I’d like to share with you three Halloween dangers for pets! I know how our guards can come down during the holidays, and I want everyone to be safe, happy, and have fun!!!

Thank you to Life Gear for letting me know that there are options to the dangerous, toxic, carcinogenic glow sticks of old!

Two weeks ago, I spent a lot of time typing “cat ate string” into search engines. Aura, my 10 month old Ragdoll, ate some. A lot of some.

In my 15 years of cat ownership, this is the first time I’ve had to deal with this, other than the time when my late Persian ate about 2 1/2 inches of string and I didn’t know it until I found him running all over the house trying to pass it on the carpet.

Aura ate the string from her Da Bird toy. I had read about what a great toy this was, and it was for a few months. She loved it. I was always vigilant about putting it away when we were done playing with it, but she’s such a calm kitten in general that this time I didn’t. I was out all Saturday night at a wedding, then came home and went to bed. When I woke up Sunday morning, I went to pick up Da Bird. The pole and the feathers were laying side by side. The two feet of string that connect them was gone. There was about two inches of string left attached to the pole and then attached to the hook that the feathers connected with. The cuts were pretty clean.

I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find that 2 feet of string. I panicked. I cried. I blamed myself. I deduced that it had to be Aura. My other cat never chews on string, and Aura does at times. My other cat hardly has any teeth left. My dog isn’t the type to chew on string, either. As a test, I picked up the remaining string and showed it to the dog. He sniffed and looked away. Aura sniffed and immediately tried to take a bite! A ha! I watched her like a hawk. I started giving her vaseline twice a day. She wasn’t exhibiting anything odd. She was still passing normal looking stool once a day. But after four days of constant worry, I took her to the vet for an x-ray.

The vet thought she felt something hard in Aura’s tummy, but looking at the x-ray, all looked normal. The danger was, if she hadn’t passed it by then, it could be binding her intestines causing internal damage and bleeding. It could be sitting there gaining bacteria. It could cause blockage. Or it could be wrapped around her tongue, and the rest could be trying to pass through, thus pearling up her intestines (however I think this string is a bit on the thick side for that).

But it is now two weeks later, and had I not known that that 2 feet of string is missing I would be none the wiser. Nothing has changed. I’ve seen no sign of the string. I’ve tried to check every stool, but a new discovery brings to light the fact that I have missed some opportunities. This morning, it was confirmed that the dog does indeed eat out of the litter box at times. Great.

So, besides the fact that my cat eats string and my dog eats cat poo, all is well here!

I’m a big fan of xylitol in my toothpaste and sugar-free gum. It’s actually good for your teeth. So my ears perked up years ago when I heard that just like chocolate, xylitol is toxic to dogs and cats, and I should never leave my gum or toothpaste lying around where my pets could get at them. Not a problem.

Then why on earth is Virbac Animal Health, a so-called “industry leader in the scientific research, development and manufacture of quality, proven pet pharmaceutical products” for OVER TWO DECADES, selling a product for dogs and cats that lists xylitol as the 3rd ingredient after water and glycerine!?  I am shocked.

The product is called CET AquaDent, and it’s a drinking water additive for dogs and cats. It’s supposed to help keep their breath fresh in conjunction with brushing.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center sees over 100 cases of xylitol toxicity annually. According to the center, dogs ingesting significant amounts of items sweetened with xylitol could develop a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures.”

With smaller concentrations of xylitol, the onset of clinical signs could be delayed as much as 12 hours after ingestion,” according to a 2006 press release from the center.

That was four years ago, Virbac. Shame on you.

In September, we’ll be giving away a pet oral health kit from Naturally Green Tropiclean, including a similar water additive and teeth cleaning gel, neither of which contains xylitol. Stay tuned!

First of all, congratulations to the winner of the FURminator, Jill of TheCatNetwork. Jill’s #2 was chosen by Random.org. Jill is part of a non-profit cat rescue in Florida, so a lot of hot kitties will be getting rid of their loose fur with the help of the FURminator deLuxe. Your FURminator is on its way, Jill!

