Tag: taste of the wild pet food

How to Make Peaceful Introductions When Adopting a New Cat

Posted on June 17, 2021 - 2:55 pm by
Taste of the Wild

Owning cats is like eating potato chips: It’s darn near impossible to have just one. In fact, the average number of cats per household in the U.S. is about two, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

As part of National Adopt-a-Cat month, perhaps you’re thinking about joining the ranks of multi-cat households (and who wouldn’t?). If so, be advised that simply depositing your new cat in the middle of your living room could result in ongoing feline squabbles including hissing, growling, yowling or worse.

To help make the transition easier, here are some tips for introducing your new cat to your current feline housemate(s):

• First stop: the veterinary clinic. Even if you adopt your kitten or cat from a shelter, these organizations can’t always afford to test for every type of parasite or infectious disease.

To make sure you don’t bring anything into the house that could infect your current cat, your veterinarian can check for parasites including fleas and ear mites, as well as contagious diseases such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus.

Making sure your new cat is neutered or spayed will help minimize the risk of urine marking in your house, as well.

• Give your new cat time to get acclimated. Prepare a room where the new cat can stay on its own for at least a week. Provide a litter box and toys as well as food and water bowls.

Place the new cat’s carrier on the floor of the room, open the carrier door and let the cat explore the room on its own. Using a feline pheromone spray or diffuser in the area may help your new cat feel calm. Keep the door to the room shut, but allow your new cat and current cat to sniff each other under the door.

• Help your cats swap scents. Rub a towel on your new cat and bring it out for the other cat to sniff, and do the same with the other cat. You can also switch litter boxes and food bowls, so they get used to each other’s smell.

• Time for the new cat to explore. Once your cats have had about a week to sniff each other under the door, place your current cat in a separate room and close the door. Now let the new cat explore the rest of the house.

• Hold short, supervised meet and greets. Place your new cat in a carrier in the middle of the room and allow your other cat into the room. This allows your cats to see and sniff each other without potentially swatting each other. Provide lots of treats and encourage calm behavior.

Another option is to have one family member play with a cat at one end of the room, while another plays with the other cat on the opposite side of the room. Make sure to lavish them both with treats. Start with 5-minute play sessions, and over the course of several days, increase the play time and gradually reduce the distance between the two cats.

If they still appear calm after about a week, you can allow them to approach each other for a bit.

• Provide an escape hatch. Once your cats start to mingle more, make sure to keep a room where each cat can get away from the other and feel safe, if needed. Keep a litter box in that room, as well as food and water bowls.

• Count the litter boxes. You should have one litter box for each cat, plus another one. That means you need three litter boxes if you have two cats. Put them in quiet, low-traffic areas where each cat can have some privacy, and scoop litter daily.

• Keep an eye on your cats. During the first few weeks, if you have to leave the house, place cats in separate rooms. You’ll want to supervise all their interactions until you’re confident they feel comfortable with each other.

It may take a few weeks for your cats to become friends. By making gradual introductions, paired with positive reinforcement, you can help them grow to enjoy each other’s company.

Careers for Pet Lovers: Dog Grooming

Posted on February 28, 2019 - 4:00 pm by
Taste of the Wild Pet Food

While this blog has covered lots of different canine careers, from cadaver tracking to cancer detection, what about the people who make a career out of working with dogs? Specifically, have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a dog groomer?

If you think making pets look their best is your idea of the perfect job, read on.

What, exactly, does a pet groomer do?

A typical day can include everything from bathing (de-skunking anyone?), drying, untangling matted hair, haircuts and trims and, in some cases, even coloring. A groomer will need to know how to work with long, short and curly fur, not to mention dogs with single and double coats.

And of course, an artistic flair doesn’t hurt: consider breed-specific styles such as the Continental cut for standard poodles, which includes shaved limbs highlighted with pompoms near the paws and at the tip of the tail.

Some groomers may offer additional services including nail trimming, ear cleaning and plucking, as well as anal gland expression. And being fluent in the body language of dogs and cats comes in handy, too, especially for clientele who are not inclined to sit still through the process.

Does it require special training?

Groomers don’t need special licenses or certifications. Some get their start at a grooming school, while others hone their skills on the job. Certification programs are offered through the International Professional Groomers and the National Dog Groomers Association of America, to name a couple. They’ll typically teach you how to wield the tools of the trade, from shears and clippers to stripping knives, carding blades and a wide range of brushes and combs.

Where do groomers work?

More and more Americans count pets as part of the family, so grooming services are popping up in locations such as veterinary clinics, boarding facilities, grooming salons, mobile grooming vans, pet supply stores and doggy day cares.

Compared to grooming salons, which can be busy and noisy, mobile vans offer a quieter and calmer environment. One drawback to mobile services though, is that you might not have a second pair of hands to help when you need it.

Other considerations

Pet grooming can be physically demanding, lifting large dogs up onto a table and spending hours at time on your feet. Pets aren’t always cooperative. And you still can’t escape working with people because the dogs come with an owner at the end of the leash (who may have set ideas about how the clip should look and how their pet should be handled).

On the other hand, your day as a dog groomer is sure to be filled with variety, considering that dogs come in all shapes, sizes and breeds. You’ll have the satisfaction of transforming an unkept pet into a work of art. And you can build a loyal following as your skills improve.

Best of all, did we mention that you get to work with dogs all day?