If you own a cat, you already know how hard it is to get the little beggar to do anything he or she doesn’t want to, and that includes taking medicine! Pills and capsules are a particular problem – it’s almost impossible to get a cat to swallow a pill, so your only option is to crush it to powder and hide it in the cat’s food. Cats have a good sense of smell, so you may have to hide it in a stinky treat, like salmon, for example.

If your cat is too smart for you, you could try getting your vet to prepare the medicine in a liquid form that the cat can’t detect. Never forget that you can never count on a cat getting hungry – most cats have several houses in the street to ’stock up on’ if the main home food dispensary starts playing up! Why only the other day, Woohoo brought home this fine cat – how could I possibly not feed him too?!

I’m against the use of plastic tubes to force the medicine down your cat’s throat. You can traumatize the little fella if you do this – he almost certainly won’t want to be your friend for days afterwards! No matter how sophisticated the tube (and some have ‘launch mechanisms’ etc), your cat will struggle, and this won’t be fun.

In an absolute emergency (for example, when you know your cat has eaten something poisonous, and there is no time to call the vet) there is one guaranteed technique that could save your cat’s life. I repeat, NEVER use this technique except in dire emergencies. Pick your cat up by the scruff of the neck and angle the cat’s head backwards making his mouth face upwards. This is how mummy cats pick up kittens, and they have a reflex to temporary immobility in this position. You can then drop the medication straight down the cat’s throat. The cat’s usual reaction will be to swallow, although watch out for the cat breathing in – you don’t want to pour it down his airways! Once swallowed, you can gently let the cat down. Remember to give her lots of strokes and treats after this kind of thing, because it is kind of traumatic for the cat (and the owner!).

If you have enjoyed this article, why not sign up for http://www.petmillions.com ? You can support your favorite cat charity, and get a chance to win a million! You can even vote for Woohoo while you are there! vote for Woohoo! . Just enter his pet id (3151) and away you go! Ta! Jules.

Mr Henderson is the owner of several animals including Woohoo, a tabby cat with a real hatred of medicine! Woohoo is entered in the http://www.petmillions.com contest – please vote for him!

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Frontline is a line of products for the treatment and prevention of fleas and control of ticks on pets – mostly dogs and cats. It is manufactured by Merial – a large animal health company. There the are following products:

* Frontline Plus
* Frontline Topspot
* Frontline Spray

It is a liquid that is applied monthly to an animal’s back to protect pets from fleas and ticks. Once Frontline is applied, it is absorbed into the animal’s skin. The insecticide, Fipronil is then secreted in the animal’s hair follicle, and dissolves in the natural skin and hair oils that cover the fur. Frontline is the #1 selling flea and tick medicine for dogs and cats in the world

A method of protecting your whole property – Damminix – may also be cited in this category. It consists of biodegradable cardboard tubes stuffed with permethrin-treated cotton and works in the following way: Mice collect the cotton for lining their nests. The pesticide on the cotton kills any immature ticks that are feeding on the mice. It is important to put the tubes where mice will find them, such as in dense, dark brush or at the base of a log; mice are unlikely to gather the cotton from an open lawn. Best results are obtained with regular applications early in the spring and again in late summer.The more neighbors who also use Damminix, the better. Damminix appears to help control tick populations, particularly in the year following initial use.

source : wikipedia.org

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Flea and tick treatments can be a cheaper way to rid Spot and Fluffy of insects, but dog and cat owners should beware of self-medicating their pets.
Owners should contact their veterinarian before giving any drugs to their pets, and they should read any packaging thoroughly. Just as a parent would not give medicine to a child without reading the label, pet owners should seek the correct advice for treating their animals.It’s important to get the right guidance. You can certainly get things cheaper.

Last fall, at the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s insistence, Hartz Mountain Corp. agreed to cancel uses of several flea and tick products that may be associated with a range of adverse reactions, including hair loss, salivation, tremors, and numerous deaths in cats and kittens, according to the EPA’s Web site.
For the past eight years, Geisert said she has relied on Front Line brand products, which should be applied with a doctor’s supervision. “The cats metabolic system is quite different from dogs,” said Geisert. “People don’t have that knowledge base.”
As with humans, any drugs should be given to animals only with medical guidance, said Amy Shroff, chief of staff and emergency and critical care department head at Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center of New England in Waltham.
“Anybody can buy any medicine and put it on any animal,” said Schroff. “Cats and dogs metabolize drugs differently.”
Ashland cats Oreo and Jaguar fell ill this week after their owner Amy Lenar applied Bio Spot brand medication to them to treat fleas. Lenar’s third cat Kiwi, which also received the medicine, was shot and killed by an Ashland Police officer after the town’s animal control officer feared it was infected with rabies.

