Pleasing 4 Pets

A great number of UK citizens accept that it costs a certain amount to maintain and care for their pets, and most of them regard it as money well spent.

Disappointingly, when some pet owners encounter financial difficulties, a number of them take it for granted that their pets ought to be the primary outlay that they cut out when their animal companion’s basic requirements appear too costly.

It is distressing to imagine that in these situations individuals will turn their backs on their pets and abandon them but this appears to be increasingly more frequent than you might believe.

Animal rescue centres across the country are being inundated with abandoned pets and some are even appealing for compassionate and caring animal lovers to offer short term foster homes to animals that have been discarded by their previous owners.

Dogs in particular seem to be suffering at the hands of the nationwide credit crunch. Dog shelters in Gloucester are reported to be filled to capacity and with operating costs increasing rapidly thanks to escalating energy bills some are struggling to cope with the demand in shelter for abandoned canines.

One manager at a Rescue Centre in Gloucester said recently:

“We’ve had more dogs in this year than ever before and there has been a definite rise in the last few weeks. There’s no doubt that it is down to the credit crunch. People just can’t afford to keep their dogs anymore; they’re just dumping them on the streets.”

The RSPCA are imploring pet owners to seek out support from themselves and other animal charities rather than affect suffering on their animals by neglecting them or abandoning them due to financial hardship.

It is essential that ducks and geese kept in captivity have ample access to fresh drinking water.

Time and again this fact is forgotten when the birds have access to water for preening and grooming, but this water can quickly grow to be polluted and unclean.

In an ideal world your pet ducks or geese should have permanent access to a source of clean running water. If this is not achievable you should remember that water containers should be made readily available for your birds and should be cleaned on a daily basis in advance of being filled with clean drinking water.

Geese and ducks are both from the waterfowl family and as such spend a considerable amount of their time both in and around water in their natural habitats, although geese may prefer to spend a little more of their time on land than ducks as they grazers and so will require a decent area of grassy terrain to forage in.

Both types of bird will enjoy spending some time throughout the day carrying out water-related actions, like preening and grooming.

If you are considering adopting either ducks or geese as pets you should take into account their essential requirements for water, and determine if you have suitable water based facilities in which to keep them before you make your final decision.

There has been a spate of articles in the news recently reporting an increase in the number of people keeping reptiles and amphibians as pets from lizards and snakes to salamanders and newts.

Reptiles and amphibians are both intriguing and enchanting animals and are amazingly diverse when it comes to adapting to new environments. Subsequently they have demanding and precise guardianship requirements too, which when they are adopted as pets without due care and consideration, often on impulse can unfortunately result in suffering and distress for such animals.

The vast majority of reptiles and amphibians are quite often inhibited and will be apprehensive around strangers, mainly due to the fact that in their natural habitat they can be vulnerable to attack from predators. For this reason excessive and unnecessary human contact can have a negative impact on a reptile’s wellbeing.

A lot of reptiles depend on external sources of heat and will also necessitate access to UV-B light in order to manage their intake of vitamin D, ensuring strong bones and good overall health. This is not always recognised, particularly in inexpert reptile owners and unfortunately as a result skeletal disorders are frequent amongst captive reptiles and amphibians.

Before taking a reptile or amphibian as a pet you should consider your decision thoroughly, bearing in mind that in order to care for such a pet appropriately you will likely have to do a vast amount of study into the supervision and care of your chosen pet, in addition to acquiring and maintaining any equipment essential to keep it happy and healthy.

You should also take into account that your local veterinary surgery may not have a comprehensive understanding of reptile or amphibian health and wellbeing, so you should endeavour to locate a specialist veterinary surgery before reaching your final decision.

When you lose a much cherished pet there are certain challenges that you as an owner must face. Some animal companions do not die out of the blue and can unfortunately suffer crippling and debilitating illnesses in the same way that humans can and unfortunately in these circumstances the owner is faced with the agonising decision of when their pet should be put to sleep. So in addition to their grief at losing a pet, some owners often experience feeling of guilt and culpability for the death of their much loved animal.

Pet memorials are often an effective and heartening way of remembering and honouring the existence of a treasured animal companion that has sadly passed away. A memorial to your precious pet will serve as a permanent testimony to the special bond or mutual friendship that united you as pet and owner.

Some owners choose to bury their animals in a pet cemetery and others decide to have their animals cremated and choose a significant or special place to scatter their ashes.

Many grieving pet owners opt for an intimate ceremony to commemorate the life of a pet and to celebrate the unconditional love and companionship that they offered throughout their lives. This form of tribute can often be of comfort to children who have suffered the loss of a pet, and can be a useful tool in enabling them to understand death and loss.

There are no firm guidelines relating to what you have to do when you lose a pet, but what is important is to allow yourself time to mourn as well as time to recall the happy moments and special memories that you shared.

As the owner of a cat, it’s easy to forget that the ordinary behaviour that they exhibit were traditionally the reasons that they were kept as pets. In days gone by cats were kept as a way to avoid infestations of pests such as rats and mice.

All felines encompass a natural instinct and desire to hunt. The majority of household cats typically prefer to hunt at dawn or duck, opting to pursue weaker and smaller creatures as prey. They each have the required physical capabilities and skills to be successful and proficient hunters.

However, the domestic cats that we know and love often do not choose to seek prey on a daily basis, and when they do hunt, will do so for their own entertainment or amusement and not as a means of acquiring food for themselves. Even the most satisfied and submissive cat will hunt, since they appear to delight in the stalking, pursuit and ambush of smaller, fast moving prey.

After a hunt your cat may often bring you his prey as a gift, an action which he expects to receive praise for, since he believes that he has displayed considerable skill and prowess in order to bring you his prize.

As a means of discouraging their pets from hunting some owners will attach a bell to their cats’ collar to alert birds or other possible prey to their presence. However the vast majority of felines are skilled enough to learn how to keep the bell quiet when hunting and an obvious downside of wearing a bell is that it may alert other predators to the presence of your cat, making them more vulnerable in the outside world.