Training your cat to go on the toilet like Mr. Jinx in “Meet The Parents” is all the rage right now.  So is training your cat to flush but that is a whole other blog I am going to get around to writing sometime soon. 

You can buy these kitty toilet training devices in all kinds of stores both online and offline, but the drawback is that they are not so cheap! Usually they consist of prefabricated plastic pieces shaped like toilet seats that you can punch strips out of to create wider holes for the cat to straddle as you go through the training process.  The plastic that these units are made of are reminiscent of a plastic take out container with a big hole in the center that you widen until the cat is totally straddling the toilet.  It is made out of the same material that plastic coffee cup lids are made of. 

This is how it works. These fabricated plastic perforated pieces fit on your toilet seat or hook onto the rim of the bowl. The hole, through which the cat excretes, widens as pieces of it are torn out from the center in increments as part of the kitty training process.   The wider the hole gets, the more the cat is forced to widen his stance as he or she squats over the bowl.  It is only a matter of time before the cat is balancing on all four legs on the top of the toilet seat because you have removed any support by tearing out those center plastic pieces. 

Eventually the prefabricated tray no longer serves as a cat litter tray and becomes simply becomes just a psychological cure for the cat to jump on top of the toilet to go. Over time it too can be removed and the cat will just go to the toilet all by him or herself. 

So are these kits worth it?  Many of them vary widely in quality. Some kits are just expensive sheets of plastic that you tape or clip onto the edges of your toilet.  Others are the prefabricated trays with perforations that are discussed above.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on these kits that can cost thirty dollars or more. It is quite simple to can make your own versions of these kitty liners, plastic sheets and metal tubs all by yourself at home using every day common household objects you can get at a dollar store.  

Still if you are not the do-it-yourself type then buying a commercial kitty toilet training kit might be your only option. The commercial type is very effective and there is no confusion for the cat. If you make one yourself out of a bucket that is familiar to the cat in another context you might just end up confusing it. Also buying the commercial type can also be more hygienic then trying to rig up your own trays over the toilet bowl.

Cat rescue organizations work in the same way that dog rescue organizations do. They find homes for kittens and adult cats that can no longer remain with their families because of illness, divorce, relocation or other reasons. These organizations also adopt purebred kittens from animal shelters, rescue kittens from kitten mills and take in orphans.  

If you like a certain breed of kitten a rescue organization can be a wonderful place to find a pedigree pet at a reasonable cost. Some rescue organizations specialize in looking after certain types of breeds and others generalize by saving all the cats that they can’t. Some rescue organization consists only of a couple of do-gooders and others are made up of big finicky committees of breed lovers who are dedicated to finding a home for a specific kind of cat. 

A rescue organization is that it can often find you exactly the breed you want.  Yet another perk is that rescue organizations are exemplary when it comes to following up on the health and well being of the adopted pet.   By the way if you have to give up a pet and it is of a certain breed, a rescue group devoted to that breed is likely to take better care of your pet than a shelter. Rescue groups also shine when it comes to providing new kitty parents with information about the breed they are trying to rescue. 

Sadly, not all pet rescue organizations are completely ethical. Make sure that when you are dealing with any pet rescue organization, whether to adopt, donate, or give up your pet, that it is legitimate. For the sake of your animal, please take the time to investigate the organization fully. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their mission statement and references from individuals who have adopted or given up their pets for adoption at the facility.

Ask for a reference from a veterinarian and be sure to follow through and contact the vet.   There are people who represent themselves as “rescue”, when actually, they’re just in the market for free pedigreed kittens to breed or sell. Too many well-meaning individuals give up their pets to these so-called rescue organizations only to find out that they have really given up their valuable pedigreed cat to a cruel, greedy broker.

If you’re surrendering your pet to a rescue organization, ask about their adoption policy. Ask to see their adoption application and contract. You should report them immediately to the police if they have no application, no adoption contract or won’t allow you to visit the inside of their kennel.  

You should also be suspicious if they charge too much to adopt. What do they have to make a profit for if they are a charitable organization? The good pet rescue organizations charge a lower, rather than a higher adoption fee. If the adoption fee is more than $100 it is likely that that the organization is selling the cats for profit rather than trying to place them in new homes.

Dog fights don’t occur if your dog is well trained. This is true even of the so-called alpha breeds with hard-wired instincts. If your dog is so hard wired that you can’t train it then it is not suitable to be a pet. 

