Cat & Dog Behavior & Care Advice
Amy Shojai, CABC, Pet Expert & Award-Winning Author
DWAA Hall of Fame & AVMA Veterinary Media Award Winner
9 Tips for How to Keep Pets Safe Around Water
If your summer fun means time spent at the lake, swimming and paddling about to stay cool, do you take your pets? How do you manage pet water safety?
What Does Offering a Paw Mean?
I’ve written about dogs pawing your arm in the past, but what about–just waving that paw in the air? What does offering a paw mean? Here’s an ASK AMY video with the deets.
Cat Treats Help Make Cats Friendlier!
Baby cats almost always enjoy some snuggles and lap time. But as cats mature, their c’attitude often changes. So how can you “make” your cat more friendly? Here’s my take…
Why Is Your Cat Obsessed With Phones & Tablets
When the phone rings, does your cat come running? At our house, until recently we still have a land line with a long cord, in addition to our cell phones. My Karma-Kat tried to bite through the long red spiral cord whenever I’m in a conversation. Some cat lovers report that their kitties become aggressive around the telephone. Here’s what’s going on…
Dogs in Myth & Superstition
Here’s an excerpt from my book DOG LIFE (including a video and song!) featuring favorite dog myths and superstitions, just in time for Halloween. Enjoy!
8 Halloween Pet Myths: BUSTED
With Halloween right around the corner, what a good time to share this round up of 8 Halloween myths.
Halloween Pets Safety: Protect Pets from Halloween Goblins
Halloween pet safety is needed every year. Halloween at its best is a night of mystery, fun, and thrills for human children and many adults. It’s important to keep your human kiddoes safe with these tips, but no less important for the pets. I write about Halloween pets safety every year because it can be a nightmare for your furry kids.
Halloween & Black Cats: Kitty Myth-Teries Explained
Here’s an excerpt from my book CAT LIFE (including a video and song!) featuring favorite black cat myths and legends. Enjoy!
Dealing With Feral Cats: Our Responsibility
October 16 is National Feral Cat Day. North Texas is home to quite a large population of ferals–wild felines–that would benefit from a formal TNR program.
This is very close to my heart because Seren-Kitty was dumped on the streets at age seven weeks, and Karma met the same fate at eight months old. Had I not found and adopted them, their lives would have been much different.
Feral cats live life on the fringes. They breed, give birth, and raise kittens with little to no human contact. These are not pet cats gone wild (strays)–they are wild animals that really cannot be tamed unless caught as kittens. Even then, they may never be a typical pet cat, but face behavior challenges all their life.
Why should we care? Because if not managed properly, feral cats become a nuisance and health risk to owned cats, and even humans. Felines squabbling outside your window wind up your owned indoor cats and can result in cat fights. Caring for ferals is also the ethical, humane thing for caring people to do. Here’s what you need to know.
Halloween Pet Costumes: How to Dress Dogs in Costumes
Do you enjoy dressing up the house—and yourself—for the holidays? If you want to include Halloween pet costumes, start now to get them used to the notion. Most of the costumes don’t fit Bravo-Dawg, and I’ve not yet tried Shadow-Pup. I’ll share pictures if/when that happens.
Meanwhile, be sure to keep pets safe over Halloween, though. Dogs and cats aren’t always fans of wearing Halloween costumes, but with these tips, you can help pets accept the notion.
Halloween Pet Costumes
Some pets enjoy dressing up, particularly the small dogs already used to wearing coats and sweaters in cool weather. There are many pet costumes available from pet products stores, from fancy to plain. If your outgoing, confident pet is willing, you can have great fun with costumes. But if your pets don’t care for dress up, don’t press it. Many pets may bite over Halloween out of fear of change.
Even reluctant pets may be persuaded to wear a fancy collar or bandana or painted toenails.
Awards
CWA Muse Medallion Award
Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award
Fear Free Certified
CWA Muse Medallion Award
Cat Writers Muse Medallion Awards
Memberships