Now onto our new giveaway for May, courtesy of WagAndBark.com. They have supplied us with two different safe, humane, pain-free anti-barking and training collars for dogs, as well as a Tic Taser so you never have to touch a tick again! That means with this giveaway, there will be THREE lucky winners!

In the past month, I have found a wonderful training method for my mischievous 8 month old kitten: a blast of cold air on her back from a can of condensed air. She hates the feeling, the sound startles her out of her behavior, and she immediately stops what she is doing. The training collars from WagAndBark.com work the same way. No jolts or painful electric shocks, no smelly sprays, no rolled up newspapers, no more cowering dog, afraid you’re going to reprimand him for something he doesn’t remember doing, whether it was ten minutes or three hours ago.

One lucky reader will win a complete JetCare System remote control training collar suitable for dogs of all sizes, over the age of 8 months. (Retail value $199.95!) One important element of dog training is to remember that dogs want to please us. They learn much better from positive reinforcement from the humans they love. This remote control unit allows you to train your dog without frightening him, and reward her when she stops doing something wrong and comes to you instead!

The JetCare^® System Education Pro Kit with Odorless Refill’s remote control has three buttons: 1) a sound button which alerts the dog it is time to cease his behavior; 2) a button providing a short burst of cold air (one second); 3) a button providing a slightly longer burst of cold air (three seconds). This training collar requires your participation. It is to redirect unwanted behavior and reward your dog when he is acting how you want him to act.

A second lucky reader will win a mini anti-bark collar for dogs under 17 pounds and over 8 months (retail value $119.95). This collar includes a microphone so that the harmless cold air spray will activate upon your dog’s bark.

A third lucky reader will win the very handy The Tic Taser™ with Piezo Electric System, “An effective and ecological method to eradicate ticks.” (Retail value $19.95.) This pen-shaped device uses no batteries. It works via the Faraday cage system of electrical charges. The ball at the end goes around the tick while it is attached to the body of its prey. Closing the “cage” around it creates a charge that destroys the tick’s neurological system. You can read more about the Tic Taser at WagAndBark.com.

Have I seen this Tic Taser in action? Thankfully, I have not as I have not yet seen a tick this year to test it on. But at such a great price, it would certainly be a wonderful gift to your entire family if you live in a wooded area and deal with ticks often.

How to enter:

1) Mandatory: Subscribe to the Go Fetch Gifts Blog via a reader or email (in the top right corner). This way you won’t miss out on all the awesome pet product giveaways coming up this year!

2) Mandatory: Leave a comment on this blog letting me know you subscribed and using which method. You also must include WHICH collar you would like to win: the remote control training collar or the mini anti-bark collar.

3) If you include in your comment that you now follow me on Twitter and “like” our Facebook page, you then get one more entry for each. Tell me your Twitter name so I can follow you back!

4) Tweet this for a bonus entry:
@LeighPeterson is giving away anti-bark & training collars at http://www.GoFetchGifts.com/blog/

Entrants must be 18 and older and items will only be shipped to addresses in the US. You may enter up to midnight Eastern time on May 27, 2010. Winners will be selected using random.org by June 1, 2010 and notified via email. Winners will have three days to claim their prize.

Good Luck!  Woof!!!

Comments & entries are now closed.

April 22nd is Earth Day! It is also the 40th anniversary of the environmental “holiday,” which was founded in 1970 following the grassroots efforts of Senator Gaylord Nelson.

In honor of Mother Earth, I’d like to introduce you to a line of eco-friendly and pet-safe cleaning products: CLEAN + Green.

CLEAN + Green is the only line of eco-friendly aerosol pet cleaning products on this beautiful planet we all share. The developers of these all-natural stain and odor removers, SeaYu (Twitter: @SeaYu), were kind enough to send us some samples so we could see and sniff the results for ourselves. We give it four paws up! The company offers a large array of products, including cleaners and odor removers for carpet and upholstery, concrete, wood and tile, autos and cages, as well as de-skunk cleaner, litter box cleaner, and furniture refresher.

