Aardvark (by Missud)
Monthly Archives: October 2012
10.11.12 Dogs have Owners; Cats have Staff
I know there was a bunch of you that were laughing at the title of today’s post and you understand what I am talking about. K8 bought me a cute sweatshirt with that saying on it and it made me laugh. Here at the zoo we live it every day. I spend hours, days, even months training the dogs. I own them and I feel that their behavior is definitely a reflection of the work I put into helping them understand what is expected of them in the world. I am their ‘boss.’ Kind of like the sports team owner around here.
But the cats, well they definitely think I work for them. “Human,” they say “we demand that you play with us now or we will bite on your phone cord or walk on your keyboard;” “Feed me now or I will throw up a hairball in the middle of the living room (especially since you just cleaned the carpet);” “Clean my litter box now or I will use this corner of your office as my new toilet;” “Feed me or I will go in the kitchen and knock all your favorite things off the counter;” need I say more. The truth is, they are right. I work for them.
“OK, Kitty, I’ll be right there!”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
10.10.12 SuperSized Noel: Dealing With Cat Fat
All that blogging last week was exhausting
When I came home from this last trip it appeared to me that Noël gained about 5 lbs. People had said she was a ‘big’ cat, but I guess I just did not see it.
It is a very hard job maintaining order in the zoo. Everyone is always demanding something: food, attention, affection (the usual). But what I have noticed of late with the cat pack is that the inmates seem to be running the asylum (*see note below). What I mean is that everything appears to be topsy-turvy or upside down, where the animals are telling the humans what to do and when. The normal routine of life is being disturbed by the constant pleading and manipulation of the animals, which has escalated to a fever pitch. This extends to multiple things, but mostly it is around FOOD.
Obesity in animals is a very large problem (no pun intended). Even a pound (kilo) of weight on their small frames can shorten their lives and add to health issues (I mostly worry about heart, joint, and diabetes). Trying to balance feeding for 5 cats at very different stages of their lives is becoming a full-time job. Muffy needs to eat all the time to keep up his geriatric weight of 4 lbs; the youngsters, Nine and Stella, need a higher amount of calories because they are so active; and the middle-aged cats, Noël and Kitty, each have different consumption needs – Noël cleaning everyone’s plate and Kitty eating just enough.
Solving weight and exercise issues when you are a multi-animal household is hard. You need to get every member of the family to take part to get control of the situation. I know that over weight animals, if there is no underlying health problem, get that way from consuming to many calories and/or lack of exercise. So, the food has to be controlled.
All the science and psychology and medical/vet things around how to feed and even what to feed seem to be based on a one animal at a time basis. Balancing the health needs of 7 animals (5 cats & 2 dogs), all at different growth levels, is a challenge. I really don’t want to be buying 3 or 4 different cat foods and then spend every Sunday apportioning who can have what and when for the week. That thought makes me shutter. There must be an easier way????
“Here Noël, come have some celery and carrots with Mommy.”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
*I do not know the origin of the expression, “the inmates are running the asylum,” but in the old days, people with mental or emotional problems were locked up in a ‘insane or lunatic asylum.‘ It would be politically correct to call them ‘Mental Hospitals’ today, but they were by no means helping the patients to get on with their lives in a healthy way (which is my definition of a hospital). They were more like dead-end prisons for people in society that the rest of the world could not figure out how to deal with. You can imagine the chaos when the people in charge lost control of what was supposed to be happening in such a facility. Sadly, that is how I feel at the moment around feeding time at the zoo.
10.9.12 Virtual Dog Park Ping Back Challenge
I was out wondering the blogroll and I came upon Lulu’s brother from another mother, Doggy. Don’t they look like they would be great virtual friends. So I am taking Louise to the virtual dog park and I am hoping that Doggy will be there to play. If you haven’t seen Doggy’s virtual home it has a new look and maybe he really needs a good run after his human spent so much time cleaning and reorganizing.
Happy Louise
Does your dog have a virtual twin? I challenge you to do the following:
Happy Doggy
1. Find another blog dog (or cat, or guinea pig, rabbit, OK any ‘pet’) and clip a picture from their page that looks like your fluffy love.
2. Post the 2 pictures side by side, like I did here.
3. Comment back to DogDaz on your post, so that I know your fluffy has enter the virtual dog park.
4. Have fun playing (but do remember to pick up any garbage before you leave).
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
10.8.12 Don’t Eat Anything Bigger Than…
I love it when Mommy feels guilty about leaving the zoo on one of her trips. When she returns after being away from us for a few days, she tends to give us new kinds of treats that we never had before. I also really like that she sits and cuddles with us for a really long time when she gets home (Mommy cuddles are my favorite thing in the whole world).
Someone said you are not supposed to eat anything bigger than you head, but they probably never saw my new bone. – Louise (aka Momma’s big girl)
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
10.7.12 Made You Look!
I am not sure what this means, but it seems that while I was away on business last week, Noël’s blogging increased my blog traffic significantly. I have been worrying about how low my readership was getting. My daily traffic rates have been steadily declining all year, but my recent absence appears to have caused a positive spike. What does this mean? Should DOGDaz become CATDaz? Should I let Noël or the other cats run the zoo more often? Should I go on more business trips?
The blog traffic has been a mystery to me. As you know, I write DogDaz because I love to rant and rave about my animals and this gives me a way to have a positive start to my day and have some fun and feedback. Blogging is such a personal thing. I definitely find that it has become a major part of my life this past year (next month will be a year since I started). Writing my little posts and thinking about the animals, their role in my life and my role in theirs, gives me great peace and happiness. This new dimension, created through social media, provides an outlet that I find not only cathartic but addicting. I will need to go back and see what it is about the Noël posts that made people read us that day. Maybe it was the feline tone; the self-centered smugness of her highness, Queen Noël, the Christmas Cat; or maybe, it was just one of those statistical blips that happens in the blogosphere.
What makes you read us one day more than another?
Feedback greatly welcome – I am always trying to entertain and improve.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 