Tag: pets

garrow-the-khajiit:

musicalhell:

thehappyvet:

thehappyvet:

Guess what?! There is a miracle cure for parvovirus but it’s not what youtube and natural health bloggers would have you believe. It’s not feeding them charcoal, colloidial silver, homeopathic vaccines, capsules full of faeces from a dog that currently has parvo, oregano, garlic… not even a raw food diet.

It’s vaccinating your fucking puppy.

Reblogging since we’ve euthanased at least 20 dogs in the last two weeks due to a positive parvo test 😭😭😭 please vaccinate your puppies!!

Wait, are you telling me the anti-vax crowd has moved on to pets now?  What are they afraid of, a rise of feline autism?

Antivaxers are literally the stupidest group of people possible, so they probably are.

Also, anti-vaxxers tend to have convinced themselves (somehow) that the vaccine is somehow more dangerous than the disease it prevents against. Or that it doesn’t actually protect against the disease. They believe vaccines are a conspiracy, basically.

thehappyvet:

Guess what?! There is a miracle cure for parvovirus but it’s not what youtube and natural health bloggers would have you believe. It’s not feeding them charcoal, colloidial silver, homeopathic vaccines, capsules full of faeces from a dog that currently has parvo, oregano, garlic… not even a raw food diet.

It’s vaccinating your fucking puppy.

kaijutegu:

sunfish-exotics:

incarniunknown:

I hate it when people refer to their reptiles as their collection. Imagine someone doing this with their dogs. Imagine someone uploading a video on YouTube named “Check out my Husky Collection”. People would go nuts. But when you do it with reptiles it’s apparently okay.

How exactly is that bad husbandry? (referring to your tag)
I’m genuinely curious.

A mixed group of animals is called a collection. It’s not people saying they’re just objects, it’s the actual term with a specific meaning. It’s a zoo term, which is probably where we got it from. The reptile keeping hobby has deep zoo roots- the folks who got it started helped supply zoos. Many of them were/are zookeepers- Trooper Walsh is a great example of this. Today, he’s known for his private breeding and his association with captive chondros, but he’s also responsible for figuring out how to breed Komodo dragons in captivity at the National Zoo. Here’s some examples of zoos using the term. 

In addition, reptiles aren’t domestic animals. There isn’t a widely-accepted group noun for them. Dogs have kennels/packs, horses have strings/herds, cats have clowders, although that one’s not used so much- but that kind of mass collective noun doesn’t exist for captive reptiles, especially a mixed collection.

Just because you don’t like a term doesn’t make it bad husbandry.

tinysaurus-rex:

petcareawareness:

People seriously underestimate the impact the media has on notions of pet ownership and what people can handle in animals.

Books, movies, TV, and internet videos from Youtube, Instagram, and The Dodo often show animals in their best moments, or even acting because they’ve been trained to do certain tasks (or are animated as humanlike characters). The fact is that the vast majority of people, even those who already have pets, have a very low or nonexistent level of animal literacy; what they take away from that kind of media oftens turns into “I want that animal as a pet.” 

People who watched Finding Nemo created an explosion of demand for clownfish and blue tangs; Harry Potter, owls; 101 Dalmatians for dalmatians, etc etc etc. When the decision to get a pet modeled after the cute, photo-ready animals seen on a screen is made, there is zero consideration as to whether or not their needs can be met and if people can actually handle them. 

Media featuring animals inevitably creates a boom of abandonment and huge environmental impact precisely because people who were in over their heads and acted purely on a whim got their dose of reality, and it’s incredibly heartbreaking to have to see the news detailing such cases. These are just some examples: 

  1. Yearly reminders have to be passed around telling people not to buy rabbits on Easter unless they’re committed to actually taking care of them  
  2. Thousands of dalmatians were abandoned when families discovered that they are very energy intensive, broody work dogs that are not suited to families with small children, unlike the cuddly Perdita and Pongo
  3. Similarly, huskies and malamutes were surrendered to shelters when people realised they are not loyal Westeros direwolves
  4. Entire ecosystems in Europe and southern Asia lost valuable apex predators when people began poaching them to sell to fans who wanted their own Hedwigs and Errols, and again abandoning them en masse when they discovered owls are highly aggressive, loud, messy, and nocturnal
  5. Japan imported thousands of North American raccoons after the release of the Disney movie Rascal, people let them loose in the wild, and Japan now has a problem trying to figure out what to do with their enormous pest population that has no natural predator in place to control their numbers
  6. Pacific Reefs suffered greatly when people demanded to have clownfish and blue tangs as pets, especially considering they were caught by being stunned with sodium cyanide, which, additionally, severely damages coral as well. NatGeo estimates that up to 90% of tropical fish imported by the US are caught by way of cyanide fishing; this often ends up for naught as these fish are often flushed down the toilet or released to the wild in other ways, which is also why the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico are under threat by voracious invasive species like lionfish   

The gist is that the media perpetuates this cycle of people reading about or seeing animal characters, demand is created, people impulse buy those animals, and then leave them for shelters to care for or release them to the wild when they get a rude awakening and find they’re actually unable to deal with those animals. 

