Table of contents for Issue 71 2017 in Pets

Hi PETS readers, Welcome to another issue of PETS, our Fabulous Feline special. I have a confession to make: when I first started work on this magazine, I wasn’t a huge fan of cats. Having grown up in a household of dog lovers, it seemed strange to me that anyone would choose those aloof, stand-offish animals over an adorable and enthusiastic dog. After a few weeks on the job, I went to my first cat photo shoot — and I was hooked. This shoot involved some Maine Coons, and the beautiful, large-breed creatures totally won me over. Soon, I started looking forward to spending time with cats, as much as if not more so than my time with the puppies. Contrary to what I first thought, they’re not all aloof…

Martina’s Eddie just won our hearts. Anne thinks Herman is “rocking his denim jacket” — and we have to say, we wholeheartedly agree! We wish we got to cuddle Caroline’s cute canines — they sure have the right idea! We adore Kerri’s bounding Bella — so full of life! What a perfect pair of pets. You must be so full of happiness with these two, Naomi! Chelsie’s Quacks loves sitting in her water dish. Christine’s Scruff likes to protect the strawberries. Clearly, the cat is doing a fabulous job. Maryanne’s Storm is a Border Collie who just loves flyball. Ally’s Percy just adores the washing basket. What a cutie! Carol’s dog Bella is best friends with beautiful feline Buster. What a gorgeous pair! SEND US YOUR SNAPS! Do you want…

When night falls, Oreo, a 19-monthold Shorthair/Persian cross, loves nothing more than jumping up on the dressing table and scratching the mirror. “It wakes me up every night,” explains Oreo’s owner, Jessica Cartwright. “I pull him off or he will keep going. Then he moves onto the glass shower screen, the bathroom mirror over the sink or even the TV screen. It’s never during the day, only in the middle of the night.” Just like Totoro, the Maine Coon who likes scratching the shower door, Dr Jo says Oreo’s behaviour has most likely developed because he uses the mirror as a litter substitute or scratching post alternative. “He may also enjoy seeing the reflection of a cat,” she says.…

Adopting a dog is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Not only are you helping a dog in need, you are potentially saving a life. Adopted dogs often need a little patience as they transition from life in a shelter to living in a home environment. I have a few tips to help them settle into their new home as quickly as possible. HELP THEM FEEL SAFE It might take a while for your new dog to settle and get to know you. It’s important to give them space and time while they explore their new home. Don’t flood them with stimulation like lots of visitors or heading to off-leash dog parks, as they need to build up their confidence slowly. Teach children to let their new…

Purr-fectly gift-wrapped “Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?” “Does this shoe smell bad to you?” “I’ll just take this …” “You are getting very, very sleepy …” “If the shoe fits …” Why pull a rabbit out of a hat when you can pull this cutie instead? The lovely Cathy with her beautiful kittens. Treat, anyone? “Really? A doll and a birdhouse? You guys are ridiculous!” I love you this big! Camouflage kitty. With special thanks to Cathy from Dollcatz Ragdolls. You can find out more about her gorgeous kittens via Facebook facebook.com/Dollcatz or by calling 0414 241 893.…

My name is Mali, and I live in a quiet country town. We have six pets, but my favourites would just have to be our dogs. Ezra is a Cavoodle, he just turned one, and Colby is a Maltese x Shih Tzu, a little over three. Ez and Kee (those are their nicknames) love, love, love to play, and have the best wrestles and tug-of-wars! Sometimes you see them sprinting across the yard together, and it’s so funny! Before we got Ezra, Colby was super anxious (at his previous house he hadn’t had great training), and once chased the rubbish truck down the road! But he’s loads better now, and Ezra has helped. The two couldn’t be more different (Ezra has left no shoe unchewed, while Colby just wants a…

TRAVELLING WITH PETS ON AUSTRALIA’S EAST COAST Author: Carla Francis Publisher: Woodslane Press RRP: $29.99 Available: Now, from all good bookstores We love our furry friends and consider them to be part of the family. Now, more than ever before, when it comes time to go on holiday, many of us are choosing to take our pets with us rather than book them into a kennel. But finding the right accommodation that accepts guests of the two- and four-legged variety can be tricky — unless you happen to have yourself a copy of Travelling With Pets on Australia’s East Coast. The comprehensive guide covers the very best in pet-friendly accommodation from Melbourne to Cairns, so that wherever your road trip takes you, you’ll be covered. Organised geographically and alphabetically, you’ll…

