“Bedbugs generally prefer locations where people sleep, such as bed frames, mattresses or carpeting. Therefore, it’s not necessary to physically treat your pet for bedbugs,” says Dr. Tina Wismer, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Veterinary Outreach and Education.

The bad news is that it’s difficult to get rid of bedbugs. The little blood suckers may live up to a year without feeding!

If you’re enduring a bedbug infestation, be sure to  vacuum carpets and wash bedding and curtains. The ASPCA also suggests contacting a professional exterminator. As many chemicals and pesticides could be harmful to use around pets, it’s always best to consult an expert when you must use pest control.

(image from wikimedia commons)

The documentary, sponsored by Milk-Bone, highlights Canine Assistants, a non-profit service dog organization, and follows four families on their journey to receive a service dog. Watch the trailer below, then mark it on your calendar!

Also, the founder of Canine Assistants, Jennifer Arnold, released her book this month. It’s called Through a Dog’s Eyes and a portion of all proceeds supports the wonderful work of Canine Assistants.

For some mysterious reason, more dogs go to the vet than cats, yet more cats live with people as pets! Cats may think they have it good by getting out of seeing the vet, but we know better. They need to see the vet just like dogs. And they can cover up their illnesses very well. Kitty could need help and you’d never know it.

So, see you at the vet’s office next week?

From Elephants to Mice: Animals Who Have Touched My Soul

Longtime veterinarian James Mahoney tells the stories of animals who’ve touched his life in some way. It’s not just about dogs. You’ll also read the story of Loki, a South Indian elephant, and the tale of three wild mice!

How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond

Cesar Millan of the National Geographic Channel’s “Dog Whisperer” explains how he picked and raised a great little pack from puppyhood until the doggies were ready for their new owners.

Head to Tail Wellness: Western Veterinary Medicine Meets Eastern Wisdom

Veterinarian Stacy Fuchino reveals how Eastern therapies may be combined with traditional Western medicine to provide the best care for pets. Chi isn’t just for people!

Dog Tricks and Agility For Dummies

Dog trainer Sarah Hodgson teaches you how to determine your dog’s abilities and make training a cool activity for canine and human. Includes step-by-step instructions for teaching dogs how to push items like carts, retrieve keys or phones, put toys away, alert owners to strangers and more.

Disclaimer: I received complimentary review copies of the books mentioned in this post. Read more at privacy and disclosures.

(image via flickr AMagill)

Watch to see him wake up from surgery and immediately start walking again. It’s enough to make the Grinch’s heart grow 10 times, plus two. The new prostheses will allow Oscar to jump and run like other cats. Read more about Oscar’s story at CNN.

They love it. While the cats weren’t wild for Holistic Select’s wet food recipes, they were extremely enthusiastic over their dry food: Feline Radiant Adult & Kitten Health Chicken Meal Recipe and Feline Radiant Adult Health Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meals Recipe. (Many more varieties are available.)

My cats used to love Pet Promise cat food, but many of you know that the food, which was sourced from family farms, was discontinued a few months ago. The kitties and I both grieved the loss of such excellent food that apparently (I wouldn’t know myself) tasted so wonderful to them. I had replaced Pet Promise with Halo, a natural cat food. They liked it fine, but never as well as their beloved Pet Promise.

However, I’m happy that both Oscar and Choco have shown more zeal for Holistic Select Radiant dry food than any other dry food that’s been offered to them! That’s saying a lot. Lately, my cats  have been acting like dry food is a punishment that’s forced upon them when no wet food is around. And that’s no fun. The cats voted pretty loudly when their Halo dry food remained untouched next to the new offering.

When my cats are happy, I’m happy. I’m mixing the last of the Halo dry food in with the new food to make the transition.

Given that Oscar is still a kitten, we’ll select the Feline Radiant Adult & Kitten Health formula, which is supposed to be easily digested by kittens. Another benefit of  the food is that it contains Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids for skin and coat health, as well as cranberries for urinary health and Yucca schidigera extract to reduce urine and fecal odors. Plus, it has healthy fat sources and lots of protein.

The Holistic Select website is really great, and I mean it. I’m picky about product websites. So, if you want to learn more, please go over there. It’s not only informative, but very easy on the eyes, soothing in fact, which is rare for a pet food website.

What could make this food better? Holistic Select could give a nod to the environment by choosing at least some organic ingredients.

If your cats have also tried Holistic Select, please share your thoughts in comments. I’d love to find out how other cats react to this food that was so enticing to my kitties.

Disclaimer: Choco and Oscar received two free bags of dry food and two cans of wet food from Holistic Select for review purposes.

They are most ravenous for their wet food first thing in the morning, so that’s when they had the Duck & Chicken Recipe wet food for cats and kittens.

Oscar, a kitten still and the more finicky of the two, took a whiff and walked away. Choco, my seven-year-old darling, dove in and stayed for a bit, but never finished the serving. Oscar returned later for a second whiff and repeat performance. There you have it — one of two cats like the taste.