I used to love using Febreze. I would “freshen” up the furniture and carpet with it and enjoy coming home to a fresh smell. But after my Persian cat developed some sort of growth on his liver, I started wondering if I might have contributed to its development. It occurred to me that my pets were constantly laying on the surfaces I had doused with chemicals, and their noses were much closer to the fabric and carpet than mine ever was. They were breathing in much more of these chemicals than I, and their bodies are smaller. I haven’t used Febreze since, and I admit, I miss it.

So, I tested Clean + Green’s Furniture Refresher and Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner.

The Furniture Refresher is a light, clean mist. Like all Clean + Green products,the ingredients are organic, biodegradable, non-toxic, non-flammable, non-carcinogenic, and contain no harsh chemicals or perfumes. You won’t enter the room to a perfumey smell with Clean + Green’s furniture refresher, but the spray smells much healthier. It smells very fresh, kind of like a mountain mist or morning dew. But that odor stays where it is sprayed, refreshing on contact. When you walk into the room, you don’t smell….well, anything. And that’s a good thing.

I tested the Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner on some very old stains and two newer stains (thanks, kitties) and couldn’t believe my eyes. I wish now that I had taken a before photo so I could show you how well this product works. I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest, because the ingredient list is so natural and seems so tame. I guess I’ve been trained to think that you need harsh chemicals to clean stains. But when I went to check on one of the spots I had sprayed, I could barely find it!

If you think like me (a child of the 80s and former big-banged hair spray addict), you might wonder how an aerosol spray can be healthy for the environment. So I asked a Clean + Green PR rep about that and it was explained to me as such: “Aerosol isn’t a chemical, it is just a ‘liquid suspended in a gas.’ So – Clean+Green uses a nitrogen-based propellant, and nitrogen is naturally occurring in 72% of earth’s atmosphere.”

Visit the Clean + Green web site for more reviews, coupons, rebate offers, and to purchase or use the store locator. Unfortunately, the locator doesn’t show that I can purchase the products near me yet, but you can purchase online and receive free shipping on orders of $25 or more.

You can also become a Clean + Green fan on Facebook.

(Psst, please become a GoFetchGifts Facebook fan too!)

As usual, the first announcement of a recall is usually not the last. The Nature’s Variety raw dog and cat food recall I announced earlier has been expanded to all bags of raw chicken and organic chicken with Best By dates of 2/5/11 or earlier. My dog has just finished an entire bag of the chicken diet–his first time eating the raw food–and has showed no adverse reactions.

Unopened bags and empty opened bags may be returned for a full refund or replacement. Members of the Nature’s Variety e-mail list also received coupons for $3 off any bag of raw diet, $3 off any kibble, and $1 off any two cans.

In positive news regarding this recall, Nature’s Variety is, as of late 2009, using a High Pressure Pasteurization on all raw frozen diets. This unique process kills pathogenic bacteria through high-pressure, water based technology. Recalling the foods that were made prior to this process went into effect will ensure that all Nature’s Variety products on the shelves will have been manufactured with this safe, new process.

Visit Nature Variety’s web site to read the entire press release, posted today.

Aura the Ragdoll kitten has had quite the first 6 months of her life. In the hospital overnight with pneumonia, several bouts of green diarrhea and lost appetite, and couldn’t be vaccinated until she was 5 months old. (Although she was de-wormed and de-flead, both of which she needed.)

I had her vaccinated with a 3-in-1 modified live vaccine in January. I called all over town looking for a veterinarian that offered a 3-in-1 killed vaccine, and could only find 4 and 5-in-1 killed. Finally I found a vet that did 3-in-1, but it was live. I decided on that one because I’m not comfortable with pumping in a whole lot of viruses at once, and I’ve heard good and bad things about both live and killed vaccines, but most importantly I’ve heard that live vaccines usually take hold better with less need for boosters.

The vaccination went fine. The vet said she might be sleepy that night, but she was not, she was herself. He went and got a feline leukemia vaccine on his own, but I told him to not give that to her. I have heard it should only be given to cats who are at risk of exposure and that its a dangerous vaccine, especially for Ragdolls.

