PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

As worldwide financial panic continues, so does our series on pet ownership in a down economy. Last time, we talked about making pet toys at home. That’s a great way to save some money, but you can’t make everything your pets need. For example, vet care is an absolute necessity. This time, we’ll look at ways to save on the necessities that you can’t make at home.

Vet Care Deals

In an emergency, there’s no time to worry about price. But when your pet is due for a routine procedure like a spay/neuter or vaccinations, you have many options. Start by throwing the idea that your pet needs to get all his or her yearly vaccinations at once out the window. It’s easier on the immune system to give vaccines one at a time, with about three weeks between jabs to recover. Unless doing vaccinations separately would result in a larger total number of injections, it’s okay to do one at a time for adult pets. This gives you the leeway to budget monthly for shots, and to go to monthly low-cost clinics for those immunizations. For example, Petco stores host vaccination clinics monthly in most areas.

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As you may know, I feed my dog a raw diet, and advocate whole prey model raw feeding for anyone who’s willing and able to make the switch to this more complex and natural method of feeding pets. However, most people can’t or don’t want to feed raw. If you’re feeding a dry or canned food, take a moment to make sure that none of these undesirable ingredients are included.
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With the current financial crisis, if you’re not cutting back on expenses already, it’s likely that you will be soon. Pet parents are feeling the crunch even more than those without pets. It can be hard to justify spending extra money for fancy pet toys, especially when some families and pets are still coping with the aftermath of Ike and Gustav. Of course, to make matters worse, prices are going up on just about everything, and show no signs of coming down any time soon.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to save money on pet care without compromising your pets’ health or happiness. Making pet toys at home is one way to cut costs while keeping pets happy and stimulated. More →

Okay, I’ll admit that I’m a huge cat lover. I put up with a lot from these furry four-legged purr machines, but the one thing that drives me crazy is the frequent up-chucking. Yuck. I think almost every one of my cats has puked at one time or another. And I’ve had a lot of cats. One time, I had 14, mostly kittens from a failed attempt at breeding polydactyls (extra toes), but we won’t get into that.

Anyway, apparently a cat’s digestive tract is susceptible to regurgitation - evacuating the stomach quickly after consumption. Cat’s also frequently cough up hairballs, but I’m talking about that disgusting process of scarfing down their food and then promptly vomiting it back up, usually on or under the furniture. I think they really enjoy finding the most difficult locations to puke up their dinner, but I digress. Over the years I’ve found out that some degree of regurgitation is actually a normal, albeit annoying, action in cats. It’s most likely to protect them from ingesting poison or spoiled food.

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Dear Petlvr Mailbag …

Is declawing a cat a good idea? I have people giving both sides, and although I think it is sad, what are the alternatives to torn up furniture?

Signed,

gtcathey from Ima Blogger

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Welcome to PetLvr Reviews, a new series here at PetLvr - The Blog, where we take a time-out to look at some interesting and (not-so-interesting) pet related products. If you would like your product reviewed by us, please check out our “About Product Reviews” page.

Electronic Catmouse Litter Odor Eliminator

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No matter how much you love your pet, chances are, you hate shedding. Unless you own a non-shedding breed like a Standard Poodle, there’s also a good chance shedding is a fact of life. However, sometimes a pet develops a shedding problem that defies logic and the vacuum cleaner. If your pet is dropping hair like it’s going out of style, you may need to take some extra steps to keep a little more hair on the dog or the groomer’s floor, rather than on your dry-clean only pants.

1. Rule out a Health Problem

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Dear Petlvr Mailbag …

I’ve got two questions…

Why does my cat insist on tearing up every piece of paper lying around on the floor? He’s 3, far from being a kitty.

Also he is chunky. We got him that way, and have since only fed him what he needs, nothing more, yet he isn’t losing weight. What can I do to help him lose weight? Hes a strictly indoor cat since he is declawed. So I wouldn’t feel great about him being outside.

Dang.. one more. What kind of cat would be best for him in our home? We’re thinking a kitten will keep him running around and busy, perhaps shed some weight too.

Signed: ChicaX from Photo-Projectz

Dear ChicaX,
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Dear Petlvr Mailbag …

Well, the inevitable happened. I had my 10 month old cat scheduled to get spayed, and she escaped and got pregnant 2 weeks prior to the spay-date.

Ugh.

Anyway - I now have 4 beautiful kittens that need homes. I am going to keep one, so I need homes for 3. Do you have any suggestions as to go about finding them suitable and happy homes?

Side note: When they were 2 weeks old, mama cat became ill and after taking her to the vet, I had to hand-feed the kittens myself, so I’m very attached. It’s going to be sad to let them go, but I have to.

- Kitten Chaos

Dear Chaos,
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Because my other job is with a social networking site, the term “Power User” has crept into my vocabulary. A Power User is an individual who doesn’t just use a particular website or application, but uses it in ways and to an extent that the average user doesn’t even consider. Think of people with hundreds of thousands of Myspace friends, or the users who don’t just use Facebook, but write and distribute applications for it just for fun. Those are Power Users.

I realized recently that Power Users have an equivalent in the pet world. An average user can use and enjoy a website like Myspace, but a Power User delves into every nook and cranny of the application and makes it a passion. Similarly, an average owner can certainly provide great care for a pet, but there is a class of pet owners I’ll call Power Pawrents who go above and beyond and make pet ownership central to their lives and identities.

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