Information about Dogs as Pets

Pet Dog's Scientific Information

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Genus: Canis

Species: C. lupus

Subspecies: C.l. familiaris

Pet Dog's Character Information

The dog has long been considered as “Man’s best friend.” When dogs are properly cared for from the time they are puppies, they will grow to live a good healthy life. Proper care and attention will earn you undying loyalty from your canine friend.

Dogs are primarily different from other household pets for two main reasons: social attachment to humans, and physical temperament

Dogs are social creatures – they bond they form with humans is uncommon to other domesticated animals. Their friendly and protective natures make them ideal companions to humans.

Dogs are varied in their temperaments and have been bred to enhance specific characteristics. Because of their varied physical sizes and temperaments, it is very common for a pet owner to find a type dog that meets their emotional needs – there is pretty much a dog for any type of personality out there.

Dogs as Pets

The origin of the canine can be traced back with some certainty to the Eocene Miacids that existed nearly 55 million years ago. The modern day dog evolved from the Canoidea line (a coyote type of dog) that existed around 38 million years ago, which again evolved into a fox-like animal (the Leptocyon) and then into a wolf-like animal (the Tomarctus) about 10 million years ago. The Tomarctus was apparently native to the North American continent, and from there began expanding throughout the various parts of the world. The dog like Tomarctus was a dog-like carnivore that eventually evolved into the modern day dog.

Modern day evidence suggests that the dog is the closest relative to the wolf – experts have deduced this information based on genetics and behavior patterns.

These wolf like animals became domesticated as humans began raising the wolf pups as tame and social animals. Humans probably interacted more with these animals because of the shared interest in the same types of prey and habitats. Eventually these pups became dependent on the humans for food and adapted to living with humans. The modern day domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a descendent of these early wolf-pup domestications beginning around 10,000 BC.

Pet Cat Exercising

Outdoor cats get plenty of exercise just doing their normal routine, but indoor cats can be encouraged to exercise by providing them with toys. Scratching posts, balls and other toys will encourage indoor cats to move around and be active. Indoor cats can also get lots of exercise by having a playmate such as another cat.

Pet Cat Housing

Cats require a padded box or basket to call their home - choose an out of the way location that is cool and well ventilated.

Outdoor cats should be sheltered in a shelter that will prevent wind and rain from getting inside. The house should be big enough to allow the cat to enter completely, and turn in a full circle before lying down. During the winter months, a heavy cloth should be hung over the door to keep in heat and prevent wind and moisture from entering. Make sure to clean the shelter regularly to keep the cat healthy and comfortable.

Pet Cat Grooming

Cat Brushing

Grooming your cat can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience for you and your cat. Additionally, regular grooming and handling will better adapt the cat if the need arises for it to see a veterinarian. Although cats do an excellent job of keeping themselves clean, additional grooming can improve the health of the cat’s skin, prevent stomach hairballs and remove dangerous parasites and sticker weeds.

To groom your cat, choose a time when the cat is ready to rest and not in a playful mood. Begin by cuddling the cat in your lap and petting it gently. Once your cat is subdued, use a soft cat hair brush to stroke the cat from head to tail following the direction of the cat’s fur. As you brush, use firm pressure to remove excess hair and other items hiding next to the cat’s fur. Pay particular attention to the ears and between the toes, as these are common places where ticks, mites, thorns and sticker weeds may hide. These areas are generally tender and should be handled carefully. Keep a pair of tweezers close to remove any fur and skin irritations.

Brush the legs and tail, gently stroking out mats and other foreign entities. If you should encounter wounds, use ointments and antibiotics as directed by the cat’s veterinarian.

Cat Bathing

Before you attempt to bathe your cat, be sure to take time to cut its nails. Cat nails grow quickly and can become very sharp. To clip the cat’s nails, use a set of cat specific clippers or pet nail clippers – using normal human nail clippers is not recommended. Hold the cat’s paw with your off hand and the clippers in your strong hand. Before you begin clipping, locate the vein that runs through your cat’s paws and cut just above the vein. Cutting too closely too the vein may cause the nails to bleed and cause the cat unnecessary discomfort. Clip off the end of each nail on both the front and back paws.

