We’ve been watching a show on pet hoarding lately which got us thinking about what makes a responsible pet owner. After all, the people on the show truly believe they’re giving their pets a great life. They think they’re rescuing them from a life of cruelty and neglect but in fact are putting these animals in unsanitary and stressful situations. Their love for animals has prevented them from seeing the bigger picture – their lives, the animal’s lives and their homes are being destroyed by a severe overpopulation of critters. It’s so saddening to watch how emotional the same people get when they have to give up their animals. In their hearts they truly believe the animals were safest and happiest with them. Many of them are so ‘in love’ with animals they breed them so they can ‘enjoy’ all stages of life. It’s scary that it makes sense, there is not one ugly baby animal out there! On the other hand, there are many who only have a few pets who still fail to give them the basic necessities they need to live. It’s heart wrenching to see an animal being neglected or abused. In one sense the person ‘cares’ too much and in the other, just not enough.
So after mulling it over here’s what we think demonstrates Responsible Pet Ownership:
A Well Balanced Diet
No matter how well you treat your pet, if you’re skimping on their food, chances are you’re going to run in to health problems down the road. There are so many foods out there that may cost less, but also sacrifice your pet’s health, stuffing it full of fillers and empty calories. These foods are basically junk food and we all know what too much junk food does to us! It can cause us to be sluggish, gain weight and be deficient in certain vitamins our body needs so why would we continue to feed our animals the same kind of junk? There are tons of websites and books out there specific to the pet you have that can help you determine what is and isn’t the right food for your animals. If you have a rabbit that means a pellet based food that doesn’t contain any pieces of dried fruit, nuts or corn, unlimited hay and fresh veggies daily!
A Clean, Warm and Safe Home
Okay what we really mean by this is that we do not under any circumstances advocate keeping your animal outdoors by themselves for their entire life. Your pet deserves more than being stuck outside day after day, lonely and braving the elements. It’s proven that an outdoor animal is ‘out of sight and out of mind’. It’s easy to forget your pet if they’re not a part of the family. This also means that you’re providing adequate indoor housing for your pet. See our blog on building your own rabbit condo for the minimum requirements your rabbit companion needs to stay healthy and happy. The area your pet is confined to (if any) needs to be cleaned regularly to promote a healthy living environment. You keep your house clean, why wouldn’t you keep your pets home spiffy too?! Your pet should also be fed at regular meal times and have unlimited access to drinking water.
Lots of Playtime!
It’s the middle of January, freezing cold right now and we’re bored of sitting inside the house! Now imagine how your pet feels everyday! Most of us have to get up and go to work in the morning ( Yay! Insert sarcasm here ) which means our pets are left all day by themselves. Just like people, our furry companions are going to be lonely and itching for some fun! You need to devote daily exercise and play time to keeping them happy, plus it’ll help to strengthen the bond you share with them. No matter how cold or hot it is, your dog still needs his daily run at the dog park, your cat would love to chase the laser pointer you got for Christmas and your rabbits are dying to run laps and binky for you to show their gratitude! This time of year is also great for teaching some new tricks! Rabbits are incredibly intelligent and there are some great books out there for clicker training your rabbit. And after all that play you’ll all be so tired out it’ll be time for a good snuggle!
Regular Grooming
This again depends on the type of animals you have as well as whether they are long or short haired. It’s safe to say for most pet owners, weekly grooming should be sufficient enough. You may be grooming your pets daily if they have extremely long hair (like Angora rabbits). Start by brushing your animals fur with the appropriate brush. All of our pets love Saturdays because they get to feel pampered, having a nice snooze while being brushed and massaged. This shouldn’t be painful for your pet because if you’re doing it regularly, mats and knots won’t have long enough to develop. If there are mats that are too bad for you to brush out, gently clip them using a pair of sharp scissors. Be very careful if you’re doing this to a fidgety pet – rabbits especially can have a hard time staying still! The last thing you want is to hurt her, so if you don’t feel comfortable you can always have your vet cut the mats out for you.
While you’re brushing check for warning signs to illness, allergies, or bug infestations. Are your dogs ears smelly and red? Does your rabbit have patches of dry skin behind his ears? Does your cat have bald patches? These are all warnings that something is not right with your pet and you should contact your veterinarian! Next up is the relaxing massage. Make this gentle and calming. While your pet feels like he’s in heaven, you should be thoroughly feeling for odd bumps and protrusions. It’s not a good sign if your animal yelps in pain when you touch a certain spot. If you’re doing this weekly, it’ll also be easier to tell if there’s a sudden drop or gain in weight which could also be a sign of illness.
