by: Richard Delgado



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In this issue:



1) "Happy Holidays"



2) "Christmas and Year End Holidays: Pet Safety Tips, Part 3"



3) "A Reply to September's Article: Cat Spraying and Urinating;

    Why and How Can I Stop It" - From a Reader



4) "Tell Us What You Think!"





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1) "Happy Holidays"



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All of us at The Woof Pack wish you and your loved ones (two legged

and of course four legged) a very safe, happy, and wonderful holiday

season.





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2) "Christmas and Year End Holidays: Pet Safety Tips, Part 3"



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The holiday season is coming to a close, but you still need to take

care to keep your pets out of harm's way during these last holiday

activities. Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's means more family

get togethers and parties.



I am giving you this article from Pet Sitter's International about

keeping your pets safe for the holidays, and I will include a little

more at the end.



Begin---



"Pet Sitters International Offers Tips For Protecting Pets During the

Holidays"

 

King, North Carolina, December 20, 2006-



As people everywhere prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and

friends, Pet Sitterís International, the worldís largest educational

association for professional pet sitters, reminds pet owners that

preventable accidents are the number one cause of death for pre-senior

pets.  Consider incorporating these four suggestions into any holiday

plans that involve pets:



People Food is for People



It is always tempting to share yummy morsels of people food with pets,

especially while enjoying the excesses of the holidays.  Although slipping

a begging pooch food from the kitchen table may be well intended, human

food, in fact, can be unhealthy and even harmful to pets.  Foods laden with

fat can be hard on petsí digestive systems.  Even small amounts of rich

foods can trigger bouts of diarrhea and/or vomiting for pets.  Fatty foods

also carry the same health risks for animals as they do peopleóonly on a

larger scale.  Such treats may also lead to reluctance of some pets to return

to their normal diets.  Alcohol, chocolate, caffeinated beverages and treats

with artificial sweeteners like xylitol* are definite no-noís.  For pets,

these items have the potential to cause illness or even death.



PSI recommends removing pets from areas where holiday foods will be present. 

Provide a secure and comfortable room for your pet to play in during holiday

functions.  Trash cans containing food scraps should be emptied outside prior

to letting pets return to the common areas of the home.  Consider hiring a

professional pet sitter to care for your pet during your holiday functions

or while you are away visiting family and friends.



Practice Discretionary Decorating



LightsÖcandlesÖACCIDENT!  Strands of Christmas lights, flickering candles,

shiny ornaments and decorations can be an invitation for disaster for people

with pets.   Holiday plants like Christmas rose, hibiscus, holly, mistletoe

(berries) and poinsettia are poisonous to cats or dogs, if ingested.  Equally,

the water found in the basin of Christmas tree stands is a serious hazard for

household animals.  A petís natural curiosity will almost certainly be aroused

by any new additions to its homeís normal environment, so it is up to the pet

owner to take the proper precautions to avoid an accident.



PSI recommends pet owners unplug lights and motorized decorations before leaving

home.  Any fragile or potentially hazardous decorations or plants should be placed

out of your petís reach.  Items that pose an obvious fascination for pets should

also be removed.  Lit candles should be extinguished when pets are present. To

avoid exploratory chewing, gifts containing food items should be placed in a

closet. Replace traditional tree stands with an enclosed tree stand, or cover the

current stand with a tree skirt to lessen the likelihood of pets drinking the water. 

Owners with rambunctious pets should secure their trees to a wall using wire or

twine. This will help avoid injuries associated with a tree toppling over.



Avoid the Dog Flu



It's flu season again and a highly contagious strain of the dog flu that appeared

in 2005 may show up again. Last year, cases were confirmed in 10 statesóa number

that could increase this year.  The flu virus is highly contagious, and nearly 100

percent of dogs exposed will catch the flu.  Although not generally considered

deadly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 to 8 percent

of the dogs that become infected will die from the illness.  Dogs are exposed to

the virus in social circles including dog parks, doggie day cares and kennels. 

Symptoms mimic kennel cough, including cough and nasal discharge. 



PSI recommends dog owners limiting their dogsí interactions with other dogs during

this time.  Pet owners who are traveling over the holidays should consider hiring a professional pet sitter to come into their come and care for their pet while they

are away.  Should pets exhibit symptoms of dog flu, veterinary treatment is

recommended to help suppress the symptoms and treat any secondary infections.



Celebrations Can Scare Pets



New Yearís festivities require special planning for pets.  Boisterous party

activities, noisemakers and fireworks can cause great distress for pets causing

them to panic and attempt to escape their surroundings. 



