Animal rights activists are seeking to shut down an annual summer dog meat festival in southern China blamed for harming the country’s international reputation as well as fueling extreme cruelty to canines and unhygienic food handling practices.

Limited Space, Big Love: Solutions for Cat Lovers in Tight Quarters

(NewsUSA) – With more and more people moving to urban areas or just looking to minimize and simplify their lives, small-space living is on the rise. This trend toward scaling back is great news for cat lovers. But sharing your small home with a cat isn’t without its challenges. Here’s how to make sure you and your feline friend live in harmony when space is at a premium.

Give your cat a “territory.”

Cats are territorial animals, just like their counterparts in the wild. Domestic cats don’t need acres of grassland, but they should have a special place in your small home. Let your cat pick his or her favorite spot — it may be a windowsill, a high perch or a dark hiding spot

— and set up a comfortable bed or blanket. Intrusions into this space, whether from humans or other pets, should be kept to a minimum.

Forget about “off-limits.”

In a small space, your cat will need a lot of freedom to explore. Don’t expect furniture, tables or even kitchen counters to be off limits. Instead, keep food, breakables and anything else you don’t want your cat to get into behind closed cabinet doors and let your cat roam free.

Choose a cat litter made for tight quarters.

The litter box can be the trickiest part of sharing a small home with a cat. You need a litter that delivers powerful odor control and makes it easy to keep the box clean. World’s Best Cat Litter harnesses the concentrated power of corn for long-lasting performance and keeps odor under control even in the tightest spaces. As a bonus for apartment dwellers who dread trash trips, this all-natural litter alternative is also flushable* and septic-safe.

Cats can be the perfect pets for people living in tight quarters. It just takes a little planning and compromise to keep everyone purring and content!

*The State of California encourages the disposal of cat feces in trash and discourages flushing feces in toilets or disposing of them in drains.

How to Save Money on Pet Care

|(NewsUSA) – Owning a pet has a lot of perks, but caring for one can take its toll on your wallet. According to the ASPCA, owning a dog or cat can cost up to $1,000 in the first year, and many people end up spending much more. The good news is you can cut your pet care expenses without compromising your pet’s health and well-being. Here are a few ways you can save money and keep your pet healthy.

1. Don’t skip the vet.

If you’re trying to save money, it can be tempting to cut back on veterinary visits. But according to Julie Ciarmella of the American Veterinary Medicine Association, “an investment in preventive healthcare can reduce your long-term pet healthcare costs.” Why? Because regular check-ups can prevent expensive complications down the road.

2. Get by with a little help from your friends.

Dog-walking, pet-sitting and kennel services can be some of the most expensive aspects of owning a pet. You can save money by taking the “you scratch my dog’s back, I’ll scratch your cat’s chin” approach and tapping into a network of other pet owners in your area. Neighborhood dog parks are great places to meet like-minded pet lovers; or, you could try good old-fashioned advertising.

3. Choose high-quality pet products that give you more value for your money.

Reaching for the cheapest product can feel like a thrifty move, but you may be surprised by the impact “cheap” products can have on your budget. For example, cheaper clay cat litter needs to be changed more often, so cat owners go through bag after bag. World’s Best Cat Litter is an alternative that harnesses the concentrated power of corn for long-lasting performance. You’ll use less litter, replace it less often and save money in the long run.

In the end, remember that what your pet needs most is love. Keep things simple and invest in high-value products where it matters, and you’ll be on your way to a pet care budget that works for you.

73 million Americans have pets. All of us will at one point have to deal with the loss of these companion animals. This site is dedicated to those memories, caring for them while they’re with us and the book, “Living With Them”.

This site is dedicated to all pet owners who have lost their pets and want to get most enjoyable times from them while they’re with us. It’s the most difficult of all the websites that I have created over the years because it means reliving the pain of loss. This site is also dedicated with love to the pets that I have lost that have been so special, Bon-bon, Mr. Kitty, Oliver North, Sweetie Pie, Maddigan Lucy and Queen Theodora.

Living through the pain of the loss of a loved one is a difficult but normal part of living. That sounds trite and nothing more than a platitude but it’s true. Every single one of us will be touched by the pain of bereavement. But there is hope through faith, prayer and other people who understand what you are going through.

Ted Bird at 21 years old.

I’ve lost many pets, friends and relatives during my life but none has been more difficult than losing our 22 year old cat, Ted Bird, aka Queen Theodora. I had prepared for her death years in advance through prayer and caring for her. Once a pet gets above their expected lifespan, things change. Like elderly humans, one illness or injury could quickly become a life or death situation.

It was fortunate that Ted Bird was able to get through her final years without illness or injury. As she passed her 22nd birthday, it was obvious that she didn’t have long. Her kidneys and other organs were shutting down and there was no way to extend her life.

She died in my arms, on the deck that she spent here summers on, looking into the forest that she had spent so much time in.

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In October of 2015 our 22 year old cat, Ted Bird passed away.

The grief and depression was horrible and enlightening. We experienced the miracle of life and the agony of mourning for a wonderful companion.

Ted Bird passed away at home on the deck that she loved to lay on every summer, basking in the sun.

The experience taught me a lot and I am writing a book about what I learned and felt. It is my hope that this book will help others through the pain of losing a companion and family member.

