When most people think of a rat, they think of a dirty, unsafe pest sneaking through sewers or hiding in homes. But domestic rats can actually be very clean pets that are fun and safe for the whole family! Here are 20 facts you might not know about rats.
About five years ago, one little dog’s journey started a big project. After searching online, Janet Williams found a Chihuahua she wanted to adopt. There was just one problem: Williams, who lived in Maine at the time, had to figure out how to transport the dog from a shelter in Tennessee before she was scheduled to be euthanized.
“I’m ashamed to admit that, in the 21st century, I didn’t realize that in this country we still euthanize animals for space in shelters,” Williams said. “I thought we actually sheltered them. So it was a real eye-opener trying to save this dog in Tennessee who was on death row.”
Williams and a network of several friends worked together to get the Chihuahua to her new home, each transporting her part of the distance. The experience inspired Williams to investigate shelters in the U.S., especially in the South, and what she found horrified her. One story about a woman’s challenges running a small rescue in South Carolina struck her especially.
Like humans and many other animals, young kittens’ primary food source comes from nursing. This stage of their development is critical to shaping their development.
Although kittens may appear not to be doing much when they are first born—their eyes don’t open until they are about two weeks old—their bodies are hard at work, processing food rapidly. Kittens don’t have teeth at this point, so they must rely on nursing. Because its only real job in this stage of its life is to process food, a kitten will typically double in weight throughout the first week of its life and will continue to grow quickly, gaining about 10 grams every day, according to http://cats.about.com/cs/kittencare/a/tracksixweek.htm.
Kittens can begin to be weaned and litter box-trained when they are about five weeks old, a week after their baby teeth begin to show. One way to do this is to give them a non-dairy milk replacer in a shallow dish. Small amounts of canned kitten food can then be added. It’s important to use canned food specifically designed for kittens, as it contains a high amount of protein.
Kittens may be cute and cuddly, but their razor-sharp baby teeth are often less than adorable. Training a kitten not to bite as early as possible is the best way to avoid much more painful bites when the kitten grows into a cat.
Baby teeth, also called milk teeth, begin to emerge when a kitten is about four weeks old. This makes nursing uncomfortable for the mother by the time the kitten is around six weeks old, making this the ideal time to start the weaning process and to use toys and distractions to teach your cat what can and cannot be bitten or chewed.
Most kittens will lose their baby teeth starting when they are about three months old and ending a few months later. From this point forward, the teething process for cats is very similar to that of dogs; both tend to chew on things more as their adult teeth emerge. This is a way to decrease discomfort as well as a way of exploring the world around them, according to http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesconditionsfaqs/f/deciduous_teeth.htm. During this time, it’s perfectly healthy and normal for kittens to swallow their baby teeth. You might also be able to find them on the floor or stuck in toys, but they are so small that finding them can be difficult.
Once a kitten’s adult teeth have grown in completely, it’s a good idea to take it to the vet for a dental exam and a demonstration of the best way to clean these new teeth. This will get kittens and their owners in the habit of brushing their teeth regularly and keeping their teeth and mouths healthy.
Many children have a strong bond with their pet, and research indicates that this may be much more than just a friendship. Studies have shown that owning a pet not only helps children learn skills like responsibility, but can also aid in their development.
According to www.mnn.com, kids who grow up with pets tend to have a higher level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) than their pet-free peers, developing traits such as compassion, self-esteem and cognitive development, among others.
Of course, as in many similar studies of psychological comparisons over an extended period of time, proving that high EQ is caused by owning a pet is difficult; each child who participates in these studies comes from a unique background and could be influenced by any number of other factors that could also have an effect on their emotional development. However, Professor Jay Belsky’s 1984 model describing the variables of child development has provided a standardized measurement tool for researchers. Their studies have all come up with similar findings—regardless of other factors, kids with pets are more likely to have high EQ, which suggests that the pets may be the cause of these developmental advantages.
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In the winter of 2008, then 5-year-old Angelica of Tulsa, Oklahoma realized that her house was on fire. She crawled out of her house and told her father, who was disoriented by the smoke, to do the same. They reached safety just before their home was engulfed in flames. Angelica was able to save herself and her father by imitating a Dalmatian named Sparkles.
Sparkles the fire safety dog was the “star” of volunteer firefighter Dayna Hilton’s fire safety education program, which she began delivering to schools across Arkansas in 2003. As part of the program, Sparkles would demonstrate to students how to get low and crawl beneath the smoke, in the event of a fire. Angelica later reported that lesson was the one she remembered on that fateful day.
For eight years, Hilton and Sparkles together spread their safety message to children and adults. The year before Sparkles passed away in 2010, Hilton founded the non profit, Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation, to honor her and her fire safety dog work.
Read the original story here.
From toys and treats to food and grooming tools, purchasing pet supplies can get pretty expensive.
Luckily, strategically shopping at Petco can help even the most frugal pet owners work within their household budgets. These seven tips will help you get the biggest bang for your buck while shopping at Petco.
If you have a kid who loves animals, encouraging them to help an animal shelter can be a fantastic way to keep them busy while they learn the value of giving to their community. Here are six ways kids can contribute to animal shelters.
At any given point in my life, I have had at least one dog. Although they’ve been all different shapes and sizes and each had its own unique personality, each of my dogs has shared one common trait: all of them loved unconditionally.
This is one major difference I’ve found between dogs and other types of pets. Cats, for instance, usually seem mildly indifferent to their owners, regarding them as more of a roommate and food source than anything else. But based on my personal experience, it seems as if most dogs love their owners more than themselves. That’s a level of selflessness that even the most generous of people can never attain, but dogs do it automatically, willingly and happily, almost as if they believe that their purpose in life is to make their owners happy.
My dogs offered me the unwavering loyalty and friendship that it seemed people never could. Whenever I had a bad day, my dogs were always there to comfort me; even though they had no way of understanding what was happening, they would look sad simply because they noticed that I was sad.
Going to a shelter in person to volunteer can be a great way for animal-loving kids to help, but what about those who don’t live near a shelter, or who don’t meet the age requirements to volunteer at shelters? Fortunately, there are many ways for kids to help shelters from a distance.
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