New Poisonous Plants List for Pet Owners

The folks at the rover.com website have created a very useful new list of poisonous plants for dog and cat owners.

The list includes photographs of each plant to help in identification, as well as the plant’s common name and scientific name.

You can find plants that are toxic to dogs and/or cats, as well as review the list by toxicity level and whether the plant is a garden, house, or wild species.

The entry for each plant also includes a quick reference list of common symptoms to watch out for.

Be sure to check it out, and as always, keep the web address and phone number for the Animal Poison Control Center’s Pet Poison Helpline handy:

https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/

(855) 764-7661

Thanks, Rover!

 

Lost Pets and Pizza Boxes: NJ Pizzeria Owner Helps Find Missing Pets

The owner of Angelo’s Pizza in Matawan, New Jersey came up with a great idea to help find missing pets in his neighborhood:  posting lost pet flyers on pizza boxes!

He got the idea after a regular customer’s cat went missing.  Luckily the cat was found but John Sanfratello thought it was still a good idea to post flyers of lost pets on takeout pizza boxes.

As he explains to a local news station, “We want to reunite pets with their owners, but we also want other business to take up the initiative and do the same.”

Currently, they are posting pictures of another lost cat and a 10-month-old seeing eye dog in training who also went missing.

Here’s a link to a news video on the story, let’s hope other local businesses pick up on this great idea!

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/07/17/we-want-to-reunite-pets-with-their-owners-n-j-pizzeria-puts-missing-pets-on-pizza-boxes/

 

Protect Your Dog’s Paws from Hot Pavement This Summer

We’ve all seen a lot of news stories about the dangers of leaving your dog in a hot car, but did you know that a simple stroll on the sidewalk can blister your pup’s paws when the weather is hot?

KUTV in Salt Lake City talked to a local veterinarian about the dangers of hot sidewalks.  He took a thermometer outside on a hot day and measured the temperature on a sunny sidewalk.  It registered 131 degrees!  In contrast, the shade temperature was just 80 degrees.

Paw blisters can happen in minutes, so to protect your dog, be sure to walk her on grass and in the shade.  Early morning is the safest time of day.

Click HERE for the story and video.

 

America’s Most Cat-Friendly Cities

We’ve heard a lot about what makes a city dog-friendly, such as amenities like parks and restaurants that welcome dogs.  But what makes a city cat-friendly?

Since we don’t normally take our cats out and about with us, are there other factors that make a place cat-friendly?  Turns out, the answer is yes!

Trupanion and Redfin recently teamed up to create a list of the top 25 cat-friendly cities in the U.S.  The criteria used include good access to feline-specific services such as veterinary clinics, hospitals, and shelters/rescues.

They also looked at homes for sale that had cat-friendly features like enclosed outdoor patios, room to climb, and extra bathrooms for litter boxes.

Another element considered was a lack of environmental hazards for cats with access to the outdoors (fewer parasites and poisonous plants, etc.)

Factoring in all these cat-friendly elements, the top cites for felines are:

1) Corvallis, Ore.

2) Spokane, Wash.

3) Orlando, Fla.

4) Bellingham, Wash.

5) Tulsa, Okla.

6) Raleigh, N.C.

7) New York, N.Y.

8) Dayton, Ohio

9) Clarksville, Tenn.

10) San Antonio, Tex.

11) Albuquerque, N. Mex.

12) Eugene, Ore.

13) Boston, Mass.

14) Allentown, Penn.

15) Dover, Del.

16) Columbus, Ohio

17) Boise, Idaho

18) Louisville, Ky.

19) Tacoma, Wash.

20) Lincoln, Neb.

21) Portland, Ore.

22) Minneapolis, Minn.

23) Knoxville, Tenn.

24) Santa Rosa, Calif.

25) Oakland, Calif.

The folks at Trupanion and Redfin remind pet owners that when searching for a new home in a new city, be sure to look at both the features of the house and the nearby facilities to maintain your pet’s health.

 

Domestic Cats Face Dangers From Urban Coyotes

The US National Park Service recently completed a two-year study on the diet of coyotes in the Los Angeles, California area.  The results indicate that our cats could be at greater risk for being eaten by coyotes than we thought.

Researchers analyzed over 3,200 samples of coyote poop (called scat) from Los Angeles and surrounding communities.  They also compared the urban coyote samples with samples from more suburban areas that are closer to their natural habitat.

They found that the diet of urban coyotes was influenced by living so close to humans.  The coyotes routinely ate human food scraps and commercial pet food.  They also ate a lot of ornamental fruits commonly found in our gardens.

Unfortunately, free-roaming cats–and even cats allowed outside but restricted to enclosed yards–are also on the menu for urban coyotes.  Domestic cat remains were found in 20% of the scat, the third most common component after human and pet foods and ornamental fruits.

The scat of coyotes from more rural areas had only 4% of domestic cat and it also had less human and pet food and ornamental fruit remains.  Rabbits were the most common part of the non-urban coyotes’ diet.

Pet owners in areas with high numbers of coyotes should always keep their cats indoors.  Small dogs can also be at risk, so it’s important to walk your dog on leash and never leave your dog in the yard unattended.

Make sure your trash can lids are secure and avoid leaving bowls of pet food outside as well.  Experts also recommend avoiding bird feeders and ornamental fruit trees to discourage coyote visits to your back yard.

You can find a lot of helpful information on keeping your pets safe from coyotes on the Urban Coyote Initiative website HERE.