cats

Winter Health Tips for Pets

~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 9 Comments

* by Lannie

Cold weather is notoriously bad for health. The winter months bring cold and flu season, and the lack of sunshine and fresh air can make even the happiest person a little depressed. Believe it or not, the same is true for pets. Dogs and cats have their own set of struggles through the coldest months of the year. Here are some tips to help keep your furry friends comfy, cozy and cold-free!

Get a Checkup

Your pet needs regular health checkups to make sure everything’s in tip-top shape. It’s best to schedule these checkups as the weather changes so your vet can give you the best wellness plan for the upcoming season.

Make Sure Your Pet Is Warm

Pets feel cold just like people do. While it’s true that they have a built-in fur coat, that doesn’t mean it’s safe to leave pets outdoors for extended periods of time during chilly weather. If you have outdoor pets, make sure they have a nice warm place to snuggle up during cold weather. If possible, the best advice is to keep pets indoors during winter (with frequent outdoor breaks for exercise and potty time, of course). If your pet is older, seems frail, or is otherwise more susceptible to the cold, you might consider adding a sweater to keep the cold at bay.

Don’t Shave Your Pet

Your pet’s coat of fur is there for a reason. In the wintertime, it helps keep Fido or Fluffy nice and warm. As the weather gets colder, you can keep up the grooming, but make sure you skip any shaving or clipping of your pet’s winter coat. Your animal will need it very soon. Again, if your pet has short hair, consider adding a sweater to protect against the cold.

Keep an Exercise Routine

Because they’re spending so much more time indoors, it’s imperative that you maintain a regular exercise routine for your pets. This could be as simple as a few walks per day, but you could also consider playing Frisbee or fetch with your dog so you both get some good exercise. Cats are harder to play with, but they usually love traipsing around the yard for a half hour or so - just make sure you bring them in when they get cold.

Stay on Top of the Meds

As the winter months roll in, it may be tempting to skip some of your pet’s medication, especially preventive ones like flea and tick medication. While you may see fewer bugs in the winter, fleas, ticks, and heartworms are still a problem. If you’ve experienced fleas in the summer, you’ll definitely want to keep up with the medication now; studies show year-round prevention is the best method to eradicate these pesky bugs for good. Try giving your pets chewable tablets, like Trifexis which is the perfect trifecta of parasite prevention for dogs.

Check the Heat in Your Home

There are lots of good reasons to get a heat inspection for your home each year. For one, it can help prevent huge repair bills down the road, but it can also keep your whole family safe. If you have a gas furnace, you’ll want a yearly inspection to check for carbon monoxide leaks and other issues. You should also change your filters at the start of every season (and at least once a month) to keep allergens and bacteria away.

Finally, remember to watch your pet around other heat sources, like your fireplace and space heaters. Pets will often flock to these areas, looking for warmth. It’s easy for a pet to get too near a fire or accidentally knock over a heater, so make sure you provide constant supervision when using these sources of heat.

 

**Lannie is a writer for Allivet. Allivet provides affordable pet supplies and pet medications, all of which can be purchased online.

Elderly and Pets

~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 9 Comments

Some studies have shown the benefits of owning a pet as a senior. The findings indicate that the relationship is a match made in heaven. Love is the ideal prescription for solitude, and there’s no better way to get that love than by having a happy bundle of fur also called a pet. Many live-in carers can testify to seeing benefits associated with owning a pet as an older adult, they really can benefit our lives.

“Anyone who thinks money can’t buy happiness has never owned a cat [or any pet].”
― Arya Riverdale

So what are the main positive benefits that come from a relationship between the elderly and pets?

  1. Health

From a purely medical perspective, having a pet will decrease blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. After a heart attack, there is normally reduced rehabilitation time for seniors who own pets. They visit the doctors less often and have better muscle strength and endurance. A number of these physical advantages are traced back to an increase in activity such as walking with the pets. Walking provides a restoration effect, thanks to the nature surrounding the neighbourhood.

  1. Stress

As an elderly person, sometimes you might be going through a tough time and need someone to talk to. Your children could be grown up and too busy living their own lives to be there for you when you need them. Owning a pet can distract you and get your mind off overthinking. Stroking animals alleviates stress. Because pets are non-judgmental, they are a good companion when it comes to getting rid of loneliness. Pets reduce depression, which can be caused by isolation or loss of a loved one.

  1. Having a Routine

Older people also get a feeling of self-worth and self-confidence when they’re responsible for the feeding and care of another life. When you know that you have to give care to another living being, it automatically makes you want to take good care of yourself. A visit to the supermarket to stock up on essentials or planning a meal might appear problematic to some elderly folks. However, once they get into the habit of preparing a meal for their cat or dog, it becomes routine, and they do it without complaining. That constant activity is good for their bodies as a way of exercising, as opposed to sitting back and doing nothing.

  1. Mental Alertness

Pets excite the mind because they are so playful, relieve boredom, and improve mental alertness. When a senior owns a pet, they somehow feel like they are not alone and feel more secure in their homes. Human beings like it when their egos are boosted. And owning a pet is one way of doing this. Imagine receiving all the love and adoration from a pet; it sure feels great and makes you feel loved and appreciated!

  1. Making New Friends

Meeting new people is hard especially as an older person if you spend most of your time indoors. Many pet events and organizations deal with catering to animals. These are a good place to meet people who have the same shared interests as yours. Plus, pets are a good way to break the ice.