Once the cat’s nails are cut, you are ready to get your cat near the bathing water. Cats generally do not like water and become especially agitated with the sloshing and splashing sound of water. Begin bathing your cat away from the tub or wash basin by using a warm wash rag and some baby shampoo to wash the cat’s head, eyes and ears. If you choose to wash your cat with an anti-flea shampoo, be sure to treat your cat’s eyes with mineral oil prior to applying the harsh shampoo – this will protect the cat’s eyes from the stinging irritation that will occur if the medicated shampoo gets in the cat’s eyes. Use a cotton swab to wash your cat’s ears and be sure look for any black discharge that signals the presence of mites. If you do find that your cats ears do have a black discharge, be sure to take your cat into the veterinarian.

Once the head is clean, you can now place the cat into the tub or wash basin – be sure to use water that is right around room temperature or slightly warmer. If your cat struggles with being placed in the tub, and to further prevent soap from getting into your cat’s eyes, you can place the hind end of the cat in the tub and let the forepaws hang out over the edge of the tub. Soak your cat using a cup or hose and then apply a cat specific or pet shampoo. Massage the shampoo into your cat and then rinse the cat thoroughly using the cup or hose.

To dry the cat by removing the cat from the tub or wash basin and placing it on the floor on a towel. Gently cover the cat with a towel and blot the cat dry – do not rub the cat as this will cause the fur to tangle and mat. Use a blow dryer, on medium heat, to gently blow dry the cat’s fur. Be sure to keep the blow dryer in constant motion, about 12 inches away from the fur - never blow the cat directly in the eyes and ears. As you blow dry your cat, use a broad toothed comb to gently move the fur away from the cat’s skin. Be sure to keep your cat away from cold weather for the next 24 hours as the cat’s fur continues to dry.

Pet Cat Feeding Information

Cats require a balanced diet from a cat food that includes proteins, fats, carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals. Cats do not do well on a diet that revolves only around meat and do not require fancy or expensive cat foods to be healthy and happy.

A quality cat diet includes mostly dry cat food with only occasional meals coming from the dinner table. As health and wellness varies from cat to cat, it is always wise to seek a veterinarian’s help in adjusting your cat’s diet.

Dry Cat food

Dry cat foods contain a mixture of cereals, vegetable proteins, meat by products, vegetables, and vitamins and minerals. Typical commercial dry cat foods contain approximately 10% water. Generally cats do well with dry cat food, by feeling satisfied sooner and feeling healthier because of the contents.

The cat’s dish should be kept full to encourage regular eating.

Semi-Moist foods

These types of cat foods are created to look and smell like meat, but are generally made of soy, cereal grains and meat by products – they are also heavy in preservatives. These foods contain 25 – 30% water and are high in proteins. While not recommended as the primary source of nutrition in a diet, semi-moist foods are a great supplement to a cat’s diet.

Canned Foods

Canned cat foods are expensive, are not nutritionally well balanced and are mostly water (almost 80%). Cats that are fed canned foods tend to overeat and can experience weight problems. Additionally, these types of foods do not clean the cat’s gums and teeth.

Pet Cat Care

Cat General Care Information

• Cats, as independent as they may seem, do require care and attention. Be sure to pay attention to these important details:

• Cats should visit the veterinarian annually and kept up-to-date on the necessary shots and vaccinations

• Cats should be given a heartworm pill once a year

• Dry Cat food is recommended for the bulk of the cat’s diet and should be supplemented with a good cat vitamin

• Cats should be bathed regularly with a cat shampoo – use baby shampoo if you need to wash the cat’s head. In addition to bathing, cats should be brushed one or two times per week.

