Barb's Bits

Autumn is well upon us, with its variable weather, the start of football, and the crazy morning darkness before daylight savings ends! Not to mention Easter, with its promise of hot cross buns and Easter eggs that we are already sick of by Good Friday, having been on the supermarket shelves for the last 3 months!

There seems to be a lot of pressure on all of us to be doing things before we are meant to be doing them, so that by the time we are allowed to be doing them we don't want to be doing them at all!! My wise mother told me that I couldn't go to discos when I was 16, because then what was there to look forward to in being 18? At the time, I thought she was just talking about having things to do. Now, of course, I know she was talking about innocence and the loss of it; of the pleasure of anticipation; of the earning of a right rather than the stealing of it; of a respect for societal values;and wanting to protect her 16 year old child on the brink of an adult world. For my part, I just wanted to go to the discos my "friends" were going to!

We haven't had any hot cross buns or Easter eggs yet this year - I think we will wait til Easter!

The Easter Bunny is about to make his deliveries and we are delivering a warning message - KEEP ALL CHOCOLATE OUT OF PAW'S REACH!

Cats are less likely to be interested in sweet treats but you should be aware that pets of the canine variety are designed to seek out EVERY morsel of chocolate!

There is a derivative of caffeine in chocolate (called theobromine) that your dog can't digest.

Ingestion might lead to:

• hyperactivity
• tremors, panting, racing heart
• vomiting, diarrhoea
• seizures and even death

As a general rule, the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is. Check out this handy calculator to give you an idea of the amounts that may be toxic in YOUR dog.

So what do you do if you think your dog has found your secret stash of chocolate?

Seek emergency help as soon as possible - just call us on 8270 5155. Inducing vomiting and removing the toxic chocolate from your dog's system will give your pooch the best chance at a good outcome. Severe toxicities may require more intensive treatment.  

Remember ALL NIGHT EMERGENCY HELP is available so if in doubt ... get it out ASAP!

So your indoor kitty has put on some kilos and you know he needs to get some exercise. Unfortunately you can’t exactly put him on a treadmill! How exactly do you get your indoor cat exercising?

1. Use fun toys instead of food as a treat - focus on items that will really get your cat moving, like a stringed feather on a pole that your cat will never get tired of swatting at.

2. Use vertical spaces in your home for your cat to jump on. This could be a window sill, set of empty shelves or a cat tree. Even when you're not home to play with your kitty, he still has an opportunity to burn some energy by jumping.

3. Separate food and water bowls so your cat has to get up and burn energy to get from one to the other - using the vertical space works well here. Make sure the water is at ground level though - you don't want your cat to go without drinking because it can't be bothered jumping! 

4. Invest in a laser pointer - even the most lazy cats will find it hard to resist.

5. Make your cat work for his dinner! Feed him from a treat ball, so he has to work the food out. Or play hide and seek - place your cat's food around the house! Or even do a few laps of the house while holding the food bowl - most hungry cats will pace beside you until you stop to feed them!

Did someone say you can't put a cat on a treadmill?? 

Here's an interesting one for you!

It is estimated that every year, about 4,000 reindeer lose their lives on Finnish roads in car accidents. But the Finnish Reindeer Herders Association is testing out a new way to make the large mammals more visible to drivers: reflective paint!

The idea is to spray the antlers of reindeer with reflective paint that reflects motorists’ headlights. This will help prevent traffic accidents and save lives - of the human and animal kind. The spray is being tested on fur at the moment, but it may be even more effective on the antlers, because they are seen from every side.

Most of the time, attempts to keep motorists from hitting animals centre around making cars and roads safer but perhaps heading straight to the source, and painting the animals themselves is a better idea?