Feline and Pet News

In Hilo, Hawaii, New Hospital Sees First Dolphin Die

iselyfeline — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:02:42 +0000

In big island animal medical related news, it was reported by Ron Mizutani, that a male, estimated at 200 pounds, “showed no signs of bruising…..” It was loaded into a rescue vehicle and taken to the rehabilitation facility for dolphins and small whales at UH Hilo on the big island at 11 p.m. Wow there is some really nice real estate over there in those parts. All in all, the patient was an adult male striped dolphin was first sighted by residents Monday afternoon. The story was written up by Ron Mizutani, reporting for KHON News, yesterday, June 16, 2010, under the headline; Rescued dolphin dies but not before a fight. For his part, Mizutani writes that the rescue of a stranded dolphin off Miloli’i on the Big Island gave the state’s new hospital its first patient. David Schofield, NOAA marine mammal response coordinator was quoted as saying, “Those folks under our direction were able to stabilize (him)…..” Schofield added it was their first patient overall. This first patient received immediate attention and was ministered to round the clock until it expired Tuesday afternoon. Schofield had reported, “Starting last night at midnight the dolphin has gotten (the attention)….” Switching topic for aquick moment, if you are in need of a leading big island real estate then allow me to directg you to Sotheby’s. They are good because they have been handling both residential and commercial real estate transactions for a very long time in Hawaii. Mizutani reported in his article that the dolphin was given steroids and antibiotics and X-rays screening for pneumonia. It is believed the animal was suffering from an virus or infection.
Before the dolphin died it was reported that, “The prognosis while we’re saying stable yet critical….”
Schofield reportedly commented, “When dolphins strand, people’s natural instinct is to push those animals back out into the ocean, “Free Willy” if you will, but these animals are very, very sick….”
Humans seem to feel a connection to dolphins, and It’s always hard for to see them suffer.
Mizutani writes that Hilo’s newest hospital gave the dolphin a fighting chance and will do the same in the future for other animals needing care near the big island.

Los Angeles area family suffers from Dog Bite

iselyfeline — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:15:50 +0000

I generally report primarily positive news when it comes to the subject of dog, cat and other animal stories on this blog, but the reality is that sometimes there are some unfortunate and negative headlines out there concerning dogs and other animals. All in all, it is probably more of a reflection on society in general and dog owners in particular than on the animals themselves.
While taking an afternoon stroll with their mother three children were attacked by a pack of dogs. In Fontana California, San Bernardino California-a group of dogs attacked three children who are all ten years old or younger. These children were brutally attacked as they were walking down the street with her mother Monday, 1 February 2010. Incidentially if you reside in southern Cal. and need an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer then I can suggest Robert mansell, he is one of the best in the city of angeles when it comes to personal injury related cases.The poor children who suffered this attack were bitten viciously by the school of dogs and some of the kids are still hospitalized, and one is having trouble breathing on her own, the
Los Angeles Times reported. The police department in Fontana reported that three children who are siblings, an 8-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy, and five-year-old girl were taking a stroll with their mother. They were walking along the train tracks when a pack of five vicious dogs bite and attacked them. The dogs, were mixed with pit bulls and mastiff, they had recently escaped from their house where
they were kept in the backyard. They escaped by digging underneath the fence which enabled them to roam free and maul innocent children.

Why Are Dogs So Different From Wolves and From Each Other?

iselyfeline — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:16:49 +0000

Hey guys, just got back to Salt Lake City and I figured it was time to get back to writing: The answer to that dog question in the title is so unexpected, if not for a Russian geneticist named Dmitri Belyaev, the answer might never have been guessed. In Belyaev’s village in Siberia, a group of fox farmers asked him if he could help them to breed a less vicious fox. He started out with the tamest of the group’s foxes. He bred them, and after 10 generations of breeding only the tamest of foxes–a very unexpected thing happened!
The tails of the foxes began to turn up. The ears started turning down. They began to bark–and foxes are not supposed to bark! No need for dog grooming services for them. They started to have variations in their coats. It was theorized that tamer (less easily frightened) animals do not produce as much adrenaline as wilder animals. This was borne out with a test of the foxes’ adrenaline levels. Scientists know that adrenaline is on the same biochemical pathway that also goes to melanin, which accounts for coat color.
It is now thought that the variations in the animals are correlated to hormone levels. As a side note if you need salt lake city dog grooming services in Utah then take a peak at Coddles Critters, they are among the elite such dog grooming outfits, in my humble opinion, in all of Salt Lake City. These hormones set off changes that caused the amazing degree of variation in the foxes. Because it is highly likely that the tamest wolves were the ones who were attracted to man, and vice-versa, that the “tame” hormones were selected-for over the generations, causing the wolf to become the dog we know today. No need for grooming a wolf I suppose.