Totoro the two-and-a-half-year-old Maine Coon has a few quirky behaviours: • ‘Running’ on the shower door (a bit like scratching but without the nails). “I think this began because she’s fascinated by water, but has now evolved into a strange ritual even when I’m not in the shower. She also sometimes does it on other doors, but never scratches. It’s a bit like she’s exercising running on a treadmill,” says Totoro’s owner, Freddy Grant from online art gallery bluethumb.com.au Dr Jo says that this ‘running’ sometimes starts as a litter-covering behaviour that is then extended to vertical surfaces. For other cats it may be an attempt to scratch their nails, which is scent-marking behaviour. “In the absence of tree trunks to scratch, get the cat scratching posts of different textures…

Annabelle Selleck, owner of Good Pet Food Kitchen, shares her list of ingredients to avoid. • BHA — Butylated hydroxyanisole — a chemical anti-oxidant. • BHT — Butylated hydroxytoluene — another chemical anti-oxidant. Both BHA and BHT are used to slow the deterioration of important oils in pet foods and have been shown to promote liver disease and other illnesses. • Ethoxyquin — a chemical preservative that is only allowed in pet food, not human food, and in studies has been shown to promote cancers.…

As well as appropriate medication and behaviour-modification strategies, an increasing number of cat owners are turning to complementary therapies such as acupuncture to ease their pets’ anxiety. Dr Jennifer Hutchinson, a small animal vet and animal acupuncturist at Melbourne’s Karingal Vet Hospital, explains how it works. Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles into specific points in the body to achieve homeostasis, or balance. These points are located along meridians, or channels, and when stimulated can cause physiological changes in the body. Acupuncture has been used in China for over 4000 years, and the theory and points have all been transcribed for use in animals. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that disease is an imbalance of energy in the body. Acupuncture aims to bring the energy back into balance, thereby…

For more information visit localvet.com.au/FurKids or visit Dr Jo’s clinic at Shop 1½ Sheppards Drive, Greenbank Qld. ANXIOUS DOGS Q: Dear PETS, I have a six-month-old Staffie, Chux, who so far seems quite relaxed. However, I’ve heard that anxiety, particularly in Staffies, is a very common problem. Are there signs I should look out for to make sure Chux is okay? Lachie, via email A: Hi Lachie, if you are lucky enough to have a happy, healthy Staffie then please enjoy it! Unfortunately this breed does have a few issues, and yes, their anxiety and co-dependence is probably one of the worst. Staffies often like to think of themselves as people rather than dogs, so when acquired as a pup, if they are not trained and are always treated like…

LOOKING FOR A NEW PET BUT NOT SURE WHAT TO GET? Whether you’re after something furry, fuzzy, slippery, scaly or slimy, PETS takes the hard work out of choosing your new family member. KIDS AND PETS Most of the critters we feature are family-friendly, though it’s important to remember children should be supervised when playing with any animal, whether it’s a dog, cat, bird, bunny or reptile. Keep an eye out for our “At a glance” boxes where we rate the care and maintenance, grooming and exercise requirements of different breeds and creatures on a scale from one to five:…

1. Entry into the competition implies full acceptance of all conditions of entry, including the instructions on how to enter. 2. Entry is open to all residents of Australia and New Zealand. Employees and immediate families of the promoter, associated companies and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible to enter. 3. Entries close with last mail on December 21, 2017, unless stated otherwise. The entries will be judged by the PETS editorial team and the winner(s) will be selected before January 31, 2017. The winners will be notified by mail, email or telephone. 4. Write the competition name on the front of the envelope and send to PETS magazine, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670 or enter via our website at petsmagazine.com.au 5. Prize(s) will be delivered to…

WRITE to PETS! Do you have an amazing pet story or a hilarious animal joke to share? How about some feedback on one of our articles? Or did you recently get a new pet? PETS would love to hear from each and every one of you (and your furry buddies). Drop us a line at Paws for thought/PETS, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670 or email pets@universalmagazines.com.au with “Paws for thought” as the subject heading. Letters, poems, photos, collages and drawings are also welcome. Be as creative as you like! SURFING SUPERSTAR Hello PETS! My name is Lucy and I have an awesome Jack Russell named Max. We got him from a breeder when he was seven months old. He loves the water and I have a special…

