Qpets

Category: Cats

  • How to keep pets safe during world record-breaking cold weather!

    cold pets

    Much of the nation will be getting an early preview of winter this week as temperatures threaten record lows at dozens of locations, including parts of the South not used to freezing conditions at this time of year. That means pulling out the heavy coats from storage – and making accommodations for keeping pets safe and comfortable.

    Animal-care experts suggest that, as a rule of thumb, if the weather outside is too cold for humans to withstand, they should bring their pets inside and let them out just long enough to do their bodily functions. When dogs shiver in the cold, they’re showing clear signs of discomfort.

    “Some people think, ‘Well, he’s a husky, I can leave him out while I’m at work.’ They don’t want to be out there,’’ said Chris Whitmore, an animal services coordinator in Iowa City, which is expecting snow and a low of 7 degrees Monday. “He might enjoy it when you’re there to watch him, but when it’s this cold, we always tell people, ‘Don’t leave your pet outside. It’s just not safe.’’’

    winter pets

    We all know to bring our pets inside when it gets too cold, but here some tips you may not know from the ASPCA.

    Whitmore and other authorities in the field offered a number of tips for the millions of American animal lovers who will be dealing with chilly weather in the coming days. Such as:

    • Cover them up: Dogs with thicker coats have a higher tolerance to cold weather, but short-haired breeds such as chihuahuas, beagles and greyhounds don’t have much natural shield from the elements. If taking them out for a walk of more than a few minutes, put a sweater or coat on them. Booties provide added protection for their feet if your dog will tolerate them. That part of their bodies is especially vulnerable to the rock salt often used as an ice-melting agent, which irritates paws and can be harmful if swallowed. Once back inside, make sure to wipe off the dog’s feet and belly with a moist rag.
    • Watch out for the wind chill: It’s not just the thermometer reading that matters. “The wind takes your body temperature away from you,’’ Whitmore said. “The wind chill is the worst part when it gets this cold.’’
    • Knock on the car hood or blow the horn: Cats have a knack for finding warm spots when it’s cold, but oftentimes that can be a wheel well or a nook underneath the hood of a car that was recently turned off. The noise from a knock or the horn will scare them away. “Every winter we get cases where a cat has been killed or severely injured because they were napping near the engine and the engine was turned on,’’ said Rob Halpin, director of public relations for a branch of the Massachusetts SPCA in Boston, where the mercury is expected to dip into the low 20s Tuesday and Wednesday.
    • Beware of antifreeze: Animals are drawn to the smell and sweet taste of ethylene glycol in regular antifreeze, which crystallizes in their lungs and kills them. Colder temperatures often remind drivers to add antifreeze to their vehicles, and spillages become hazardous to animals. There is a pet-safe version of antifreeze that uses propylene glycol instead – some states require its use – but it’s more expensive and some drivers eschew it.
    • Go out with them: As uncomfortable as it might be, it’s best to take dogs out to do their business instead of letting them roam by themselves in the yard. Though most dogs will want to scurry back where it’s warm, some may not be able to resist chasing a squirrel or running around.
    winter dogs

    “They’re like children. They don’t know when they’re starting to get frostbite, hypothermia, so you have to be the responsible one.’’

     Chris Whitmore: Animal Services Coordinator, Iowa City
    • Don’t leave pets in the car: The Chicago branch of PAWS says cold weather can create “a freezer-like environment’’ inside a car that’s turned off, so it discourages owners from traveling with their pets during the winter. If pets must come along, they shouldn’t be let alone in the vehicle even for short spells.
    • Set up a warm place to sleep: Keep pets away from any draft and off the floor by providing them a bed or basket with a blanket or pillow in it.
    • Shelter, food, and water: Stray cats can withstand temperatures around 15-20 degrees but are in danger of hypothermia when the mercury drops lower. Some cities give away small, insulated boxes that serve as shelter for cats – they can also be made easily out of Styrofoam coolers – and volunteers or other residents spread them around. “That can mean the difference between life and death for an outdoor cat or cats,’’ Halpin said.

    For people who like to look after neighborhood cats that may visit from time to time, experts suggest leaving food and warm water available to them. It’s important the water remains liquid because hydration is critical to maintaining proper body temperature.

    More info: Check on the websites of animal-protection organizations such as the Humane Society and the ASPCA.

    Site: usatoday.com

  • Cool Tips for COOL Pets this Summer!

    Summer is already here and as temperatures rise, we must keep in mind ways to keep ourselves and our furry friends cool and safe. Animals respond differently than humans to heat, so dogs, cats and other pets need special care during hot weather. During extremely hot weather, it might not be safe to take your dog out for a walk, especially without shoes.
    Keep in mind that if the pavement feels too hot to touch, it is too hot for them to walk on.

    If you suspect the hot weather might have affected your pet, look for signs signs of heat stroke, such as fast and noisy breathing, difficulty swallowing and distressed behavior. According to the ASPCA, animals with flat faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke since they cannot pant as effectively. If you suspect your pet is having a heat stroke, place a cold, wet towel on the back of the animal’s head, and towel-wrapped cold compresses on their back legs and belly.

    If your pet is elderly, overweight or has other health problems, avoid taking them outside and keep them in air-conditioned rooms instead. The pet should be immediately taken to the veterinarian to be checked. Especially during hot weather, make sure the pet has fresh drinking water that is served in a large container, instead of a shallow bowl, to allow the water to remain cold longer.

    You can also try giving your pet ice cubes to eat or add them to the water bowl. Our Qpets WF-300 Filtered Water Fountain not only continuously filters your pets drinking water through a charcoal filter, but it also has a big reservoir that can be filled with ice cubes from an ice machine in your fridge or from any average size ice tray. If you keep the WF-300 outside in the shade or inside your home, it can keep the water cool for your pets all afternoon!

