bruce@hp-pcd.UUCP (07/23/84)
<<<Down with fleas and other bugs>>> I think one point that has not been made here is that people should consider where they live before getting a pet. They should consider their pets when they decide where to live. When I was looking for a house, one of my major considerations was for a relatively safe place for my cat. She is important enough to me that it affected my decision. If I wanted to own a big dog that needed room to run I would have looked for a different place. I realize that not everyone has complete freedom to live where they want, but they should consider whether the place they live is fit for the pet in question. My cat is free to come and go as she pleases. We have an agreement, I don't let her in or out through the "big door" but I don't lock her in or out either. I feel comfortable when she chooses to be outside. Perhaps I'm lucky but she seems to stay out of trouble when left alone, except she likes to cross the street. By choice, I don't live on a main street. This is an arrangement that we both feel comfortable with, I can sleep nights and she can come and go freely. -- Bruce Stephens (hplabs!hp-pcd!bruce)
elaine@hpmtlb.UUCP (elaine) (03/07/85)
One option you might consider is to get in touch
with the local wildlife rescue group. (Try the
state fish & game officer in your area). I volunteered
for such an organization when I was in high school.
The basic idea is to care for injured and orphaned wildlife
until they can be released. It lets you be around cute, wild
animals without unnecessarily depriving them of their freedom.
If you do decide to get a raccoon, here are a few observations:
1. Raccoons are good fighters and can inflict a lot of
damage. The loose skin around their neck makes them
difficult to restrain.
2. Raccoons seem to get nasty after puberty (~1 year). I've
heard neutering helps.
3. Rabies is a serious problem in wild raccoon populations.
If you decide to get your raccoon vaccinated against rabies,
make sure the vet uses KILLED virus (not live or modified live
virus). Raccoons, skunks, fxxes, and other wild animals cannot
tolerate live virus vaccines. They may develop rabies from the
vaccination.
4. If you do get a pet raccoon and then later decide you don't
want it anymore, please give it to a zoo or put it to sleep.
Raccoons learn how to survive in the wild from their mothers.
Pet adult raccoons are almost impossible to teach. They will
end up being campground raccoons (the lucky ones) or dead of
starvation.
For further information on wildlife rescue, I suggest reading
The Care of The Wild, Feathered, and Furred.
Elaine May
hplabs!hpfcla!hplvla!elaine jeff@rtech.UUCP (04/25/85)
> Since this is the season, I figured it to be the right time to get any > new insights or rehash the methods discussed last year concerning > anti-flea technology. > > The current method I use is to powder my Golden Retriever once every > few days with Zodiac flea powder and, when I give her a bath, use > Skin So Soft by Avon. Anyone else out there with alternatives?? > > Jeff Cushner @ I have used Strike Flea-Enders spray with great success. It is for use on your house, not your dog. The problem with most flea bombs is that they kill the adult fleas, but leave behind the eggs and larvae that the fleas left in your rugs and furniture. It doesn't take long until the eggs and larvae mature into another generation of biting, egg-laying adult fleas. Flea-Enders spray not only kills adult fleas, it also keeps the eggs (and most of the larvae) from maturing into adults. The eggs will hatch, but the spray somehow prevents them from becoming adults. It will do the same thing to larvae as long as they aren't nearly ready to become adults, anyway. The best way to use this product is to spray once to kill off most of the fleas, eggs, and larvae, and then again when the fleas start to reappear. This will keep your house almost flea-free for several months. If your dog spends a lot of time outdoors, the fleas might come back faster. By the way, I own no stock in the company the manufactures Strike Flea-Enders spray. I just like to let people know when I've found a good product. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) aka Swazoo Koolak {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff
mengm@homxa.UUCP (04/26/85)
We have a small white male dog (Spitz variety) who has exper-
ienced similar tremors. The tremors were only short in duration,
however (@ 5 minutes). The first time it happened I brought him to
the vet and the vet told me not to worry. He said this was common
in small white dogs and he assured me that the dog wasn't about to
have a heart attack. As for the reason the dog gets the tremors
the only thing I could think of was that there might have been
some female dog in heat nearby. He has also gotten tremors on long
car rides. Thinking back, I really haven't noticed the tremors for
over a year.
Peter Mengdat@hpcnoa.UUCP (dat) (07/22/85)
We have a very active young kitten and, since we don't want to declaw her (!) we have come up with a painless alternative... we take a nail clipper (human-type) and clip off the very tip of her claws on her front and back paws about every month. This allows her to still have claws but they aren't needle sharp, so she can bop about and attack us without our being too mutilated. As she gets older she'll have real claws (sharp and all that) so she won't be defenseless... Now if we could file down her teeth... :-) -- Dave Taylor HP Colorado Networks ..ihnp4 \ ..decvax!hplabs \ !hpfcla!d_taylor ..ucbvax!hplabs / ..hpbbn /
chan@hpfcla.UUCP (chan) (07/26/85)
> I have heard that cats whose claws are trimmed will scratch MORE--in order > to resharpen the trimmed claws. Is this true, or just an old-wives tale. > (and who are those old wives who are always telling tales, anyway? :-)) Why do people think that cats are trying to "sharpen" their claws? I tried sharpening my knives on the couch, but it didn't work out too well. WRT your question though, cats may like to scratch more when their nails have been clipped because it's hard to get a clean cut, and they probably find the rough edges alittle uncomfortable. > Two: How do you keep them quiet for this? They must be very calm cats. This takes practice. It's better if you can start them young. Also, you may want to clip a few, let the cat go, and then get the other claws later. -- Chan Benson {ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!chan Hewlett-Packard Company Fort Collins, CO (303) 226-3800 x3892 As usual, HP has nothing to do with what I say here.
anny@hpfcde.UUCP (anny) (08/06/85)
I have two cats, a small tortie point siamese (Luigi) who is declawed (front only) and a very large gold tiger-stripe (Arthur) who is the proud owner of all ten claws. Arthur uses a scraching post; Luigi uses the sofa, thus the difference. (Yes, Luigi also scratches as tho he still had claws.) The day after his surgery, Luigi walked very tenderly and his paws obviously hurt considerably. But a couple of days later he was fine. It was much less traumatic than having him fixed; I walked it to the vet with my trusting kitty as she asks "Oh, this must be the 8 o'clock castration..." My poor trusting kitty! Anny Randel hplabs!hpfcla!anny
marysue@hpfcla.UUCP (10/05/85)
Aren't these also known as "spitz"? They look like samoyeds in a smaller size. Mary Sue Rowan hpfcla!marysue