Do you love your pet? Tell us a warm and fuzzy tale about the special bond you share with your best pal for a chance to win a really cool prize. TO ENTER: All you have to do is tell us in 400 words or less why your pet is so special and include a few clear, sharp photographs (1MB or larger) of your friend. Please also include your contact number and mailing address. Send your entries to Pet Tales/PETS, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670 or email your entries to pets@universalmagazines.com.au Please read the terms and conditions on page 97 before entering. Good luck!…

All you need to do to win is visit petsmagazine.com.au and enter online, telling us in 25 words or less why you and your pet would love to win. Alternatively, you can mail your entry to Furry Freebies/ PETS, Locked Bag 154, North Ryde NSW 1670. Be sure to include your mailing address, phone number and email address, as well as the information on which competition you are entering. Entries close December 21, 2017. Please read the terms and conditions on page 97. Good luck! ROYAL CANIN WET AND DRY CAT FOOD Cats respond well to a little variety in their diet. That doesn’t mean they need to be eating something different for every meal or regularly have their diet changed to something different. This is unnecessary and could cause…

Coco is a ten-and-a-half-year-old ginger cat with a unique obsession: he absolutely loves teddy bears. “He loves to play fetch with his two favourite teddy bears — we throw them, he brings them back,” explains Coco’s owner, Yvette Salvaris. “And every night as soon as my husband and I are in bed and the light is off, Coco will go and bring his two teddy bears into our bedroom, place one on the floor on my side of the bed, go back [to] get the other and put it on the floor on my husband’s side of the bed, then jump up on the bed and go to sleep.” Coco’s love of fetching teddy bears started when he was a kitten, and he brought his two favourite bears to his…

Sydney veterinarian Dr Leigh Davidson received an emergency visit one evening from an 11-week-old chocolate Labrador, named Bella, who had started vomiting that afternoon and was not at all her usual cute, bubbly self. In fact, she could hardly lift her head off the exam table to greet Dr Leigh. “I knew this was bad,” says Dr Leigh. Bella had been visiting NSW’s Central Coast that weekend and had been on long walks around the town. The puppy already had her second vaccination at 10 weeks old the previous weekend. “On physical exam, Bella looked miserable with her big, sad puppy-dog eyes. Her heart rate was rapid and her pulse was weak,” Dr Leigh says. “Bella was drooling and looked as if she would vomit any moment … and actually…

Dr Leigh Davidson, veterinarian and founder of Your Vet Online, provides a handy reference guide for choosing the best foods for your pet. • Don’t confuse complete and balanced. Complete means the food is appropriate for that species (cat versus dog), while balanced refers to the particular ingredients that are appropriate for the life stage and clinical health of the individual. • Know who has manufactured the food. Is it ‘manufactured by’ or is it ‘manufactured for’? The latter means that quality control may not be adhered to closely. You want to look for manufacturers that use higher-quality ingredients, that conduct preproduction testing, that test for food safety on the lines and in the end product, and who are responsive to questions. • Don’t get swayed by marketing hyperbole. By-products…

RAVERA RAGDOLLS We spoke to Vera from Ravera Ragdolls to find out why she thinks Ragdolls make the perfect pet. Q: Tell us how you started breeding. A: I received my first Ragdoll (Tia, a Seal Point) as a gift from my husband for Mother’s Day, as I had wished for a Ragdoll kitten after seeing Burke’s Backyard when they did a special on the Ragdoll cat. That was approximately 15 years ago. My passion just grew from the day Tia joined our family. With my medical background, I thought I could make a difference. I really appreciate genetics and the effects of positive breeding, so I began my journey to improve the health of this special breed with an aim to share, as I know how much joy and…

DR ZOO IRRITABLE SKIN CREAM All pets can be itchy sometimes and this itch can have a number of causes. Dry skin is a frequent occurrence. Dr Zoo Irritable Skin Cream is designed to help soothe irritated, itchy skin using edible oils and other soothing ingredients such as aloe vera, chamomile and colloidal oatmeal, which is a wellknown calming ingredient for pets’ skin. This balm is ideal for applying to a pet’s itchy areas. It is an ideal follow-on treatment for pets that have completed a prescription course of medicated steroidal creams and a good alternative for those pet owners who may be concerned about long-term cortisone use, seasonal allergies or frequent dry spots. For more information, visit drzoo.com.au GOURMET DELIGHT We want to give our cat the very best…