Moving with your pets across town can be as easy as a trip to the vet, but what about across a longer distance? Really, it is not that much more difficult, especially if you plan ahead and know what to expect! Take it from me. Within a 6-year period I moved with my dog from Paris, France (where I’d adopted him from the “SPCA”) to Manhattan, then to Rwanda in Africa, to Kenya, back to France, then to Connecticut, New York (where I adopted 3 cats), and finally all of us flew to California! I even drove with my sister and her Rottweiler mix when she moved from New York to Los Angeles in the middle too! So what are some of the helpful traveling and moving tips I learned from all that trans-atlantic and cross country moving with pets? Read More

Pet Health and Safety |

Dear Adoptapet.com - Thank you so much for helping Cooper get maximum exposure on your site! Thanks to you, he has been adopted into an amazing loving home. I so appreciate you getting Cooper’s pictures, bio, and most especially his video posted and shared with the world. Because of what you do, Labs and Buddies here in Los Angeles will now be able to save another loving animal who also needs a home. Thanks for being an integral part of the world of rescue. Here is a photo of Cooper now with his new sister, also a rescue. He is the beautiful black Lab boy! His new human dad adores him and because of you he was able to find Cooper, and Cooper was able to find him. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. – Sandy Zalagens, foster mom for Labs and Buddies rescue LA, CA Read More

Adopting A New Pet |

What’s one of the hot up-and-coming ways for rehabilitating Rover?  Canine Hydrotherapy! So many dogs love playing in the water, and as it turns out, playing, floating and swimming in water is an excellent therapy for many dogs with arthritis, spinal injuries, degenerative myelopathy, obesity and other conditions. Hydrotherapy for humans has been around for quite some time, but it is now really starting to catch on for dogs. Hydrotherapy basically makes exercise easier on the joints, since the buoyancy of water makes a body practically weightless. It also takes more energy to move body and limbs through the water, making exercise more therapeutic. But not everyone has easy access to a warm-enough swimming pool, pond or lake, and safely swimming smaller dogs in a home bathtub can be tricky. Not to worry ,dog-savvy businesses are paddling up to fill the need! A canine hydrotherapy facility usually has a small, heated indoor pool, specially designed with a ramp to make it easy for dogs to get in and out of the water. The pool may have water jets that work as massagers and as a force to swim against. Some facilities also have underwater doggie treadmills! Read More

Pet Health and Safety |

The wonderful dog-lovers over at the Wet Nose Guide feature homeless dogs for adoption to help them find their future families! They recently posted Howie, a Border Collie/Hound mix puppy who’s only about five months old and weighs 25 pounds. His adorable story on his Adopt-a-Pet.com listing is written by someone who speaks dog, as it from Howie’s point of view! He says: I am still in my youth. I will need a home with lots of patience and someone who is willing to take the time to train me. I am very smart and eager to please. I have recently been neutered. I play well with other dogs. Except when it comes time to be fed. I need my space while I eat. I have been checked out by the vet and I have a ‘clean bill’ of health. No worries there. I do however have a parrot mouth. Yes, my lower jaw is smaller than my upper jaw. I think it gives me character!! Lol. It does not bother me when I eat or bark and does not hurt. Are you looking for a smart, handsome, fun loving new addition to your family? Your in luck. Stop looking because, you have found me!! I’m waiting!!” To adopt Howie, visit his Adopt-a-Pet.com page here. Read More

Helping Pet Adoption, Sites We Like |

Do you have a red-eared slider or other aquatic turtle, or are you thinking of adopting one? Not sure of how to care for him or her? Katrina Smith from the Mid-Atlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society has put together a comprehensive, easy-to-read and understand care sheet for Slider, Cooter, Redbelly, Painted, Map and Chicken Turtles – and offers it as a free PDF you can download and print for right here: Basic Aquatic Turtle Care Sheet. The care sheet includes details on the basic supplies you’ll need: a large tank or fenced-in pond, basking spot, filter, food ,hiding spots, and if indoors, a basking light (heat light), UVB light and siphon. She explains all about the tank/pond, water depth, filter needs, how to make a perfect basking spot, the importance of hiding spots, a good siphon to change the water, and recommended foods. The care guide also includes lots of turtle facts, like how Sliders and other aquatics can live 20 years or more – some individuals have lived over 60 years! And did you know that turtles don’t always need “a buddy” to be happy – there is no guarantee that two turtles will get along, even if there is enough space, so if you adopt a 2nd turtle, be prepared you may have to have two separate tanks. These are all important items to consider before taking on the responsibility of adopting an aquatic turtle! Read More

