Remember the stories from the 70’s when the U.S. tried to get with the rest of the developed world and adopt a universal measurement system (aka the metric system) and found it “was too much work” and gave up trying? Well today’s Pet Column topic is like that but different. Today I write about the popular misconception that cats age seven human years for each calendar year. However, the results of this bad measuring is sloppiness at best and cats dying at worst.

In 1965 Britain's Farm Animal Welfare Council developed the Five Freedoms which have since become internationally accepted standards of care that affirm every living being's right to humane treatment. I am almost 2 years old and these basic freedoms have been denied to me most of my life. I am writing to change that.

You know how your cat is being all lovey dovey drunk and giving you all the signals to pet her and she is purring and rubbing on you letting you know how wonderful you are? And then in the blink of an eye she is sinking her teeth into your hand? Well, that is normal. But I can tell you why it is normal and how to avoid the little “love nibbles” in the future. Please note, just because I am writing this does not mean that I condone or participate in this behavior.

Already burned out on election campaigns? Then sink your teeth into a campaign that is guaranteed to have a positive result. I am calling it The Coco Campaign and its one focus is finding me a loving home. But don’t worry, this entire Pet Column will not be limited to me, there will be transformative wisdom and inspirational awakenings mixed in as always.

Big news on CNN folks. Ready? The “crazy cat lady” stereotype has been researched and debunked. And what’s more is that researchers have found that “cat people” (people smart enough to include cats in their households) actually tend to be more empathetic than non-cat owning people. Looks like the “crazy cat lady” is actually the “comforting cat person”.

It is common practice among dogs to not get involved in politics. But can someone please explain to my canine brain how the Environmental Protection Agency, a government agency that is supposed to be protecting the environment, just reauthorized the use of the controversial cyanide chemical traps (called M-44s) to kill coyotes, dogs, foxes and other wild animals across the U.S.?  

Many cats naturally aspire to great heights. And yes this often leads to kitty kitchen counter cruising. Some feline inclusive families just accept this as part of the agreement they make with their cats while others wonder if there’s an actual solution to keeping their counters paw and butt free. Today I will enlighten you on the secrets to countering the counter cat…

Dear Pet Column, is it true that I should not take my new puppy out in public until she has received her last puppy vaccination at 16 weeks?

 -Perplexed Puppy Parent

 Dear Perplexed, I am going to help you put this mythology away in a puppy crate forever. Puppies should absolutely be taken out into the world before the age of 12 weeks and certainly should not spend this incredibly critical period of development wrapped in a plastic bubble at home.

While waiting to be adopted I have been reading Temple Grandin’s book, Animals Make Us Human. As a cat I am particularly fond of this book title. The content was even juicier. It introduced research that challenged the long accepted “alpha male” paradigm of dog training and parenting. It highlighted that in the wild wolves do not naturally function through wolf packs structured by dominance hierarchies but from peaceful family units. It answers the controversial question regarding whether dogs are better suited to live with parental figures or alpha pack leaders…

My name is Bailey, an energetic one year young homeless Heelixer (Heeler mix) puppy. Today I write about what it really means when you make a decision to bring a pet into your life. I don’t want to preach but I do want to promote the pet parenting philosophy that my friends here at Second Chance Humane Society believe in. They agree with me that if this philosophy were embraced by all there would no longer be a need for animal shelters.