Next up are nail clippings. You can probably get away with only doing these once a month or so, depending on the pet. Skip if your pet’s nails don’t grow very quickly. To clip their nails look for the quick (it’s that pink vein you can see in their nail) and cut about an 1/4″ in front of that. Sometimes it’s hard to see the quick if your animal has dark nails. In this case you can shine a flashlight from underneath to find the quick. You can usually tell when you’re getting too close to the quick if you apply pressure with the nail clippers and your pet jumps or moves their paw quickly out of the way. If you do cut the quick, you can use styptic powder (which you can find at pet supply stores) or in a pinch flour, to clot the area and stop the bleeding. This took us a while to get comfortable with so in the mean time we took our pets to the vets to have them cut their nails for us.
Regular Vet Checkups
This is really dependent on the type of animal you have. My dogs for instance, are at the vets every couple of months because they’ve always got one thing or another, my cats and rabbits are there roughly once a year for a general check-up or more frequently if a health issue arises. My parrot has been for a general checkup plus an emergency visit and my hamster has never left the house! Depending on the type of pet(s) you have you may be at the vets a lot or a little. Either way you need to be prepared that if or when something happens you’re going to act responsibly by taking your pet to the vet. There are some things your pet may develop that just can’t be fixed on their own. Rabbits especially have mastered the art of hiding illness or disease but through playtimes, snugglefests and your weekly grooming it shouldn’t be difficult to know when your Bun isn’t acting like herself. Rabbits are very sensitive and delaying a trip to the vets as the first signs of illness could be fatal. Put away some money every paycheck dedicated as your vet fund. That way if an emergency comes up, you can focus on the health of your pet and not how much debt you’re racking up on your credit card.
Spaying / Neutering Your Pets
As Bob Barker always said, “Spay and Neuter Your Pets”! You may be asking yourself why you need to have your animal fixed if it’s never going to leave the house?
- Accidents happen. Your cat may get out of the house and come home pregnant. Your dog may be taken advantage of at the dog park before you can stop it. And don’t even get me started on having two unfixed rabbits of the opposite sex. That’s just asking for trouble! Don’t be naïve about siblings. When it comes to the animal community, everyone is fair game.
- It’s been proven in many animals (and especially in rabbits) that fixing them keeps them healthier. There are several types of cancers that affect your pets reproductive organs. Female rabbits for instance have an extremely high death rate from uterine cancer. So high, many unspayed females die before their middle aged. Unaltered male dogs are known to develop testicular cancer when reaching older ages. Even if it isn’t cancer, there are several infections that affect these organs and can still lead to unnecessary sickness and sometimes even death. Female rabbits are also more likely to go through false pregnancies which can lead to internal bleeding and scarring.
- It prevents hormones from dictating the actions of your pet. Your puppy is reaching sexual maturity and starts humping your leg, the couch cushion, your friend’s leg because he just can’t get enough! Your male cat starts marking his territory – peeing on your curtains, your plants, pretty much anywhere he feels fit. And your rabbit? Well let’s just talk about your darling bunny! Your female may start becoming cage protective. Every time you reach your hand in, she’ll get really low to the ground and box you when you get close. That’s her nesting space! You male rabbit will start marking his territory with lovely extra smelly poops, peeing all over your stuff and frequently peeing on you! After all, you’re his territory. It’s endearing, in a gross kind of way! He may even try humping your leg or chasing your cat to hump him….sound like fun?
- Forget having multiple pet households! If you’re thinking about a companion rabbit for Buns, think again! Rabbits have a hierarchy to maintain and even same sex rabbits will fight over their territory! This aggression will prevent them from ever becoming friends – there’s just too many hormones in the way! The same goes for cats (we’ve broken up some pretty nasty cat fights outdoors during the warmer months) and have you ever watched your dog at the dog park? The first thing they do is establish a pecking order. You can bet Humpy McGee is going to create some extra tension there!
- Babies – Yes we know, baby animals are freakin’ adorable! On rainy days you can bet we’re surfing YouTube looking for baby animal vids to swoon over but the fact of the matter is there are way too many homeless pets out there! And think about it, sure they would be cute for the first 30 seconds, then you’re going to realize you have a full time job and those little munchkins are going to be a ton of work. You’re going to have to make sure their Mama is taking care of them properly. You’re going to have to make sure Mama is being cared for properly. If she neglects any of them, it’s your responsibility to take her place. As they grow you’re going to have to feed them and play with them and clean up after all of them! And then when they’re old enough you’re going to have to find loving homes for them because if you don’t we may be watching you on the next episode of the pet hoarders show! Sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it?! Spay and neuter your pets!
Love and Compassion
If you can’t give a certain type of pet the love it deserves, then perhaps that pet just isn’t for you. You should be figuring this out before and not after you bring home the new addition. The great thing about animals is that there are so many types of pets – there really is something for everyone! Whatever pet you decide on, you’re making a commitment to yourself and that animal to love it unconditionally. If you can’t feel confident in providing the above characteristics to any animal, then a pet may not be right for you at this time in your life. However, if you’re anything like us, you’ll be so head over heels in love with your animals that these ‘rules’ will just feel natural! You’ll always strive to be the best pet owner possible, because you want what’s best for your pet!