• Cats should have their teeth brushed at least twice a week.

• Use only low calorie treats – dry treats will also help clean the cat’s teeth

• Cats should be checked regularly for fleas and ticks during the Spring, Summer and Fall months .

Information about Cats as Pets

Cat Scientific Information

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Genus: Felis

Species: F. Silvestris

Subspecies: F. s. catus

Cat Character

Cats can be described as loving, playful, highly intelligent and extremely observant. Cats learn quickly and can be very curious about new or exciting things around the home. When provided with lots of love and good care, cats can become loyal companions throughout their life.

While lovable and playful, cats can at times be described as moody, schizophrenic, and even downright strange. It is important to remember that cats like to spend a lot of time on their own. Although they can form strong social bonds with their pet owner and other cats, they can be completely happy on their own. Because cats come from a species that is largely solitary and highly territorial they prefer to have their own space and territory. Cats, from time to time, will scratch, spray urine or rub their fur on things to mark their territory. Pet owners will notice that cats will become more active in “marking their territory” when the cat feels insecure or threatened in its living space – this type of behavior will be especially noticeable when other cats come around.

Cats like to nap throughout the day causing pet owners to think that cats are inherently lazy. In reality, cats rest during the time when the pet owners are awake and are more active when the pet owners are resting. Cats are active during their hunting time – evenings and mornings – when their prey (probably rodents) are most active. Because of this late to bed and early to rise schedule, cat’s prefer to sleep during the day.

Cats as Pets

Cats are believed to have first been domesticated by the ancient Egyptians around the year 4500 BC, although some evidence suggests that cats were part of Egyptian culture as early as 7500 BC. The Egyptians used cats to defend their grain storage from rats and mice and eventually began to revere the cats. The Egyptian goddess of love and fertility, Bastet, resembled a cat. Throughout time, cats have also been revered by the Vietnamese, Japanese and Islamic cultures.

During the 15th century in Europe cats were considered evil and cat owners were persecuted by declaration of the Pope. Cat lovers were accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Because of this belief, the European cat population decreased causing an increase in the number of rats – it is believed that this increase in the rat population contributed to the rapid spread of the bubonic plague – also known as Black Death.

Cats today are considered playful, loving companions and are well adapted to home life.

Online Shopping Websites

• Harriet Carter
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• SmartBargains
• Wow-Coupons
• CurrentCodes.com
• FatWallet
• Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate)
• Shopping.com (formerly DealTime)
• PriceGrabber.com
• The Lakeside Collection----------gifts and stuff for your home and garden
• Sportsman Guide------------------clothes, hunting and outdoor gear
• Stuff Kids Like-----------great organized site for toys.
• Create for Less Craft Supplies------Wholesale prices on craft supplies!
• Amazon.com
• Cheaper Than Dirt

Online Shopping Safety Tip

Tips to Protect Yourself While Shopping Online

• Use A Secure Server - Online Shopping Safety Tip

Make sure you are using a secure server and browser with industry security standards before you enter credit card information online. To determine if you are using a secure server, follow these simple steps. You should make sure your browser is a newer version so the information that you are sending is secure.

• Use Companies You Know - Online Shopping Safety Tip

Anyone can open a store online in minutes and be gone tomorrow. Make sure you either know of the store or you should research it. Here are some things to research before doing business with an unknown company.

• Make sure there is contact information for the company (business name, address, and telephone number). Compare this with information from the domain register (How to determine who owns a Website).

o Check for a return policy.

o Check to see if there has been complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau and the National Association of Attorney Generals.

o Are they a member of Better Business Bureau Online? If they are, chances are the site is legitimate.

• Compare Prices Before Buying - Online Shopping Safety Tip

If the price is too low there may be something wrong like it is used or it may be a bait and switch deal.

• Check the Return Policy Before You Order - Online Shopping Safety Tip

When shopping we all hope that we get what we expect but sometimes there are problems that arise with what we ordered. Check the company's return policy before you order online so you will know what to expect before you order. Some companies offer no returns and you may not want to do business with them.

