Month: April 2015

Click the image to see the Pit Bull Dogs and Puppies infographic at full size! Then you can find Pit Bull Dogs & Puppies for adoption on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

Long distance love… get ready for today’s Happy Beginnings story! Nothing makes us want to take a road trip like a story of how Adopt-a-Pet.com helped a homeless pet find a new loving home from far away. We’d love to hear how Adopt-a-Pet.com helped you adopt your pet too! Please send your Happy Beginnings story to info@cms.adoptapet.com with a photo or two.)  This week’s story is from Robin in Pennsylvania. Robin writes…

We found Polly (now Pollyanna) on Adopt-a-Pet.com last summer. We live in PA and she was in Kentucky. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and did the application. We were approved and she was transported to MD were we picked her up. The rescue organization kept in touch for the two weeks before we got her. She is now a member of the family and we love her so much!

 

Adding new family members to your home means changing up its design and making adjustments for the health and happiness of your new additions. Just like you would make improvements for a new child, you’ll need to make a few changes for the benefit of your new pets too. While you don’t have to design a nursery or playroom like you would for a kid, there are some remodels and renovations you can perform around your home to make your new furry friends feel more at home. Here are some quick renovations you can do without changing your entire home:

 

#1 Mudroom for Storage and Organization

While a “mudroom” may sound fancy, this design is really about an entryway with hooks and some storage, along with a mat where dirty paws can tread without hurting the floor underneath. You’ll also need a wall that can handle wet fur splashing onto it, so consider your paint choices carefully — as well as any decor. You’ll want towels on-hand to dry the dog before he proceeds into the rest of the house. Consider drilling holes into beadboard or stock lumber for hooks for leashes, jackets and other dog-walking necessities.

#2 Pet-Proof Flooring

You need easy-to-clean surfaces when owning a dog or cat. Carpet is not your friend in this situation because it’s hard to keep clean. If you really want carpet, consider removable, washable carpet tiles. Tile, hardwood flooring and bamboo are good, but dogs can scratch soft wood.  Woven vinyl mats are also easy to clean and are almost indestructible. Linoleum is also easy to clean after a pet has an accident, and it’s relatively easy to maintain on a regular basis too. If you decide to invest in this flooring material, it would cost between $800 and $1,400.

#3 Specialty Furniture

When you get a new pet, you’re likely going to deal with an excessive amount of fur everywhere. To protect your furniture from grabbing too much of it, you should get slipcovers that are easily washable. You can also consider covering furniture with painter’s drop cloths that are easily affordable and a quick solution. If you want to reupholster your furniture, be sure to check for any VOC in the fabric before you hire a professional to do the work. Some options for pet furniture include:

• Window seat
• Top-of-the-stairs lookout
• Cat ramps & trees

 

#4 Bathtub for the Pets

If you have one, utilizing a laundry sink is your best option for keeping the dog and cat clean. You don’t have to get your bathtub dirty and it’s easier than bending over the tub to clean them on a semi-regular basis. It’s also easier to clean than a bathtub because a laundry sink has less square footage than a tub. You can also invest a little more money to install a dog shower in your laundry room.

 

#5 Safety Gates

To protect your dog from some of the dangerous foods in the kitchen or keep him away from the dinner table during meal time, use a gate to set boundaries and protect him from injury. You don’t have to use a chain-link fence design if you don’t want to. Dog gates come in various styles and shapes at pet stores, and there are different heights so even your Great Dane can’t get over the boundary. These don’t work as well for cats so it’s probably best to just put your cat in a room and close the door to protect it in certain situations.

 

#6 Dog Doors

When you leave home during the day for work or school, your animal is going to want to explore and do their business. Instead of trapping them in the house, you can install a dog door in the bottom of the back door for easy access to the backyard. The best solution will depend on your situation and the design of your home. Installing a dog door will involve cutting out a piece of your existing door to install it. If you’re uncertain about how to install a dog door, you can talk to a door contractor about the best way to proceed.

 

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor.

There’s no denying keeping cats indoors keeps cats and wildlife safer and healthier. Transitioning a cat from outdoors to indoors can be as easy as closing a door. Sometimes, cats are very happy staying inside your home. Other times, you and they need a little more help! Cats are amazingly adaptable. Each cat is also incredibly unique depending on their biological and environmental background. This article is here to help you if you’re wondering about or struggling with how to transition an outdoor cat to indoors.

Let’s say you have a cat you adopted from a neighbor too elderly to care for the cat any longer. The neighbor used to let him go in and out, but you’re rightly worried about the neighborhood coyotes/hawks/mean cats/cars/etc so you want to keep him safely inside. You bring him home and how he meows and scratches nonstop at the door or window to be let outside, even dashes out the front door the second you open it. How can you help him to be happy staying inside?

1. Make sure he’s spayed or neutered and healthy. If you’re getting him fixed, take advantage of the fact that they often are groggy afterwards to show him how nice and cozy it is on his special bed inside the closet or on top of the cat tree.

2. Move and take the cat with you. Only half-joking about this! This is why when you adopt a cat from the shelter, it can be easier to make them an indoor-only pet. Especially if you use tip #3 below.

3. Use all of our 5 tips for keeping an indoor cat happy. That means tons of playing, exercise and other enrichment like fun to climb and scratch cat condos placed in front of windows for “cat tv” watching the out of doors, shelving, new cardboard boxes left open sideways on the floor, closets and cabinets left open for exploring and hiding places… get creative!

4. Build a catio for him.

5. Keep him from doordashing.

6. Hang a bird feeder near a window to make for easy bird watching.

7. Use calming cat pheromone plugins in every room.

You may wonder wouldn’t it be easier to reduce his time outside gradually? What we’ve heard from many adopters who try this, it doesn’t seem to work well in most cases – perhaps it keeps reminding them how much fun it is outside, and what you want to do is make him realize how much fun it is to be inside!

We hope these tips help you transition your outdoor cat to be a happy healthy and safe indoor kitty!