They have been regarded as different dogs since 1936, and the American bull terrier is now a white dog.

The white breed did become fashionable about 1860 when it was first bred. It was actually bred as a fighting dog and was known as the “white cavalier”. It has massive strength as a result of it’s huge jaws and powerful neck, and it was bred to provoke a fight.

Because of it’s courage it makes a superb guard dog, but it’s history means that this breed is misunderstood even to today. It is a loyal and loving dog, who loves to interact with humans. Most people do not believe that they make wonderful pets.

They are actually very tolerant of children, and they will tolerate quite rough play from them, and they will remain good humored. However this dog nor any other should be left alone with children that are unknown to them, they love to frolic and fight.

To me they are the king of the terrier’s, but I have often found people to be terrified of them. In my experience their temperament and personality is gentle, but they do love to play, and they will run and catch a ball for ever.

In fact in my experience they do not know when to stop, they have a powerful chest and can chase and chase. One of their quirks is that they do not bark unless there is a very just cause, so if you hear one bark do something about it at least investigate.

Primarily famous for being extremely intelligence and fiercely loyal, they do make very good, protective and caring additions to a family despite the press that they receive.

Harnesses

More and more people are beginning to take their cats for walks. This practice was once considered strange, but it is often seen as practical. Cat owners who live in high-rise apartments will often want to their animals for a walk simply because they do not get much of a chance to get out during the day, and leaving the window open provides them with too much risk of falling. It is possible to get harnesses which you can attach to your cat’s collar, making it easier to put on when you want to take them for a walk.

Glow in the Dark

This is a unique type of collar that comes in many shapes and sizes, to suit all cats. Some people may take their cats in at night, but others will allow them to wander. As a result of this, it is important to keep the animal safe. Giving your cat a glow-in-the-dark collar will ensure that it does not get run over. Cars will usually see the glowing collar and therefore be able to avoid running over the cat when they see it.

Leather Collars

Leather collars are often going to be of good quality, and are therefore a great choice. You can get a number of them which will also have bells included. Bells are sometimes added to luxury cat collars in order to frighten away birds. In some areas, the bird population is dwindling due to the amount of cats that are hunting them down. As a result, putting bells on collars can do a lot for the bird population and keep your cat free from any diseases that they may pick up from time to time.

Online Shopping

There are plenty of places online where you can go and take a look at the different merchandise. Make sure to take a look through the prices as well and do a little bit of comparison. You will be surprised at some of the Luxury cat collar collection which help to keep your pet safe when they are out wandering around the neighborhood.

After all, pet ownership is a huge responsibility and parents who get stuck caring for the pets their children so desperately wanted are understandably upset and disappointed. To avoid this all too familiar situation, here are a few things you should definitely consider before getting a dog.

The biggest consideration for potential pup owners is where the animal will relieve itself. If you’ve got a large yard, fencing off a small portion of it to use as a dog run and training the dog to use it exclusively shouldn’t be too tough.

Apartment and condominium dwellers had better be prepared to take their dogs on several walks a day so that they can do their business outside. We urge people in this situation to think long and hard before bringing a dog into their live because these walks must be done every day, no matter what the weather is like outside.

Another key aspect to dog ownership is what exactly you’ll be feeding the animal. That steady supply of dog treats and dry food doesn’t come cheap, even if you’re buying in bulk. New pet owners need to carefully consider what type of food they’ll be giving their pets. Bargain brand dog food won’t seem like much of a bargain if it winds up regurgitated on your carpet.

If you’re willing to shell out big bucks on your pet’s daily diet, there’s a growing market of all-natural dog treats and food that’s a lot easier on puppy’s tummy than traditional brands like Purina.

The last big expense you’ll need to consider when deciding on a pet is its medical care. Veterinary care does not come cheap and it’s definitely not optional. Pet owners can sometimes find values at big box pet shops like PetSmart that offer medical insurance plans for pet. We also recommend shopping around for a value priced vet in your neighborhood before ever bringing a pooch home.

