Home Zookeeper

Tuesday, February 26th is the 14 annual Spay Day. There will be several events held around the USA. It is a great opportunity for those wishing to have their pet spayed or neutered to do so.

Both of our cats are spayed. Before we get them spayed, we worried about them getting pregnant even though they were both inside cats. Well, wouldn’t you know Calisto ran outside one night and wouldn’t come back in. She wound up pregnant even though we thought for sure she would be too young. Cats are funny like that. They can get pregnant at a very young age and almost always seem to be in heat. Calisto never showed signs of being in heat unlike Fade. Fade you could easily tell when she was in heat as it was a big production. The slightest touch would get her to ‘assume the position’ so to speak.

Once Calisto had her kittens, we had her fixed as well as Fade. While the procedure was right at $100, it was money well spent. Now both our cats are outside and we don’t have to worry about any more kittens. Plus since Calisto had complications nursing, it is better for her not to ever have any more kittens.

So, check with your local animal shelter to see if they have any events planned for Spay Day. Some places will be having events that day or some other time throughout February. It’ll be a great way to find out more or schedule spay/neutering for your pet.

This long coat chihuahua is named “Heart-kun” and was born in Japan in May 2007. He would make a perfect Valentine’s gift. His owner has no intention of selling as she says the little puppy has brought her and everyone she crosses path with good luck.

Still what a cutie.

Our cats have put on a few pounds this winter. While that is normal since they are outside now and need to bulk up, they seem to eat all the time. If this continues as the weather gets warmer, they might become incredibly huge. We might have some fat cats in need of an intervention. Here is a picture of a friend’s cat, one of the largest cats I’ve seen in quite a while. The picture doesn’t do him justice of just how big he really is.

How do you help an overweight pet shed that unwanted weight? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Walk your pet, play with them to get them moving. This might be difficult with cats. Calisto will walk around with me in the yard and down the driveway. So, it probably wouldn’t be hard to get her to ‘exercise,’ Fade, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to move unless it’s to eat.
2. Portion control. When our cats were inside, they always have food in their bowl. Now that they are outside, we only put enough in there for their meals since there are other cats who will eat it and ants that will swarm any food left.
3. Specialty pet food. You can buy pet food that is more healthy for your pet. I had tried some once for my cats but they didn’t care for it. I had to mix it with regular pet food to get them to eat it.

If all else fails, you can ask your vet for advice on how to get your pet in shape.

Let’s face it. Some years the best part of the Super Bowl has been the commercials. Sometimes I have found myself more interested in the outcome of the Bud Bowl than the actual game.

This year’s game was quite good, and the commercials were very entertaining, too. My favorite Super Bowl commercial would have to be the one for Budweiser featuring the Clydesdale horses.

If you missed the commercial, you can find it at My Space Super Bowl Ad. The commercial featured the horses being chosen to pull the Bud wagon. One horse is not chosen but a dalmatian befriends him to help him get into shape. Next comes a montage of the horse working out with the encouragement of the dog. Fast forward to next year’s tryout where the Clydesdale is chosen to be part of the team.

Since I love dalmatians and horses, this one tugged at my heartstrings for those reasons. Plus is the classic underdog triumphs in the end story.

What was your favorite ad?

It’s unlikely that you will watch a news cast today without hearing about one of the most famous animals in the United States.

Punxsatawney Phil, the groundhog from the town of Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania, every year makes his weather prediction on his day, February 2 - Groundhog Day. Today he predicted that the country will experience six more weeks of winter. How does he predict the weather? Well, it all depends if he sees his shadow. If he sees his shadow, then it’s six more weeks of winter. If there is no shadow, then he predicts an early spring.

Phil even has an official website, Groundhog.org where people can find out more about Phil and the Groundhog day tradition.