• Use a Credit Card - Online Shopping Safety Tip

Don't use debit cards to shop online - they don't offer the protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act which protects you. If you have problems with someone using the card, in most cases you will only be held liable for $50 of the charges and you can protest a charge if you don't get what you ordered.

• Consider Calling In The Order - Online Shopping Safety Tip

If you don't feel comfortable entering your credit card information online, then call the company and place your order.

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Print out information on your order when you place it and keep the copies. Also print out other information you may need such as return policies, company information, specific product information and warranty information.

• Use Secure Passwords- Online Shopping Safety Tip

Learn how to create a secure password that isn't easily hacked.

• Trust Your Instincts- If It Sounds Too True To Be Good...

It probably is!

Online Secure Shopping

For online shopping how to determine if it is a secure server.

Before entering personal information make sure you are using a secure server. Here is how to tell if you are using a secure server to transmit information.

Difficulty: Easy

Time required: 1 minute

Here's How:
1. Look at the address in the address bar - it should start with https (not http).
2. Look at the bottom of the Internet window for a closed padlock. If your status bar at the bottom is not showing, click "view" then select "status bar".
Tips:
1. If you get a warning window that the certificate has expired when you enter a secure server, do not enter your personal information.
2. When in doubt, do not enter personal information.
3. Only use companies that you are familiar with because anyone can set up a secure server.

Online Shopping

Online Shopping with Shopping Search Engines

Froogle

Google's shopping engine is a great resource. Just type in anything you are trying to find, and Froogle will bring up a whole plethora of search results, complete with price comparisons.

Bizrate

Bizrate.com bills itself as the "world's best shopping engine". They have a huge index of search results to choose from (over 30 million product offers from more than 40,000 stores).

MySimon

MySimon.com, the winner of "Forbes Favorite" and "Best Internet Shopping Service" Eppy awards, is a prime Net shopping engine.

Yahoo Shopping

Yahoo's shopping page is simply laid out and easy to use. A nice feature is the "Top Searches" on the top of the page.

Amazon

With millions of offerings to choose from, Amazon has evolved from a small bookstore to a mammoth Internet presence.

Overstock.com

Ever wondered what stores do with the stuff they over-order? Well, check Overstock.com and find out.

Shopping.com

Shopping.com is the merged result of Epinions.com and Dealtime.com. They do a good job of making their site simple and easy to use.

PriceRunner

Pricerunner is Europe's leading comparison shopping site. You can search by product or by product number/model name.

PricingCentral.com

PricingCentral.com is an extremely comprehensive shopping search engine, and can help you compare prices fast and simply.

MSN Shopping

MSN Shopping's home page is a bit crowded, but their featured stores and directory are both easy to navigate.

Shop.com

Shop.com not only allows you to search for thousands upon thousands of different products, but they have an outlet store full of discounted products and bargains galore. For this cheapskate, this feature alone merited a bookmark.

Shopzilla

Shop from "more than 25 million products from over 45,000 stores" at Shopzilla. Navigate to the bottom of the home page to see their shipping widget; just enter in your zip code and from then on out your shipping will be automatically calculated should you choose to purchase anything.

Interview with Deepika Padukone

In what ways have the film OM SHANTI OM affected your private life?

I am still to register all that has happened to me post OM SHANTI OM. The overnight fame, awards, millions of fan mails, interviews being taken, being called the 'Bollywood sensation'...all these is new to me. Despite being the daughter of badminton champ Prakash Padukone, and being a model for quite some time I was not used to so much media exposure and attention.

You are only 22. Don't you miss doing normal things a girl of your age does?

I moved out of home in Bangalore to work in Mumbai at a tender age. So that naturally has made me a lot more mature than my contemporary girls. But there is a price to be paid for every thing. I do normal things and have a life outside the studios as well.