 

As a pet owner, I can’t imagine not having fur babies in the house. Yes, I do moan sometimes… yes, I get cross with them from time to time but at the end of the day, they give more than they take and this is why we love them so much.

#ThroughTheFleaHole

Video ~ ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 3 Comments

Have you ever wondered how celebrities live like? Have you ever dreamed of visiting their homes? Well, for some this dream can come true today, courtesy of Scrumble!

Take a tour of this mystery house and guess who lives in it for your chance of winning a fabulous pet pamper hamper!

To enter this giveaway please visit Frontline UK Facebook page and comment under the relevant video post.

Good Luck!

So, who lives in a house like this?

* This is a collaborative post.

4 Reasons Your Cat Isn’t Using The Litter Box And How To Fix It

~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 17 Comments

Raising a cat or any pet for that matter is not a walk in the park. It´d be great if the pets just “did their business” in their designated areas, but it is often not the case. And, if your cat pees outside the litter box, you know exactly how difficult and arduous it is to clean after it. However, before putting the blame solely on your cat, it is necessary for you to understand why your cat dislikes using the litter box.

Here are 4 reasons why your cat is peeing outside of the litter box… and easy ways to fix the issues.

  1. Undesirable litter type

Cats tend to have a ¨litter type¨, a sort of personal preference they usually start developing by the time they turn a month old. Therefore, if your cat doesn’t use the litter box, it could perhaps be because of the change in the type of litter. Some of the common types of litter are non-clumping clay, clumping clay, silica gel crystals, and recycled paper etc. Hence, what one particular cat likes may not be preferred by another cat.

  1. Dirty litter box

Let’s be honest here — no one likes using a dirty and smelly toilet and the same goes for cats as well. Therefore, if your cat doesn’t use its litter box, it could be because it is dirty and unhygienic. Hence, it is imperative for you to clean the litter box thoroughly on a regular basis. You should know that compared to us humans, cats tend to have a heightened and enhanced sense of smell. Therefore, although the litter box may seem clean and fresh to you, it could still be dirty and smelly to your cat.

  1. Bullies

One of the primary reasons why your cat does not use the litter box could be because of a bully. Let us elaborate—if you have several cats at home, one of them could potentially be a bully, preventing the other cats from using the litter box. So, how do you take care of this situation? Well, during such times, it is necessary for you to install numerous litter boxes in your home. It is also not advisable for you to have covered litter boxes when you have several cats in your home.

  1. Health issues?

If your cat has health issues, it could be difficult for it to pee in the litter box. For instance, it can get extremely difficult for a cat suffering from arthritis to get into a litter box that boasts of a high cover and sides. And, according to vets, cats that suffer from diseases such as kidney problems, diabetes, and UTI, also tend to avoid using their litter boxes. If a cat feels unsafe or feels that its health and wellness is threatened, it is unlikely to use the litter box. Therefore, if your cat doesn’t use the litter box as often as you’d like or barely at all, you should perhaps take it to a vet clinic for a thorough check-up.

Have you ever experience this issue with your cat?

How did you go about resolving the problem?

Cats Versus Dogs - Which Do You Prefer?

~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 17 Comments

Many people think that you’re either a cat or a dog lover and there seems to be a somewhat unfounded sense of competition between our furry friends. However, there are still many of us who love both and wouldn’t want to decide which one they would prefer. While dogs may be more dependable and give us plenty of unconditional love, cats are more independent but still offer us sufficient cuddles and affection that makes them an important part of the family.

Money-saving experts Voucherbox recently discovered in a survey how much pets are costing us throughout their lifetime. They also revealed that an incredible 51% of households in the UK own a pet and 25% of those have dogs, which is only 1% more than cats at 24%. This confirms that cats and dogs are probably the most popular pets in the UK – there were 9.4 million dogs and 11 million cats in households throughout the country in 2016.

Why We Love Dogs

Dogs are man’s best friend. They are always loyal, loving and fun to be with. They’re always pleased to see us and often shadow us around the house wherever we go. Our dogs are forever loving and faithful friends that adore and respect us. Dogs are dependable and they rely on us to walk them daily, feed them, groom them and let them in and out of the garden to do their business. They need us to be an essential provider for their happiness and comfort, to care for them and look after them, much like a human.

Why We Love Cats

Cats are popular pets because they are perhaps easier than dogs being so independent. They can get exercise by going through the cat flap and wandering wherever they want; they can feed themselves whenever they’re hungry (so long as there’s food in their bowls) and they don’t usually need a human to let them in and out of the garden to do their business. Cats will cuddle up with us on the sofa and can be quite needy in terms of a human company, but they will also want time alone. Cats seem to do everything on their terms and have a funny stubbornness which makes them amusing at times.

Co-habiting Friends

The myth of cats and dogs not getting on in the household is not so much true. Although their characters and needs can be quite different, they can also be very good friends. You will often see cats and dogs cuddle up or playing together nicely and they can sometimes have a sibling type of love/hate relationship. However, it seems cats may not have as much patience as dogs and look like they find a happy pooch sniffing them irritating at times, they are perhaps a little warier and less tolerant, very much showing that any kind of human or pet contact is always on their terms.

Cats and dogs are part of the family, faithful additions to the household that like to curl up close to their human pack. While cats are more independent and can be quite self-sufficient, dogs can be reliant but forever by our side. There should be no competition between our furry friends because regardless, they provide us with unconditional love, happiness and affectionate cuddles at the end of the day.

Are you a cat or a dog person or, like us, you simply love both?

* This is a collaborative post.