26 . . .Really? We're Under a Month to Go

 

Can you tell me what makes up the 26?

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Book Review: Hide and Seek by Amy Shojai

                        

 

Hide and Seek is the sequel to Lost and Found. I couldn’t buy this book fast enough when I found out it was for sale. I love how Amy Shojai weaves the story from both September and Shadow’s point of view in a smooth way. Not many writers can do that.

I would have devoured this book in one session if I didn’t have to work. So it took three days but WOW! September and Shadow make a great team and working though their own issues that haunt them makes for a riveting story line.

Hinted at in the first book Lost and Found September’s past has landed squarely in her hometown just a month after September’s live radio broadcast of nearly being killed. Wild animals and pets start acting strangely along with a rise of Alzheimer’s in the town's population or is it something else?

Can September and Shadow learn to trust ever again? What about Macy? Will she ever let Shadow have a good doggy sniff of her? To find out you will have to read Hide and Seek for yourself. I can’t wait for the next book about these characters.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo and the crew

Update: Yesterday we started a campaign to get to Blog Paws with a goal of selling 300 ferrets  with adding new ones besides the choice of fabric. So here is Hearts

CritterZone Air Naturalizer Review

 

Back in May, I received a wall plug in unit from the people of CritterZone during Blog Paws. Rooming with two small dogs and three ferrets gave the air a different kind of odor. It wasn’t bad just a bit more noticeable than when I had roomed with a fellow ferret owner in the past.

The CritterZone Air Naturalizer came in a blue velvety bag giving it an air of elegance. It also makes it quite appealing to little four-footed thieves. After retrieving the unit from under the hotel bed, I plugged it in and moved the switch to the highest setting that the CritterZone representative has called “Holy Cow”.

We left the room for an hour to mingle with other Blog Paw people when we came back we noticed that the musky doggie odor was gone. But was it just a fluke? Time would tell.

Getting back home, I unpacked and let the ferrets out to run around the room doing what ferrets do best, Causing mischief and mayhem. Because their room is closed off the ferrety odors do build up and can get quite noticeable.

Ferrets belong to the mustelidae family meaning that they have a musky scent. Even being descented does not eliminate the odor completely as the odor is part of the natural oils they secrete through their skin. Bathing them constantly only makes the odor more noticeable.

The ferret’s room is 10 feet by 15feet and the other spray odor neutralizer I use does a good job it doesn’t last for a long time. I’ve had the CritterZone Air Naturalizer running on low in the ferret’s room since the end of May and have noticed that odor is being control very effectively.

At the beginning of July, I noticed that CritterZone seemed to be having a hard time working and upon closer inspection, I found that there was a buildup of charged air crystals is the best way to explain it. The unit was easy to clean. By removing the four screws that are hidden under the rubber stoppers, I could open the unit up and then take the top to the sink and rinse it off.

Then by gently tapping the back of the unit many crystallized particles fell out onto the paper towel. While I was doing this, I was called away for about ten minutes when I came back the crystallized particle had melted. Putting the unit back together was easy and I had it plugged back in within moments.

CritterZone offers two different types of units the wall unit like the one I have for those with pets that might chew on cords and a corded unit. They also offer car adapter for the unit.

Many might think that the $89.95 per unit price tag is a bit high but if you use a bottle of air cleaner/deodorizer a month at the cost of $10 it is actually cheaper. You can also save $10 by using promo code informedferret at checkout.

 

Ferret Paw Rating:

 

Disclaimer: I was given the CritterZone Air Natualizer for Free to review.  All opinions and remarks are my own.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Blog Paws 2013 Photos

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We are defiantly feeling the Blog Paws Hangover today. Still can’t believe it is over already.

Next year we are headed to Vegas!  Enjoy the photos.

Have a *yawn* Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Leading Up to Blog Paws: Packing

Blog Paws is just a few days away and there is still so much to do. The first thing is to get started packing.

For those of us bringing our pets it isn’t as simple as one might think. For those flying it requires a health certificate from the pet’s vet then there is arranging for the pet to fly. Most airlines have a weight and number of pets in the cabin limit.

Ferrets are not allowed in the cabin but can be loaded as cargo, which is absurd, but since we will be driving it doesn’t matter this year.

Roomie and her two rescues, Ariel and newly adopted Z will be coming with us to her very first Blog Paws. So instead of packing for just Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin I am having to add in the two doggies.

