Pleasing 4 Pets

There are more than 40 different breeds of mice that are kept as pets in today’s modern world, but most pet shops supply the domestic white, brown or dappled mice that we have all come to recognise.

Most pet mice have been carefully bred in order to boost their most attractive qualities.
Watching a group of pet mice interacting with each other can be a very entertaining pastime. Although mice are sometimes a little mischievous and be slightly more difficult to handle that larger rodents such as rats, they become very tame and can even be hand-fed by their human owners if they are handled regularly from earlier on in their lives.

The average pet mouse lives for 18 months to 2 years, although they have been know to live for as long as 3 years. They are highly sociable animals, preferring to be housed in groups, ideally in pairs of females. Being nocturnal by nature they will be much more active throughout the night than they are during daylight hours.

Your mice should be supplied with a basic diet rolled or whole oats, but you can add hamster food for variety, and carrots and dog biscuits are actually good for their teeth! Mice should always have a good supply of fresh, clean water to drink.

Pygmy goats are becoming increasingly popular as domestic pets thanks in part to their small size and their lively and animated personalities.

Caring for a goat is usually very straightforward and on the whole they are typically very healthy and resilient. But, before you dash out and purchase yourself a brand new pet goat, you should make sure that you would be able to care for it properly.

One of the first things to consider is that goats require ample fencing and although they are one of the smaller breeds of goats, Pygmy goats are no exception. To house a Pygmy comfortably a fence should be a minimum of four feet in height.

Pygmy goats also require good shelter from the extreme weather, including extremely high or low temperatures. Although a goat shelter needn’t be elaborate it should adequately protect them from the wind and the rain.

When setting up a feeding area for your pet goat, you should consider that goats are browsers not grazers and they prefer to eat at a height raised above ground level. Your goat will also require a frequent supply of fresh, clean drinking water.

One of the most popular resorts on the island of Cyprus, Ayia Napa has recently established its very first officially authorised beach solely for animals.

The exclusive beach was sanctioned after complaints from holidaymakers and residents that dogs on the island had no place to cool down in the islands blistering heat.

Ayia Napa on the south-eastern coast of Cyprus is a resort renowned primarily for its all night revelry by tourists from all over Europe. But officials on the island decided to take steps to ensure that mans best friend was as well catered for as his owner!

The mayor of Ayia Napa, Antonis Tsokkos said recently:-

“We have seen lots of people taking their dogs for a walk since the establishment of the designated area, and we have been inundated by phone calls from happy pet owners thanking and congratulating us for this initiative. This initiative has been a long time coming, the fact that no such beach existed had caused problems between dog owners and people who did not want dogs in the area”.

The exclusive area of beach for dogs is Louma, and was historically a place where shepherds on the island would take their sheep to bathe at the edge of the sea. However the designated area has been allocated as a future yachting marina, and so the animal beach will be moved around 200m further away from its current location.

The much loved domestic cat is renowned for bringing its owner ‘gifts’. Often these gifts, usually prey which the cat has hunted for its own amusement or entertainment are presented to their owners, an act for which a cat will expect to be given praise for, since he will consider that he has exhibited significant skill and talent in order to award you your ‘prize’.

Your prize will often be a small bird or a field mouse, but a couple in Kent recently reported that their Siamese cat had been bringing them various children’s soft toys as gifts, which they assumed he had been stealing from their neighbours children.

A feline kleptomaniac is perhaps more common than one might think, but this fact might not appease disgruntled neighbours.

If your cat brings you such unwanted gifts, you should attempt to show him disapproval for his actions and lock him out of the house for a short period with his gift and hopefully this might discourage him from bringing them home.

Once he appears to have lost interest in his stolen booty, you should allow him to enter the house, obviously without his ill gotten gains and offer him a treat by way of reward.

Ensuring that your cat has plenty of toys of his own may discourage him from continuing with such ‘cat-burgling’ antics, and set aside some time each day to play with him and his toys where possible.

The majority of household cats choose to hunt at dawn or dusk, opting to pursue weaker and smaller creatures as their prey, so these are perfect times to engage in play with him.

Nikita Beresford recently revealed that she has always been enthralled by snails and couldn’t have been more pleased when she opened an early Christmas present from John Paul her boyfriend to discover a pair of Giant African Land Snails.

Nikita aged 17 from Upper Stratton, said of her slimy pets:-

“They are brilliant pets to have. When I was younger I always loved snails. I used to put them in a pushchair instead of dollies.

I’ve got lots of little ornaments of snails and things. My boyfriend bought me a glass snail for my birthday.

Then I got the two of them. It was a real surprise but I love them.
Snails can’t hear, but if you tap on the tank and shout their names they come up to the side and look at you.”

The oversized snails are hermaphrodites, which means that they possess both male and female reproductive organs

Nikita’s largest snail, which is named Jimmy, has recently had a litter of baby gastropods, and his buddy Bella is due to have some gastropods of her own very soon.

So the search has begun to find caring homes for the baby snails. Nikita said of the search:-

“The babies are about as big as your fingernails at the moment, but they grow quite big.

They are quite easy to look after. They just need a tank with some soil in it and a cuttlefish.

They eat cucumber and can also have banana, but I don’t like to give them too much because it goes mushy.

You have to bath them to give them a clean. They have got their own container to be bathed. I don’t do it in the bath, because that would be disgusting.

The Giant African Land Snail can develop a shell of up to an amazing 11inches wide whilst their ductile bodies are able to stretch to around 15 inches.

Many caring pet owner pay a great deal of money towards the upkeep of a beloved family pet and would regard it as money well spent. However it would appear that increasing numbers of pet owners are not as compassionate as others when it comes to their animal companions.

The cost of looking after a pet can swell surprisingly in a number of ways. The most apparent costs include food, veterinary bills and standard care. In addition to this you can slot in luxuries such as playthings and treats.