Owning a puppy, and having your children help care for it, can be an extremely rewarding experience, so long as everyone knows what they’re getting into.

Here is a documentary of all the types I have tried and put to the test with 3 different types of cats from the strong scent of male to the over flowing large female that can put any drunken man to shame when she lets loose the dam. Let’s not forget the average cat out there who does her piddles every moment she gets and digs till she reaches the other end of the earth. Also from a total of 3 adults having to change the litter box. So saddle up, get that pooper-scooper ready and lets go clean!

 
Ever Clean Clumping Litter – 25LB for 17.99 US –
Now this is a good clay product, just for cats that pee like truckers it makes the litter turns a little muddy if you don’t clean large bladders up right away. But its holds up but it doesn’t always do that job for the really stinky messes, but isn’t that what air fresheners are for?

 
ExquisiCat Pearl Fresh Cat Litter – 7.2Liters for approx. 15.99
Now first I would like to say is a good amazing product, but it has many downfalls. First if your going to use this litter make sure you stick another empty litter box infront of the entrance to the other box, as though if you have hardwood or tile floors this product will come out of the box with the cats feet and roll away. Making you step on them later. Some cats will try to eat this product first but it’s harmless. Some cats also will not accept the litter box at first, so you either have to force it on them or try there suggestion about mixing the beads with your litter, but to me that is money $$ down the drain. Other downfall is when its time to change the litter the whole thing, the urine that is not absorbs stays at the bottom of the box and produces horribly stench that if you have a weak stomach this ain’t for you. Other then that it gathers small amounts of urine at a time and dries out stools nicely but will not handle flooders. This product is good for 1 cat to pushing it 2, as though for 3 cats you have to change it max, every 15 days making it very costly and not worth it.

Feline Pine – 32LB approx. $32.55
Oh man who thought of this product had to be nuts. This product was rated very low; the only good thing about it was the value for the money. They claim that 20lb will substitute for 60LB of clay. Sound good? Hell ya.. But…. First of all these is pine, as in pine trees, great for being flushable but how many times you gonna flush your toilet as though you can maybe do a scoop or 2 at a time. These are wood-like pellets compressed that when the liquid gets to them they break down into sawdust and so called sink to the bottom. Well I had to siphon out the good pellets to the sawdust to make room. It was good that it didn’t track I’ll give it that but what was the worst thing of it was too human allergies. If you got allergies to stuff like grass, pollen, mold, dust, then this is not for you. This will increase your allergies right away and of course not thinking about it until later. So that was not good. Also the so-called nice scent of pine, well think about very wet molding pine as though that it what with the urine and poop will make it smell like. Not pretty. This is to me not worth the time or $$. Nice idea, but that is all it is. Also the special scoop it offers on the back is a waste cause you can buy one in the store for .99 cents with big holes instead of spending 5.00and up for there designer litter.

Swheat Scoop Cat Litter – 14lb 10.00, 40 lb 25.00-
NEW AND IMPROVED! Well what a good step into the right direction. Prior on swheatscoop litter I gave in only 2 stars but since the new and improved formula came out. Man what an improvement. This is terrific. I shall say for a regular litter box including flooders around and such, this is the brand for you. Sure the price is a little high but it lasts longer then clay. My flooder didn’t turn the box into a mud pie, and my stinky male didn’t let people know he was still alive. This litter didn’t allow the stink to get out. (not including when cats refuse to cover there poop). It says on the bag to clean it 3 times a day. Well sorry but I am not here to clean up after my cat every time. But that was still good. Put plenty of litter in the box like the bag says and let it go, heck even a day or two. It’s fab, it does the job that others haven’t done in a long time. The room has a slight odour of wheat which is not strong at all but a little on the light side that didn’t effect allergies at all. It’s totally flushable. Doesn’t track, has a little dust when you pour but it subsides fast. My cats took to it quickly and didn’t play with the litter. The only drawback. It’s not good in autmatic litter boxes. It will empty your whole box out by the end of the day. The reason is not mainly the litter but the box timmer doesn’t allow litter to have enough clumping time. So it drags half wet waste in the bins pulling the dry clean stuff with it. Bad if cat also is a bit runny. But in regular boxes, it’s priceless. I am converted.!!

