Snakes And Lizards

By Jay Schindler

 A lot of people think that cats work on their own agenda, not paying much attention to their owner - provided they have clean litter, food, and water. Cats can behave in odd manners at times, which can easily confuse their owners and make it really hard to determine what the cat wants. As much as cat behavior can be confusing, there are some ways that you can solve common cat behavior mysteries.

A common behavior that almost all cats do is push their heads into any type of object that will allow them to do it. You’ve probably seen your cat do this before, probably against table legs, TV stands, or another object. This can be noticed more when you have other people who own animals or those with allergies over at your house. When a cat notices this, he will rub his head against the person. In doing so, he will put a touch of saliva on the individual. In a cat’s mind, he owns what he puts his saliva on.

By putting his saliva on something, that object or person will have a familiar scent. Although this can be very annoying, you have to understand that other people in your home are seen as odd or weird to your cat. When a cat does this, he is simply trying to make the visitor belong. When he brushes up against them and puts his saliva on them, he is trying to put his scent on them - which in his mind will mean that they belong in his territory.

Even though marking someone or something with saliva is beneficial to the cat, saliva is one of the most common forms of pet allergies. When someone wipes the saliva off of them, the scent will be gone and the cat will go back and attempt to do it again. Even though it may appear that cats target those with allergies, cats are actually just trying to make the visitor belong at the house. If the guest simply cannot take the saliva, allow the cat to rub himself on their pants leg a few times. Normally, this is all takes for a cat to leave the person alone.

Those of you who an indoor cat should expect the cat to spend quite a bit of time lying near windows. During this time, you may hear your cat make very strange noises or weird movements. You shouldn’t fear though, as he is simply acting out his hunting instincts. Whether it’s another cat or object outside moving about, the cat will see it and simply go into his native hunting instinct.

As most already know, cats love to play. They love to played with, especially with toys. They will pounce on things on occasion, which should always be expected. If you try to prevent this type of behavior, your cat will take a very negative approach and you’ll end up with a lot of broken things in your home. You can always play with your cat using a string, as he will love to chase the string around the room.

The longer you own your cat, the more odd behavior you’ll see him exhibit. Cats behave in strange ways, although they always have a reason for behaving the way they do. If you can understand why your cat behaves like he does, you’ll have no problems keeping him healthy and happy. If you simply pay attention to your cat and the way he behaves at times - you’ll be able to understand him better than ever before.

To read about snake facts and cheetah facts, visit the Animals Facts site.

Some Common Health Problems Of Cats
By Jay Schindler

 If you are new to owning a cat, you may be surprised to find that health problems are a common thing. No matter what breed of cat you own, health problems are to be expected. Some may be hereditary, while others can easily be prevented.

Worms No matter what breed of cat it may be, worms are a very common and recurring problem. Tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms are among the most common that infect cats. Cats who have problems gaining weight, problems with fleas, or if you find white specks in his stool, you should have your vet test him for worms. Although they can be treated with medicine, worms can prove to be fatal if they are left untreated.

Hairball Hairballs are the most common health problem for cats. All cats groom themselves on a daily basis, normally swallowing the loose hair that comes from their coats. On occasion, this loose hair will gather into a ball and become lodged in the digestive tract instead of passing through in your cat’s stool. When your cat starts to cough and hack, he is normally coughing up a hairball. Although it can be rather disgusting in the end, most cats can dislodge hairballs without any problems.

In rare cases, a hairball can pass through to a cat’s intestine, creating a blockage. Blockages are very serious problems, and can be life threatening if they aren’t treated. If your cat becomes constipated, isn’t eating properly, or has a very dull coat, he could have a blockage. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should take him to the vet immediately. You can prevent hairballs and blockages by brushing your cat 2 - 3 times a week to remove loose hair. You can also feed him food that is designed to control hairballs as well.

Urinary tract infection Urinary tract infection is also a common health problem with cats. Urinary tract infection is more common with male cats that haven’t been neutered, although females can suffer from this problem as well. When a cat suddenly stops going to his litter box, this problem is normally the cause. Another symptom is when the cat’s urine starts to smell really strong. If you suspect that your cat has a urinary tract infection, you should take him to the vet. Your vet can treat the problem with medicine, and make recommendations to help avoid this problem in the future.

Feline leukemia In the past, feline leukemia was the biggest cause of death in cats. These days however, there are vaccines available that can treat the disease. To treat the disease, your cat will need to be given the shot before he or she is exposed. Even though death doesn’t happen immediately, cats that are exposed to feline leukemia normally don’t have a long life span. If you know your cat has feline leukemia, you should never allow other cats around him, as the virus is highly contagious.

To protect your cat, you should always make sure that you take him to the vet for his regular check ups. If you keep him up to date on his vaccinations, he should lead a healthy and productive life. Although some health problems can’t be avoided, most of them can. You can also keep your cat indoors as well, which will protect him from a majority of health problems. If your cat is an outdoor cat, regular visits to the vet will keep him healthy. As long as you take your cat to the vet and keep him healthy - he will be your companion for years to come.

