Common Foods Harmful To Your PetWritten by Michele Webb
You may be surprised to find out which common foods we use almost daily can be harmful to your pet. It is important that you keep these foods away from your pet to ensure that they remain healthy and well. The challenge, of course, is to “pet-proof” your home, family, children or guests, to ensure that these foods are not made accessible to your pet. If your household is like mine, that can be a challenge from time to time! Here is a list of potentially harmful, but commonly used foods, to your pet:•Alcoholic beverages •Apple seeds •Apricot pits •Avocados •Cherry pits •Chocolate (all kinds) •Coffee (all kinds) •Grapes (recently found to contribute to kidney failure) •Hops (used in home beer brewing) •Macadamia nuts •Moldy foods •Mushroom plants •Mustard seeds •Onions and onion powder •Peach pits •Potato leaves and stems (green parts) •Raisins •Rhubarb leaves •Salt •Tea (caffeinated) •Tomato leaves and stems (green parts) •Walnuts •Yeast dough As a dog owner, after learning that my pet has consumed some sort of commonly used food or product in my household, have wondered what it’s potential for harm or toxicity might be, this list helps to resolve some of mystery. There are numerous Internet resources with more information about harmful foods or plants, but these should not be consulted if your pet has already eaten something potentially harmful. It is important that if you find your pet has consumed something harmful that you contact your veterinarian or animal emergency services as quickly as possible to get instructions and care where needed.
| | Feral Cats - Society's Problem ChildrenWritten by Cris Mandelin-Wood
There is a lot of talk going on about what to do with issue of feral cat population. Some measures have been proposed which will allow residents to kill what they perceive to be feral cats on their property. This suggestion has caused a bit of a stir, and amongst cat lovers, it is quite understandable. Cats are natural wanderers and a treasured feline may make a mischievous dash out of its home only to find itself hunted quarry on a neighboring property. There are more humane solutions being practiced right now which entail trapping feral cats, neutering and then releasing them back to their environment (TNR). Critics of this method maintain that problem of cat predation on local small animal populations still exists after neutering, and that a continuous supply of stray cats are finding their fertile way into these feral communities every day. Thus, they maintain, any positive gains realized by TNR program are being constantly negated by actions, or inactions, of irresponsible pet owners. There doesn't appear to be any immediate, cut and dry solution to feral cats at present except to keep employing TNR program and educating public about how to be accountable for their cats. Local laws can be enacted to impose fines on owners whose cats are caught wandering on a frequent basis. Social pressure can be fostered in form of campaigns that suggest it is absolutely not cool and downright irresponsible to have unneutered or unspayed cats wandering around. This, of course, would not be applied to owners of show and working cats where planned breeding is necessary for their specific breed. It comes down to fact that over 64% of U.S. households have pets, and majority of these pets are considered as family members. Cats are rebellious, independent members of family unit. They shouldn't be left to their own devices
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