    Don’t leave pets by themselves in cars, and keep pets at home if necessary.
    If you want to take your dog on a walk, try taking them out early in the morning or evening, when the weather and pavement have cooled down.

    In case of any health concerns, the ASPCA suggest you take a trip to the vet and have your pet get an early-summer checkup.

  • Why You Should Start Using Automated Pet Feeder

    Did you ever have this following experience:

    1. Early morning, you were trying to get some more sleep in. Suddenly, a series of scratching sound came from your room door. It’s your dog (or cats). He was so anxious because it was his feeding time, but you were still in bed!

    2. You needed to work every day, but you couldn’t find a friend or neighbor to feed your pet. So all you can do was leave a lot of food out for your pet to eat at its own. In the end, the result was an obese pet.

    3. You needed to leave town for a couple of days. You asked all around but couldn’t find anyone to take is your pet. So you have no choice but sending your pet to pet boarding, and that cost you couple hundred dollars.

    If you had faced this kind of experience before, you might want to consider an automated pet feeder.

    We all live a busy life this day, feeding our pets on a proper schedule become a difficult task. We can’t guarantee that we can feed our pets at the same time every day, which is quite essential for their health. An automated pet feeder can give you the relief of knowing your pets are always fed, whether you’re at work or going away for a couple of days. Most automated pet feeder today have the feature to set the time, portion and food type of each meal So you can make sure your pets eat at the right time, right amount and right kind of food.

    As your pets, you are the only food source they have. So most of the time they will associate you with food. Also, animal most of the time have different life habit than human. For example, cats are active during night time, and they eat multiple small meals throughout the day. So when your pets are hungry in the early morning time when you want to get some more sleep in, who do you think they are going to go to for food? An automated pet feeder can save you from those “unwanted morning call.” With a little bit of training, you can transfer your association with food to the feeder. When your pets are hungry, they will go to the feeder instead to bother you.

    According to research from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 58% of cats and 53% of dogs in the United States were overweight. Pet obesity has become a growing issue, and the outcome is serious. Many factors caused this problem, but one of the more critical factors was owners are spending less time and attention on their pet’s diet. As people are getting busier and busier with their daily task, it often is hard for them to feed their pets personally every meal. So people start to something called free feeding, which is just leaving bunch food for the pets to eat as many as they want. The animals don’t know diet control, so they will eat as many as they can every time.

    A great way to solve this problem is by using an automated pet feeder. This way can allow you to monitor and control your pets daily intake, without the need for your present. It indeed has all the benefits of feeding your pets personally and free feeding but without all the trouble and problem of both.

  • Buy a Feeder, Get a Fountain, for FREE!

    Great Deal! The first 50 customers that purchased an AF-108 Plus automatic pet feeder is eligible for a free WF-300 pet water fountain. Get it now, before they are all gone!

    • This promotion is for our Amazon store only, please noted that buying from our web store won’t qualify for this promotion.
    • If you are satisfied with our products, please write us a product review on Amazon and share with others!
    • If you are not happy or having any problem with our product, contact us so we can see what we can do to fix your issue.

  • Free Feeding vs. Scheduled Feeding, which one should you do?

    Free feeding is comfortable, convenient and takes no time to do. But it can cause many problems. Scheduled diet is right for your pet’s health, but it can be hard to keep up with, especially if you have a busy daily schedule of your own. It is not an easy job to do. So here is the question, free feeding vs. scheduled feeding, what should you do?

    Free Feeding

    Free feeding is a method which you leave food out for your pets to eat as many as they want, whenever they want. You refill it once it is empty. While this method is definitely very convenient and doesn’t take much to do, it has few risks to it.

    The biggest con of free feeding is it can cause health issue, more specifically obesity. Most cats or dogs have the tendency to eat more food than their body actually needs. I personally seem my cat vomit couple times because she overate. This kind of eating will eventually lead to obesity. Studies showed overweight cats have shorter life expectancy than regular cats. Overweight can cause high blood pressure, the excessive burden to joints, diabetes, and other illnesses.

    There is also the problems with keeping the food clean, training your pets to only eat in their own bowl if you have multiple pets and many other issues.

    Scheduled Feeding

    Scheduled Feeding is an excellent habit to have when owning pets. You can decide how much to feed and how many meals to feed everyday base on your pet’s species, breed, age, size, activity level, and other health factors. You can also add in medicines or supplements if your pet needs them. But it isn’t easy if you want to do this properly.

    First, you need to determine how many meals to feed every day. Dogs and cats are different. Usually, cats need 3-4 meals a day with small meals. Dogs are different, dogs only need 2 meals per day. But they typically eat much more. You also need to consider whether your pet needs medicines or not, whether your pet is too active that need additional meals etc. You might want to consult your veterinarian to come up with the best feeding schedule.

    Scheduled feeding is not an easy job, it will take time and work. But its benefits are obvious. You can control your pet’s food intake, feed different kinds of food for different meals, change its eating habit and more.

    Conclusion

    Ideally, I wish every pet owner can schedule feed their pets. However, not everyone has the time and energy to do so. So is there a solution that can have the best of both worlds?

    The answer is yes, programmable automatic pet feeder will be a great solution to that. Programmable pet feeder allows you to set the feed time and food quantity for every day, it will distribute the amount of food you set on the feed time you set so your pet can be fed even you are not present.

    If you are thinking to pick up a feeder, I suggest the Qpets AF-108 Plus. It has a six trays rotary design that allows you to put dry food, treat, medicine and even wet food in some cases, in the six separated food trays for a different meal. Also, a far more advanced programming system compare to the old AF-108. This makes it much easier to use compared to the old AF-108.

    Hope everyone finds my information useful and have a great time with their pets!