Cat Toys - Make Your Pet Happy

Christmas is right around the corner and the family cats would like to remind you not to leave them out this year. While many people think their pets don't understand Christmas; that's not true. While they may not understand the nuances of the holiday, cats and dogs do understand the excitement that fills the air around this time of year. While they may not understand the idea behind Santa, they know there is a lot of wrapping paper flying and that everyone around them is getting new things to play with.
You may have noticed that the cat has been crawling in the middle of everything going on and pawing at presents a time or two. That's because he wants to be a part of the family and take part in this family fun event, even if he doesn't completely understand what it's all about. So, make sure to remember this year to include the cat in these activities. It's not hard. Most cats have a certain type of cat toys they enjoy. You can purchase a few new toys for them to unwrap (with a little help from you).
If you want a really fun toy this year, here are some of the top cat toys on the Kitty Christmas 2007 List:
Da Bird Interactive Toy for Cats - This is a simple, yet very popular, cat toy. Think of a fishing pole with a stretchy piece of string and a feathered lure on the end. This is essentially what this toy is, minus the hooks. While it seems simple enough, it's amazingly popular with cats. You may even notice when you're not swinging the toy around your cat is trying to play with it by himself.
Mews Ments 5-in-1 Laser Pet Toy and Exerciser - This present is like having a number of cat toys in one. It's one of the laser pointer key chains you may have seen in the past, but this one has fun designs that a cat will like to chase, including a mouse and butterfly. You can kick back and whirl the laser around the room and watch your cat get quite a workout trying to catch the flashing images. This is one of the cat toys that seem to entertain the whole family as they watch the cat chase the light pattern. Just make sure not to shine the pattern directly in the cat's eyes.
If you really want to have a good time, you may be able to take a couple good-smelling cat treats and lightly wrap them in paper, letting the cat rip it open. Just watch that your cat is not eating the paper. Some cats will rip the paper, other cats will eat it, If yours is prone to eating, don't try this.
Another tactic to take is to put a few cat treats in a small box that the cat will have to knock around to open. You can give him the same attention that you give the kids when it's time to open presents and he well may be very excited to be taking part in the family event.

Blue Pearl Shrimp

The Blue Pearl Shrimp is quickly becoming popular in the American Dwarf Shrimp hobby. This shrimp is a blue color variant of the Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis, the same variety that the Snowball Shrimp is selectively breed from. Some of the reasons they are gaining popularity is because of their ease of care, simple food requirements and their prolific breeding habits.
Blue Pearl Shrimp are rather undemanding when it comes to their care requirements. They require a well-established aquarium that has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and less than 20 nitrates. They can acclimate to a wide range of parameters requiring a pH range from 6.5-7.5, temperature range of 68-75 degrees, and are undemanding when it comes to water hardness. The most important things to remember for Blue Pearl Shrimp is to avoid extreme water parameters and to maintain consistent water parameters.
Omnivores by nature, Blue Pearl Shrimp will eat just about any food that finds its way into the home aquarium. While they are natural algae eaters supplemental feeding is often necessary. Blanched (boiled until soft) vegetables such as zucchini and spinach make great foods. They will also accept just about any food intended for bottom feeding fish or aquatic invertebrates. It is important not to over feed an aquarium with these as this may cause an ammonia spike.
Blue Pearl Shrimp, as with most Neocaridina species of Dwarf Shrimp, are very prolific breeders. As long as a male and female are present in a well established, well-maintained aquarium they will breed. The male is smaller and less colorful, while the female is larger and more vividly colored. After mating, the female will carry the eggs under her tail until they hatch as very small versions of the adult shrimp. No special care is required for the baby shrimp other than avoiding predators and filters than could suck them up and kill them.
As the popularity of the Blue Pearl Shrimp continues to grow so will its distribution. These Dwarf Shrimp are easy to care for, are not picky eaters, breed prolifically, and because of these they are ideal inhabitants of any home aquarium that does not contain predators!