Yesterday’s News Cat Litter – 15LB aprox 8.59
This is a nice idea for post-op cats to keep then as clean as possible, but… think about this… your newspaper found in the rain…I think that is all that needs to be said. Or if you need more, then lets do this, its no substitute for long periods of time nor flooders. It’s not a clumper so you use more, when urine gets absorbed it’s a mushy mess making the official change the big one a messy and irritable one. Who wants to keep stepping on urine soaked newspaper? I don’t.

Pa-Purr No-Scoop – 28LB for 34.00
What a great price for so much…Hmm what is wrong with this picture. States great for people who only want to change there littler box on a weekly basis. Well don’t let the humane society see that or you won’t have any cats again. Who wants to smell cat urine and excretion all week let alone what might grow in the litter box in the meantime? When paper gets we it gets soggy. If you like the weekly clean only then you should be ashamed of yourself. Why treat your cat that way when you have to flush at least every time you use the toilet.!!! tsk tsk I believe the makers were just trying to find a way to offload some of their paper waste.
 
So to break it all down to which is the best for multi cat homes are sorry to say, scoopable clay. For 1 housed cats I will admit the pearls are very good given the fact you don’t mind the beads rolling on the floor. And your cat is not a flooder.

Signs Your Cat May Have FUS – Feline Urological Syndrome

Straining, discomfort, sometimes bleeding into the urine, and, in male cats, possibly complete obstruction of the urethra so that the cat is unable to urinate. This is only likely to occur in males because in females the urethra is much wider and the debris can be passed.

Causes

It is not fully known exactly why some cats develop FUS, but it is clear that diet plays a major part. The crystals that form are usually based upon a substance called struvite, which is a crystalline compound of magnesium that tends to form in an alkaline urine.

Treatment

A diet that is low in magnesium and produces an acidic urine can play a major role in treating and preventing recurrence in susceptible cats, but it is not known why one cat develops the problem on a normal complete feline diet whereas another may not. But after treatment reevaluate and find a better brand of cat food that will not cause this. As though it’s known that lower no name and some commercial brands help contribute to this problem even though it might say it helps the urinary track. They can stick that on the label even if it helps 0.001% only. So why take a chance. Get a better quality food and help to avoid this problem.

Surveys have shown that the problem is more common in cats that are neutered, overweight, and not very active although of course these factors could be well be linked to each other It is vital that the owner of a male cat realizes that if their cat is straining to urinate and in obvious distress, it could be suffering from a urinary blockage and needs immediate vet attention to avoid serious damage to the bladder and kidneys as well as death.

Cats with blockage obviously need to have it cleared and to have a urinary catheter to put into place under anaesthetic if it has progressed into a dangerous level. If the obstruction cannot be cleared, or the urethra keeps blocking up again when the catheter is removed, a permanent by-pass operation, called a perineal urethrotomy, may be performed. This piece of plastic surgery reshapes the lower part of the male urethra to resemble that of the female.

Medical treatment of FUS mainly involves a change of diet to a complete pre-repaired food that is low in magnesium and produces an acidic urine. The brand that the vet will recommend is the brand they carry that is a bit expensive but if food is something that will help your cat, you are saving more then you know. For the catheter to the more intense surgery in Canadian dollars you are looking at around $300- 500.00 depending on vet. So buying the canned cat food for about $30.00 for a slab of 24 cans are a darn good option. Usually the crystals will be eliminated within a month or two depending on the case.

Antibiotics are often given to prevent secondary infection, and although bacteria cannot usually be cultured from the urine, antibiotics often seem to help alleviate the discomfort.