This is a painful process, recalling the passing of all of the wonderful pets that I have had the honor of knowing. It is also a wonderful therapy, recalling all the great experiences I had with them.

I want to include the experiences of other families that have lost one of their own, no matter what kind or breed of companion. Contact me through the web site below or by phone if you want to tell the world about your wonderful companion and what they meant to you and your family.

You can also help by downloading this post as a PDF and printing it out and posting it on your church, community or vet’s office bulletin board.

Get the PDF   

My book, Living With Them is about what I have learned about during my lifetime about death, the grieving process and how to use a single axiom to help yourself through this pain – the pain of grief.

This book, Living With Them, will be free for everyone to read. It will be serialized on this site in as many formats as we can create from normal web pages to pdf to mobi and possibly Kindle format.

This book is a long term project as you can imagine that reliving painful episodes in my life isn’t the most pleasant experience. But it needs to be done which is why I’m releasing the book for free. Every day, many people have their pets leave them. Like myself, the pain and sorrow of losing a pet is a horrible pain. If my book helps anyone, whether it be a few or many, then my work is a worthwhile endeavor.

Simply use the menu to access the chapters of the book.

Controversy. Disagreement. Belief. Bible. If you don’t believe that, look at the controversy the Pope Francis stirred up footnote[note]Google search – Pope Francis[/note]. When I think of the spirit which is present in every creature, which I would submit is no different than the soul that you and I have, I think of God. When I need answers, I do not turn to my fellow Christians, I go right to the source. The Bible.

Job 12:9-10
“Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”

This passage from Job seems pretty clear that animals, our pets, our companions have not only the spirit of life but also a soul.

In my book, Living With Them, I write that as each one of the pets that I have been with as they passed on, I have told them to wait for their mom and myself because we will be there soon just as I would with a human. Do they understand? I’d like to think that God would grant them and myself that.

Sweetie Pie who died in my arms.

I have no doubt whatsoever that this is true, that we will be reunited with everyone that we have known that has preceded us in death. In conversations with ministers, the ones that think the same as I do outnumber those that say no.

When examining whether or not we will be reunited with our pets once we die and enter to heaven, I decipher my questions through the word of God. The reasoning is simple. We are flawed creatures thanks to sin. We were created perfect and used our free will to go against God and allowed sin into this world. Thus anything that any of us says has to be assumed to be flawed in some way.

The Bible says many things about creation as a whole and animals as a subset of that creation. We know that the Jews were ordered to have their animals also observe the Sabbath footnote[note]Animals in old Testament[/note]. We know from the Bible that God breathes the spirit of life into all creatures. Should it not be surprising that the animal members of our families not be presumed to have a spirit that “goes somewhere” when they die?

One aspect of this is the Catholic Saint assigned to the protection of animals – Saint Francis of Assisi footnote[note]St. Francis[/note]. What’s important about St. Francis is that he took the Bible literally which would probably brand him a religious nutcase in our time.

The Bible itself is rife with mentions, instructions and veneration of animals. Here are some passages from the Bible about animals:

Genesis : 9, 13-17
I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth.”

We see that after the flood and Noah, God now has a covenant with all living creatures. A covenant is an agreement, a guarantee, a commitment.

In Revelation, we read that indeed there are creatures in Heaven.

Revelation 5:13
“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, hear I saying, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever.”

Does any of this end the controversy? I wouldn’t give myself the credit if it did and I doubt that it would end the discussion.

When Ted Bird passed away, I buried her right under the deck where she used to lay all summer. I built her a casket, put her favorite things in it with her and buried her. I visited her grave and talked to her for weeks after her death.

Some owners would like a way to memorialize their companion animal. The following are some ways that others have found helpful:
■ Conduct a memorial service
■ Keep your pet’s tags, toys, collars, bedding, etc.
■ Keep a lock of your pet’s hair.
■ Save condolence cards or e-mails from friends and family
■ Create a picture collage, scrapbook, story, or poem about your pet
■ If you chose cremation, you may keep the ashes in an urn or locket, or you may choose to scatter them in a place that was special to your pet
■ Journal your pet’s story; how, when, and where you met, unique personality traits, nicknames, what you love the most, and what you’ll miss the most
■ Donate time, money, or talent in your pet’s honor (to a rescue organization, humane society, or veterinary medical center)

The strength of the attachment of pet owners to their pets, the nature of the grief experienced when the human-animal bond is broken and the need for a pet loss counselling service has been studied in a New Zealand sample of 58 self-selected pet owners who experienced loss within the 6 months prior to the study and who felt that they were still grieving.

In this pilot study 33 pet owners took part in a structured interview and 25 responded to a postal questionnaire. The subjects were asked about their attachment to their pet, their experience of loss, the reaction of others, their reflections and demographic details.

A new quantitative attachment scale that compared the attachment to the pet to the attachment to significant
humans was trialled. The results generally found that the results of overseas studies applied to the New Zealand situation and confirmed that the grief reactions to pet loss are similar to those for human loss.

The new attachment scales found that 50-60% of the subjects were as attached to their pets as they were to humans or more so, and for the first time provided statistically significant evidence that dog owners may be more attached to their pets than cat owners.

Few differences were found between the responses of the interviewed respondents and the postal respondents. It was concluded that there is a need for a pet loss counselling service in Christchurch and that the study of the human animal bond may aid the further development of attachment theory. The implications of the study for social work are presented

Download the PDF of the study