Packing is a chore no matter the reason but when you have ferrets, it can be even a bigger chore unless you have a good system in place.

For me that is a list of what needs to be packed and in what suitcase, computer bag, and travel bag.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the ferret’s suitcase has a much longer list than mine but then I only need my clothes, a few grooming supplies as I don’t wear makeup. Now the tech bag is a bit fuller with having my notebook puter, cords, camera, battery charger, phone, extra battery, and charger.

But the list hasn’t changed much for the ferrets with only a few extras added because of Marylin and my list is just to make sure I don’t forget to pack pants, both sets of shoes, or any of my tech that will be needed at Blog Paws.

Don’t forget we all need our business cards. The fur kids have their traveling page cards and I’ll have my blog cards.

Soon we will be blogging from Tysons Corner, VA

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Wordless Wednesday: Private Meeting

 

 

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Cinnamon Update

 

About a week ago, I let you know about little Cinnamon a year old yorkie that had been hit by a car and required surgery for his injuries. Here is the update on this little survivor. (Cue the song I will survive)

 

Thanks to the people at Save a Yorkie Rescue  Cinnamon was taken to Dr. Christopher from Metropolitan Vet Hospital near King of Prussia, PA  to be put back together.

 

Dr. Christopher and his associates rebuilt this tiny pup. They had to fix a broken femur, a dislocated hip, and basically recreate his shattered pelvis. While he isn’t the six million dollar pup, his medical bill is in the thousands.

 

The fear was this little guy wouldn’t make it through surgery and if he the prognosis of him walking or even being able to go to the bathroom on his own was unknown.

 

Not only did this seven-pound fur ball make it through the surgery he has defied the odds and is up and walking and going to the bathroom on his own.

He will be on pain meds for a while and shows his displeasure at being handled with some growls and snaps. I think I would be the same way with the number of staples in my backside.

Cinnamon will be available for adoption after February 23 if you or someone you know would love to help this adorable fellow who has kicked the dirt into the face of certain death. You can submit your application here.

 

Or if you would like to help decrease his large medical bill, you can donate here.

 

Please help this little guy get adopted by passing this along to others. Thank you.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Save a Yorkie named Cinnamon

I don’t normally write about other critters unless they somehow relate to ferrets so this is a completely different kind of post for me.

Roomie, Judy, started fostering at the beginning of the year in hopes of helping her adopted puppy mill rescue Ariel learn how to be a dog.

At the moment, she is fostering Curly who is a seven-year-old yorkie who has cataracts and diabetes and requires insulin twice a day.

She received an urgent email from Save a Yorkie Rescue about another little yorkie named Cinnamon.

Little Cinnamon was surrendered after being hit by a car. This little guy is just a year old and is suffering from one dislocated hip, one  broken hip, along with his pelvis.

As of this writing, we don’t know if he has made it through the surgery that was scheduled for yesterday (February 13, 2013) but the rescue has paid out the large sum of $3000 as a down payment for the surgery and will be owing another $3000 for his care during his recovering if he survived the surgery.

The reality is that Cinnamon may come out of the surgery paralyzed, permanently incontinent  which will make it harder for this little fighter to be adopted.

 

Knowing that I have many readers who understand special need pets I am hoping that some of you can help this wonderful rescue out by donating to his care even if it is $5 as it does add up and help pass this along so that Cinnamon might find the right forever home.

 

By clicking on the Save a Yorkie Rescue logo you will be taken to Cinnamon’s page where you can make a donation.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Pet teeth

All pets should have their teeth brushed to prevent many periodontal diseases that can cause other health issues such as Heart disease, Kidney problems, and digestive issues.

With preventative dental care given by both the pet owner and the pet’s vet these issues may be lessened or eliminated. The data about dental issues for ferrets is that 95% of them show some signs of periodontal disease.

Brushing your pet’s teeth may seem like an unnecessary chore because you are under the impression that the hard kibble you feed is cleaning your pet’s teeth. Think about all the things you eat throughout the day would you want to go a day without brushing your teeth at least once?

We as pet parents need to get past the outdated notion that we only have to worry about their teeth only when a problem shows up that can lead to unseen expense or issues that could have been prevented or have a better outcome.

Think about it this way we schedule yearly dental exams for our children and ourselves and some of us do the six-month check up. We brush our teeth anywhere from two to 3 times a day. If our teeth start to hurt, we make a dentist appointment immediately to get rid of the pain. So why should our pets be any different?

