Happy Pets

Superficial skin wounds are treated by bathing with tepid saline to keep the area moist and clean. It is unnecessary to apply antiseptic creams or ointments if prompt attention (within 24 hours) is being sought. Simply bathe regularly (every 2 hours or so) and keep the cat indoors. Generally, only attempt to apply a bandage if severe or continued bleeding requires this; most wounds are best left uncovered initially as correct bandaging is a difficult task in the majority of cats and improperly applied bandages can do more harm than good. If the cat will allow, trim the hair around the edges of the wound to allow easier bathing. (more…)

Puppy Pet Socialization

Part of the secret of having a well-trained puppy is the ability on your part to think ahead. You won’t be able to take him for a walk outside until he’s completed his injections, at about fourteen to sixteen weeks. This is far too late to introduce your puppy to a collar and lead and the outside world. The socialization of your puppy at an early age is essential if you require a well-adjusted adult dog. I discovered this, to my cost, with Bracken, my first puppy. I never thought of taking him out on to the streets until he was sixteen weeks old. At home, he was perfectly behaved and afraid of nothing and walked well in the garden on a collar and lead. You can imagine my surprise at our first day’s outing. The moment we stepped out of the gate, Bracken flattened himself to the pavement with terror at the sound and sights of traffic. (more…)

Collars and leads

Even if you have no plans to take your cat out for walks a collar and lead will be useful as a means of control and restraint when you have to take it to the vet or on a journey. The collar must have an elastic section, so that if the cat gets caught on a nail or twig it can free itself without risk of choking. The collar should also carry an identity disc with the address and/or telephone number of its owner, or a cylinder that holds a roll of paper on which they can be written. The cylinder type is useful if you move around a lot and have to keep on changing your address, but the disc will be more easily noticed and read. (more…)

Sometimes, especially in a city, it is not safe to let a cat go out on its own. If this applies to you, then consider teaching your cat to walk on a lead — a discipline that is not very common among cats, but which can be extremely useful. A cat may choose to follow its owner and some will trail along behind any friendly human, but cats are not naturally led, as dogs are, so teaching them to walk on a lead is much more difficult. The best chance of success lies in starting very young and capitalizing on the way kittens follow their mother.

Once used to its collar, the kitten can be introduced to the lead, which should not be presented as another string-like plaything to be pounced upon. You can try distracting the kitten’s attention from it by playing with a piece of string at the same time, but you must give the kitten the opportunity to establish that the lead is something safe. (more…)