PSI recommends placing pets in a comfortable and secure room during celebrations.

The addition of background noise from a television or radio can help sooth your

petís anxiety during these times.  Planning ahead for will help keep your pet

feeling safe and secure while you are ringing in the new year. 



 

*Source: ASPCAís Animal Poison Control Center



# # #



About PSI



Pet Sitters International is the worldís largest educational association for

professional pet sitters serving more than 7,400 independent professional

pet-sitting businesses in the United States, Canada and abroad.  For more

information on PSI please visit www.petsit.com.



End---



I also want to add the following things that will help keep your pets safe.

They are pretty much the same as for the Thanksgiving celebrations, but they

pertain to the upcoming holidays as well.



How do your pets react to large numbers of people, and to possible

strangers? You do not want your guests feeling uneasy, or threatened by

an aggressive pet. And, you do not want your pets to be all over your

guests when they are just trying to enjoy their time with you. If your

pets will be aggressive, or very overly friendly, or if this will cause fear

and stress for your pets, then confine them in a nice quiet part of the

house where they can be comfortable and stress free.



Remember, onions and garlic will cause anemia in pets. Anemia is the reduced

ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen. Chocolate is toxic to your

pets and can cause heart problems, even leading to death. Rasins and grapes

are toxic to pets. These are linked to kidney failure.



The cooking string from your turkey or roast can cause major problems if

your pet swallows it. Instead of the string passing through, the stomach or

intestine actually 'climbs up' the string, essentially turning itself inside

out. If your pet does swallow string, and you see it hanging out of your pet's

mouth, do not pull it out! This can cause the same thing I just mentioned.

Take your pet to the emergency vet immediately.



The same thing can happen with tinsel from the christmas tree.



Speaking of turkey and roast, do not feed your pet the bones left over

from the turkey carcass, roast, or ham. When cooked, bones become brittle

and can splinter. These splinters can cause major internal problems in your

pets. They can also cause an obstruction. Just don't do it.



When the day is over, make sure to keep all garbage out of reach of your

pets. If your pet gets into the garbage, they may get hold of any of the

things I have just talked about.



If your pet will be out and about during the festivities, feed them before

you and your guests sit down to eat. Doing this will help curb your pet's

tendency to beg. You may want to keep them separated during the meal if

they tend to beg. You may also want to give them something to keep them

busy while you are enjoying your meal. Give them their favorite toy, or give

them a Kong filled with their favorite treat to keep them occupied.





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3) "A Reply to September's Article: Cat Spraying and Urinating;

    Why and How Can I Stop It" - From a Reader



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In September I wrote an article on why cats may spray and urinate in

the home, and what steps you can take to try to stop this behavior. One

of our clients and newsletter readers had an idea about a product that

is out there which is supposed to help with this problem.



She writes...



"Feeliway is what I wanted to tell you about in regards to the catís

spraying and Natureís miracle just for cats. Feeliway is a plug in for

cats and it gives off some sort of hormone that relaxes them and keeps

them from spraying. I have done it in one area of the house and so far

it is helpingÖ (Keep your fingers crossed for me. ) If this doesnít

work, the next stop will be the pond [joke]."

 

"I assume it works for other people as well because every time I go to

PetSmart to get one they are out or only have one left. They are

expensive, about $40.00 to buy the unit and $25.00 for refills but it

is worth it if it saves the furnitureÖ"



Thank you once again Jeanine DiGiacomo. Jeanine has contributed comments

before. She is from Newark, has a Shorthair Terrier named Bijou, and

four cats named Patches, Princess, Blackie, and Cookie, and one more cat

she takes care of named Buddy.



If you no longer have the article, or are a new subscriber, I am

re-printing it for you to read again if needed.



Begin---



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"Cat Spraying and Urinating; Why and How Can I Stop It"



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So you have a cat, or cats, that are spraying, or urinating in your home? Why on earth

do they do this, and how can you stop them from doing it? I will try to give you all that

I know, then you can follow through and hopefully rid yourself of this problem.



Just like dogs mark their territory, so do cats. This is what the spraying is all about. It

marks their territory to tell other cats that this area is theirs, and to stay away. But why

would a house cat need to spray, and why don't other cats do it? And what if your cat

is simply urinating in the house but not spraying?



Illness



The first thing you want to do is to make sure your cat is healthy. Illness can make a cat

urinate in areas other than the litter box. Bladder, stomach, kidney, or intestinal problems

can cause your cat to not only urinate in other areas of the house, but defecate as well.

