tags:  dogpatch New Dog tips from The Bark https://ift.tt/3qqYRmT

At first glance, Gabby appears to be a perfectly normal adolescent dog—a healthy, happy and rambunctious mixed-breed puppy soon to be a year old. She is only one of an avalanche of approximately 3 million new U.S. pets purchased or adopted to brighten their owners’ lives during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not until she is approached by a stranger—or a strange dog—or exposed to a new and unfamiliar environment that it becomes clear Gabby is not exactly as carefree as she seems. She often reacts with fear or uncertainty when she encounters new people or other dogs. She is near panic when faced with a new environment or an unfamiliar situation. Even taking her to the vet is more difficult and stressful than usual for both her and her owners. from The Bark https://ift.tt/3jmhUxt

Healthy oils you have at home can make a difference It’s a rare person who can lie in bed and listen to a dog scratch, scratch, scratch in the night and not think, or maybe even say, “Will you please stop!” Remedy your dog’s dry skin and dandruff from the inside out by adding one of two kitchen staples—olive oil or coconut oil—to her meals. It may even help both of you sleep better. (Fish oil is another excellent option.) Tags:  food & nutrition mealtime extras wellness tips from The Bark https://ift.tt/2SQ1Vgg

A new book provides excellent guidance and advice I don’t claim to be psychic, but I have a feeling that Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It by Marge Rogers, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, CCUI, and Eileen Anderson, MM, MS, is going to be read and recommended by heaps of dog professionals and dog lovers who will be eager to spread the word. The authors had me at “Remember: It’s a human tendency to want to show the world your puppy, but that is not the same as showing your puppy the world! Resist the temptation to let your puppy become a magnet for human attention. The last thing you want to do is let him get overwhelmed and frightened.” Tags:  dog training dog behavior from The Bark https://ift.tt/3d4chjc

Reunited and it feels so good! This picture was taken the day we reunited the puppies after they went to their fur-ever homes. Tags:  smiling dogs from The Bark https://ift.tt/3cXAQym

When I sit on the floor and rub Smokey's belly, then he gets comfy with his head in my lap and just sighs in bliss... Tags:  smiling dogs from The Bark https://ift.tt/3qdQZF8

Basics of the tug game and how to troubleshoot common problems True or False: Tug is a great game to play with your dog. According to our resident canine behavior expert, the answer is a resounding “true,” albeit with some caveats. Dogs who like it—which is most of them—get a lot from it; even some who don’t take to it immediately can learn to enjoy it. Read on to discover why and how to play tug with your dog. Many dogs love to play tug, and one of the beautiful things about this game is that for most dogs, nobody has to teach them how to do it. Even puppies still adorably tripping over their own feet play tug games. It’s that natural for them. It’s uncommon to meet dogs with a casual interest in the game; dogs tend to either love to play tug or have little interest in it all. For the the ones who adore it, tug offers a way to engage them in play, exercise them, teach them skills they need to play safely so it’s fun for people and dogs alike, and reinforce them with so

A mother’s love knows no bounds when it comes to caring for babies in need. And animal moms don’t discern when raising young, taking in babies who need help, no matter what species they might be. Instinct tells them the young need nurturing, even if the mom and baby are of a totally different make. Because every tale told of a mother’s love warms the heart, here’s another to fill your day with joy.     Inside Edition/ YouTube Pusha is a beautiful gray cat with fern green eyes who calls the Bakhchisaray Miniature Park in Crimea home.  She’s used to wildlife as the architectural miniatures park also houses a zoo. It’s a pretty cool place for a cat to reside. There, Pusha not only sees other animals, but she also greets park visitors and gets to play giant among the miniatures! Imagine the lucky visitors who catch Pusha padding across the Swallow’s Nest. She’d be a veritable feline Godzilla walking through the mini model of the castle known as “the symbol of Crimea.” Only, Pusha

It’s not unusual to hear tales of people tearing into walls of homes for remodeling projects only to discover riches. And now, a Pennsylvania contractor has his own tale of finding treasure in the walls , but instead of money, he found something far more precious…cats! While working on an abandoned home in Philadelphia, the contractor heard a meow from inside the wall he was working on. As he proceeded to tear away the wall with care, a kitten fell out. But the little one wasn’t the only feline inside the walls of the house. As ACCT Philly posted on Facebook , “When he opened the wall, he found 9 adult cats with 7 kittens.” Being a kind soul, he had to help the 16 cats and kittens. ACCT Philly/ Facebook A Full Day of Capturing Cats Over the next eight hours, this friend to cats hunted, caught, and persuaded these wild cats from the walls. The cats he found ranged from newborn to adult. Laying his hands on the quickest crates he could find, he rounded up the cats and brought th