Michael Vick Returns, does not do much

iselyfeline — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:40:29 +0000

Just got back from Houston by auto, time to blog. As it turns out, the Philadelphia Eagles did not require too much from disgraced exc convict Michael Vick to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs (are they in Missouri or Kansas, I remeber almost having a car accident in the former?). Anyway, they did not require a damn thing really from Mr. Donovan McNabb or Mr. Brian Westbrook either. It was an overwhelming victory
you might say and reminds me of a recent Houston game. They recieved quite substantial contributions from their young players as well as their second string type players in their resounding defeat of the Kansas City chiefs, a very proud franchise indeed, much like Houston. For his part, Kevin Kolb threw for more than three hundred yards and had 2 decisive td passes, while LeSean McCoy had more than eight yards while rushing plus a td of his own.
As if this were not enouph firepower DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek both had in excess of a hundred or so yards receiving plus one score for Philadelphia (2-1).
McNabb missed his 2nd consecutive game with a busted up rib bone, unfortunately for his team.
In the meantime, Westbrook sat out with a bad ankle but luckily for them it was not an issue versus their opponents Kansas City, who are yet to win a game this season. Kolb, a third-year pro making his second career start, and McCoy, a rookie second-round pick, filled in nicely. All the while, Vick was primarily functioning as an auto decoy. But this is a pet news blog, not a sports blog, so let’s get to the real reason that I am running this story:
While playing in his first non playoff game since December 31, 2006, the now infamous Vick ran 1 time for seven yards plus threw 2 incomplete passes. He had served eighteen months in jail on a federal dogfighting charge, but did not have to wait very long to get back on the gridiron, as it tuned out.
Some had counted him out and thought his career was over following the horrid and horrifically cruel animal abuse charges against him. As an aside if you happen to require a top flank (no pun intended) Houston auto lawyer then may I suggest this fine resource as he is one of the best car accident lawyer or attorney in all of Houston, in my opinion. As it stands, he made his entrence to a semi-standing ovation, which probably came as a surprise to many and certainly to the dismay of PETA and other animal rights activists, who probably see his very appearence as an afront to human decency in general. I mean, to them, OJ Simpson looks like a saint by comparision.To us pet fanatics he is kind of like a cross between Darth Vader and Bernie Madoff, with a bit of Kenneth Lay thrown in for good measure. Lucky for him he has a good lawyer.

Man Holds Lost Dog Hostage For Cash Or Sex

iselyfeline — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:39:26 +0000

In some criminal defense related news which will certainly offend most pet lovers who read this, according to reports the Los Angeles County Prosecutors Office has alleged that a man tried to obtain cash or sex from a teenager after finding the teens lost dog in order to have the dog returned.
The man known as a convicted sex offender is identified as Alfredo Dempkey age 27 and resident of Lancaster according to the Deputy District Attorney Jan Perlstein. Dempkey they state found the dog on Friday in Lancaster where he is a resident and used the information on the tags to contact the owner.
This guy really needs a good Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, but I am not sure he deserves one.
Prosecutors have stated the meeting was arranged at a fast food restaurant and Dempkey was arrested for extortion. They also state that the dog was returned to its teenage owner and Dempkey has been scheduled for arraignment.

Feeding Your Kitty

iselyfeline — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:21:33 +0000

Many of us spend our days without giving much thought to what’s in the food we eat. Have you ever wondered what’s in your cat’s food? Do you know if your cat food is actually good for your cat?

Cats are, by nature, obligate carnivores – which means they require a diet rich in protein to flourish. They can eat some other things as well, such as sugars, but since they have short digestive tracts their systems aren’t quite suited to digesting vegetables and some grains, especially as a major part of their diet. Because of this, you might want to hold off on switching Kitty to a vegan diet.

What should your cat’s food contain? When you read the food label, the first ingredient listed should be protein. What you don’t want to see are a lot of by-products, which are basically those parts of animals and plants that are not eaten by humans. Additionally, you don’t want to see a lot of fillers. personally, i recommend a premium cat food such as from Life’s Abundance. For me, premium is simply the best way to go.

