January 2010

Dear Petlover,

Hi there it’s Marko, one of the owners/administrators on Pets.ca and this is our first newsletter of 2010 so Happy New Year! We wish all our visitors and their pets an amazing 2010. We intend to put out …

How Old is My Cat – Guessing a cat’s age – Pet tip 201

When people adopt a new cat or are thinking about buying a cat they often want to know how old that cat is. If the cat is a kitten this is usually easy. The original owner should know how old the kitten was or if you bring the kitten to a veterinarian, the vet should be able to tell how old the kitten is with a reasonable degree of accuracy. If good records were kept from kitten-hood or previous adoptions, again this is an easy task. The problem occurs when you are considering getting an adult cat whose age and/or history are unknown.

Dogs Cats and Endoscopy

Veterinarians have many different types of tests that they can use. Most of the time, a few tests are combined in order to diagnose a problem that your pet has. These tests include everything from blood work and x-rays to CT scans and MRIs. One test in particular is called ‘endoscopy’. Endoscopy is a test that uses a very small video camera that is placed on the end of a long, thin, flexible rod. The rod with the camera on the tip is called an ‘endoscope’. In order for the video camera to work properly, the endoscope may inject air (for example in the digestive tract) or water (for example in the nose) into a body cavity.

Rabbits and Hay

Rabbits are attractive pets – they’re friendly, cute, and low maintenance. Rabbits are suitable for many ages, in big cities or the country, for both new pet owners and those dedicated to rabbits. However, rabbits are not the same as …

Pet Chinchillas

The chinchilla looks like a mix of three different animals. It has the rotund body of a guinea pig, short rabbit-like ears, and a squirrel tail. This is a unique critter that is kept as a pet less frequently than …

Early Spaying – Neutering in Cats and Dogs – Pet tip 158

Most pet owners are aware that they need to spay or neuter their cats and dogs. They are aware that there is no need for puppies or kittens to have even 1 litter because of the epidemic amounts of dogs …

Cat tricks – You can teach cats to do tricks – Pet tip 112

Many people don’t believe that it is possible, but you can train a cat and you can teach a cat to do tricks. Although teaching a cat tricks is rarely as easy as teaching a dog tricks, with a little …

Introducing Cats and Dogs to Each Other – Pet tip 175

Many animal lovers adore both cats and dogs and will try to have both as pets. This leads to the subsequent common question “can cats and dogs get along” and the answer is a firm ‘maybe’. The truth is, is …

Intestinal Parasites in Dogs and Cats (Part 2)

In the last article about intestinal parasites, we talked about two of the most common intestinal worms; roundworms and hookworms. We also talked about the importance of a doing a fecal sample once or twice a year to look for worm eggs. This time, we’ll look at four other common intestinal parasites. Just to review, roundworms live inside the intestine, but don’t attach to the intestinal wall. These worms feed on the nutrients that the pet eats. Puppies are often born with roundworms, and can lose weight with a worm infection because the worms compete for nutrients. Hookworms on the other hand, burrow into the intestinal wall and suck out blood and protein. Like roundworms, these worms only tend to be a problem in puppies.

Everyone has heard of tapeworms. Dogs and cats can get tapeworms too. The most common tapeworm is called Dipylidium caninum, or the ‘flea tapeworm’.

Tip 80 – Cat and dog fur – removing cat hair – removing dog hair

If you have a dog or a cat with long or short hair then chances are that you also have a problem with pet hair or fur being transferred to your furniture and clothing. There’s not too much you can …