When the cats tried another variety of the wet food, Salmon & Shrimp Recipe, Oscar went for it and ate the whole serving while Choco hesitated and merely nibbled.

In general, my cats tend to be much more finicky when it comes to wet food, but they liked Holistic Select much better than the last new wet food I offered to them: Halo Spot’s Stew, which seemed to greatly offend them though they like Halo’s dry food. For reasons I don’t understand, my cats regularly turn down more natural and even organic wet food to go for Fancy Feast! I’m encouraged though my their response to this wet food. Plus, there are three more varieties we can try.

What’s Inside

The overall color and consistency of the wet Feline Holistic Select food reminded me of Science Diet, except that Holistic Select has fine little chunks of veggies like carrots and a less mushy texture overall. In their protein-based canned cat recipes, Holistic Select includes fruits, vegetables and added vitamins, Taurine and minerals. Specifically, both varieties the kitties tried contain Yucca schidigera extract, which is supposed to reduce urine and fecal odor, as well as cranberries for better urinary health. The food is free of artificial preservatives, colors and flavors.

For whole-cat health, the company uses a foundation of natural foods, adding ingredients like micro-organisms, enzymes, botanicals and phytonutrients. They believe that these powerful ingredients combine to promote health of the entire body, a holistic philosophy that guides all their unique recipes.

To sum it up, this food is worth a try, especially if you’re looking for natural, holistic food that may be fed to both cats and kittens. And who knows, it may even reduce fecal odor. Fancy Feast doesn’t help much in that arena, as I have to scoop quickly while holding my breath.

Disclosure: Choco and Oscar received two free cans of Holistic Select wet food and two free bags of Holistic Select dry food for review purposes.

While seeing a liger may be interesting, paying to see one at at place that breeds them only supports the inhumane practice. If lions and tigers are kept separate in captivity, as they should be, then there would be no room for the “accident” excuse. I know that Napoleon Dynamite says they’re his favorite, but we’ve too many natural species in this world to protect already without creating new, largely unhealthy ones. Right?

Accredited zoos don’t breed ligers. Lions and tigers don’t cross paths in the wild. If you’re not convinced it’s abusive to breed ligers or keep one as a pet, consider these facts from Big Cat Rescue :

• Ligers suffer many birth defects and usually die young

• Due to the size of ligers, the tigress mom is at risk for requiring a C-section or dying during birth

• They devour around 50 pounds of raw meat in a meal. Not a practical pet!

Read more about ligers and tigons at Big Cat Rescue.

(Image via Peggy Rowland)

Today is special though.

As part of the Together We Can Recycle campaign, Fancy Feast will donate $2 today (instead of just $1) for every recycling pledge they receive.

If you haven’t pledged to recycle your kitty’s wet food cans, do it now. It just takes a click! Also, please help spread the word on Twitter about the special donation offered today. I’m PeggyR in Twitterland.

I know what you may be thinking. Isn’t it better for the environment to just feed dry food instead of opening up all those cans? I’ve heard that argument several times, but it’s just not what’s best for kitty cat.

Felines aren’t natural water drinkers. They’d much rather eat a juicy mouse or other small prey in the wild. However, since they’re hanging out in your house, where it’s safe, they need help to get more water in their diet. That’s why my cat’s veterinarian said to feed wet food.

After my cat got sick from eating mostly a dry food diet a couple years ago, I’m a big believer in wet food for cats. Yet, those cans do add up. It’s most of what I take to recycling each week! And that’s exactly why it’s important for me to help lighten my cat’s paw prints on the earth by recycling and hopefully encouraging you to as well.

(cat paw image via sxc)

In case you don’t know, I’m a fan of the always fun and informative “Ask Umbra” column over at Grist. This week Umbra took on the question of how to repel wasps without killing them.

Speaking of the outdoors, would you ever consider adding a cute little prefab OfficePOD to your backyard? It may be what your work-at-home soul needs. SHFT featured them recently. (Yeah, I’m an “Entourage” fan, and that’s how I made my way to Adrian Grenier and Peter Glatzer’s new eco site, SHFT. It’s nice, though it can take a while to load.)

Now that we’re on the topic of work, have you ever considered that your tax dollars may be supporting someone’s bottled water habit? Eek! Find out more at Growing a Green Family.

You may not always be able to control how your tax dollars are spent, but if you’re car shopping soon, you can hopefully keep your dollars green. The Kelley Blue Book is now ranking their top 10 green vehicles for you, and Wallet Pop Green can direct you there. Yeah, it’s a bit strange to see SUVs on a green auto list, but I suppose some families are large enough to actually need them.

Finally, are you, like me, still looking for a very last-minute Mother’s Day gift? Check out a mega list of suggestions at Green Options then figure it out right now. Stop procrastinating.