PET NEWS
DECEMBER 22, 2019
HAPPY RESCUE TAILS FOR PUPPY TIED TO GATE AND DOG THAT SPENT 2 YEARS AT SHELTER
The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWS) is preparing for a spike in the number of unwanted, stray, homeless and abused animals over the festive season. >>
DECEMBER 6, 2019
8 NEW YEAR’S DON’TS FOR YOUR PET
This year, feed fresh crunchy veggies or treats with simple ingredients such as sweet potatoes. >>
DECEMBER 19, 2019
THE CHRISTMAS FOODS YOU SHOULD NOT FEED YOUR PETS AT THE DINNER TABLE
Be wary with certain foods you might sneak under the table for your pets. >>
DECEMBER 16, 2019
CATS VS DOGS: A GUIDE TO HELP YOU CHOOSE THE BETTER PET FOR YOU
Choosing between a cat and dog is tricky. Dogs need lots of stimulation and regular walks, while cats are happy to be left alone. Which pet is best for you? >>
DECEMBER 15, 2019
WHAT YOUR PET’S SLEEPING POSITION SAYS ABOUT THEM
Think you’re the only who loves cuddling up to their furry friend at night? Think again. >>
DECEMBER 15, 2019
EVER WONDERED WHAT YOUR CAT IS TRYING TO TELL YOU?
The ability to read animals’ facial expressions is a skill more people can be trained to do. >>
DECEMBER 3, 2019
HOW YOUR CAT COMMUNICATES USING BUTT MICROBES
If you’ve encountered one of the nearly 100 million cats in the U.S., you know that cats regularly show us their butt. Why? It’s thought to be a sign of affection. >>
DECEMBER 1, 2019
6 THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN ADVENTURING WITH A DOG
Whether you’re bringing Fido up a volcano or on an impossibly long trail, these tips from runner Alex Borsuk will help you and your pooch stay safe and happy. >>
NOVEMBER 28, 2019
DREAD THE TREADMILL? DITCH IT AND GET A DOG
Senior citizens who live with dogs appear to meet internationally recognized exercise goals just by walking them, a new study suggests. >>
NOVEMBER 25, 2019
THERE’S A MYSTERY CAT APPARENTLY ‘DRIVING’ A TAXI IN JOBURG, AND IT’S GOT TWITTER TALKING
Social media users were left amused and bemused this past weekend after a thread on Twitter, claiming a cat was inhabiting the driver of a taxi in the inner city of Johannesburg, went viral. >>
NOVEMBER 20, 2019
SPONSORING SERVICE DOGS
GERT Maritz Primary School is on a mission to raise funds for the South African Guide Dog Association (Sagda). >>
NOVEMBER 19, 2019
HOW FERAL CATS BENEFIT FROM TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN PROGRAMMES
It’s not easy to be a feral cat – to be unloved by humans and having to endure weather extremes while facing starvation, infection and attacks from other animals. >>
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
MAKE YOUR PETS’ PLANS FOR THE HOLIDAYS NOW
With just under a month before the festive season, pet owners going on holiday have been advised to make use of reputable house-sitting services or reliable family members to take care of their pets. >>
NOVEMBER 12, 2019
SLEEPATHON TO BE ‘PAWSOME’
The annual Tears Sleepathon is a not-to-be-missed event that allows animal-lovers to get involved with the rescue, sterilisation and support of homeless dogs and cats, or those in impoverished areas. >>
NOVEMBER 7, 2019
DOCUMENTARY SHINES A LIGHT ON HOW SERVICE DOGS ARE HELPING VETERANS HEAL
When veterans return from combat, many can’t leave behind the terrors they witnessed. Trained service dogs have helped some veterans return to their lives after combat. >>
AUGUST 5, 2019
CITY OF CAPE TOWN EARMARKS OVER R500k FOR STERILISATION OF 1500 CATS AND DOGS
Cape Town – The City has earmarked more than R500 000 to sterilise 1500 cats and dogs. >>
OCTOBER 30, 2019
9 WAYS THAT MILITARIES USE DOGS FOR DANGEROUS MISSIONS
Canines’ natural skills and instincts, honed through intense training, make them proficient at locating bombs, weapons and drugs and, at times, finding and supplying wounded soldiers on the battlefield. >>
OCTOBER 24, 2019
CAT VIRUS MAY BE LINKED TO FELINE CANCER
Hepatitis B-like virus connected to liver disease and cancer in cats >>
OCTOBER 25, 2019
WHY DO WE THINK CATS ARE UNFRIENDLY?