Fillers are normally made up of grain, some of which cats find hard to digest – such as corn. Some cat foods may contain as much as 50% grain as filler. Now, you can imagine what this will do your cat if he finds the food difficult to digest — that will be one unhappy cat. Giving your cat this type of food, depending on the cat, could result in some health issues, or in a cat that simply won’t eat.

When you do go shopping for food, also be sure to check the expiration date, as cat food, even though it’s dry and made with preservatives, doesn’t last forever. Additionally, once opened, even dry cat food will lose its freshness after several days, so be careful not to buy huge heaping bags of cat food without storing it properly in air tight containers after opening it.

It’s important to find cat food that meets your cat’s nutritional requirements, a cat food that is “balanced” and which contains Taurine, a nutritional element that cats’ bodies need but cannot product on their own.

Do you know about the Cat Flu?

iselyfeline — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:34:50 +0000

Did you know that cats can get something called “Cat Flu”? It’s nothing anything they catch from people, so don’t worry about you passing your cold to your cat; rather it’s caused by a virus that only attacks cats, resulting in a totally miserable cat – a cat that won’t get up, walk around, or eat their cat food.

How did I find out about Cat Flu?
I happened to adopt two kittens from a shelter several months ago and brought them home with me to live with my other two older cats. Unfortunately, I did I know that my cute little kittens were harboring the makings of cat flu that would soon spread to my other healthy adult cats, wreaking havoc on my household for about ten days.

I noticed it suddenly – both older cats, seemed unusually lazy. Actually, I would characterize them as looking quite miserable. All in all, this was quite odd for them, especially their new lack of interest in their cat food. By the way, one thing that can help to stengthen their immune system to prevent this from happening in the first place is to obtain a good premium cat food like Life’s Abundance from Dr. Jane Bicks. A premium cat food can really help over the long haul and may save you vet’s bills down the line as well..

Now back to the story: The bigger male feline had it worse. Prior to this, he would lie in the middle of the kitchen floor, his front paws crossed in front on him casually, while his back legs were generally flat out behind him, making him look like a he was in the middle of a gigantic leap, but we soon noticed that when he got into that position, he could not get up. He struggled to get his back legs up underneath his body, and my husband and I grew extremely worried, as he only seemed to get worse. We took him to the vet, but the vet told us she didn’t know what was wrong.

Over the next few days, we noticed that while our older female cat was still quite miserable, she’d get up and eat cat food, and use the litter box while the male cat would just lie in one place for hours. My sister-in-law, a nurse who has cats herself, warned us that the cat needed to eat and drink or that his kidneys would fail.
It wasn’t until this strange illness had passed that we came across “cat flu” on the internet – the symptoms of which matched perfectly what our cats had gone through.

So words to the wise: if you adopt a pet from a shelter and bring it home to other pets, segregate it for at least two weeks to make sure any germs the new pet may be incubating are gone before it gets exposed to your current house pets. It may be a bit inconvenient, but it could save you a lot of unnecessary stress to both you AND your pets.

Properly caring for your Dog

iselyfeline — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:21:48 +0000

When it comes to taking care of your pet dog, it is important to make sure that you are paying attention to the dog food you give him/her. All dog food is not created equal. Instead of just going with the cheapest or the first brand you see on the store shelves, it is important to make sure that you are getting the best for the dog. There are a lot of dog foods out there that are not as good for pets as they could or should be. It is vital to make sure that the treats and supplements that are being bought for the dog are just as healthy.

The first thing that you will want to take into consideration when looking at buying dog food is the list of ingredients. If corn, wheat, or soy is the first ingredient listed then you will want to go with a different kind of food or a different brand altogether. This is because the first ingredient that is listed is the ingredient that makes up most of the food. Corn, wheat, and soy should never be the main ingredient in your dog’s diet. The best thing to be listed as the main ingredient in the dog food is that of protein from an animal source. A healthier choice is, chicken meal as to “poultry” meal

You will need to avoid things such as artificial flavors or preservatives. Preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and Ethoxyquin have been proven to be extremely harmful to dogs when used over a long period of time. When preservatives are needed, natural sources such as vitamins are the best things to use. Even though this means that you will have to spend a little extra time in the research of your dog food label, it is well worth it for the health of your dog.

