Confining pet cats indoors is a good decision many pet owners make, after careful consideration of potential hazards that their furballs may be exposed to when allowed outside. Since boredom is the mother of all undesirable behaviors in pets, it is your responsibility to make your pet’s indoor environment interesting and stimulating.

An indoor life should not equate with a dull and boring daily life for your kitty. Taking steps to enrich your pet’s environment will give him hours of fun and motivation throughout the day.

Here are great ideas for environmental enrichment:

• Install cat trees – Cats love to climb and perch on vantage points to observe everything that is happening around them. Being on top is also a way to have some ‘me time’.
• Invest in interactive toys for i ... Read more »

Rabbits are also capable of displaying aggressive behavior. If you have a pet rabbit, you should learn to distinguish which behaviors are normal and which ones are undesirable, so you can take steps to nip the problem in the bud before it can become a deeply ingrained behavior.

Nipping in rabbits is a normal rabbit behavior. It is a way by which they communicate. However, you can teach your rabbit to stop this behavior by yelling out when he nips at your fingers.

Biting or swiping is also another normal behavior in rabbits. You may have been on the receiving end of this behavior when you try reaching for your rabbit inside its cage. Rabbits are highly territorial creatures; your pet thinks you are invading its territory by putting your hand inside its cage.

Aggressive behaviors in rabbits include chasing, attacking, and biting real hard even if ... Read more »

Some pet birds need to have their wings trimmed to keep them from flying. Although this is a common practice of many bird owners, improper wing trimming can have its consequences.

The part of the feather which is usually trimmed involves the primary feathers, which are the ones located on the end part of the wings. Between smaller and large bird species, the former benefits from having more primary feathers trimmed. Over-trimming of primary feathers of large birds will inhibit them from gliding smoothly to the ground; and they usually end up hurting themselves.

Contrary to what most people think, trimming a bird’s wing does not make it incapable of flight; it only reduces and/or eliminates the thrust needed for a bird to takeoff smoothly.

As a rule of thumb, smaller birds will need to have the last 10 of their primary feathers trimmed, whi ... Read more »