Stress and poisoning could also be causes. Cats older than 9 years, and cats that have

accidents in many different areas of the house may have an illness.



The first step is to make sure your cat has a check-up, and that illness is not the cause.

Also, don't get angry with the cat. An ill cat does not have control, getting angry at

your cat may cause more stress, which can result in more accidents.



Stress



We all could use a little less stress. This goes for your cat too. Some cats are more

sensitive than others, and you need to look for cues from your cats to see when they

may be more stressed out. Look for changes in their body language, look at the size

of their pupils, and watch to see if they want to run away from things that may stress

them out.



You never know what may cause stress until you observe and learn from your cat. Some

of the more common things that can upset a kitty are changes in litter, change of location

of the litter box, dirty litter box, changes in location of furniture, moving to a

different home, introduction of another pet, changing weather, unwanted attention, changes in food, or going on vacation. All these, and many more may cause your cat to start urinating in unwanted areas.



Like all animals, cats are creatures of habit, and they love a routine. If anything in the routine changes, you may have issues. Keep stress down, and keep your cat happy by keeping

things predictable.



Spraying



One big stress agent is another cat, or cats. Most cats that live together will learn to get

along, or tolerate each other in the home, and there will be no problem. You can foster this

behavior if you play and groom them together. Let them sleep together, and let them eat

together (under supervision at first). These activities will create less tension and less

competition.



If the cats are allowed outside, then there may be a problem. Cats mark their boundaries all

the time when they are outside. If they come in and out, they may not differentiate the two,

and they may continue marking their territory inside as well.



Males are more likely to spray than females, but they both will spray. If you spay and

neuter your cat(s), this may get rid of the problem. If the cats have been spraying for some

time, the behavior is a part of them and it may take a while for them to stop spraying. And

if they continue to go in and out of the house, the behavior may not stop, depending on the

length of time the cat has been an outdoor cat.



Still, spaying and neutering is the best way to prevent cats from spraying. Spay or neuter

your cat before they are 6 months old, and very rarely will your cat spray. And, unless you

are a breeder, you should spay and neuter not only to hopefully prevent unwanted behaviors,

but it is also part of being a responsible owner. Shelters are already overpopulated.



If your cat(s) is not fixed, that time of the month is when you may notice they are spraying

more often. They may be looking for a mate, and spraying is a way to attract the opposite

sex. A cat's scent holds a lot of information that other cats can read when they smell it. 



If you live in a neighborhood with a lot of stray cats, just the sight of the stray cat may

cause your cat to spray. This is your cat's way of saying, "This is my home!" If you invite a stray into your home, you may have problems with it spraying, as discussed above. And if

you already have a cat, this may really cause spraying.



You should not feed the strays that come around if your cat is spraying. If you stop feeding

the stray, it should stop coming around and the problem may go away. If you have a

situation where your cat sprays when it sees a stray, block the view. This may prevent

spraying. If your cat sprays because there are other animals that are causing stress for your cat, separate the animals and the problem may go away.



Cleaning Up



Also, you need to clean the areas that are marked. These areas need to be absolutely free of

the odor. I say this not because you do not want to smell it, but if your cat smells an area that they have marked, they will spray there again and again. They will keep marking their territory.



There are many commercial odor deodorizers out there that work really well. They do not cover up the odors of urine, feces, or marking odors, but instead they neutralize them completely. Do not use any old cleaner that just tries to cover up the odors. They will NOT work. The odors must be neutralized. Again, if your cat can still smell it, they will continue to urinate or spray.



To help change the behavior of your cat spraying, you can use cat repellents. You may want to place foil or wadded up newspaper around the areas, or shallow pans of water. You can also put double-sided tape around the area. These will keep your cat away. You may want to put cat food down at the areas where your cat sprays because they do not want to mark where they eat. You may also spray them with a water bottle if you see they are getting ready to mark. Do not spray them with water any other time. Save this only for when you actually see them getting ready to mark.



As a last resort, confine your kitty cat to a small area. Have a spot for food and water, and a spot for the litter box. In a confined area, your cat will not want to mark because there are no threats. You can then slowly expand your cat's territory.



If you have been having problems, these solutions will take time and committment to use. Just try one thing at a time, and make sure your cats are healthy. You can stop your cats from spraying.



End---





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4) "Tell Us What You Think!"



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We'd love to hear what you think of this issue! This is

just one issue, with much more important information

coming in future months.



Please send your comments, questions, and ideas for

upcoming issues to us at:



rdelgado@thewoofpack.com



Your feedback matters to us!





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Copyright 2006 by The Woof Pack.

All rights reserved.



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