I then had Aura spayed at a low-cost clinic a week later. It would have been better to wait another week, but I was too nervous that she would go into heat any day.  The above picture shows Aura the day of her surgery. Doesn’t seem to be in much pain The dark line is a tattoo, so in case she and I should ever become separated doctors will see she has already been fixed. As a matter of fact, this came in handy for someone else at the clinic that day. When I went to pick up Aura, I overheard another woman being told that her cat was shaved and a tattoo was found. Yay!

Unfortunately, the spay clinic said they had to give her her rabies vaccine. That really upset me, as I was planning on doing it in two months, after her vaccination booster. I didn’t want her to have any shots at the same time as her spay surgery, as that was enough for her immune system to have to contend with…or so I thought.

When I picked her up, along with about 35 other people picking up their pets from this very busy clinic, we were given a lecture about how they may not be themselves tonight, and tomorrow when the pain meds wear off we might notice a change in them again. None of this was true for Aura. After she got home she did look drunk for about an hour, but she still wanted to play and run! By the end of the day she was already jumping up on the furniture. I left her in a room that first night to try to keep her out of trouble, but really she was already on the road to recovery. I also got her microchipped! The spay, rabies shot, microchipping, and nail trim together cost $85. That’s half of what it would have cost at the veterinarian’s office (sorry, Aura’s vet).

One month later, Aura went back to her vet for her vaccination booster. She saw a new vet this time, and as he looked over her chart he said “Wow, she’s lived the medical life of a few kitties already.” He mentioned the fact that it was a little too soon for her to have gotten a rabies shot, and I agreed and told him they “made me do it.” He gave her her first report card. She got all “normals” which as far as I’m concerned means straight As. And she got extra credit: under “teeth and gums,” the vet hand wrote “very good!” I would like to think this is because she eats no canned cat food or kibble, only whole prey mice and chicks.

So I finally think that all the scary times are behind us. Aura is doing great. I give her lysine treats daily, as she had one weepy eye, and that seems to have solved that issue (the eye may have feline herpes in it, and lysine is a natural anti-viral). I also give her a little probiotic every day, just because.

Diarrhea in cats can be a simple irritation caused by a minor change, or it can be caused by a treatable disease or life-threatening ailment. Persistent, chronic feline diarrhea should always be treated by a veterinarian, who can run a full blood panel to show possible problem’s in the cat’s body. But before running to the vet, there are natural diarrhea treatments for cats that can be tried at home.

1. Slippery Elm Bark is a natural herb that has been used for centuries to soothe the digestive tract. It is found in health food and vitamin shops in capsules and powder form. To treat feline diarrhea, mix about a teaspoon of powder or up to one capsule full of slippery elm powder into water and mix in with the cat’s food. Alternately, the powder can be mixed into wet food. This treatment can be used daily but an improvement in stools could be seen in as little as one day.

2. Check the cat’s food label for any grains and fillers like corn, wheat gluten, and rice. If those ingredients are listed, slowly switch the cat over to grain-free food over a week. On day one, feed the cat 90% old food with 10% of the new, grain-free food mixed in. Slowly increase the new food to old food ratio over the next 5-7 days. Switching a cat’s food too fast can be the sole cause of diarrhea, as their digestive systems need time to adjust to new foods.

Cats are carnivores whose bodies were not made to digest the grains that are added by many of today’s pet food companies as low-cost fillers. This is the case with cats who have IBD, or Irritable Bowel Disease. Switching to a completely grain-free food and eliminating vegetables from the diet often ceases diarrhea and vomiting in these cats.

3. Probiotics can be given to cats with diarrhea to introduce helpful bacteria into the digestive tract. Probiotics made for humans are often more beneficial, because they contain more than one strain of bacteria. Refrigerated probiotic capsules found in vitamin and health food stores usually contain around 7 billion microorganisms per capsule. Half of a capsule can be mixed into the cat’s food twice a day, or mixed with the juice of canned cat food and give via syringe. (Do not mix into tuna juice or human milk; milk made for cats is ok.)