Cats that suffer from the repeated bouts of lower urinary problems are usually X-rayed to rule out other problems, such as large calculi (stones) that may form within the bladder, and tumors of the bladder wall, which are sometimes seen in older cats.

Signs your cat has Giardiasis

This disease is a relatively common, though often undiagnosed, cause of chronic diarrhea, causing loose or watery motions, sometimes with mucus.

Causes

A single-celled parasite called giardia, that is passed by fecal contamination from cat to cat, particularly in conditions of poor hygiene or overcrowded housing. The organism can be identified in a stool sample examined under the microscope, although sometimes multiple samples have to be examined as the organism is only shed intermittently.

Treatment

A Course of a specific antibiotic called metronidazole can be used to cure this condition.

Signs Your Cat May Have Heart Disease

The main sign shown by a cat with a cardiomupathy is labored respiration caused by a build-up of fluids on the lungs, as well as lethargy and lack appetite. Some cats suddenly become paralyzed in their hind legs due to a blood clot forming in the main arteries, resulting from the poor circulation. A radiograph of the heart will often diagnose the heart problem, although fluid may have to be drawn of the lungs before a diagnostic X-ray can be taken. A referral center may use more specialized techniques such as an electrocardiograph to measure the electrical activities of the heart, an echocardiograph to record the heart sounds, and ultrasound, which can make visible the flow of blood through the heart.

Causes

The condition is caused by degeneration in the heart muscle itself (as opposed to disease of the heart valves, which is by far the commonest condition in the dog). It can take two firms – dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscles become weak and dilated, and hypertrophic cardiomypathy, where the heart muscle becomes greatly thickened and loses its ability to expand and contract properly.

Dilated cardiomypathy used to be quite a common condition, until it was discovered that the major cause of the problem is deficiency of an amino acid called taurine in the diet. Although the vast majority of cats were able to manage perfectly well on the levels previously recommended in commercial cat foods, some cats seemed to have a higher requirement than others. Since this has discovered, the manufacturers of cat foods have boosted the levels of taurine in their diets. As a result, the incidence of the problem has been greatly reduced to the point where is it not only likely to be seen in cats eating very poor quality commercial or home make diets.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can develop when a cat suffers from chronically high blood pressure, although this cannot easily be measured. An overactive thyroid is one of the major causes of the condition, although in many cases no underlying cause can be found.

About 2 per cent of cats born with congenital heart disorder, ranging in severity from those that show no clinical signs through their life, to those that die of the problem sooner after birth. Affected cats tent to grow less quickly than others in the litter, they tire quickly and may develop breathing difficulties.

Treatment

If an underlying problem causing cardiomyopathy, such as an overactive thyroid or a dietary deficiency, can be corrected, then the long term outlook for the cat is quite good, but often the best that can be achieved is permanent drug treatment to try and control the problem, including the use of anticoagulants to try and prevent unwanted blood clots from forming. The life expectancy for a cat with severe congenital heart disease is poor, but surgical correction can sometimes be attempted.

Signs Your Cat May Have Kidney Disease

The first warning is an increased thirst due to an inability to concentrate the urine as efficiently, but as many cats do not drink from a bowl, this can be difficult to identify. An observant owner may notice a change in the cat’s pattern of behavior, and a cat that perhaps never used to drink much at all, may be spotted regularly drinking from a pond, a tap or other water source.

As the disease process progresses, waste products from the breakdown of protein within the body start to build up, and, in turn, cause further damage to the remaining kidney tissue. Signs of kidney disease include: -

• Excessive thirst
• Lack of appetite
• Weight loss
• Poor condition
• Bad Breath
• Ulcers in the mouth
• Softening of the bones
• Anaemia

Eventually, the cat will refuse to eat altogether. It may start to have convulsions, and will inevitably die.

Once the disease develops, a blood test will show an increase of urea in the blood, as well as an increase in an enzyme called creatinine. An increasing number of veterinary practices are using a combination of blood and urine tests during routine health screens of elderly pets to pick up impending problems at an early stage.

