Monthly Archives: August 2012

Cute Cats

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Every month I spend a Saturday morning cleaning out the cat cages at the Humane Society of Cobb County.  I’m one of many volunteers they have that do the same thing on different days.  I do it for several reasons:  I know they need the help, the cats enjoy the socialization, and it’s good for me to spend the time with the cats.

 

Most of the animals in the building are cats.  They just don’t have room to keep a lot of dogs.  At the end of July there were 42 adult cats and 41 kittens.  As you can see there are all ages, colors, breeds and personalities there.  Some love attention and want you to pet them every time you walk past the cage.  Some get as far away as possible when you open the cage. 

They have 2 rooms that the cats run free in, and there about 2 dozen cages that cats are kept in. 

These cats are kept apart from the others for a variety of reasons, including a medical issue or a socialization issue.  Some cats from the same litter may be kept in a cage together.  I’m always compelled to take pictures of these cats.  My mother never liked cats so I was raised more of a dog person.  Since I’ve left home, I’ve been around more cats and have learned to like their personalities.  It’s been fun since I started pet sitting to see the different cats and their personalities that I’ve cared for.   I’ve kept cats in my home for clients when they’ve been away for long trips.  Still pictures don’t always do justice for the cats.  With a lot of the kittens all you get is a blur.

So I decided to shoot some video this time.  Of course, they are curious about the phone (camera) so they stop playing and watch me instead.  You can see it on my YouTube page.

The pictures are great for my Facebook or Pinterest pages. 

Hopefully some people will see how cute these cats are and go and adopt one or two.  It’s kind of sad because some of the cats have been there a long time and may never get to a loving home.   If you want to see more of the pictures I’ve taken go to the Cobb Humane board I’ve created on my Pinterest page.

Fetch! Pet Care of NW Atlanta provides pet sitting, dog walking and cat care services for Roswell, East Cobb, Woodstock and Kennesaw, GA.  You can follow us on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fetchnwatlanta/.

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We Love Our Pet$

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   Many people have had to cut back on things during the financial hard times we’ve experienced in this country the past few years, but American’s expenditures on their pets continues to rise.   An article this week in the Arizona Republic looks at just how much so.  Image

The American Pet Products Association estimates that Americans will spend $52.87 billion this year on the pets.  The article quotes a pet expert in the Phoenix area that expects it to be even higher.  You can see from the numbers that it has been steady growth through the recession and has nearly doubled since the early 2000s. Image

    Bundle.com has surveyed the top 100 cities in the United States and lists the top 25 cities by average monthly spending on pets.  Scottsdale, Arizona is #1 at $47.88 per resident, per month.  Atlanta didn’t make the top 25.  New Orleans is 25th at $29.25. 

    Pet owners know that food makes up a large percentage of their costs.  Humans are eating, healthier, more natural foods and they are feeding their pets the same way.  I have a number of clients that include vegetables with their pet’s meals.  Many use specialized all-natural foods. Image

     There are many reasons for the increase in pet spending and ownership.  Perhaps the biggest reason is that no matter how tough a day you had at work or all the rejection letters you get for a new job, that pet doesn’t care and is so happy to see you.  And that makes the spending worthwhile. Image

    Fetch! Pet Care of NW Atlanta provides pet sitting, dog walking and cat care services for Roswell, East Cobb, Woodstock and Kennesaw, GA.  You can follow us on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fetchnwatlanta/

The Dog Days of Summer (and how to keep your dog cool)

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Why are these hot days called the dog days of summer?  Your dog seems to not want to spend very much time outside because it’s so hot.  This time of year gets its name because this is the time of year that Sirius, the dog star and the brightest star in our sky beside the sun, is visible in the Northern Hemisphere.  Sirius is in the constellation Canis Major, one of the hunting dogs for Orion.  Orion, the hunter, has the well known three-star belt that is so visible.  Sirius is visible below Orion in the pre-dawn hours right now.Image

Whatever the reason, it’s no doubt hot outside and it’s not very comfortable for your dogs.  Be sure to limit their time outside, and try and walk them on dirt or grass instead of the asphalt.  One thing you can do to cool down your dog before you take them out is to run water over them.  You can use water from a hose, or if you don’t have a hose, a squirt bottle with water in it can be used to spray off their underside.  This is a very effective way of cooling down the animal.  The water doesn’t have to be very cold either.  This works well after the walk and it’s not as messy when you let them back in the house.  Get them to rise up on their back legs and you can give them a couple of sprays of water.  Some of you may use a squirt bottle for discipline with your dog, so you may need to find another way to wet it down without confusing it.

Fetch! Pet Care of NW Atlanta provides pet sitting, dog walking and cat care services for Roswell, East Cobb, Woodstock and Kennesaw, GA.  You can follow us on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fetchnwatlanta/