4. Another method to introduce extra beneficial bacteria into a cat’s digestive tract is with plain, fat-free yogurt. Many cats love the taste and can be given one or two tablespoons a day. If the cat won’t eat the yogurt, try mixing it into her food. Only fat-free, plain flavored yogurt should be used.

5. 100% pure canned pumpkin–not pumpkin pie filling–adds fiber to the diet. Pumpkin is a beneficial treatment for feline diarrhea and also helps with constipation in cats. Again, many cats love the taste and can be fed a tablespoon or two per day.

Warnings:

• Cats with diarrhea need extra fluids to guard against dehydration. Dehydration is a serious byproduct of feline diarrhea that will make matters much worse. Canned food is preferred, as it is much higher in moisture. Premium, grain-free canned food will not cause or worsen diarrhea and its moisture content is much healthier for all cats, healthy and ailing.

• Other ways to ensure cats with loose or runny stools get enough moisture is by giving water or cat milk via syringe, or mixing it into canned food. Many cats will also drink more water out of a fountain than from a bowl.
• If none of the above methods of treating diarrhea in cats produces improvement, see a veterinarian.

I am very saddened to report that my favorite pet food company, Nature’s Variety, has initiated a voluntary recall.

This recall only involves their raw medallions, patties, and chubs, and is due to possible contamination of salmonella.

The only products affected are limited to Chicken flavored food with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10. This includes:

* 3 lb chicken medallions (UPC# 7 69949 60130 2) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
* 6 lb chicken patties (UPC# 7 69949 60120 3) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
* 2 lb chicken chubs (UPC# 7 69949 60121 0) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10

My cat Charlie just finished a bag of Nature’s Variety Raw Chicken Medallions two days ago. I do not know if the “Best If Used By” date matched, but Charlie showed no negative symptoms while eating the food. He is currently eating the Rabbit and Venison flavors and will continue to eat them for the time being. I believe in this company.

Read the official press release here.

One of the reasons my newest pet is a kitten rather than an older cat is because I wanted to be able to wean her directly onto raw food, hopefully whole prey. It’s going pretty well.

I started first by purchasing a small feeder pinky mouse from the freezer at the pet store. Although it was barely the size of a quarter, I was still amazed to see Aura, my then 9 week old Ragdoll, take it down lightening fast. When she became an extremely picky eater, those pinky mice remained the one food she would not turn down. She would turn down premium canned food like Nature’s Variety and EVO, cheap “kitty crack” canned food like Fancy Feast, and even cooked chicken…but she would always eat those pinky mice.

But I wasn’t going to pay $1 – $2 per pinky mouse when I can get them for as little as $.16 cents each at RodentPro.com. While that price can jump up to around $.50 cents each when you add shipping, I am lucky enough to be abe to pre-order at web site prices and pick up my order at a local reptile show. This weekend I got 50 weanling mice and 50 chicks for $23.

Rodenpro’s feeder prey is so clean and healthy looking! My kitten just loves them – especially the chicks, which I just scored for $.12 cents each! The chicks usually offer her a great workout, too…she loves to play with them for 5-10 minutes before feasting. She likes the small quail too, but I haven’t been able to get her to eat any older, meatier quail yet. She’s not interested. She was also not interested in the Gourmet Rodent mice I bought for her at Petco when I ran out of my RodentPro mice. And I don’t blame her! Those mice were wet and smelly.

I love all animals, and never thought I’d be able to feed frozen whole prey.  But it’s been much easier than I thought; way easier than feeding frankenprey, and much cheaper than canned. I usually pet these cute little guys for a second before throwing them to her, thanking them for supplying my kitten with all the nutrients she needs. Gnawning on their little bones cleans her teeth. They are full of protein, and their organs are full of the vitamins and taurine she needs. Aura highly recommends RodentPro!

I was feeding Aura some frankenprey for a while (chunks of cut up raw meat and organs), but now she isn’t interested in it. She is currently eating the whole prey during the day and some canned at night…the past two days she has started to steal my toothless cat’s pre-made Nature’s Variety raw, as well. She won’t eat it if I offer her her own though, she only wants to steal Charlie’s