Raising Your Pet, Zee Others |

New Year’s Resolutions. We’re full of them. But how many of us have resolutions for our cats? One of our latest favorite websites called GreenLittleCat.com, is a blog dedicated exclusively to sharing ideas on greener living for cats and cat lovers. Encouraging their readers to take a 30-Day Green Cat Challenge, this website is there to help you and your cat go green in a month! Just one day at a time, tackling one aspect each day, you can transform your kitty into an eco-friendly pet. There’s a task assigned to each day and even a daily green inspiration to keep you going. Every single one of us can make a huge difference when it comes to the environment! So whether you accomplish all 30 Challenges or just one, you and your feline friend will be greener. Now that’s a resolution you can keep! Read More

Cat Tips, Zee Cats |

We love hearing happy stories from people who found their perfect pet through Adopt-a-Pet.com, like this one from Jan D. in Florida! “Dear Adopt-a-Pet.com, Through you I found my perfect forever friend.  You sent me a notice about a Blue Tick Coon Hound that was at the Hillsborough Shelter in Tampa, FL.  I went that very afternoon and fell in love with her.  I brought her home yesterday and so far she has been perfect.  She slept in our bedroom last night in her crate and didn’t make a peep all night.  She doesn’t leave my side and she is beautiful. I got her for my October birthday to me from me.  I named her Libra, which is my birth sign.  I will be 75 in October and my husband and I hope to spend the rest of our lives making her happy. We are now a pack of 3. Thanks for your help and thank you for the good that you are doing. – Jan D. Read More

Adopting A New Pet |

We’d watched the videos of other cats on YouTube having a blast with the  Friskies® Cat Fishing iPad game, but we were doubtful our super-sedentary senior felines would have any interest in anything that didn’t involve napping or food. Enter the foster kittens! One of our Adopt-a-Pet.com staff is currently fostering three adorable kittens, ages 6 months, 8 months and 9 months. The first to give the wildly popular Friskies® Cat Fishing game a try was the eldest, and she was fascinated! She is also very smart, and kept trying to get under the iPad to where the fish were “hiding” after she batted them down to the depths with her paws… and when they’d all disappeared, what did this kitten do? Lapped at the “water” rippled on the iPad screen!! You can see her doing just that in this little YouTube video we made of her playing the game.  Now when we take the iPad out, all three kittens come running for game time, it’s super cute! We just saw the sneak peak video that Friskies® Cat Fishing 2.0 is coming out in January 2012 and we  can’t wait to try 2.0 with our foster kittens too, if they’re not all adopted by then! You can get the five free games for cats at gamesforcats.com - all the games work on the iPad, four will work on an Android Tablet, and Jitter Bug is also available on the iPhone. —> Do you have a video of your cat playing Friskies® Cat Fishing? Post the link on our Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook page here! Read More

Getting Along with Your Pet, Zee Cats |

Have you tried to train your cat to walk on a leash or harness and failed? You’re not alone! I recently tried with one of my foster kittens, and my well-intentioned but uneducated efforts, while comical (see his meowing protest in the photo), did not seem to be moving in the direction of a walkable cat! But I’m ready to try again, after reading a great article published in The New York Times. Writer Stephanie Clifford experienced the same difficulties I did at first, but successfully trained her newly adopted cat Mac to walk on a leash! I especially love the harness she chose, a vest-style small dog harness – so different from the typical spaghetti-like nylon harnesses that are sold specifically for cats. My experiences with the strap harnesses was just trying to get one on a cat is quite a challenge! Not to mention keeping it on. The vest looks much more secure, since in my experience cats are little houdinis when it comes to getting out of normal harnesses, and to make it tight enough to stay on seemed to me to be part of the discomfort that makes them not want to walk with it on. I can now also put into practice the expert tips of the $375.00-per-session TV celebrity trainer Jackson Galaxy that helped Stephanie and Mac. Like… I didn’t realize a cat flopping over or lying down was “normal”, how to reserve his favorite treats as rewards only when in the harness, and that even walking just a few feet after 2 weeks of training is a normal amount of progress. Of course, definitely get your cat comfortable on the harness BEFORE going outside, as they do in the article. There is a lot more to learn and enjoy by reading the full NYT article here, and I’ve included the article’s closing tips for training your cat on a leash here too: Read More

Cat Tips, Zee Cats |

We love that PeoplePets.com helps pets get adopted by featuring them on their uber-popular website every week! One lucky dog who made the headlines is Storm, a 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier mix with boundless energy. The young pooch was rescued by The Little Shelter in Huntington, N.Y., almost a year ago from a municipal shelter. In his time there, he’s blossomed into quite the ham. “We have a swimsuit contest here every year, and last year, Storm actually won the male dog category,” says communications and events manager Jodi Record. “He was a scuba diver. He had a snorkel, flippers, the whole kit and caboodle. He loves to dress up, he’s a fun dog.” A “spitfire” who loves being the center of attention, Storm is very active and needs an owner who can keep up with him and work with him on his possessiveness over his toys. Find out more about Storm at PeoplePets.com by clicking here. Read More

Helping Pet Adoption, Sites We Like |