Your off-screen chemistry with Ranbir Kapoor is the most talked about affair at present. Any comments?

This is the first time I am truly in love and hence we decided not to hide our feelings from public. Being in love is the loveliest of feelings. Besides I am not a person who is frivolous in relationships.

But there were news of your multiple affairs. Even you broke off with Ranbir once before restarting your relationship!

As I told you this is the first time I am in love. Having lunch with someone doesn't mean that I am having an affair with that person. As for Ranbir and my relationship, initially we were good friends. But the media linked us together when we were not even sure of our feelings for each other. Before we could spend enough time together to sort out things we got busy with our debut films and hence parted. It was only during shooting together for a flick BACHNA AE HASEENO in Australia that we got the chance to know each other and fell in love. But there is no baggage from the past, as we never parted bitterly. We started our relationship like two new people.

So when are you getting married?

Not in the next three years, at least.

Q-Kapoor bahus are not allowed to work in films. So if asked will you quit your career for Ranbir?

It depends on the situation. Right now neither Ranbir, nor his family wants me to quit my career. So abhi se sochne ka kya fayda!

Katrina Kaif interview

Katrina Kaif interview during making of SINGH IS KINNG

Tell us about your role in the film?

I am the only person in the entire gang who is a non - Punjabi character in SINGH IS KINNG. Sonia, my character's name is unlike the other characters played by me till now...In fact she is very unlike me, she is very enthusiastic, spontaneous and an impulsive person. She doesn't think before she speaks, is it a right time, right situation. Doesn't matter to her... She is full of life. Sonia is equal to bountiful energy.

After WELCOME, how was it working with Aneez ji again?

I must say he is a commercially sound director. He knows it very well what the audience will like. I feel lucky to work with him again. It was wonderful.

Your chemistry with Akshay Kumar is being talked a lot about. You have given big hits together and being appreciated a lot. What is the reason behind this great chemistry?

Well I can say we both are very good actors (laughs)... We have had two huge hits behind us - NAMASTEY LONDON and WELCOME... so everyone has been offering some very good scripts. Basically we both have been very lucky to get opportunities where we can bring out our best. It is that we both were offered such roles that would be liked by the audience.

Your favorite song in SINGH IS KINNG?

I just love the romantic song 'Teri Ore' that was shot in Egypt.... I am wearing Saree in that song for the first time. Aneez ji was so happy to see me in sari. He is traditional by nature and feels that I look best in a sari.

How was the environment on the sets?

Oh! Yes couple of them...you know everyone on the sets had started interacting in Punjabi in between the shots. It was only Aneez ji and me who would not understand the language at all. And both of us would feel so out of their conversation. We would be sitting aside as loners, look at each other and say... 'Nice weather'... (Laughs).It was really funny.

Any incidents you remember?

During our long schedule of shooting Australia we all had put up in a residential building that is world's tallest building. We all decided to climb up the stairs, which would be a substitute to our workouts. I thought I will be able to do that. But then on the very first day I found it so exhausting and I decided not to continue with it. Akshay, Sonu and all actually did that...hats off to them.

You have been voted as the sexiest woman by Magazine. How do feel about it?

Oh! Please... That is not supposed to be taken seriously. You know they have used a wrong word. I don't consider myself as sexy. Basically, by saying sexy they meant nice, cute, glamorous... anyways these polls are very flattering.

When do we get to see you with Salman again?

We are working together in Subhash ji's film MAIN YUVRAJ... It should release by end of this year or next year.

In a recent interview Salman talked about his relationship with you. When will we get you to speak about it?

I'm not aware about it. And please I don't like to speak about my personal life.

People say that it is because of him that you have reached to such a level in Bollywood?

Well, I really don't care what people say. I know how much one has to put in as hard work in one film. Let them say what they feel. Honestly, God has given me so much, I feel so blessed. I have got so much that I feel very petty to even comment or clarify on such issues.