Your cat means a lot to you, and it breaks your heart to see her in pain. This can make it particularly difficult to see her injured, but when this happens she will likely need your help more than ever before.

After bringing your pet to the vet and helping her obtain any medical procedures needed, you will likely bring her home to help her fully recover. To do this, you will need to be able to handle the care she needs. Talk to a professional, and make sure you understand everything that is required of you. Ask any questions you have, and be sure to follow the advice of your pet’s veterinarian as she has your cat’s best interest in mind. Also, make a point to be there to reassure your cat of her safety and her place within your family, as she is likely feeling scared. Your local Grayson, GA vet clinic, the Dogwood Animal Hospital can offer additional advice.

We all know that it is best to feed our cats only cat food. However, we also have a need to treat our furry friends by perhaps sharing a little food that we are eating. However, some of these foods can be highly dangerous to your cat. A lot of the same foods are dangerous to dogs but because cats are usually much smaller, the effects can be more dangerous. Although the list is rather lengthy, these two food types are among the most dangerous. Chocolate is an absolute taboo. A very little bit of chocolate can cause vomiting and diarrhea but a bit more could cause seizures or death. Anything in the onion family such as onions, garlic or chives cause life-threatening anemia. These are especially dangerous because they can be ingredients in other cooked foods. Purchase appropriate cat-safe treats and reward your cat with these instead. Learn more from your Mobile, AL veterinary clinic.

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It’s easy to get excited on a walk. However, it’s not much fun for you to get dragged around the neighborhood by your dog. If your dog has this habit, have him sit for a while on the leash so he calms down a bit. Start walking and if your dog gets the leash taut, turn around quickly and start rushing off in another direction. This will cause your dog to hurry to follow you and the leash will be slack. Offer ample praise as long as the leash is slack. If your dog runs past you and it looks like he will soon be at the end of the leash, turn around again. Never pull the leash back to show dominance or punish your dog. Practice frequently and soon your dog will be walking along with you. For more information, contact your Mobile, AL veterinarian.

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What to do if you find a stray kitten often depends on whether you plan on keeping the kitten. If you are not planning on keeping the kitten, you may just call animal control to take the kitten to the local animal shelter. You might even capture the kitten yourself and bring the cat to the shelter yourself. Protect yourself from bites or scratches when capturing a stray kitten since you don’t know what diseases the kitten could carry and you don’t want to be injured. If the kitten is injured or in pain, take the kitten to a veterinarian for treatment. If you decide you want to keep the kitten, you will need help in determining the kitten’s age for proper feeding. Your new kitten may need further nursing if she is too young. Make an appointment with your West Mobile, AL veterinarian for a complete examination and to set up a vaccination schedule.

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Dogs have a lot of behaviors that come from instincts passed to them by their wild ancestors. To have dogs live in our homes, we need to understand these instincts and how much we can eliminate the accompanying behavior or those we need to just accept. Dogs are predators so they have many behaviors related to hunting and taking down game. This can cause territorial issues but also makes your dog loyal to you and your family who are all part of his new pack. Housetraining issues can result from territorial marking as well. Dogs are busy running around, digging, chasing and a number of other behaviors that are unsuitable for human homes. These are behaviors that can be controlled somewhat but allowing your dog to be a dog when outside the home can make it easier for him to control himself when in the home. Contact your West Mobile, AL vet to learn more.

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