Should taxpayers put up $130,000 to save box turtles in Maryland?
I love turtles. I've never had one as a pet, nor did my kids. But we do have some that show up every spring in our backyard. (Curiously, our old cat, Tigra, tends to just stare at one when she sees it, as though its slow motion makes her doubt that it's a living creature.) We do our best to leave them alone so as not to disturb them as they go about doing whatever "wild" turtles do. I don't even know what species of turtle they are.
I have to say, though, that I puzzle over the federal government giving a $130,000 grant to a project in Maryland that was started by concerned citizens who saw box turtles being killed when they tried to cross a road at a state park. According to the story I read about it, a couple of dozen concerned people put in almost 2 miles of shin-high fencing which barred turtles from crossing and forced them and other small critters down to some culverts under the road.
Seeing the success of that, someone got in gear and got a federal grant to build a better fence and do some work on culverts or something, and the result was $130,000 in federal funding. Well, good, I guess. I'm sure $130,000 is a tiny drop in the funding bucket from a governmental standpoint. And, really, I hope it does save some box turtles and other critters who might have been at risk from traffic.
But, at the same time, is it something taxpayers should be funding? Really?? Leave a comment and tell us what you think about the matter.
Technorati Tags: saving box turtles, federal funding for turtles, for pets and pet lovers
Pets’ sense of hearing certainly beat mine and probably yours too
Of course, as an official "Old Guy" now (I'll be 61 next month), I have an excuse for less than the best hearing -- my ears have been used and abused with headphones, loud movie soundtracks, noisy sirens and honking horns, etc. But even when I was young with fresh, flexible eardrums, science tells me my hearing probably didn't do much better than 20 to 20,000 hertz in range. Our old cat, Tigra, according to the same scientific estimates, has a hearing range of 45 to 60,000 hertz.
Chances are good that your dog or cat hears much better than you do, and his/her annoying habit of not hearing you when you call is probably just attitude -- the dog or cat hears you but just doesn't want to listen and respond!
One of the oddest observations we've made about Tigra's hearing is that she's immediately fascinated by sounds that come from the tiny speakers on our laptop computers. She rarely pays attention or reacts to the sound from the television or a radio. But if I have my speakers turned on listening to anything on the laptop. she immediately perks up, climbs onto my lap, and begins to rub and walk all over the laptop if I let her. It's sort of comical.
Do your pets react to sounds? How do they react? Leave a comment and share your story.
Technorati Tags: cats, dogs, animal hearing ranges, for pets and pet lovers
Anybody know anything about ‘nesting’ behavior in old cats??
Our old cat, Tigra, will turn 13 next month. We had a cat previously, Merlin, who lived to be almost 22. So I'm not clear on how "old" 13 is for a cat. But let's say fairly old.
In recent months, Tigra has taken to nesting snuggled up under the covers tucked under the bottom of our bed. They droop down just enough for her to crawl under the bed and lay against the bottom of the blankets, while sleeping on the hardwood floor under the bed. When she first started doing this a couple of months ago, we were hunting all over the house for her and she startled us after we had called and called by suddenly popping out from under our bed.
We have no real issues with her nesting there, though she is aware of strict rules against being on the bed itself -- and is pretty cagey about not letting us come home and catch her on the bed. Too often.
I guess my biggest concern is that this could be some "end of life" issues where she's preparing just to snuggle in, go to sleep, and not wake up one of these days.
Odd, how cats behave sometimes, isn't it? They're mysterious, alien creatures. Gotta love 'em, though!
Technorati Tags: cats, cat nesting behavior, aging pets, for pets and pet lovers
If you’re thinking fireworks this weekend, don’t forget to think about your pets
Most of you probably have already thought about this: Pets do NOT like fireworks and may be endangered by them.
If you have a dog or cat especially, you've probably noted that they don't care for sudden, loud noises, nor do they especially like the nasty smell of burning gunpowder. Which is to say this: Even if you live in a community which allows you to shoot off fireworks (and more communities in the U.S., at least, are banning fireworks every year) please, please, PLEASE protect your cats, dogs, birds, reptiles, caged pets, whatever from fireworks. (There was an especially cruel comment someone overheard at a fireworks stand where I live when a young man was buying firecrackers: "Yeah, I'm going to use them to scare my dog." God help us in our town if such a person was being serious; God help us in our town if such a person thought that was even funny!)
When the afternoon starts to turn into evening, make it a point today and especially this 4th of July Weekend to keep your pets inside. They'll appreciate it and so will you.
