Canuck PetAll about Canadian Pets

A microchip and grain of rice

As Spring approaches and more animals will be outside, have you microchipped your animal?

Microchips may seem expensive at first glance, but in reality, they are close to the fine you pay if animal control picks up your animal without identification, and the number of cats and dogs that come into shelters where you can tell they have worn a collar but do not have it on when they arrive at the shelter is high.

There are six main microchip companies for the US and Canada, and many pet insurance companies offer a discount to people who have microchipped pets.

24PetWatch™ 866-597-2424 www.24petwatch.com
AKC® CAR 800-252-7894 www.akccar.org
AVID® 800-336-2843
Banfield® 877-LOST-PET
HomeAgain® 888-HOME-AGAIN www.homeagain.com
ResQ™ 877-PET-LINK www.petlink.net

Each company has a different price and some have maintenance fees for the database information, so look into which one suits your needs before getting a microchip implanted.

A microchip is no bigger than a grain of rice, and veterinarians can implant the chips into all kinds of pets — from reptiles and birds to cats and dogs. The device carries a number, and this number is plugged into a database that includes the name and contact information of a pet’s owner.  Only someone with a microchip scanner can obtain the number, your details are not stored on the actual microchip and you can choose to have the microchip company call you if your pet is found rather than release your information to the finders.  A microchip is not a GPS, it relies on someone scanning the animal, which all shelters do when new animals come in.

I am sure you have seen the cartoons and email forwards about how to pill a cat, amusing but sometimes not that far off.

Greenies Pill Pockets have been a lifesaver for me, both at home and at the shelter.  A pill gun helps but why bother when they will happily take a ‘treat’from you, ensuring that they take their pill with some food.

I always try the pill in a little wet food first, a small amount of butter etc but at the shelter, Pill Pockets are cleaner and help stop the spread of disease that could be caused by using a spoon of butter or handling something that needs to be broken up into pieces.

You just pop the pill inside the treat and pinch it closed, leaving a happy cat and you not becoming one of those people in the forwards, covered in blood from trying to pill your cat.  They also come in dog sizes for bigger pills.

I know I could easily hop on the regular scale with one of the cats but its hard to peer over the cat and look at the numbers and do the math (lazy I know) to subtract my weight.

Since we have WiiFit anyway, I love the added pet support, I have two ‘dieting’ kitties as well as a kitten who I am making sure never needs to diet so its great to be able to track their progress.  Maybe I can train them to hold the wiimote while running on their cat wheel and track their exercise at some point but for now, weighing and charting their progress is as good as it gets.

The pets get avatars too, so you can try and make them lifelike cartoon versions of themselves (which would help if they were not all orange and white tabbies) but with the slow rate of healthy weight loss allowed with pets, it is encouraging to be able to look back and see that they have lost weight.

As pet parents, we believe we are able to protect our pets from harm. If you really think about it, no matter how much love and care we provide, accidents and illness are still beyond our control. Pet insurance with Petsecure is like having group health benefits for your pet. It’s a unique way to ensure that whenever you need to, you can provide your pet with the very best of care.

PetSecure offers pet insurance for dogs and cats and has a great program running in many Canadian shelters through their AdoptSecure program.

PetSecure works with any licensed vet and claims are usually processed within a week.  They also cover some alternative therapies which is great for those of us who prefer to try a natural route to non life-threatening conditions.

PetSecure is underwritten by SecuriCan.

Since I personally know people who have PetSecure insurance with paid claims, I do recommend it to those looking for pet insurance.

PetCare Insurance, through the microchip company, 24PetWatch who offer a shelter program for 6 weeks of free pet insurance to members who use their microchips.

The ability to share one’s home with a cat or a dog is one of the great joys in life, they offer us love and loyalty, companionship and protection. It is not surprising therefore that they quickly win their way into our hearts as our four-legged family members. Unfortunately our pets are as likely to become ill or to have an accident as any of our other loved ones, and in some cases more so. From falling down the stairs, to allergies, car accidents to cancer our pets frequently need the expertise of a veterinarian and at those times the last thing we want to think about is money. That’s why PetCare Pet Insurance Programs offers you the chance to manage the risk associated with your pet’s medical issues through the provision of a selection of flexible and affordable pet insurance programs.

WebMD rolls out pet health website (news report from USA Today)

Pets WebMD is a great resource for basic health care for your pets.  While not Canadian and some of the meds it mentions may be available under different names in Canada, or not at all, much of the basic information is very helpful to pet owners.

It has in-depth sections on both dogs and cats including diet, nutrition, training, behaviour, puppy/kitten care, preventative care, common conditions and illnesses, and a Q&A by experts.

You can also sign up for a vet approved e-newsletter sent weekly with helpful hints on caring for your pet.

Their sections cover everything from motion sickness in dogs, to crate training and scratching and litterbox aversion in cats as well as tips to help you choose the right vet and information on microchipping