What Your Vet Won't Tell You- Shots At Home!

Dogs and Cats don't enjoy trips to the vet. It is often stressful for them. Also, shots at a vet's are expensive. giving your dog or cat vaccines at home is less stressful for you and your pet, saves you plenty of money, and is a lot less hassle than taking your pet to a vet.

It will cost an average of $150 for shots for a puppy. Getting the shots online (Drs. Foster and Smith is one good vaccine seller), would cost closer to $15 (not counting the Rabies shot, you have to go to a vet for that).

For a kitten, Vet Shots will cost about $100. At home shots-  about $10 (again, not counting rabies).

The Drs. Foster and Smith website has videos and instructions on how to vaccinate cats and dogs. It is quite easy, but you do have to be careful.

How to deal with dog and cat fur

Ask anyone who has an indoor dog or cat what the worst part of keeping their pet indoors is, and they will most likely say "the shedding."

So, if you have an indoor dog or cat, how do you deal with all that fur? By the way, in case you haven't guessed, if you have a non-shedding breed, this post won't be very useful for you.

You want to be able for someone to walk into your house, sit down, and not know that you have a dog or cat before they see the pet itself! This is possible, with some work.

Here are some things that you can do:

                                       On the pet:

Buy a FURminator grooming tool. These de-shedding tools, really do remove hair. There is a video on the site, and a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Amazon.com to show it. FURminator claims that the tools will not only remove the dead fur before it gets all over, but it reduces shedding to up to 90%. One Amazon.com review said that it got a grocery bag full or fur off of their two Goldens. Wow! A grocery bag full less fur around the house. There is one draw back: namely, the price! The newest model of de-shedding tool for medium sized, long haired dogs costs- $54! A tool for a small, long haired cat isn't much less- $44. Amazon has the tools for as little as $15, so if you want to save, don't buy off the website!

Vaccuming your pet: You may have read about doing this in the book "Ramona's World." I does work, on both cats and dogs, though it might take some training to get them to accept it. It will not hurt the pet, but they might find it a bit uncomfortable before they get used to it.  Use the upholstery attachment.

                                    

                                                               On Furniture

Train your pet to stay off the furniture: It's no harder than teaching your pet to stop doing anything else. 

If you don't mind having a pet on the furniture, try the wet rubber glove method: It's just what it sounds like: get a bucket of water and a rubber glove. Put the glove on, dip it in the bucket, and rub your gloved hand on a furry couch or chair. Dip the glove again to rinse it, and repeat.

Or, use a cover: Put a slip-cover or sheet over the couch. Then, just wash it when it gets too furry. Wash it with out any thing else in the washing machine! You can take it off when company is coming. Just keep your pet away when the cover is off.

                                                    On Carpet

Squirt the carpet before you vacuum: Mix a couple squirts of fabric softener with lukewarm water in a spray bottle. Then, shake and squirt. Don't get the carpet too wet, and let it dry before you vacuum. This will make it easier to vaccum up the fur.

Baking soda: Sprinkle this around before you vacuum. This makes it easier to vacuum all the fur, and will also make the room smell better.

                                            On Hardwood Floor and Tile

Sponge it: Try using a barely damped kitchen sponge on the floor. This will clump up the hair, and make it easier to clean up. Sweeping will only make it worse, as the fur will go all over- not something you want to happen in your kitchen!

Swivel Sweeper: This is kind of a cross between a broom and a vacuum, and will work moderately well on pet hair. 

I hope those tips were helpful.

Cat Claw Covers

So, you have a cat that is destroying your furniture. This is annoying and expensive, and many people think that they should go de-claw their destructive cat.

I am not an "animal activist" but I don't think that cats should be de-clawed. It hurts them pretty bad. Also, de-clawed cats often bite - cats with claws rarely do so. And a cat bite is a lot worse than a scratch. This could end up being a painful experience for both the cat and people. De-clawing also costs hundreds of dollars.

But it the cat is destroying furniture, what else can you do? The solution is an interest product called "Soft Paws". Soft Paws are glued onto the cats claws with fast drying glue.

All you have to do is trim the nails (the hardest part- you should have two people- one to hold the cat and one to so the cutting), glue the covers on, and keep your cat occupied for a few minutes to let the adhesive dry. The Soft Paws website has pictures of how to do this.

The covers come in many colors: white, orange, pink, grey, black, yellow, red, green. There are brightly colored ones and pastels. There are even muti-colored ones and ones with glitter. You can have all the covers the same color or have a variety. If you prefer a more natural look, you can get clear covers.

The name brand Soft Paws cost about $25 (including shipping and handling). And, since you will probably only be doing the front paws, the kit will last 4-6 months. This can be pricy, since you will be spending $50- $100 per year per cat.

On Ebay, though, you can get a kit that will last 2-3 months for only a dollar or two. The shipping is usually free! So, you'd be spending more like $6-$12 - much, much cheaper.

So, your furniture isn't scratched and your cat isn't hurt one bit. You can also get neat colors of covers.

You can also use these for dogs that scratch the floor or door and for rabbits that kick, but this isn't very common.

Most popular cat names

Yesterday I posted about the most popular cat names of 2011. Today I have the top ten cat names.

1. Kitty
2. Tiger
3. Bella
4. Kitten
5. Smokey
6. Max
7. Tigger 
8. Shadow
9. Cloe
10. Lucy

Notice that "Bella", "Max", and "Lucy" were also on the top 10 names for dogs. I prefer unusual pet names.

All the names of my cousin's cats begin with "V". She currently owns "Venus", "Velocity", and "Vanilla" and a few years ago she rescued a kitten named "Variable".

    

Main Coon Cat

My favorite kind of pure bred cat is the Main Coon. They are very beautiful cats, especially the orange ones.

Main Coons tend to be very sweet cats, but they can be skittish. 

The hardest part about Main Coons is their long fur. They shed a lot and they need lots of grooming. I once saw a Main Coon cat at a dog grooming place, but most cat owners don't go that far.

This is the most common Main Coon coloring.

This is an orange Main Coon kitten.

A good thing about Main Coons is that they are readily available. Although purebred cats are often shockingly expensive, you can find them in shelters. During the short time that I worked at a cat rescue, there were at different times three Main Coon cats and one Main Coon kitten.

About the Zookeeper

My name is...The Zookeeper.

I am 11 years old. I’ve loved animals all my life and I got my first pets when I was nine.

I do not have a dog or cat – yet - but I currently own three adorable animals: a budgie named Kiki and two baby turtles named Yertle and Myrtle. I also volunteer with cats at a rescue. I have kept numerous reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. I love to write and take pictures so I decided to write a blog all about animals!



I know a lot about animals from personal experience with my pets and with those belonging to others. I also read books and do research online.

On this blog you will find:

Videos about animals
Pictures of various animals
Informative articles
Tips for pet keepers
Money saving ideas
And more!

If you have pets (or love them) this is the perfect place to find out more about animals of all kinds!