Another Heartbreaking Trip to a Humane Society

The first thing you notice when you drive up to the Central Missouri Humane Society (the closest humane society to us now that we've moved), are dogs. These are the lucky dogs- the get both a tiny indoor room and a tiny outdoor run. Very small dogs and younger puppies only have an indoor place room- the rooms are the same size for dogs of any size. This is evened out by dogs like the Great Dane having a room to themselves and keeping litters of small puppies together.

Several Chihuahuas undergoing "temperament testing" lived in tiny cages, as do the rabbits. Even tinier cages held a rat and a guinea pig. There was also a ferret. There was a sign on his cage saying "vet staff" either it belonged to the vet staff as a pet, or was being treated.

The worst part was the cats! A tiny cage about the size of a medium sized bird cage held a mother cat and three kittens.

Ever sadder was the behavior of the animals! A rabbit was chewing on the newspaper lining in its cage out of sheer boredom.

An adorable black and white cat (a tuxedo cat, explained a volunteer, "all dressed up- now he just needs a place to go.") was sticking its paws through the cage bars, just wanting to be petted. How I wished that I could give it that place!

A litter of lab mix puppies were whining like crazy in front of the cage door. A couple dogs were barking and trying to knock out their "room" doors. Four Rottweiler mix pups, large, tough looking dogs, were making a pathetic squeaking noise.

I wish that I could foster some of these animals. This is a "low killing" shelter. They will euthanize animals if the shelter is getting crowded, unless someone fosters them. for a time they were killing all bulldogs, pitbulls, and bull terriers as soon as they got them. It was only until recently that they became adoptable.

I wish that I would be able to help some of these poor animals.

Help! My pet has matted fur!

Mats are the scourge of long-haired dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs. They make the animal look bad, can be uncomfortable to the animal, and can make the area under the mat become dirty and infected.

If you groom your long-haired pet every day, you will probably not have a problem with mats. But if you rescued a stray dog or cat, got your rabbit or guinea pig from a pet store where it was not given proper grooming, or have not been properly and thoroughly grooming your pet, mats are a common problem.

With all matted pets there are two important things to remember! The first is, never give an the pet a bath before all the mats are gone and the pet is thoroughly groomed. The mats will become far harder to get out! Also, do not use scissors if the mat is close to the skin. It is very easy to cut your pet this way!

With dogs and cats that only have one or two smaller mats, you can use a mat rake (a sharp tool for breaking up mats like this one, though advertised for dogs, it can be used for cats). These tools are sharp, so be careful!

If the dog or cat is very badly matted, you will have to shave off the entire coat. The animal will look strange and it can take quite a while to grow back, but in this case it is the only thing to do. If you do not own a pet clipper, you will have to take your pet to a groomer and have a professional groomer do it. It will be expencive but your have to do it.

With a rabbit or guinea pig, brushing the mat out is too painful (I tried this on a friend's matted pig once and it was squealing horribly so I stopped.) If the mat is small you can very slowly and carefully cut it out, but usually, you should shave it. If the groomer doesn't do small animals, see if a vet will do it.

When the mats are taken care of, but the animal was not shaved,groom it well and then give it a bath (a dry bath for rabbits and cats!)

If the pet was totally shaved, wipe it's skin with a wet cloth and check for infection (this is common with badly matted fur).

 

Most popular small animal names

Again, I don't know how old this list is, but the names still are popular.

1. Bandit
2. Gizmo
3. Thumper
4. Daisy
5. Smokey
6. Baby
7. Nibbles/ Nibbler
8. Oreo
9. Flower
10. Peanut 

And, yes, I'm none with "most popular pet names"!

The Longest Lived Pets

I thought it might be interesting to find out what the longest life spans for different pet animals are. Here are the results of my searching! Some of these ages may not be official, or the owner might might not have told the truth about their pet's age.

Dog: 29
Cat:  31
Budgie: 29
Cockatoo: 120
Box turtle: 123
Koi fish: 220
Red Eared Slider turtle: 85
Guinea pig: nearly 15
Rabbit: 16
 

What Small Animal Should You Get? Test

If you honestly answer these questions, you will know what rodent or other small mammal you should get. At the end of the test add up all the points to get your result.

1. How much time do you have for a pet per day? 
 A. 15-30 minutes (10 points)
 B. 30 minutes- 1 hour (20)
 C. Over 1 hour (30)


2. How much can you afford to spend on your pet when you get it?

 A. Under $30 (10)
 B. $30- $75  (20)
 C.  Over $75 (30)

3.  What size of a cage can you have?

A. Small enough to fit on a dresser or desk (15)
B. As big as it takes (30)


4. Will the pet live indoors?

A. Yes (15)
B. No (30)

5. How cuddly do you want your pet to be?

A. Cuddliness doesn't matter as long as it's tame enough to pick up (10)
B.  I want to be able to hold it easily (20)
C. I want it to big enough to sit in my lap for petting (30)


6. How will you exercise the pet?

A. Let it run around in a ball (10)
B. Let it run around free in a safe enclosed area (20)
C. Let it explore the house and/or fenced in yard or run or go for a walk on a leash (30)



If your score is under 80 get a.. hamster, gerbil, or mouse
If your score is between 80- 140 get a... rat, guinea pig, or dwarf rabbit
If your score is  over 140 get a... larger rabbit, ferret, or chinchilla
  



     

Angora Rabbits

Rabbits are normally very ordinary, run-of-the-mill creatures, one of the first animals that babies learn to recognize. But some rabbits are totally not ordinary.

Angora rabbits are born looking just like a normal rabbit, they do have longer fur than many rabbit breeds, but that's all.

But just look at these crazy adult Angoras!

Depending on the breed, Angora rabbits usually weigh 6-12 pounds. They usually have a coat length of 3-5 inches.

Over the course of one year a single large Angora can produce enough wool to make an adult sized sweater. Angora sweaters are much more comfortable than wool.

I would like to keep an Angora rabbit, but I think it might be too much work to keep one, since you have you have to groom them every day.