Shar Pei - An Independent Personality

The Shar Pei dog, originally from China, has the unique features of deep wrinkles and bluish black tongue. When the dog is very young, it consists of more wrinkles than an adult Shar Pei does. There was a time when Time Magazine and the Guinness Book of World Records identified the Shar Pei as one of the most rare dog breeds in the world. Although many people report about the good health of their pet Shar Pei, the fact is that the Shar Pei is significantly vulnerable to certain health ailments such as painful eye conditions, allergy-induced skin complications, fever, kidney or liver disease.
Chinese Shar Pei dogs were originally bred for dog fighting in China. They have a very nice and protective personality, while being truly affectionate and loyal to the family. However, these dogs are somewhat suspicious about outsiders and they often take time to become comfortable visitors. Even people with highly sociable personalities need to make a real effort to have a good relationship with one. However, the Shar Pei has a penchant to protect its family and it does its best to guard family members from any undesirable incidence. The personality of the Shar Pei needs to be taken under serious consideration. If breeders do not take enough care in this aspect, the buyers may end up with great frustration by having a puppy that wrong for the family. The breeders are solely responsible for analyzing and evaluating the personality of the Shar Pei dogs during the breeding time for it must be done with enough expertise and understanding. Even the owner's personality must be aligned with the personality of Shar Pei. Shar Pei is not a suitable dog for soft and tender people.
Dominant, submissive and independent are three types of distinctive personality types. In a few cases, these personality types may overlap in some dogs, although it is not a common occurrence. A Shar Pei with a dominant personality reveals confident and macho pet, best suitable for individual dog owner with a tough personality and avid learning aptitude for handling dogs. The dominant Shar Pei dogs may harm children and even adults while showing their dominance attitude.
The submissive Shar Pei dog may seem to obey more easily. However, they are in deed hard to train due to their lack of self-confidence and reluctant attitude to try out new things. This type of dog is a better choice for a multi-dog atmosphere. These types of dog can turn out to be violent out of fear or as a protective response, so continuous socialization is vital for them. The independent Shar Pei dog is probably the most difficult breed to handle. Although the Shar Pei with the other two personalities shows independent behavior, this type in particular never values their owner's authorization or any human relation.
Shar Pei dogs are sometimes difficult to train because of their stubborn attitude. Their training requires more determination and commitment. Although they have a strong, deterministic personality laced with devotion and intelligence, they sometimes turn out aggressive, defensive and intensely sensitive with the presence of stranger. As psychology suggests, personality is significantly influenced by genetic predisposition and since they have a natural genetic structure of being aggressive, you must consider buying the best compatible personality matching your lifestyle, personality and expectations.

African Grey Parrot, Choosing A Cage

When choosing a bird cage for your African Grey parrot, the bigger the size, the better. Your parrot will love the extra space to move about and build its confidence. It is also a good idea to purchase a bird cage that opens from the top as this allows your bird to scale out onto a higher perch. And parrots love to scale.
Bird cages for the African Grey, Congo African Grey or Timneh African Grey parrots come in all shapes and sizes. However nice it may looked to be, do not purchase a round bird cage for your parrot as this will cause your bird to have psychological problems. This will affect its personality and ability to respond to your command in training. These parrots are known to be temperamental in nature and round shaped bird cages just don't make it any better.
One important point to note when purchasing a bird cage for your beloved parrot is the width between the bars. If the width is too wide, your African Grey may injure its neck when it steps its head out between the bars in trying to escape. Ask the pet shop owner for bird cages specially made for African Greys. Ensure that the perch is made of soft smooth wood as this will make your parrot learn to climb about in the cage and be active. You can also make your own perch as nothing is more satisfying than seeing your own work of art in your bird cage.
Ensure that the feeders in the bird cage are accessible and place them in different places to make your parrot explore around the cage and build its natural bird instincts to search for food. Check that water is constantly available and not contaminated with parrot droppings which can affect the health and well being of your bird.
Also, make sure you keep the bird cage clean and wash it with warm water often to prevent the likelihood of your parrot contracting diseases. Your African Grey can live up to 65 years old and the least you could do is to make its home, the cage, clean and comfortable.

Make Your Pet Comfortable With Kennel Floors

Pets are very important to all of us, it is important to make them as comfortable as possible. If your dog spends a lot of time out in their kennels especially during winter then you should make sure they install pet flooring. Kennels can get very cold and quite uncomfortable, flooring can make this much more comfortable and is easy to install, scratch resistant and very easy to clean.

Facts and Types of Kennel Flooring

Kennel flooring is normally made out of a fibrous material, this just needs to be put inside the kennel in the backyard. You don't need to bother about pouring cement into slabs and waiting for them to set before your dog has a floor. Your pet will have a floor as soon as this is installed. Any homeowner can easily install this material and it lasts for a very long time, it's completely scratch resistant which means your dog won't dig holes all over your garden. These pet floors are very easy to keep clean, as they can get wet you simply need to hose them down occasionally to wash away any mess. This won't be damaged by the weather, the sun or range won't be any problem for this flooring. It's a very cost effective form of flooring.

Kennel decks are another type of flooring which is suitable for your dog's kennel. These are made out of plastic and are slightly raised. This allows air to circulate and any waste material to slip through. This will create a very warm kennel for your pet especially during winter. The plastic is mold resistant and not susceptible to water damage. The top of the decks are non slip which makes it safe for your pet.

Yet another type of kennel flooring which may be an option for you are mats. These are very easy to maintain and are made out of rubber. These are quite a comfortable surface for your pet and also stop it being smelly. These mats are sometimes quite thick to provide insulation which is especially useful during winter. You can also purchase smaller sizes of mats which are suitable for taking with you when you go travelling. This makes sure that you do not compromise your pets comfort when you travel.

Kennel flooring is very important in order to keep your pets healthy. These not only make your pet feel more comfortable, but they are also hygienic. This means that your pet can spend even longer outside!