Janie Patton | January 16, 2012
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Make Cat Trees To Keep Your Cat Entertained

 From many online stores that sell cat furniture, the cost for a quality cat tree averages at around $90, from quality cat furniture manufacturers like Armarkat, SmartCat, Best Pet, Go Pet Club and the like. While spending on one is well and good for some, others are not too willing to pay this much for “something the cat will just scratch and climb on”. This is why a lot of people look into making their own cat tree.

 

Cat tree structures

In making cat trees, you will be able to benefit from a considerable amount of savings. This is especially ideal if you know a thing or two about woodworking. Perform an online search on images for cat trees and you will see that the pieces of wood used are pretty basic in cut. These are basically thick square pieces of plywood. For the columns, you can obtain cylindrical pieces of wood and cut them in varying heights, or you could use a tough material to wrap around long blocks of wood, and then cover the pieces with some carpeting or sisal material.

 

Cat tree plans

Another way to ensure that you are doing things right is to refer to cat tree plans. A lot of plans for cat trees can be downloaded online. One site sells as much as 10 different cat tree plans for under $10. There are also a Squidoo website that offers free plans for cat trees. Referring to these plans will allow you to at least get an idea on if you come close to how professionals are making their cat trees. The important things to consider when making cat trees are balance, steadiness and quality. The structure will need to hold up and not topple over when your cat jumps on it, or when your cats chase each other around on the cat tree.

 

Materials needed for making a cat tree

Some of the materials that you will need when you make your cat tree are paper core tube or rounded (cylindrical) wood pieces, a heavy base board of fir or spruce pine (taller cat trees will need to have a heavier base, for steadiness), sisal rope, glue, staples, carpet, nails, as well as some tools like a hammer, and a pair of scissors for cutting the carpeting, or a razor blade or knife of some sort. This cutting tool should allow you to cut the carpeting evenly, without damaging the material. You can buy materials from plenty of online stores and sellers that carry supplies specifically for those looking into making their own cat furniture. You can also buy materials in bulk, if you intend to make several cat trees and wish to give some as gifts to your loved ones.

 

Category: Cats | Tags: ,
Salina Dunn | January 15, 2012
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How To Rid Your Dog Of Fleas

Fleas are naturally attracted to dogs and breed rapidly in their coats especially if the fur is thick. While there are two types of domestic fleas – cat fleas and dog fleas, the former is more common in American homes and breeds on both dogs and cats. Fleas can proliferate rapidly so at the first sign you should take appropriate steps. Getting rid of fleas once they have infested your home is not an easy task and might need professional intervention. But you can get rid of fleas on dogs if you act immediately and do not give the fleas a chance to breed. By not taking immediate action, you risk having the fleas transferring to your family members including babies and children. Flea bites can cause irritation and allergy to children and pregnant women. The formation of itchy lumps on human skin is the symptom that fleas are present in the home. Hence, you need to remove the fleas from its source host which is the pet.

Fleas on dogs

What is the best way to get rid of fleas on dogs?

When you notice your dog scratching vigorously, biting and licking its skin, examine its fur for signs of fleas.  You can recognize them as small insects that move rapidly or even leap when discovered. You will have to treat your dog for fleas, and at the same time treat your home as the fleas would have spread and laid their eggs which will soon hatch and multiply. While your home needs to be vacuumed and treated with a suitable pesticide, you should take more care with your dog. Use a flea-specific pesticide, flea dip or flea powder which is recommended by your veterinary store which will not harm your dog. Apply it over the fur as recommended in the instructions taking care to work it deep into the skin where the fleas shelter. To make fully certain you are rid of fleas, repeat the process after a week.

Category: Dogs | Tags: ,
Denny Cooley | January 9, 2012
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Training Your Dog

Just got a new dog and want to teach it some tricks? Training a dog is actually quite fun, depending on the dog that you get. In general, dogs will do something if they know they will get rewarded for it just like in sales (read Vector Marketing and Herbalife reviews) or any other job. We will do more of the things that we know will bring us some benefit. So here are a couple of tips for training your dog. Keep in mind that these tips are just from my own experience and they just happened to work for me.

The first tip is to catch your dog doing something right, then reward him/her for it. Let’s say you want your dog to bark on command. Since dogs bark all the time, try snapping your finger and saying the word “bark” while it’s barking. Repetition is key. After a while, test it out while the dog isn’t barking. Snap your fingers and say the word “bark”. If your dog starts to bark, reward it.

You can also use the negative to teach it to do something as well. For example, I trained my dog to not eat food that is place in front of him until I say he could. I basically did this by saying “no” a lot and if he did eat the food, I’d take the rest of it away. Eventually, I was able to leave food out and he wouldn’t eat it unless I said it was okay. Obviously, these tricks are more just to see how well you can train your dog. The fun comes in other things like telling him to sit, roll over, come sit by your side, crawl, or even go into his doghouse. It’s all a matter of rewarding for right behavior and using repetition.

Category: Pet training | Tags:
Salina Dunn | January 5, 2012
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Pet Fountains Are Amazing

Pet water fountains may seem like a strange item, but I’ve found them to be amazingly efficient and I think my two cats would miss it terribly if I ever took the fountain away from them.  I wasn’t exactly convinced when I first saw a pet fountain in the store, but after thinking about it for a bit, I decided to give the Drinkwell Platinum pet fountain a try.  My cats love running water so I knew they’d like it if it worked correctly, and to my surprise, it works like a charm.

I decided on the Platinum fountain because it holds a lot more water than Drinkwell’s other cat model, the Original.  It holds 168 ounces of water when full, and that’s more than enough to sustain my cats for over a week, provided they don’t spill a bunch.  The Original model is much smaller and considering the price difference, the Platinum makes more sense I think.  Though the Platinum fountain only allows one animal to drink the running water at a time, it really hasn’t been a problem in my household.

The other great thing about the fountain is that the filtration system keeps the water clean for my cats.  They tend to get small bits of food in their water from time to time, but the filter takes care of that problem.  Hair in the water also gets taken out by the filter.  Filters do need to be changed every other month or so, but they’re pretty inexpensive so it’s not too big of a deal.

The only complaint I do have about the fountain is that cleaning it does take time and it’s recommended that you do it about once a week.  I guess this is a necessary evil if I want to give my cats running water at all times during the day.  A more thorough cleaning is recommended once a month and I try to keep up with this as well, but there are some times when I just don’t get to it.

All in all, it’s been a good investment and my cats sure enjoy it.

Category: Pet supplies |