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For many people, their pets’ health is just as important as their health.

Regular vet visits aren’t uncommon for many and drugs for animals are becoming increasingly popular options. Those drugs can make a big difference in the health of your pet, but they can come with some major side effects just like with humans.

According to USAToday, 3,200 dogs had to be put down and almost 19,000 had “bad reactions” after taking prescription painkillers.

Warnings about human prescriptions are all over the place in pamphlets, on the bottles, on websites and on television commercials. But it’s not the same for pet owners. Yes companies list the risks on their websites and provide some pamphlets, but those aren’t always given out. They should talk to the pet owner as to what medicine is being prescribed, why it’s being prescribed and possible side effects

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what venetarian says?
Musher’s Secrets Non-Toxic, Non-Allergenic and Non-Staining formula is a great way to prevent damage to paws from extreme weather.

find it here

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available here

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# Non-toxic; does not irritate tissue or retard healing.

# Facilitates routine ear examinations and otic health, particularly for long-eared canine breeds prone to ear infections and entrapment of foreign matter.

# Eliminates ear wax that might obscure mites, weeds and other organic matter.
Apply liberally to the ear. Massage the base of the ear. Clean the accessible portion of the ear with a cotton ball following administration of OTI-CLENS. Repeat procedure if necessary. Use once or twice weekly on a routine basis.

available here

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# Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick)
# Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Brown Dog Tick)
# Dermacentor variabilis (American Dog Tick)
# Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star Tick)
# Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain Wood Tick)

Ticks have a lot of advantages. They have an unusually long lifespan, which not only perpet uates the ticks, but also the pathogens they may carry, making it considerably more difficult to control these diseases. In addition, they can survive through various unfavorable conditions, and their reproductive activity is high.

The Tick Life Cycle

Ticks lay their eggs in various places, but not on the host. Usually, they are laid and hatched in the environment. Female ticks can lay up to 22,000 eggs in a single egg-laying event. After ticks hatch, they seek a host, feed for several days, then drop off and become nymphal ticks, which repeat the same process to become adult ticks. Adults also seek a host, feed and drop off, laying their eggs in the environment to complete their life cycle.

Once ticks find a host, they securely attach themselves by imbedding their mouth parts as holdfasts into the pet ’s skin, and begin feeding off of its blood. If a tick is carelessly pulled off, the head often remains in the skin. As the tick continues to feed, ticks become engorged with the pet ’s blood and their size can increase by several times.

Ticks pose a health threat to both pet s and people. Ticks transmit disease-causing agents, several of which have risen to epidemic proportions. Some of the most common tick-borne diseases are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichiosis.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of tick-borne diseases include: fever, muscle and joint pain, stiffness, and rashes. If untreated, these health problems can become severe and long-term treatment may become necessary.

What You Can Do:

1. Prevention

# Tick prevention in pet s is very important in areas where there is exposure. Frontline Flea Control for cats and dogs is a once a month topical treatment which is highly effective.

# Most collars don’t work well because they often don’t ward off ticks attaching to areas near the back and hind end of the animal since the collars are up front around the neck. The Preventic Tick Collar for dogs, however, works well since its mode of action differs from most collars. It actually releases a compound by contacting the skin of the pet and thus provides whole body protection.

# Breakaway Flea & Tick Collar for Cats design allows a cat to free itself if its collar catches on a fixed object. It kills both fleas and ticks for up to six full months.

2. Shampoos

# Ovitrol Plus Flea & Tick Shampoo for Dogs & Cats is a soothing, oatmeal-enriched insecticidal shampoo that offers immediate and residual control.

# Adams Pyrethrin Dip (4oz) kills and repels fleas, ticks, lice, gnats, mosquitoes and flies on dogs and cats.

3. Sprays

Because ticks lay their eggs in their surrounding environment, it is important to treat your yard, house and your pet ’s bedding as well as your pet .

# Adams Carpet Spray (16oz) Contains Nylar® insect growth regulator, and the botanically-derived insecticide Linalool Kills all four stages of the flea – adults, eggs, larvae and pupae. It breaks the flea life cycle and controls reinfestation for up to 210 days. Use on carpet s, drapes, rugs, upholstered furniture and pet bedding.

# Siphotrol Yard Spray (32oz) kills and repels mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and other insects. Treats up to 5,000 sq. ft. and provides up to four weeks of control.

4. Other

# Tick Twister is an easy-to-use tick remover that is safe and effective. It is specially designed notch grabs tick at skin level and removes it completely in one motion. Its bowl-shaped end securely contains the tick for easy disposal.
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