Pet Issues

Assuming You Have Made the Choice

Or Your New Animal Friend
Has Made The Choice For You

To Have a Pet / Animal Companion

What Do You Need To Know?

What Do You Do First?

First What Do I Feed My New Friend?

Second What Sleeping and Security Arrangements
Do I Need to Make For My New Friend?

    1.What To Feed Your New Friend, How Much How Often.
If it is a Cat or Dog there are Plenty of choices at your corner Market or Nearby Mega Store. Buy A Name Brand in a Small box or Bag and try it out. See if your friend will eat it. Always provide clean water in a Tip Proof bowl along with the food. Read the label for serving size suggestions.

Having lived with numerous Dogs and Cats over my 56 years of Life. I have seen Much That They Will or Will Not Eat Depending on Time, Place and Upbringing.

    2. Make sure you have a Secure Location Both You and Your New Friend will be Comfortable allowing Them To Sleep At. This can Range From a Simple folded towel in the Corner to Ornate Doggy or Cat Beds.

Ask Yourself Some Simple Questions. Can I Keep It Clean or Replace it as needed? Does My New Friend Seem Inclined to use It As Intended? Is It Free From Drafts, Annoying Human Traffic, Little Kids with Sharp Sticks or Other Dangerous Situations?

Dogs Tend to Select a Location Under Foot If You Do Not Make a Choice For Them and Enforce it. They Do Like To Be Near You So Keep That In Mind As You Make Your Arrangements for the First Week, With Young Puppies an Alarm Clock which Makes a Ticking Noise placed Under a Towel Will Help Them Settle in as They are used to their Mothers Heart Beat being Within Hearing Range.

Cats will Sleep Where They Will, On Your Lap While You Sleep In Front of The Boob Tube, On your Face at Four In The morning If they Have Access. Security Works Both Ways and Locked Doors Help Protect Both You And Your New Friend From Death By Misadventure. Our Cat Sleeps on Top of a Portable Canvas Wardrobe in a Hallway. Our Dog Can Not Get At Her There.

Until At Least a Month Has Passed Be On Your Toes Every Time An Outside Door Is Opened Least Your New Friend Runs Out To Play In Traffic. Have Your Friend Leashed Or in A Travel Case Before Opening the Door to The World.

    3. Choose and Set up Potty Arrangements in Agreement with Your Inclinations and Local Ordnances Regarding the Same. For Cats A Good Litter Box, Puppies Lots of Newspaper, Older Dogs You Will Need A Pooper Scoop, Gloves and Plastic Bags Handy in Most Urban Areas.

But You Say It Is Not a Dog or Cat
You Will Be Sharing Life With.

Same Rules Apply Different Answers Will Be Forthcoming.

First Is It A Wild Animal
You Are Willing To Do Jail Time For Keeping At Home.

Or Is It A Semi Wild Animal
Such As A Soon To Be Large Snake
Purchased At a Local Pet Store.

Only Two Primary Concerns Again

Feeding and Security.

Then The Not So Minor After The Feeding Clean Up.

I Had a Large Common Boa For 32 Years.

Snakes and Reptiles Need Hot and Cool
Areas in Their Lodgings Along With Clean Water Daily.

To Protect Them From Their Own Wandering Urges
You Need To Make Sure The Lodgings Are In Fact.

Escape Proof

I Repeat Escape Proof

Palikula

My Boa
7 Feet Long 14 Pounds
At Full Growth
Started Out at 19 Inches
and Under a Pound.

Lived In a Glass 70 Gal. Aquarium

With a Ventilated Wooden Lid Held Down by Thirty Pounds or More of Lead Bars and Heavy Books
With No Climbing Sticks To Allow Leverage Against the Lid.
Heating Was By A Heating Pad In the Center Under the Stone Floor Set on Low Year Round.

UV Lamps Which Many Reptiles Need Should Be Only Turned on When You Are Near By. Friends of Mine Lost Several Snakes in A Fire Started By a Short Circuit in a UV Lamp.

Escapes Still Occurred with Frustrating Days of Searching and Taking Walls Apart To Recover
Palikula and Ensure He Was Fed and Watered as Needed.

Also Make Sure Others
Especially Willful Visiting Brats

Can Not Gain Access
To Potentially Dangerous Pets

The Weeks Spent In Court
Are Not A Fun Time and You Will In Most Cases Lose Your Friend
Well Before the First Court Hearing.

Feeding: You have a Choice of Foods your Pet Dealer can Arrange for You. Snakes and Meat Eating Reptiles can Be Feed Live or Dead Prey. Other Furry Friends have their Own Specialized Dietary Needs. Do Not Be Cheap Buy
At Least 2 of the Newest and Most Up to Date Books the Dealer has for your New Friends Species.

Read Them Cover To Cover
Go To The Library and Find Three More Background Books and Read Them Cover To Cover

Now You are Prepared To

Properly Care For Your New Friend.

Make Your Choices, Make A Plan and Stick With

It.

Both You and Your New Friend Will Prosper From You Efforts.

Links In No Particular Order

    American Kennel Club http://www.akc.org/

    Breed Guide http://www.breedguide.com/

    Dog Owners Guide http://www.canismajor.com/dog/index.html

    The American Association of Cat Fanciers http://www.acfacats.com/

    the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

    (That is Fish And Reptiles) http://www.asih.org/

    Peteducation.com http://www.peteducation.com/

    Dog Breed Info Center http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/

    American Animal Hospital Association Two Page Links

    1. Healthy Pet .com http://www.healthypet.com/index.aspx main page

    2. Healthy Pet .com http://www.healthypet.com/library_main.aspx
    Library Page

    The Humane Society of the United States http://www.hsus.org/
    I do Not Believe in this Organization Political Positions but
    They do have some good resources online.

    American Veterinary Medical Association
    http://www.avma.org/default.asp

    Paws for Pets
    http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/pawsforpets/default.asp

    Best Friends Animal Society Pet Care Tips
    http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/

    Pet Place .com http://www.petplace.com/

    AniMed and PetDoc.com http://www.animed.org/ / http://petdoc.com/
    Same People in Middle of Moving Site to PetDoc.com

    Minnesota Companion Bird Association Link Page
    http://www.mnbird.org/birdclublinks.htm

    Minnesota Companion Bird Association Home Page
    http://www.mnbird.org/index.html

    Pet Info .org Small Animal Page http://petinfo.org/small.shtml

    Pet Info .org Home http://petinfo.org/

    eHow on Pet Rats (I have had Many Pet Rats)
    http://www.ehow.com/how_2008888_care-pet-rats.html

    Pet Rat Care Page http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm/pet_rats

    R.A.T.S http://www.petrats.org/ Rat Assistance & Teaching Society

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First Posted 15, August 2008
Last Loaded 15, August 2008
Copyright ©  2008 Joseph A. Merrill III