Dear Cathy, I read your column every week and find the topics on cats helpful as I am a professional cat sitter and have been for 22 years. While your suggestion of hiring a vet tech for pet sitting is a good idea, many times this is a side thing for them and they have […]

If you have a noise-phobic dog – a dog scared of thunder, fireworks and other loud sounds, then I know how you will be spending the 4th of July weekend. As soon as the first firework pops off, you will be trying to calm your trembling, panting, pacing, and generally freaked out dog who will […]

With the 4th of July midweek this year, your neighbors are likely to pop off fireworks before, during and after the holiday. That can mean a stressful week for people with noise-phobic pets. Dogs and cats that are afraid of fireworks will express their fear in different ways. Cats may run and hide under beds […]

Ever wonder what you can do to make a sick dog or cat feel better? Animals, like people, just want a few creature comforts around and to know they are loved. In addition to being under veterinary, pets should have clean beds, blankets, and sleeping spaces. Sit with your pets, stroke them, and talk to […]

It’s the time of year for gift-giving and giving pets as gifts is sometimes at the top of that list. Some animal shelters, however, frown on pets as gifts for fear the animals will be “returned” to the shelter after the holidays. But a study conducted by the ASPCA in 2013 seems to indicate animal […]

Dear Cathy, You suggested a few ways to find a pet sitter. Another way is to ask someone in your veterinarian’s office. This way you already know the people and have recourse if anything happens. Many of the vet techs do this as a side job.  – Barbara, Smithtown NY Dear Barbara, That’s a great […]

A woman happily told me that she plans to get her cat spayed, but only after she has “just one litter,” she said smiling. “I want her to experience motherhood.” I smiled back. “That’s like saying every woman has to have a baby in order to be fulfilled as a woman.” (Some days I think […]

AA Gill, a restaurant critic in England, said he shot a baboon on safari “to get a sense of what it might be like to kill someone”. In his Sunday Times column, he described in painful detail how he shot the primate from 250 yards away while riding in a vehicle “full of guns and […]

I get lots of questions about dogs and their so-called “bad behaviors.” Mostly, people want to know how to get their dogs to listen. Here’s the big secret about interacting with your canine companions. Dogs look to their human pack leaders for signals on how to handle every encounter and what you do impacts their […]

Turns out, if you are a good little President, your followers may someday honor you by naming their pets after you. When historians and political pundits look back on a President’s legacy, there may something more to review than job creation or approval ratings. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health […]