CatDogBlog

This TV commercial is so incredibly random it has me cracking up every time. It’s all about the Left Side Drive Thru… they have Rap Cat.

Hunting is an entirely natural behavior for cats, even when they are well fed at home. Most cat owners can live with that – even when our ankles become the prey. But what do you do when your sweet, gentle, purring ball of fur deposits a dead carcass at your feet?

Try to keep in mind it’s a trophy he is giving to you. He’s proud of his hunting prowess and wants to share his victories with you. He considers your home a safe and secure den, worthy of being his lair.

Your cat evolved from wild cats, a long line of hunters and predators, and is designed for stalking, hunting and killing. So far, no amount of evolution or domestication has taken the fun out of hunting. Cats enjoy the whole process, stalking patiently and carefully, until they are close enough to pounce.

Cats hunt a variety of creatures. Your cat may bring you anything from mouses to birds, rabbits to squirrels, and lizards to snakes.
Read the rest of this entry »

A breakdown patrol man managed to get a stranded woman’s car started by using her dog. Juliette Piesley, 39, had changed the battery in her electronic key fob but was then unable to start her car, reports the BBC.

When AA patrolman Kevin Gorman arrived at the scene, in Addlestone, Surrey, he found the immobiliser chip was missing. Ms Piesley said her dog George had eaten something, and realising it was the chip, he put the dog in the front seat and started the car with the key.

Mr Gorman said: “I was glad to get the car started for the member. “They will now have to take George with them in the car until things take their natural course. It is the first time that I have had to get a dog to help me to start a car.”

Dogs, like humans, seem to enjoy watching playful competitions among others, and they even gravitate toward winners at the end of the game, according to a recent Animal Behavior journal study that analyzed canine spectators.

The researchers believe their discovery represents the first demonstration of any animal eavesdropping within the context of play. In this case, dogs appear to gain information about another dog or human’s social status and ability just by watching that individual compete.

Pooches excitedly rush toward victors when games finish, not unlike enthusiastic human sports fans at a stadium.

“I believe that within the context of a game, dogs prefer winners because they are likely to be a fun and effective partner with which to play,” lead author Nicola Rooney told Discovery News.

Rooney, a researcher in the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol in England, added, “One plausible function of play is that it serves as a ‘safe context’ in which to test one’s own competitive ability. An animal will learn more from playing with an able partner than with a lower quality one.”

She and colleague John Bradshaw studied 18 canine spectators in a group that included labrador retrievers, springer spaniels and one golden retriever.

In an initial experiment, a dog was matched with a human competitor in a tug-of-war contest over a knotted rope toy. Each of the canine spectators was brought in on a leash to view matches.
Read the rest of this entry »

A museum worker moves the mummy of a dog, dating from between 1100 and 1300, from the Chiribaya culture at El Algarrobal museum, near the port of Ilo in southern Peru. The cat, Ali, is kept by the museum to catch mice.

An ancient Peruvian culture loved its dogs so much it buried them alongside humans and even tossed in some tasty treats for the afterlife. Now, researchers are working to get these very same dogs official breed status.

The dogs, billed Chiribaya shepherds for their llama-herding abilities, were prized by the Chiribaya people who lived in southern Peru before the Incan empire.

Archeologists digging to discover more about the culture have found 43 dog remains dating back 1,000 years. Their bodies were naturally mummified by the region’s desert sands — making their identification as a possible distinct breed much easier.

“In other cultures, dogs were sacrificed. But here the dog’s burial contemplated an afterlife because in some cases it was wrapped in cloths and buried along with food in a cemetery for humans,” said anthropologist Sonia Guillen, adding that such treatment of pets was only seen before in ancient Egypt.
Read the rest of this entry »

Put four puppies together while mom is sleeping and what do you get? A silent battle with squirming, playful biting, licking, rolling, snorgling…

Time to trim your kitty’s toenails. But while some cats don’t seem to mind when you’re trimming their nails, others just plain don’t like it. And they are not at all shy about letting you know how they feel by squirming and scratching. Following these suggestions for a proper nail trim might help you give your cat a not-so-arduous manicure. Tips below, a full picture by picture guide can be found on Vetmed.wsu.edu.

* Start young. The earlier you start clipping your kitty’s claws, the better used to it she will be. Frequent trims when your cat is young will help diminish any fear. Have your veterinarian show you how to do it the first time.

* Learn the anatomy. Within the center of each toenail is the blood and nerve supply for the nail called the quick. Most cats have light colored nails so you can see the quick, a pinkish area in the middle of the nail. Cutting into the quick will result in pain and bleeding.

* Use the proper instruments. There are a variety of nail trimmers available at pet stores or your veterinarian’s office. Human nail trimmers generally do not work – unless your pet is a young kitten with soft clear nails.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you love cats but they make you sneeze then Joshua could be the pet puss for you!

The 18-month-old feline has been specially bred so that he doesn’t set off allergic reactions in people like coughing, sneezing and itching.

Cat allergies are caused by a protein in the cat’s skin and saliva, but an American company has bred animals that don’t make this protein.

Joshua is ready to be sent to a new home but will cost about £3,000 ($5,650).

The company who bred him said that one of the reasons people give cats up for adoption is because they find they are allergic to them.

It hopes the new breed of non-allergy cat will lead to a drop in abandoned animals.

Previously animal charity the RSPCA criticised breeding cats like this, saying they could develop health problems later in life, repored CBBC.

A stray dog which refused to budge from the home of a recently deceased rabbi has finally moved on after a “redemption ceremony” at an Israeli cemetery.

The dog, pictured in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper Monday, showed up at the house of the late Rabbi Nahman Dubinky.

Rabbis expert in Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, concluded the animal could be possessed by a tortured soul seeking redemption. Ultra-Orthodox Jews traditionally do not keep dogs as pets.

“Sometimes the souls of sinners, such as adulterers or people who slept with non-Jews, enter the body of a dog,” Rabbi Yitzhak Basri, a Kabbalah scholar, told Israel Radio.

“It is known that when a righteous man dies, the souls of people in need of redemption come to him so they can be healed as a result of his death.”

Basri said Rabbi Dubinky’s family, along with a quorum of 10 mourners, carried out a “redemption ceremony” at a cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.

“Afterwards, the dog did indeed leave the house,” he said. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because of all the noise they were making?

A homeless 10-year old caramel-blonde cocker spaniel bested 11 other shelter dogs in an audition on Thursday, winning a walk-on role in a New York musical production of “Annie” in December.

Whiskey, who was surrendered by its owner four months ago, dutifully posed for the cameras, eagerly chased a cookie when asked to, and even gave Marissa O’Donnell, the 12-year-old actress who plays “Annie”, a big surprise kiss.

That was all Whiskey had to do to win over the judges, members of the media, and about 100 onlookers at the Madison Square Garden where the auditions were held.

“He was actually my first choice because he’s not restless and he’s quite friendly and not afraid of people,” O’Donnell said. O’Donnell, a native New Yorker, will play the title role in the musical, which returns to the New York stage in December for the first time in 10 years.

“Annie” features the adventures of a young orphan girl in finding a family that will take her. Sandy, the main dog in the musical, is played by Lola, picked up from the Connecticut Humane Society.
Read the rest of this entry »