Find tips about panda facts and turtle facts at the Animals Facts website.

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Toto-ly Unexpected Stardom for a Shy Cairn Terrier
By ONLY for PET LOVERS

 When you think of the cast of characters from the legendary 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, you could certainly make the case that the most popular character is not Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow or the Cowardly Lion. For many movie buffs, the real star of the movie was Toto, Dorothys black Cairn terrier.

One things for sure, Toto was definitely the toughest character in the cast. The movies producer searched for months to find the exact dog described in L. Frank Baums vivid tale, which was first published in 1900. The films casting department was given copies of the illustrations drawn by artist W. W. Denslow for the books first edition and was told to go out and find that dog.

Numerous dogs, most purebred Scottish terriers, were brought in to impress Oz producer Mervyn LeRoy, but he wouldnt bite. He felt the dogs didnt look enough like Denslows drawings. The tale of the tireless search for Toto was even picked by the entertainment newspaper Daily Variety and thats where dog trainer Carl Spitz first saw the article. After examining Denslows illustrations, he knew the dog the artist had drawn was a Cairn terrier and he just happened to have one named Terry.

Spitz rushed right down to the studio and he was greeted like royalty, or at least Terry was. As Spitz came into the studio, with Terry trotting along at his side, people connected with the Oz film started yelling, “Theres the dog! We found Toto.” Terry was a five-year-old female. Toto was supposed to be a male. But, of course, thats what acting is all about.

Though a tried-and-true film veteran by the time she got the role in The Wizard of Oz, Terry did suffer from a bit of stage fright early in her life. Born in 1933, Terry was adopted by an elderly couple who lived in Pasadena, Calif. But when the couple first got the dog as a puppy, Terry was so shy that she hid under the bed for three straight weeks. The couple took the dog back to the breeder and demanded their money back. The breeder then took Terry to Spitz to try to train the dog out of her crippling shyness. Spitz met with some success, but the breeder never returned to pick up the dog. So, Spitz kept her, never thinking that the dog had a glittering future on the silver screen.

One day a director from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer came to Spitzs kennel looking for a dog for a film he was doing with Shirley Temple. The director liked Terry. Spitz didnt think it would work out, but went along with the challenge. To Spitzs amazement, Terry loved acting and appeared in the movie, Bright Eyes, in 1934. She went on to appear in other films before getting her big break with The Wizard of Oz.

Her shyness now a distant memory, Terry spent two weeks at Judy Garlands house to get to know the young actress before they began filming Oz. While on the movie set, Terry learned lots of new tricks, including escaping from picnic baskets, jumping through open windows, leaping from a closing drawbridge, and grabbing a hot dog off a roasting fork.

The clever Cairn terrier had no problem with most of the stunts, but Spitz later admitted that Terry never liked being confined to the picnic basket that sat on the back of Miss Gulchs (Margaret Hamiltons) bicycle. Terry was only too happy to jump out as the nasty neighbor rode down to the county sheriffs office.

But the canine star never got accustomed to the powerful wind machines used in the tornado scenes. When the machines were turned on, she was known to hide behind a number of the leading actors, quivering in fear. She also didnt like standing still when crew members needed to test the sound and lighting. So, during the technical rehearsals, a stuffed dog was used as an understudy to give the star a breather.

Terry enjoyed undertaking all sorts of tasks in the film, and she took a particular liking to pulling back the curtain on the great Oz to reveal the mere mortal who utters the signature line, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

Terry earned $125 a week for her performance, and was a real trooper. During the filming of The Wizard of Oz, one of the Wicked Witchs soldiers accidentally stepped on one of Terrys paws while chasing her in a scene. The intrepid pooch ended up with a sprain, but soldiered on despite her injury and completed the film on schedule.

Treated as a full-fledged cast member, Terry even attended the films premier at Hollywoods Graumans Chinese Theatre in 1939. Her performance drew so many admirers that Cairn terriers surged in popularity during the 1940s. People identified Terry so strongly with the role of Toto that Spitz legally changed the dogs name to Toto. Talk about typecasting!

Toto went on to make many more films, and was reunited with the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, in a 1942 comedy called Twin Beds. Onscreen and in real life, Toto and Hamilton got along famously.

During her nine-year movie career, the worlds most famous Cairn terrier made 13 films, and her passing in 1944 left a tremendous void in Hollywood among the ranks of canine actors. Terry/Toto had become as popular as megastar Rin Tin Tin. Not bad for a shy gal from Pasadena.

Robert Grayson is a correspondent out of New Jersey for Only For Pet Lovers. Check out our site to view the rest of our articles and register for our online community for pet lovers like yourself. To keep up to date on what’s going on in the pet world, visit our site and check out the pet news section.

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