This isn’t even counting other animals like “mini” pigs, chihuahuas, snakes, foxes, etc etc etc. And we can’t exactly blame this on over enthusiastic children when it’s adults who have the purchasing power to buy a pet, and who choose to do zero research, and who choose to indulge said children or even themselves when that I Want the TV Animal as a Pet urge comes on. 

Ignoring what is essentially weaponised cuteness used for online likes is hard, especially when faced with such palatable stuff like that gif of the owl riding the tablet stylus, or the plethora of cat videos. But it costs very little effort to not only educate yourself on the needs of animals and to also not encourage a rapacious pet trade industry, but to communicate that to others so that, hopefully, we won’t have to see things like Peter Dinklage and Jo Rowling having to make statements to the news because of this problem. 

–Mod Nick

Y’all seen the movie Paulie? It’s about a blue crowned conure that can talk. The movie was actually really good imo, and did a good job of showing that parrots DONT make good pets. Yet despite this, after the movie came out there was high demand for blue crowned conures…also the whole point of Nemo was that we need to stop catching wild fish as pets…uhck…

petcareawareness:

gettingintovet:

I live in
Australia, were pretty much 98% of cat owners seem to have outdoor cats, and
then we all equally complain about our fading endangered wildlife and
overpopulated strays. Granted, I grew up in a family that pretty much got a cat
for funsies and then just let it roam and come inside for food and a cuddle. As
I’ve gotten older I’ve definitely given an ear to people who talk about the
wildlife and how dangerous it is for cats but have never been able to fully comprehend
what they mean.

I think after
you work in a general/emergency vet clinic it quickly changes your once-unsure
opinion on outdoor cats, and I confidently say I will never, NEVER have a
roaming cat again.

My first night
working I had some poor owners walking in balling while holding their dying cat
after being hit by a car. I’d never seen a HBC (hit by car), and it is one of
the most terrible things I tell you.

The amount of
times I have “stray HBC cats” rushed in by a founder only for me scan them and
rush them down to the hospital only to get their owner on the phone saying “but
I only just saw her 20 minutes ago”.

Every week now:

  • Horrific
    motor vehicle accidents
  • Lost
    ‘strays’ being bought in after an accident and there’s only so much you can do
    as you can’t reach their owners
  • Countless
    phone calls asking if their lost cat has come through
  • Unchipped
    wandering cats that now have no home (happens to dogs too, please microchip)
  • Terrible
    dog attacks
  • Snake
    bites
  • Poisonings
  • Respiratory
    infections
  • Mysterious
    broken limbs
  • Cat
    fight infections and wounds
  • Cat
    fight abscesses
  • FIV
  • FeLV
  • FIP
    (arguably indoor cats get these too, but it feels more common in outdoor
    animals)
  • HUGE
    worm loads
  • Very sick cats that their owners didn’t notice before because
    they toilet and vomit outside (out of view)
  • Generally the 16-22 year old cats I see are all pretty much indoor kitties
  • (injured wildlife) Regardless of how you feed them, they will hunt the wildlife

Not only it is
an epidemic to our slowly-wiltering wildlife population but your cat is not
better off anyway. I will never have
an outdoor cat again, and I don’t really know why I hadn’t realized this sooner
(I lost one of my cats HBC and my other two just never came home one day, I’ve
never had a cat past the age of 7, I loved them so much, but was too young and
it never crossed my mind that it was dangerous for them).

For some reason
no-one ever complains about apartment cats and that we have to keep our dogs
contained, but as soon as we do it for cats it’s “cruel”.

“Cats are
easier than dogs”, damn well they can be, but that doesn’t mean you feed,
cuddle and forget about them. Clean the litter tray, play with them, build a
cat run, get them cat trees and shelves they can climb on, get slow feeders
they have to hunt for, give them a window ledge to hang out on, teach them
walks are fun, love them, cuddle them, they’ll be around longer if you do.

People will
scoff and call you silly and that it’s too hard, because we’re stuck in this
backwards lazy notion that that is “owning a cat” and have never given it
another thought, we need to change it.