Causes

There are many possible causes of kidney disease, such as bacterial infections, congenital abnormalities, the effects of toxins, and tumors. However, by far the commonest cause is chronic interstitial nephritis – a gradual replacement of the normal kidney tissue with scar tissue that develops with age.

The causes are not well understood, nor why some cats develop it much sooner than others. It is possible for the a cat to have up to two-thirds of its kidney filtration cells damage without showing any signs of illness at all, so by the time that the condition is clinically recognizable, the underlying disease process is already well advanced.

Treatment

A lot can be done to slow down the progression of the disease and give the cat a longer lease of life, but early diagnosis is essential. It an underlying cause such as infection can be identified then, of course, it bust be treated. However, most frequently we can only give palliative treatment to enable the cat to cope as well as possible with the kidney function that it has remaining. Cats are often dehydrated by the time the problem is diagnosed, so an intravenous drip may be needed to correct this. Drugs may also be used, such as vitamins and anabolic steroids to stimulate the appetite, and anti-emetics to control vomiting.

The most important aspect of treatment kidney disease involves a change in diet to a food specially designed to reduce the workload of the kidneys. Cats cannot manage on very low protein diets, but a diet with a moderately restricted level of high – quality, easily digested protein will reduce the amount of protein waste products that build up in the body. Even more important is a restriction on the amount of phosphorus in the diet, as this accumulates in the body of cats with kidney problems and causes further damage to the kidneys.

The levels of B vitamins need to be boosted because they tend to be lost from the body when the kidneys are not working properly. While it is theoretically possible to achieve this with a homemade diet, it is extremely difficult to get the balance just right, and a range of pre-prepared diets are available from veterinary surgeries to help control the problem.

Signs Your Cat May Have Liver Disease

Liver disease tends to cause rather non-specific signs such as lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss. More specific signs can include an enlargement of the liver itself, and jaundice.

Causes

There are many possible causes of liver diseases, but the most important in the cat are: -

Lymphoctic cholangitis: an inflammation of the liver that is thought to be caused by a disorder of the cat’s immune system
Cholangiohepatitis: another form of liver inflammation most commonly caused by a bacterial infection that invades the bile ducts within the liver.
Toxic hepatopathy: there are many poisons that can affect the liver of cats, including plants, household and garden chemicals, and drugs such as paracetamol. Quite a number of cats have died because their owners have dosed them with drugs not intended for use in that species.
Hepatic lipoidosis: yet another strange-sounding liver starvation, or from other metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Fat is laid down in the liver, causing serious interference with its normal functions.
Liver tumors: the liver is a common site for secondary tumors to settle that have spread from another site in the body, but it is also quite common for primary tumors to develop in the liver or in closely related structures such as the pancreas.

Treatment

Differentiating the various possible causes of liver disease in the cat can pose a considerable challenge to the veterinary surgeon. Blood tests, X-rays, and ultrasound of the liver may all be useful, but in some cases it is necessary to carry out a surgical biopsy, taking a small piece of liver tissue to be analyzed under the microscope. Because the liver is important for breaking down many anesthetics in the cat’s body, and because blood clotting is often prolonged in affected animals, this procedure is not without significant risk.
Nevertheless, this risk may well be outweighed by the benefit of obtaining a definitive diagnosis.

Once the cause has been established, steps can be taken to try and correct it, as well as providing supportive treatment for the cat. Fortunately, the lover has a good capability to regenerate, but if chronic liver disease is allowed to persist, the normal liver will become replaced by fibrous tissue, a process known as liver cirrhosis. Antibiotics are effective against liver infections, and corticosteroids drugs will help to control inflammatory problems. The surgical removal of tumors is only occasionally possible when an isolated non-malignant mass can be identified. Cats with liver disease need a low-fat, easily digestible diet, fed little and often. In severe cases, the cat may need to be hospitalized and fed via a fine tube passed down the nostril and into the stomach.