Cats are cherished as our companions and worshipped as idols. Used for pest control and good luck, cats are more than 9,500 years old. Today in the U.S. it has been estimated that there are more than 90 million domestic cats.

In an April 8, 2004 article in National Geographic magazine, archaeologists from France found the remains of a human and a cat buried in a 9,500-year-old grave site on Cyprus, a Mediterranean island.

People honor their beloved cats upon their passing, according to Peternity.com.com Founder Colleen Mihelich. Her company offers hand crafted, cremation pet urns, grave markers and engraved pet memorials for cat-lovers who have lost a beloved pet.

Cat domestication appears to be ancient. Many experts believe that the Egyptians tamed and bred felines to produce a distinct species by around the 20th century B.C.

Ancient Egyptians Cats were revered by ancient Egyptians more than in any culture in history. Because they were so respected, cats were often mummified and buried in tombs along with their human owners.Back then it was also considered a high crime to kill a cat, and it was punishable by death. Families that owned cats made shrue their felines were respected long after their death. The family would go through a period of grief after a pet cat died, and they even shaved their eyebrows to express grief. Cats were often mummified after they died and then entombed with fine jewelry and treasures; a custom that was often reserved for the most wealthy. Evidence also shows tombs with mummified rats and mice. All of this signals that the Egyptians believed in life after death.

Bast, the Egyptian Goddess with the body of a young woman and the head of a cat. (The Book of the Dead, 3000 B.C.)

In ancient times, the cat, or miw, which means “to see,” was a sacred companion. Domesticated Egyptian cats were used for warding off rodents and even snakes. As time went by cats became more important to the Egyptians, and almost like a God. Cats were also represented in Egyptian mythology as the feline goddesses named Bastet, Sekhmet. In early times Bast, also written as ‘Bastet’ by the scribes, was a goddess that was shown as a woman with the head of a cat or lion.

In an April 8, 2004 article in National Geographic magazine, archaeologists from France found the remains of a human and a cat buried in a 9,500-year-old grave site on Cyprus, a Mediterranean island. Unearthed in 2001 in the Neolithic village of Shillourokambos, the mummified remains were found along with seashells, polished stones and offerings such as ochre and flint tools, axes, and other decorative artifacts. This predates the known early Egyptian art that depicted cats by more than 4,000 years.

An archaeologist named Jean-Denis Vigne at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France noted that when humans and cats are buried together it indicates a strong bond between the human and pet.

Other researchers have found hints that cats were domesticated even earlier than this, with experts who have found 10,000-year-old engravings and pottery depicting cats that actually date back as far as Neolithic period, or the late Stone Age, which also provides evidence that cats had a spiritual significance.

The world today is still fascinated with cats, and why pet memorials are growing in significance. Mihelich is always on the lookout for unique, handcrafted pieces of art to help her customers express their love, joy and memories.

In the current society, pets have become as important as children or other family members to us. To some people, their pets may be the only surviving family that they have left. Currently, it is fashionable to dress our pets, and even put jewelry on them. This is the way that a lot of pet owners show their love and affection. Among the very wealthy, jewelry may even be made of authentic precious gems and metals, and it may cost as much as the same piece of jewelry for the happy owner.

Animal lovers are devoted to their pets, and many treat their dog or cat as if it were human. The vast number of pet specialty supplies came about because of animal lovers who care. A pet may become an integral part of our families and our lives, giving unconditional love and affection to us no matter how we treat them. Sometimes pet owners buy jewelry for their animals to show pride in their pet, or just to show the animal that they care.

There are numerous types of pet jewelry available, and some of it is even custom made for the client according to their wishes. There have been notable cases of clients who have ordered matching jewelry for themselves and their pets, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on two identical pieces, only one is in miniature and custom tailored to fit the specific dog. Some people may not understand these types of actions, but to someone who has a unique bond with an animal, there is no such thing as going too far.

Dog jewelry comes in many shapes, styles, designs, and price tags. These pieces can start around five dollars, and the price goes up from there. There are jeweled combs for dogs with long locks, necklaces and bracelets for dogs, collars with crusts of fake or real gems crusted on, belly chains with gems to drape around the waist of the dog, and much more.

The reaction of a dog to wearing jewelry varies, with some dogs actually enjoying the jewelry while other dogs detest the fine jewelry and try any means available to take the jewelry off. Most cats do not appreciate any jewelry unless it dangles or is shiny, and then the only interest shown by most cats is to play with the piece for a couple of minutes until they lose interest.

Most of the time pet jewelry brings more satisfaction to owner rather than dog.

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When the mouse is away, cats play. And cats have the tendency to both play hard and play soft. Toys are to cats the same as toys are to dogs. It helps fight the boredom experienced by these pets as well as gives our feline friends the opportunity to practice and use their natural inclination to chase and hunt for prey. It also gives the cat owner that great chance to play with their pets, an experience that will aid in bonding their relationship.

But what toys are best for cats? The following are tips and helpful advice to get that perfect toy for the cat owners perfect pets.

Play safe

The good thing about cats is that they can play ball inside the house and the owners will never know it. Still, there may be things inside the house that cats could find attractive yet might actually endanger their health and safety. Houses must be cat-friendly. As much as possible, take away any string, yarn, needles, rubber bands or other objects that could easily be swallowed by cats. These things could be lethal to cats. Do not let them play with these articles no matter how cute they may appear to be.

Play soft

Choose soft toys that can easily be machine-washed. It is best that the toys chosen to be played with by cats are also the toys marked as safe to be played with by children below three years old. Toys such as these usually contain fillings that are not hazardous. Also, avoid giving cats toys that are hard and rigid, these types do not appeal to them that much. 