Technorati Tags: pets and fireworks, for pets and pet lovers
Treat, toy dispenser when you leave your dog home alone
Here's a useful and really fun sort of treat/toy dispenser for those times when you need to leave your pet dog home alone. It's from a merchant partner of mine called "FetchDog.com," and they have an abundant selection of goodies and useful accessories for your dog. Go take a look around their website for their whole selection.
Meanwhile, enjoy the video demo of their Kong Automatic Toy & Treat Dispenser. You can click on the video during or after it runs and you'll be taken right to the FetchDog.com website to get complete purchase information. Enjoy:
Didn’t mean to slight those looking for collectible bird figurines
For all you bird lovers out there, here are some links to buys on collectible bird figurines, in keeping with those I offered yesterday to cat lovers and dog lovers. Enjoy!
 Capodimonte Bird Figurine No2  See Full Details |
 Capodimonte Bird Figurine No1 See Full Details |
 Lenox Saw Whet Owl Bird Figurine Little Lookout See Full Details |
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Here are some cute collectible figurines for pet lovers
Here are some cute collectible figurines for pet lovers.
I love to browse eBay, don't you? It has some terrific buys on some really nifty things. It has some odd things, too, but then it IS the world's largest single auction site.
What a great place to look for something like collectible cat figurines, for example:
 Large Bronze Egyptian Cat God Bastet Figurine See Full Details |
 Beautiful Vintage Colorpoint Cat Figurine See Full Details |
 Free Ship Furry Animal Tabby Cat Collectable Figurine See Full Details |
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Or, if you really aren't a cat person -- and what in the world is WRONG with you, not being a cat person?? -- maybe dogs are your favorites. We can bring you great deals on dog figurines, too:
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Cats really are more tidy than dogs, aren’t they?
Daughter Jennifer just brought her dog, Ginny, by for one of their irregular drop-in visits. They live about two miles from our house and Jenn often decides to take Ginny for a walk and end up here -- probably because we let both Jenn and Ginny enjoy chocolate chip cookies and a good drink of cool water when they both get here. We enjoy the visit and daughter and dog both enjoy the walk.
Which brings me to the point of this post: Why are cats so much more tidy than dogs when they eat? Historically, both are carnivores who hunted prey for their survival. Certainly large cats like tigers and lions can rip apart a dead animal with the best of the wolves out there.
So why does our cat, Tiger, nibble and chew so carefully, while her dog, Ginny, crunches into a chocolate chip cookie, dribbling crumbs and dog slobber every which way? Of course, the cat won't touch chocolate chip cookies, so maybe it's just a problem with the nature of the crunchy cookie?
I don't think so. I think in general cats are tidier when they eat, and when they clean themselves, as well as when they use their litter boxes. Of course, I've never had a dog who was trained to use a litter box, but if I had, I'm betting the dog would be much messier, noisier, and more annoying in the box than anything Tigra has ever done.
So why are dogs not as tidy as cats? Why do dogs seem to be messier in general?
Another of life's mysteries, I guess. Don't tell Tigra this, as I wouldn't want to upset her, but I like dogs as well as cats. Jenn and Ginny both are always welcome at our house -- even when we find ourselves out of cookies.
Technorati Tags: dogs, cats, for pets and pet lovers
Some fun products coming for pet lovers — show your love for your pet
A couple of weeks ago I asked what sort of pet supplies or pet-related products you buy online and what stuff you generally shop for locally.
My impromptu survey was a raging success -- well, not really, but I did get some ideas. So, coming in the next couple of weeks -- drumroll, please -- we are going to put up goodies from "Cafe Pets," a premier merchant of pet-related animal themed shops. According to their website, Cafe Pets "contains tons of cute and funny products with original Cafe Pets designs. Here you'll find T-shirts for every member of the family, including the dog, as well as fun products for the home, office and even your car. Gift yourself or gift a friend!"
Stay tuned for fun stuff for cat lovers, dog lovers, and other pet lovers. You can click on the link above right now to view their wide array of products -- and buy a gift while you're there!
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Just for cat lovers out there — here’s a useful website for classy cat collars
Just discovered this little website a friend of mine has put up. It's called "Classy Cat Collars," and has some really nice stuff there. He's organized the site well to display up-to-the-minute online auctions for some really cute collars. Looking for rhinestone collars? He's got 'em there. How about a diamond collar? Okay, as he says, real diamonds might be a bit much if your cat's allowed out of the house at all. But they're offering some beautiful little sparkling collars that'll LOOK like they have real diamonds. (And if you don't tell the cat, she'll probably never know the difference.)
It's a growing site, with new pages and new information being added all the time for cats and cat lovers -- as well as links to some classy cat collars and the links are updated daily. Go take a look for yourself.
Technorati Tags: Classy Cat Collars, cat collar auctions, buy cat collars, for pets and pet lovers