Disappointingly, when things become financially challenging, some pet owners take for granted that their pet should be the first expense that they curtail. Suddenly, a pet’s basic needs can seem too costly. It’s distressing to think that in these circumstances people will abandon their pets but regrettably this can and does transpire all too often and is conceivably more frequent than you might think.

Recently the North Wales Reptile and Raptor Sanctuary in Denbighshire revealed that they have experienced a sharp rise of late in the numbers of abandoned snakes and other exotic pets.

The reptile sanctuary recently received into their care two separate African serrated-hinged turtles which had been abandoned locally.

Janice Dickinson the operational manager of the sanctuary said:-

“When times get hard, pets are often the first things to go. We’ve noticed a real increase in the number of reptiles we’ve had to take on and are very concerned that this is a symptom of the credit crisis.

As a sanctuary we are not immune to the effects of the current economic down turn. We rely very heavily on electricity and there has also been a marked increase in the price of the animal feeds.”

At least 10% of individuals will experience an intense phobia during their lifetime, and one of the most common known phobias is a fear of animals - or Zoophobias.

By definition, a phobia is an illogical and irrepressible fear of a certain entity or circumstance. Some people suffer from such extreme phobias that will go to incredible lengths in their daily lives to avoid the subject of their phobia.

An illustration of this is an individual suffering from a phobia of birds - or ornithophobia may be too afraid to go outdoors in case they encounter one.

When confronted with the subject of their phobia, some suffers may even experience panic attacks.

Others become so stressed when they encounter the source of their phobia that they suffer from panic attacks.

Rather than a general fear of animals some phobics are affected by a fear of certain animals, for example common animal phobias include dogs, cats, mice and spiders.

Regrettably, most phobics never attempt to seek help, although the vast majority of sufferers who do undergo therapy for a phobia are cured.

Some common Zoophobias are:-

Alektorophobia Fear of Chickens
Cynophobia Fear of Dogs
Gatophobia Fear of Cats
Ichthyophobia Fear of Fish
Hippophobia Fear of Horses
Entomophobia Fear of Insects
Musophobia Fear of Mice
Batrachophobia Fear of Reptiles
Ophidiophobia Fear of Snakes

Like their human owners, pets often suffer from a wide range of ailments and as has been mentioned before, it’s a fact of life that on occasion, your cat can become as sick as a dog!

Health insurance is available for pets and can often be purchase with built in liability cover which offers you protection should your pet attack someone or cause an accident on the road.

The National Pet Health Council revealed recently that 50% of domestic pets required veterinary attention every year and research from Sainsbury’s Finance confirmed that over the past five years, 1.6million pet owners have been forced to have their pet put down after being unable to meet the expense of veterinary bills.

Almost all pets can be covered by pet insurance policies from cats and dogs to rabbits or parrots, the pet insurance market can offer cover of some kind to most pets.

Most policies are reasonably priced and generally a policy to cover a domestic cat begins from around £60 per year, although the cost of the policy can be determined by a variety of aspects, inclusive of your post code and the age and breed of your pet.

There are cheaper policies available but it is worth bearing in mind that reduced rate policies often provide less protection that standard polices.

Many comparison websites, such as www.moneysupermarket.com and www.comparethemarket.com permit pet owners to compare prices of pet insurance policies, although these often do not include the entire market.

A national animal welfare charity has revealed that increasing numbers of fretful domestic pets are enduring the misery caused by a range of compulsive disorders when their owners split up.

The People Dispensary for Sick Animals, known as the PDSA are warning that the elevated numbers of relationship breakdowns in the UK is having a serious effect on the health of the domestic pets involved.

The charity has confirmed that veterinary surgeries across the country are observing more and more pets that are showing the various symptoms of obsessive or compulsive behaviours and illnesses which result from emotional trauma.

Concerned officials at the charity are asking the UK’s pet owners to consider the welfare and security of their pets as a crucial part of the break-up process.

One PDSA senior vet advised that canines suffering from the effects of stress will demonstrate signs of compulsive disorder through extensive licking or nibbling of the limbs or excessive tail chasing, whilst cats may resort to chewing blankets or similar woollen items.

He commented:-

“We see cats and dogs with compulsive disorders that have been caused or aggravated by the anxiety associated with owners breaking up.

Cats and dogs, like young children, are sensitive to adult human emotions and when these become tense or unpredictable, this can cause health problems.”

The number of pet owners choosing to travel with their pets is on the increase. Some airlines will allow passengers to travel with a small pet for a small fee as long as the pet will fit into an approved pet carrier which will fit under the aircrafts seats.

Airlines which will allow pets to travel inthe aircraft cabin with their passengers include KLM and Lufthansa, whilst British Airways World Cargo and Virgin Atlantic airlines will only permit pets to travel in the cargo hold. Virgin Atlantic even operate a ‘Flying Paws’ frequent-flyer scheme which enables animals to claim gifts for themselves in addition to banking air miles for their owners.

If you choose to take a flight accompanied by a domestic pet it would be prudent to make reservations for the both of you with the airline as far in advance as is possible, as most airlines will only permit limited numbers of animals on each flight.

The department for environment, food and rural affairs, more commonly known as DEFRA operates a pet travel scheme, which incorporates a ‘pet passport’.

This will enable you to travel with your pet to and from the UK to certain other countries without the necessity of enduring a 6 month quarantine.

To be eligible for a pet passport your pet must be micro-chipped and have been immunised against rabies 6 months prior to departure. Your pet must then pass a blood test which proves that the vaccination was successful.

Domestic cats, dogs and even ferrets are all eligible for the scheme, as well as rodents, rabbits, birds and fish, although the micro-chip / rabies rule don’t apply to these pets.