Making your home fun for your cat

If your cat spends all day, every day indoors, it could be at risk of “bored cat syndrome”. As cat people, you need to make sure that your home is full of fun things for our cats to do all day. Keeping your cat active will also prevent boredom and obesity.

Here are some fun things to add to your home to entertain a cat all day:
• Tall cat trees with shelves
• Carpeted shelving
• Runways around the rooms
• Window perches
• Hanging toys for your cat to try and catch
• Treat balls
• Hide a couple of healthy treats around the house (always find them when you get back to avoid rotten treats around the house)

Cats and Catnip

Catnip is a plant from within the mint family. The plant contains a chemical which cats go crazy about. We know cats love catnip by their twitching whiskers, head butting, body rolling and playful nature they display when they are around it. If your cat does not go crazy over catnip, don’t worry, as not all cats react to the plants charms. Only two thirds of cats have inherited the gene.

Catnip is nontoxic to cats but can have these effects on cats for up to 15 minutes. After this time they often are calm and content.

Is the Barking Driving You Crazy?

All dogs have a voice whether it is barking, howling or yapping and some breeds speak more often than others. It’s important to choose the dog that’s right for your situation. As with any bad behavior, excessive barking can be managed, if controlled early.

Dog breeds that bark a lot
• Beagle
• Yorkshire Terrier
• Cairn Terrier
• West Highland White Terrier
• Chihuahua

If your pet is sitting quietly, you can always reward them with pets and treats. If your pet is barking you can teach them the “quiet” command. If the barking continues even with training, ignore them until they quiet down.

How to Stop Your Pet From Jumping Up

Dogs can often get carried away when greeting people. And it can get very embarrassing when your dog is trying to jump all over your friends. Unfortunately, we are often to blame for this bad behavior.

Greeting pets enthusiastically encourages them to get excited and jump up on us. With us greeting them with hugs and excitement, we are rewarding that bad behavior.

Tips:
• Avoid greeting your pet enthusiastically.
• Try to gain focus of your pet and use the “Sit” command to calm them.
• Reward your pet with pets when they sit calmly.
• If your pet continues to jump up on you, ignore them by turning your back and continuing with your tasks.
• Once your pet calms down, reward them with a treat or praise.