Our pets depend on us to know what to do for them beyond the scope of monitoring their bathroom, eating habits, and their medical needs.

One of the more serious dental issues for our pets is Stomotitis, which is the medical jargon for inflammation of the oral cavity and can lead to the removal of some teeth and in extreme cases all the teeth like our friend Mario da Cat

We as pet owners need to be aware of our pet’s mouth and by brushing their teeth weekly if not daily allows us to see any changes that we might miss if we only rely on the annual vet check up.

When was the last time you brushed your pet’s teeth?

How often do you look into your pet’s mouth?

Who was is considered the father of microbiology?

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

And the Answer Is…

I asked on Friday what the one supplement do we all need. The answer is Taurine. For the most part humans and dogs can produce this amino acid naturally from the foods they eat but cats and ferrets are unable to produce it and need to have it added to their diets.

Taurine helps maintain healthy eyesight and studies are showing that it has an important role in keeping the heart healthy along with preventing tooth decay in cats and because there isn’t a lot of research published I can only conclude that the same may be true with ferrets.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,
Jo

National Pet Dental and Heart Month

February highlights two very important health issues for both humans and their pets. We humans know that we need to take care of our teeth and hearts for various reasons but we don’t often think that we need to do the same for our beloved pets. There is research that shows there is a direct link between dental care and heart issues.

Dental care has been pushed in the last few years and now we can’t go a day without seeing an ad on television for products that help keep the tarter off our dog/cat’s teeth but they are not the only pets that need good dental care.

Heart health is just now starting to get some publicity but not though the traditional media. We are learning more about it from those we follow on twitter, Google +, Facebook, and many blogs and in some instances conferences, such as Blog Paws.

Again, the most focus is on dogs and cats but ferrets are also among those that get heart disease and what is surprising is that there seems to be a link between the lack of a specific supplement and heart disease that both cats and ferrets need. This link has been established in dogs as well but they produce the supplement naturally.

For the month of February, I will be writing about these things.

Without googling what supplement do you think cats and ferrets need?

What dental problems can pets have?

Do you brush your pet’s teeth?

Or do you have yearly dental cleanings performed at the vet’s office?

Flu Bugs and Ferrets

Having the flu sucks and this year’s flu is showing no mercy to those that get it. I know because I came down with the evil virus last week and it is still making me feel very yucky. It is also keeping me from being with my ferrets.

The CDC website reported that the current flu has increased in the last week. Meaning more humans are getting sick with this year’s strain of flu unfortunately, this doesn’t take into account the number of pets getting the flu.

Yes, I did say pets get the flu. Surprised? There is a flu vaccine for Dogs 

but not for other pets.

The flu can be very bad for the very young, the elderly, or those with compromised immune systems. Meaning it can prove to be fatal. This is true for our pets.

Did you know that you can give the flu to your pet and they can give it to you?

Because I don’t want to give this flu to Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin I am taking precautions to limit the chances of them catching the flu.

These include but not limited to:

Using hand sanitizer before and after touching them

Limiting my time in the room with them

Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of germs by sneezing or coughing

Not letting them give me kisses

While I hope, I caught it before I infected them the fact is the flu virus can show up five to seven days after exposure there is a chance they may already be infected.

This means that I will be watching for symptoms.

These include:

Watery eyes

Sneezing

Coughing

Loss of appetite

Sleeping more than normal (Sleep is a big part of a ferret’s life)

Low energy

Yep same symptoms you see in humans that have the flu and the treatment is the same. Rest and fluids and for the most part both humans and ferrets get over the flu in seven to ten days.

The concern comes when a ferret doesn’t eat or drink anything in a forty-eight hour period as they can rapidly become dehydrated.

I have a supply of duck soup . (Duck soup does not contain duck but was named for a ferret named Lucky Duck)   in the freezer for those times I need to have a liquid diet for my ferrets. I make up a small batch every other month and pour the liquid into ice trays. Once frozen I cut the cubes into fourths.

Duck soup should be in all ferret owners’ supplies. There are several powdered brands out there as many recipes for making it from scratch.

When one of the furkids gets sick I defrost one of the small cubes, which is usually all a sick ferret wants to eat at a time until they are feeling better. If a ferret isn’t interested in food and has stopped drinking for a period of time or has immune issues it is time to make an appointment with the vet.