Cats are the only asocial animal we have successfully domesticated. We’re disappointed that we don’t bond with them as easily as dogs. But are we just missing the signs? >>
OCTOBER 24, 2019
DOGS SHOW A NOSE FOR ARCHAEOLOGY BY SNIFFING OUT 3,000 YEAR OLD TOMBS
The scent-tracking abilities of trained dogs have helped archaeologists discover iron age tombs in Croatia dating back nearly three thousand years. >>
OCTOBER 11, 2019
PARVOVIRUS OUTBREAK KILLS 71 DOGS AT ROODEPLAAT POLICE K9 TRAINING CENTRE
A total of 71 dogs have died at the dog training and breeding centre, based in Roodeplaat, north of Pretoria. >>
AUGUST 8, 2019
MYSTERY SOLVED? WHY CATS EAT GRASS
Cats do a lot of weird things. One of the biggies is eating grass, often to throw it up just a few minutes later. Now, after perhaps centuries of mystery, scientists think they know why. >>
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
PLANTS AND PET COMPANIONS. HOW TO CHOOSE ONE THAT WON’T KILL THE OTHER
The millennial love of house plants and their equal devotion to their pets is summed up in the number one question that Eric Gibson hears from visitors to his Edmonton plant shop. >>
AUGUST 14, 2019
BASIC DOG PARK ETIQUETTE EVERY OWNER SHOULD KNOW
In theory, a dog park is an ideal place for our most social pets to play with others while we also get the chance to connect with our community. In practice, however, using these idyllic off-leash environments isn’t as easy as just showing up with any dog. >>
OCTOBER 1, 2019
YOUR CAT REALLY DOES NEED YOU – DON’T BE FOOLED BY THEIR ACTS OF INDIFFERENCE
A new study indicates that when cats live in a state of dependency with a human, the majority of cats use humans as a source of comfort. >>
JUNE 17, 2019
DOGS MAY HAVE EVOLVED ‘PUPPY DOG EYES’ TO TUG AT OUR HEARTS
The mournful, pleading, eyebrows-up expression dogs make is so familiar that we have made it into an idiom: puppy-dog eyes. >>
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
WHAT MAKES DOGS SO SPECIAL AND SUCCESSFUL? LOVE.
Research on dogs has exploded in recent decades. Universities have opened canine cognition labs, and scientists have probed dogs’ intelligence, behavior, biology and skills. >>
READERS DIGEST
CAT FACTS THAT ARE PURR-FECTLY FASCINATING
Think you know everything there is to know about cats? Think again. We’re about to blow your feline-loving mind with lesser-known cat facts. >>
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
NETFLIX MELTS HEARTS WITH DOCUMENTARY ABOUT PUPPIES TRAINING TO BE GUIDE DOGS
Streaming service Netflix has crafted its fair share of the weird and the wonderful, but its latest venture is plain heart-warming. New documentary Pick of the Litter follows puppies in training to become guide dogs for blind people. >>
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
WHY DO CATS LOVE PAPER & PLASTIC SO MUCH?
Cats are curious little creatures. As the only domesticated species in the family Felidae, the domestic cat has a mixed reputation — everything from aloof to love bug. We humans are never quite sure if our cats truly love us or are just in it for the free food and lodging. But there is one thing cats and cat owners can agree on: cats love bags, boxes and paper. >>
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
6 WEIRD THINGS YOUR CAT DOES, EXPLAINED BY EXPERTS
Cats sometimes do things that don’t quite make sense to humans. Some cat behaviors seem to have confusing meanings. For example, if a cat nudges your leg, they probably don’t want you to pet them. Instead, they’re likely marking you with their scent glands. >>
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
TEXAS HOUNDS CHASE DOWN RHINO POACHERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Two years ago, Joe Braman was living a regular family life with his wife and two daughters on his remote ranch in southern Texas. A part time cop, businessman, and cowboy, he’d never given a thought to the rhino poaching crisis in South Africa. But in May 2018, Braman and his free-running hounds were sprinting across the acacia plains close to Kruger National Park chasing armed rhino poachers. >>
SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
UP VET DELIVERS RARE SA WILD CATS IN MIRACLE BIRTH
Pretoria – A member of South Africa’s smallest and most enigmatic wild cat species was recently delivered and the species helped saved from extinction by veterinarians at the Faculty of Veterinary Science’s Veterinary Academic Hospital at the University of Pretoria. >>
SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
HUMAN MEDDLING HAS MANIPULATED THE SHAPES OF DIFFERENT DOG BREEDS’ BRAINS
Dog breeders have been shaping the way the animals look and behave for centuries. That meddling in canine evolution has sculpted dogs’ brains, too. >>
SEPTEMBER 2, 2019
BIRTH DEFECT GIVES DOG PERMANENT SMILE
We can all take a leaf out of this doggy’s book – he was born into a litter that was sent to a rescue centre and suffered liver problems that caused him to have low energy levels all the time. >>