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.

  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.

More →

Sometimes dogs refuse food. Failing to eat can be indicative of as little as a mild upset tummy, or of conditions as serious as bloat or organ failure. So, how do you tell the difference? When in doubt, always consult a vet. However, you may be able to determine the cause of your dog’s loss of appetite on your own, by observing the dog and the surrounding environment carefully.

Is it a small dog, and/or is the food different?

More →

My Teary Eyed Jelly Belly

One bright sunny Spring day, I was outside watering my garden when my cat, Jelly Belly, came over to me and brushed against my leg. I gave him a little scratch behind the ears, but when he looked up, I noticed that his eye was watering. Now, Jelly has always had a weepy eye, maybe because he’s got a lot of Persian in him and his face is slightly smooshed in, but this wasn’t normal. The eye was tearing a lot and he was having trouble keeping it open.

I tried to have a look at it, but he struggled and growled. It was really bothering him and must have been sore, so I decided to try to make him comfortable by taking him inside and getting him settled in his favorite bed. Then I sat down beside him with a damp cloth and gently wiped his tears.

More →

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

More →

Every pet owner should maintain a good working relationship with a veterinarian. Owners of multiple types of pets, particularly exotic or unusual pets, may need several veterinarians. However, sometimes the decision to take a pet, particularly a small mammal, to the vet for an illness or injury is a difficult one. Small pets are particularly sensitive to stress. Some are also susceptible to airborne viruses. For both these reasons, it’s best to avoid unnecessary stress.

While I am not a vet and a consultation with a veterinarian is always the best choice if you are uncertain or think your pet may be in need of treatment, here is some basic information on symptoms and injuries and their severity. More →

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.

More →

SGR Sleeping Oberon towels dry after a bath.

More →

Dear PetLvr Mailbag …

Okay, a 1-2 year old male feral/stray/whatever cat moved into my back yard. Got attacked by, I think, a raccoon, as the possums left and I have a few kits, one mom, and prolly 2 males right now.
He wont go into a trap, so how can I catch him ( the cat ) so I can get him checked out at the vets ? Several released ferals live in backyard so withholding food is not an option.

–Friend of Ferals

More →

Dear PetLvr Mailbag ..

My dog lifts his leg to pee, then poops instead. This may seem like a silly question, but it causes poop to stick to the hair on his hind legs. Yuck!

–Grossed Out

More →