With their small systems the flu can rapidly turn into pneumonia causing other complications. This means while I am sick I am unable to play with my kids and will have to make it up to them when I finally kick this nasty bug’s butt out of my system I would rather they be healthy and happy than to have to be nursing them back to health.

Stay Healthy and Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Review: Heated Pet Bed

In November, I won a medium sized heated dog bed that I was going to give to my roommate for her dog. Only her dog was scared of it so I figured I’d let my ferrets try it.

The first thing I really liked was that there was almost no wasted packaging with this product from KHpet. 

The next was the fact that the instructions were to the point and easy to understand.

After following the instructions and allowing the bed to warm up I let my ferrets check out the flat, fleece covered bed.

Marylin wasn’t impressed by it and left to play with some other toys. Marcuz wasn’t too sure of it and kept running across it before flopping for a second to feel the heat before taking off again.

Manny loves the bed and seeks it out when he is ready for a nap.

Some of the great features of this bed:

· Inflates as it warms up

· Easy release valve

· Turns off automatically

· Warms to the temperature of the pet

· Has removable fleece covering

· Bed can be wiped off

· UL approved

With winter now upon us, it is nice to have a place where the kids can pass out when they are a little chilled and I don’t have to run a heater constantly in their room reducing my electrical bill.

While Marylin and Marcuz were not impressed initially with the bed, they have taken to sleeping on it with Manny. As far as Manny is concerned, I got the bed just for him.

As a side note, the bed has proven to be a great place to get good still pictures of Manny modeling the clothing I’ve been making for other ferret owners.  

Disclaimer: I won this bed and the opinion is completely mine own and I have not received any compensation for this review.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Ferret and the Flea

 

 

 

If you have been around pets then you know that fleas can be a part of that life if you aren’t diligent to keep them off of your beloved animals. Ferrets are no exception. Only with ferrets it only takes a few fleas to be fatal as the fleas feed off the ferret’s blood.

There are several species of fleas, which I didn’t know, and depending on a ferret’s environment can be any one or a mixture of them. Ferrets that go outside can attract the fleas from wild animals. But most ferrets get fleas from cats (Ctenocephalides felis species) or dogs (Ctenocephalides canis species) that live with them.

The most common sign that a ferret has fleas is them scratching, chewing, and in some cases hair loss. But those are also signs of the mysterious jump out of a sound sleep and nibble the fur before going back to bed like nothing happened. The hair loss is also associated with Adrenal disease.

Dark colored ferrets like Manny also make it hard to see those pesky biting critters. The best bet is to use a preventative flea control. But there aren’t a lot of flea control options out there. Most flea control products fall under the Minor Species Act of 2004 (MSA). The MSA allows vets to prescribe medications that are designated as dog/cat or other species to those that they will help such as domestic exotics.

For me that means I use kitten advantage, most other flea preventatives are too toxic for ferrets, once a month but unlike the directions say of putting the whole tube on I only need to put a drop or two. With the cost of a single tube being $12 or more this does save me as a tube will last me for 3-4 months.

Before I apply the kitten advantage I give the boys a bath with T-gel. The T-gel has ingredients that stun and stick to the fleas making it easy to wash the little buggers off of the boys. I then follow up with baby shampoo to make sure I have gotten all of the T-gel off.

I then let the boys dry off. If I can ever get a really good video of the boys doing the snake dance I will post it. Once dry it is spa day. They get their teeth and coats brushed, nails clipped, and then a drop of kitten advantage.

Because I live in Western Pennslyvannia the flea season doesn’t last all year round very often. The cold makes the fleas go into a sort of hibernation I suppose or maybe it kills them.

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

 

Jo

Pawing Forward

 

 

 

I’ve been fortunate to meet some really great people and their pets through my blog and on twitter.

 

One of them is Cokie the Cat . My boys got to meet Cokie’s stand in at Blog Paws along with Flat Tyler.

Cokie has this truly awesome contest on his blog. The contest is for a 100 lbs of pet food from Natural Balance for the next few weeks. That means you can enter each week for your chance at winning.

Natural Balance is helping to promote the famous skateboarding dog named Tillman and his new show on Animal Planet called Who Let the Dogs Out .

Cokie is feeling a little low cause not many are taking advantage of this great chance to get some free pet food for themselves. He’s wondering if maybe people don’t realize that they can donate their win to their favorite no-kill shelter.