Also make sure that you know just how exactly the food is manufactured, where it is manufactured, and whether or not the company has high quality control procedures. Just as making sure the ingredients are proper for your dog, it is important to make sure that where the food is being made and how it is being made is beneficial to your dog as well. You will also want to make sure that you are double-checking to make sure whether there have ever been any recalls on the brand of dog food that you are looking at in order to make sure that your pet is completely safe.

Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. Please click here if you would like more information on Lifes Abundance healthy dog food

Your Pets Seasonal Coat Health

iselyfeline — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:31:31 +0000

Your Pets Seasonal Coat Health
Filed under: General Pet News — iselyfeline @ 8:45 pm
This article orginally appeared in part of the October 2008 Healthy Pet net newsletter and was written by holistic et Dr. Jane Bicks:
As we moe into the wintertime, most of us will be turning up the heat. Sadly however, heated houses are quite often too dry, which may lead to ultra skin. This constant dryness can sometimes cause skin cells to die out at an increased rate. When you notice dandruff, which is the sloughing off of clumps of dead skin cells, this is a clear sign of this type of overly dry skin. The hair of the coat also dries out, leading to increased shedding.
To fight the constant dryness, consider using a humidifier during the months that you use central heat. Humidifiers, which are broadly available these days, may cure this issue swiftly and on the relative cheap. The use of a humidifier will not only help the skin and coat of your dog or cat, it could help to improve the health of your own skin as well.
As has been mentioned in earlier articles, various nutritious cat foods such as Life’s Abundance and Instinctive Choice can go a long way to improving the health of the coat and the skin, which is the body’s largest organ. Life’s Abundance is in fact a truly Premium Cat Food ….As a matter of fact, most of the protein content cats eat goes to help support the skin and coat – over 90%. Adding a nutritional daily supplement like Life’s Abundance Wellness Food Supplement to your cat’s diet can also provide much needed aid in keeping the coat lustrous and the skin pliable and healthy, all winter long. It is so important to go with a real premium cat food.

Has someone been “Putting on the Dog”

iselyfeline — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:29:01 +0000

The phrase, “putting on the dog” refers to individuals who try to appear either rich or more important than they truly are. If you were to walk down the dog food aisle in a supermarket or pet store, the front of the bags would sound very impressive, assuring you of total nutrition for every stage of a dog’s life. Yet in reality, many of these particular dog food firms are grossly guilty of “putting on the dog”. Before you put anything “in” your dog, flip those bags of dog food over to read the label a little more carefully.

Do you wish your dog to be well, obedient and live to a ripe old age? Researchers concluded that dogs have the potential to live to twenty years, but really, the vast majority of dog companions struggle to get past the ten-year point. As a matter of fact, Vets are seeing an increasing amount of heart and respiratory disease, joint problems and other ailments. These particular shelters are chock full of dogs that left their “forever homes” since they exhibited hostile and even violent behavior.

All of these specific wellness issues may have a strong basis in the type and quality of food these dogs have been given. Premium is of course better than the more mainstream type brands, as the pet food recall confirmed. It is not enough to simply fill up a bowl with any kind of dog food so your pet does not get hungry. Dog owners should really evaluate what is going into the dog’s dish as those ingredients may mean a better life or one that is filled with health and wellness issues. Purchase a premium dog food. Usually, this type of food is not sold in supermarkets and not even at your veterinarian’s office.

Before making a selection of dog food, turn the bags over and read the list of ingredients. If more than 2 of them contain grain products, like corn or wheat, the food is mostly vegetable protein, which provides less in the way of nutritional value.

In addition, if the bag lists “by-products” it’s best to simplyleave it on the shelf. By-products of animals can mean the head, feet and intestines. There is practically zero nutritional value in this ingredient. Look for chicken “meal” or lamb “meal” which does indeed provide a much greater degree of animal protein. Also, avoid foods that contain preservatives, like BHT or BHA. They can be harmful to your pet’s health. Canned food very often has more preservatives because they are needed to keep the food fresh. Furthermore, canned food has a much high water content and that should be considered in your dog food buying decision, especially if you live in the more humid climates like Florida, Georgia or Alabama. Dogs often do very well on dry dog food alone, and the crunching action helps keep their teeth cleaner.

If you want to give your dogs treats, the same rules apply. Check the list of ingredients. Try not to get your dog “hooked” on cheap treats with no nutritional value because that may make it difficult to offer a premium dog food that is not artificially enhanced with flavor additives.

Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. You may click here if you would like more information on premium dog food There is also a lot of additional useful information there such as an FAQ and dog food comparision chart as well.