iPawz

Fat cat's fate: Meow, the 39-pound feline, dies of lung failure

Meow, the fat cat whose 39-pound girth helped raise awareness about obesity in pets, has died of lung failure.

The orange-and-white tabby was turned in to the Santa Fe, N.M., animal shelter last month and quickly made international headlines. At first, his story was played for laughs: The 2-year-old cat apparently favored hot dogs, and was so fat that he got stuck inside things. He barely fit into his animal carrier, and was likened to Puss in Boots from the "Shrek" movies.

But Meow's weight underscored a growing problem: Pets in America are getting fatter -- just like their owners -- and all that extra weight can hasten death.

That's what happened in Meow's case, said Mary Martin, executive director of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society. The shelter assumed care of Meow when his 87-year-old owner could no longer care for the mammoth feline.

"We are so heartbroken," Martin told the Los Angeles Times. "He had such a big personality. We all fell in love with him."

Ideally, Meow would have weighed 7 to 10 pounds. Carrying 39 pounds of weight on his feline frame was the equivalent of a man weighing more than 600 pounds, experts said. The shelter placed Meow in a foster home and put him on a strict, high-protein diet intended to knock off some weight before he could be adopted by a new owner. Publicized weigh-ins were planned as a way to highlight the problem of obesity in pets, as well as to drum up interest in pet adoptions.

full story here

Saying Goodbye: Elephants Hold Apparent Vigil To Mourn Their Human Friend

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist and author known as "The Elephant Whisperer" who passed away on March 2nd.

In 1999, Anthony rescued and rehabilitated a group of wild South African elephants who were deemed dangerous. And the animals appear to remember what he did for them: when Anthony passed away, a group of elephants visited his house in the South African KwaZulu for a two-day vigil, according to his family.

While it's hard to say how they could have sensed that Anthony had died, elephants are known for their grieving rituals, both in the wild and in captivity. According to many researchers, elephants grieve the deaths of their relatives, as when a child or parent dies.

To find out more about Anthony's life and work - among his many achievements are the founding of conservation group The Earth Organization in 2003, and rushing to the Baghdad Zoo to protect the animals that remained alive there after the American invasion of Iraq - check out his obituary in the New York Times.

Pet Food Recall Alert

Manufacturers have recently issued voluntary recalls on several brands.

If you are currently feeding your pet one of these brands, please read the details of the recall below:

Affected Brands: (Click on your Brand to see details)
- Natural Balance
- Canidae
- Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover's Soul
- Country Value
- Diamond
- Diamond Naturals
- Premium Edge
- Professional
- 4Health
- Taste Of The Wild
- Wellness
- Kirkland
- Apex
- Kaytee Fort-Diets

Click Here to View All Recalls

If your pet's brand of food is on this list and you need to switch to a different food, here is an article with helpful tips: Quickly Switching Your Pet's Food

courtesy note from PetfoodDriect.com

Site Finds Home Hosts, Not Kennels, for Your Dog

What do you do with your pet when you have to leave town? Typically, the options are board it or perhaps have a friend or neighbor take care of it. A new service hopes to expand the alternatives. DogVacay.com sets people up with someone who will watch their dog while they’re away. It was just launched in New York City and is the brainchild of Aaron Hirschhorn and his wife Karine Nissim Hirschhorn.

About 5,000 people, including 3,000 from New York, have signed up to host dogs for traveling owners. You can e-mail potential hosts questions and even set up a meet and greet before making an online reservation.

From NY Daily News: "“If traveling with your pooch is simply out of the question, new online service will let you leave them in the creature comforts of home. At someone else’s home, that is. Dog Vacay, which is set to go live this week in the New York metro area, will help you find a home for your dog to stay in while you’re away. The service is free to join and host dog-sitters set their own rates, which range between $15 and $90 a day. The Santa Monica-based company charges the host a service fee from 3% to 10% for each booking. For each referral, Dog Vacay will donate $5 to Adopt-A-Pet.”

Declawing cats: last resort

Pet doctor: Declawing is painful; try some alternatives

Declawing a cat involves removing the third bone of digits and is a painful procedure performed by a veterinarian while the cat is under anesthesia. Veterinarian Christie Long writes that most veterinarians suggest several ways to curtail destructive cat scratching before agreeing to declaw a cat, including adding scratching posts treated with catnip to the home.

Does declawing a cat cause pain? I have no doubt that it does. Amongst veterinarians and those involved in animal welfare, declawing is extremely controversial, with many veterinarians refusing to perform the procedure and entire cities in California and elsewhere enacting bans against it.

full article here