Think how much relief a 100 pounds of free food would take off of the shelter’s mind. While it is true a 100 pounds of food might only last a month that means that their budget just got extended by a month.

So hop, run, wiggle, walk your way over to Cokie’s blog and enter into this fantastic contest and don’t forget to check out Who Let the Dogs Out on the Animal Planet.

 

Have a chittering Good Day,

Jo

Ferret Proofing

Ferret proofing is important to keep your ferret safe. Many first time ferret owners have been surprised by their ferret showing up on top of the bookcase, in a dresser drawer, or outside of their cage.


A ferret can get their head through a hole that is about one inch the rest of their body will follow. A fifty cent piece is about 2 inches in diameter and can be used as a reference when ferret proofing your home.

Ferret proofing is a three step process.

First child proof this is just the start.

Second puppy/dog and kitten/cat proof this helps to insure a safe environment for your ferret.

I have said before my boys Manny and Marcuz only get to play in one room of the house because of its age and the fact we have Trixie, the bloodhound, and Boyd the cat and they all need supervision when playing together.


Now for the third step which is even more in depth then the first two steps.

The first place you need to check is your ferret’s home. Is it secure? You might be surprised to find that your industrious little fur ball is able to slip between the door and that taught spring with no problems. I had that problem with my little girl Gweny. Fix by using the clip end of leash to secure the spot your ferret escapes from but don’t ever think that it is secure.


I had to use two clips on either side and in the middle of the door before I was able to keep Gweny from escaping. I should also say her cage was the kind that had the small squared wire like that on a rabbit cage.


The boy’s cage is a large dog crate with the bars being about ½ inch apart neither is able to slip through the bars but they are able to slide the latch to the side. Again finding a way to make it so I am not greeted by one of them scratching on my bedroom door was a challenge until I found a type of connector that wraps around the bars of the cage and the latch handle.


Next is the door to the room. If it doesn’t latch securely a ferret can and will work at getting the door open. To a ferret, the grass is greener on the other side. Again, I found an easy fix by adding a hook and eye set up to the door. The boys can scratch, paw, dig at the door but it will not swing open. I just have to remember I’ve latched it that way before leaving the room.


Cords draw a ferret’s attention almost as fast as socks and they will climb, pull, and chew on them, which can lead to disastrous results. Unfortunately not all cords can be put up out of the reach of a ferret so coat them generously with Bitter Apple unless you have a ferret who loves it as I did.


James loved sour tasting stuff my fix was a diluted hot pepper spray. The use of cord hiders will work with some ferrets but some will try to find a way to get the cords out of them.


Recliners, couches, and wheeled chairs can be deadly to a ferret. Many ferrets have lost their lives due to crush injuries because they were in, under, or near these pieces of furniture when an unsuspecting human rocked, sat, or moved.


High spots seem to be the siren’s call for ferrets and they can climb if determined enough and they don’t have any depth perception. Try to eliminate ways your ferret can access higher places and be on alert for them climbing stuff.


This is just a start of ferret proofing and it is an ongoing event for any ferret owner. I have said it before and will say it again.


Ferrets are the perpetual two year-old and kitten that never grow up rolled into one tiny body and are constantly looking for new challenges.


Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Barkonomics Review

Many of us are examining ways to save money due to the economy and while we are cutting costs in nearly every aspect of our spending, we may not be thinking about how to save when it comes to our dogs.

Barkonomics is a fun and easy book to read. The authors Paris Permenter and John Bigley have complied an insightful and helpful nuggets of over 300 money saving tips for dog owners who wish to be financial secure in caring for Fido.
Many of the tips are common sense but overlooked, as they are hidden costs that many of us don’t even realize is there.
Once such tip is the elimination of dematting fees I didn’t realize that groomers could charge up to 30% for doing something that costs you nothing by brushing your dog out every day.
I also like the easy to do recipes for making dry shampoo and flea preventative with stuff that is usually already in the home and isn’t toxic.
These authors know what they are talking about, as they have been one of the top Web’s dog sites as publishers of DogTipper.com and use the same information to care for their own dogs.
I am glad I had the opportunity to read this wonderfully eye-catching book and I say it is time for you to go fetch this book to add to your own library of must haves.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of Barkonomics to review with no other compensation. The opinion is mine alone and may differ from others who review this book.
Have a Chittering Good Day,
Jo