If you know your dog is a fighter then you need to take him or her to obedience school. If your dog suddenly turns into a fighter with no prior history of fighting it means that you have lost control of him. A dog that is suddenly irritable like this might also have a physical problem so it may be time to take him to the vet. 

Keep in mind too that dogs don’t have to be vicious to get into fights. A dog that is nervous or submissive can simply irritate other dogs with its presence.  A nervous dog also makes other dogs nervous because it is obvious that you don’t have control of it. This can inspire a strange dog to “take charge.” 

The reason it is so important for you to get control over an aggressive or nervous dog is because dogfights can be expensive. If he harms another animal or person you could be sued and your dog could be put down. 

However you can’t always prevent two animals from squabbling.  The first rule of thumb — If your dog does start to fight with another dog don’t try to get between the two of them!  They will snarl and bite at anything that gets in the way.  Your own dog could harm you. To put it in a nutshell the fighting dog is not your pet anymore – it is a wolf. 

If you do not want to make the fight worse or get hurt then you might have to stand by and let the fight take its course.  The second rule of thumb to remember – you need two people to do this or you could get hurt.  Your best course of action is to get the owner of the other dog to grab it by the hind legs and pull it away from the fight while you do the same thing. Be prepared to be kicked and scratched in the face while you do this. 

Don’t try to drag the dogs away by their collars, as you will risk getting bit. If you are near a water source, you can try to throw a pail of water over them or spray them with a hose. The shock of this is usually enough to get the two scrapping dogs to separate. If one dog has his jaws clamped on another’s neck as is often the case with a pit bull then try pouring a glass of hot water into the dog’s mouth to make him release his jaws.

 Unfortunately so often when it comes to dog fights only one winner emerges which is why it is so important to make sure your dog is obedient and well socialized before you take him out for walks.

If you own a pet dog you probably like cartoon dogs a lot as well. One of the astounding things about cartoon dogs is how humanized they were in character but if you really think about it we also humanize our pets in a similar way …here are some of my favorite animated canines from eras gone by. 

Ruff from “Ruff n’ Reddy was probably the first of the funny cartoon dogs. He was a Hanna and Barbera cartoon that was paired by a bossy cat named “Reddy” that was coincidentally colored red.  This dog first made his appearance on television in the fall of 1957. Ruff was also interactive with a live host who asked him questions to which Ruff would provide dumb answers. 

The second big animated television cartoon dog was Huckleberry Hound was not that much different in looks than Ruff from Ruff n’Reddy. This is not surprising as this cartoon series was all made by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s. In fact the only difference might have been that this dog had a Southern draw. Another interesting fact about this show is that it was the first television show to win an Emmy for animation. Before that only Disney movies got that honor. 

Another one of my favorite dogs was Mr. Peabody, the smart white dog with the whiny voice and glasses that starred in “Mr. Peabody’s Improbable History” This was about a famous time traveling dog and his pet boy Sherman who he time traveled with in his Wayback machine. This cartoon series started in 1959. 

Once he was released from the confines of the back pages of the Funny papers Snoopy also became a well-known funny dog on the small screen. The famous beagle and his creator Charles Schulz won and Emmy in 1964 for the show “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”   You might also remember this dog ‘s imitation of a World War I Flying Ace named the Red Baron. 

No blog on cartoon dogs can be complete without mentioning Dino. Dino’s breed was technically a “Snorkasoraus” and he was purple. His famous bit was trampling his owner Fred Flintstone in the opening credits.  He was also famous for his bark that sounded like “rubba, rubba, rubba” Dino also talked in some episodes and his voice was bestowed by the fey and dry sounding Las Vegas style comedian Phil Silvers. 

Yet another great cartoon dog was of course Scooby Doo. This star of “Scooby Doo Where Are You?”  Scooby had a cute little “intellectual” sidekick named Scrappy and a not so bright country cousin called Scooby Dum. 

My favorite dog of all time however has to be Ren from “Ren and Stimpy”. This emaciated sharp-witted Chihuahua was companion to an overweight cat with bad breath. To me the two of them seemed more human then most human beings.  

Some other very famous cartoon funny dogs include Deputy Dawg from the Hi and Lois comic strip,  Underdog from the cartoon series and Otto from the Beetle Bailey comic strip.