I hope every “but my cat is an outdoor cat and does fine” person who waltzes onto this blog to tell us so sees this

—mod Nick

What’s a good list of things to make sure you have before trying to get a cat? An extended “above and beyond” list?

fantasticbeastsandhowtokeepthem:

fantasticbeastsandhowtokeepthem:

Basics
– one cat tree (at least 4′ tall)
– food/water bowls
– 2 litter boxes (and a scooper! And litter!)
– a hard-sided crate
– at least 1 upright scratching post or hanging scratcher (separate from tree) & 1-2 cardboard scratchers
– treats! 
– a wand/fishing pole style toy
– some small loose toys (balls, catnip toys, springs, fake mice)
– window perch (doesn’t have to be actual perch, but something kitty can sit on to look out a window!)
– vet fund &/or emergency backup of at least $500
– wet food at least once a day if at all possible

Above & Beyond
– multiple cat trees! One for every room! Two in a main room! Additional climbers & raised platforms also count.
– cat shelving mounted on the walls (to make “cat highways” & increase play area)
– water fountain
– puzzle feeders (can be homemade) – http://foodpuzzlesforcats.com
– cat backpack or carrying bag
– harness & leash
– catio
– multiple scratching posts placed around living area
– more toys!! all the toys!! cat toys in every nook & cranny of your house
– set up a bird feeder outside cat window
– tunnels & other play furniture (box towers & such)
– cat wheel 
– heated bed or heating pad under a blanket/bed
– vet insurance
– wet food only or raw diet

Some additional notes:

– Yes, some cats are ground-dwellers, but that seems to be less common, by my impression? I would still get at least a small tree or have the ability to order one once you have the cat if you have a climby one. Most cats seem enjoy the ability to climb if available & it’s good exercise as well. Even if you have furniture, bookshelves, etc. for them to climb, having a thing to climb that’s All Theirs is a good idea, IMO.

– Make sure the food bowl is shallow and wide, and the water bowl is also wide. Cats don’t like to have their whiskers brush on things & wide dishes are more comfortable for them. Multiple water dishes are a good idea to encourage them to drink more (cats often don’t drink enough – wet food is recommended for this reason)

– Place litter boxes in different areas – helps cat mark territory boundaries and prevent possibility of accidents. Look into litter options – generally clumping clay is most commonly used & well received by most cats. Avoid scented litter. There are non-clay options, but best to start with clay & switch slowly as cats can be picky about litter. Clean at least a couple times a week if not daily.

– Hard sided crate is preferred for greater safety during travel. Hard sides will help prevent cat from being crushed or injured by debris & these carriers are more readily recognizable as an animal carrier for emergency personnel to retrieve. If your cat prefers a soft carrier, you could also get one of those, then place soft carrier (with cat inside) in a hard sided carrier for car travel.

– Honestly, probably more scratchers is good even for basics. Best way to prevent furniture scratching = have appropriate alternatives & encourage their use. May need to experiment some to find preferred type of material (carpet, sisal rope, cardboard, etc.) Spread scratchers out as well for territory marking & place scratchers by potential problem areas (furniture you wanna keep safe & such). Use catnip & catnip spray to help attract cat to scratchers & reward for appropriate use.

– Yeah, a lot of cats will play with just trash & random bits & things. But honestly, get a fishing pole/wand toy, they’re really worth it. Might take some practice figure out how to move it so kitty is interested. Can get different attachments for bird-hunters vs ground-prey-hunters & such. 

– I know, money is hard. But vet care is essential. Yearly vet visits are important for cats. You need to be prepared for it & having a vet fund or a credit card or Care Credit ready for emergencies is really important. If you’re an anxious mess like me, have multiple things set up. I have Care Credit, a credit card, and vet insurance, and usually I have a vet fund too (and will again once I can actually save money again). I’m a paranoid fucker.

– These lists aren’t strict. For some cats, a lot of those “Above & Beyond” things might really fall more under “Basics”. They definitely do for Ditto, with how high-energy she is. She absolutely needs cat-appropriate furniture, plenty of toys, and outlets for her energy (like her wheel). And some people may have different opinions on where some of these things fall – I know some people who would consider a wet food only diet to be essential. I was aiming for the “Basics” to include more than what many people are willing to do for their cats, but not too over the top.

A few people on my cat chat have said they would consider a water fountain to be higher priority than a cat tree, so I wanted to reblog to mention that! Reasoning being that there are other ways to allow a cat to climb, but harder to offer running water & most/all cats really do not drink enough. Most cats are more willing to drink from gently running water.

Cats are a danger in Australia. On other continents birds survived cats for thousand of years. The real danger to birds is their loss of habitat. The reason to keep cats in door is their safety. But it won’t save the birds. U less in Australia.

zoologicallyobsessed:

This is an example of why you shouldn’t speak when you know nothing about an issue. 

Anyways cats do pose a big threat to many native animals including birds in many countries: 

UK: 

US: 

Canada:

Europe: 

New Zealand: 

Asia: 

Africa:

Global 

I mean I can go on if you want? 

common practices that need to stop

deadmutt:

-outdoor cats

-exotic pet ownership ((servals, foxes, coyotes, monkeys, etc))

-vegan diets for carnivorous pets 

-obese animals being seen as cute

-”cute” predator/prey interactions ((cats with rodents, snakes with small animals, etc))

-getting pets high 

-intentionally putting animals into uncomfortable situations for the sake of it being funny or cute

Feel free to add more.