Know your cat, know their toy

It is best that one also familiarize themselves with your cat. Doing so helps in ones selection of the kind of plaything that best serves the size of ones cat – the kind of activity the cat likes and its unique preferences. Know the environment in which the cat likes to spend its time the most. 

Choose active toys

Toys that are great to play with for cats are usually the round plastic ones (such as rings from shower curtains, plastic balls, golf balls, balls used in ping-pong) as these give cats the opportunity to chase and paw around. They could also carry these in their mouths, make sure though that these are big enough they cannot be swallowed but not so large that they cannot carry them in their mouths. 

Choose active play

Balls can be placed inside bath tubs filled with water. Watch as cats frolic and play on and around the toy. It is just as enjoyable to the cat as it is fun for the cat owner. Another added feature that could be placed on balls are bells. One not only sees how cats play, one could also listen and take pleasure in the playful sound . Another simple yet effective plaything for cats is a paper bag.  Use paper bags that do not have handles. These bags are good for pouncing around. Cats hide in them too. As much as possible, avoid the plastic ones as cats have the tendency to chew these and they may eat the plastic. This is not good. 

Toys with tails

Cats like playing with soft toy animals – specially the ones that have tails. They either bite them, paw them or chase these little stuffed toys around.  It is best if these toys are as big or as small as the cats playing them. 

Toys with catnip

Catnip is sometimes used as stuffing for toys that are soft. Putting catnip in such playthings make the toys more enjoyable to carry, kick and throw around. More importantly, it is safe for cats to chew on, roll around in, or eat. It is okay for owners to place catnip on carpeted floors, or (to make clean-up easy) on towels. There are now catnip oils that can be placed on carpets, and they usually stay there. Cats detect these too. Although small cats, specifically kittens who are younger than six months have shown a certain kind of immunity to catnip.

All in all, it is best that cat owners define what kind of toy should be played by their cats. It is advisable that different kinds of toys be given on certain days, and that displaying all toys simultaneously may not be a good idea. Cats can easily tire of seeing the same fluffy toy animal again and again. Variety always works best. However if cats show a certain liking to a specific toy, let them play with it, or sleep with it – whichever they like.

Ruby Necklaces from the house of Bello Jewels, India

Ruby is a precious stone which comes in pink to blood red color because of the present of mineral corundum. The name of the gemstone comes form the Latin word rubber meaning red, so the mane ruby. Rubies called the Pigeon Blood red are the most worth gem stone and the most sought too. Ruby is found in many countries namely the Thailand, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Ruby is also called the gemstone of the Sun and called Manik in India. Ruby comes in many varieties called the Burmese Ruby, Pigeon’s Blood Ruby, Star Ruby, Cat’s Eye Ruby, Burma Ruby and Verneuli. Gemstones which resemble ruby are the Garnet and tourmaline but Ruby differs from them in their hardness. The famous of all rubies is supposed to be set in the crown of England the Black Prince’s ruby which is the largest of all rubies.

The value of ruby can be determined from its weight (carat), color, clarity and cut. Rubies are generally set in gold or come in a combination mixed with other gemstones mainly the sapphire.

Bello Jewels offer designs of the gemstone Ruby which are unique and will look ravishing at any neck line. They offer single as well as multi strand ruby necklaces. Some of the names of their creation are the Natural Ruby Beads 5 Strand Necklace and 5 Strand African Ruby Beads Necklace which are made out of only rubies not mixed with any other gem. But there are some designs which are made by mixing them with other gem stones which look very graceful like the 2 strand Ruby Drops Necklace in emerald Beads Strand with Silver Lobster Clasp and there are other designs also to choose from made with precision and keeping in mind the latest trends.

Of the ailments pets can suffer from, worms may not be the most dangerous to an animals health, but they are one of the most unpleasant from an owners perspective. Not only can they cause weight loss and mild diarrhea in your pet, they are also unsightly and some of them can be transmitted to humans.

There are 4 different types of worms that affect dogs and cats: roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and whipworms. These very greatly in both the part of the intestinal tract that they live in and the effect they have on the animal.

Roundworms (Toxocara species)

These worms are commonly seen in young dogs and cats. The adults live in the small intestine and the eggs are passed in the feces. Animals are infected by eating other infected animals (e.g. mice, rats), eating the feces of other animals or, in puppies and kittens, via their mothers milk. Eggs are passed in the feces 3 weeks after infection. Infection with roundworms can cause a poor hair coat, weight loss (or lack of weight gain in puppies/kittens), a pot-bellied appearance, and diarrhea. Worms are sometimes vomited up or seen in the feces. Treatment is with an oral deworming medication with a follow up dosage in 3 weeks to catch the next generation that were eggs or larvae at the time of the first dosing.

Roundworms can infect humans, not usually in the adult form, but in their larval form. In a few cases children who ingest the eggs can suffer eye damage or blindness because the worm larvae move through the body causing damage to the tissues. This disease is called Visceral Larval Migrans.

Tapeworms (Dipylidium and Taenia species)

Tapeworms are long flat white worms composed of many segments that live in the intestines of dogs and cats. There are 2 main types that affect dogs and cats, Dipylidium and Taenia species. Dipylidium is obtained by the animal eating an infected flea whilst grooming (licking) itself. Taenia on the other hand is transmitted by eating infected small mammals (rats and mice), or by eating the feces of infected animals. Cats that hunt and dogs that live on farms are the highest risk. Diagnosis is by visualization of the small, rice-like worms in the feces (most common method); or seeing the eggs on a fecal flotation exam. The eggs and worm segments are inconsistently shed in the feces, so just because you cannot see any in your pets stool does not guarantee that your pet is not infected. Nor does a negative fecal flotation exam completely rule out the existence of a tapeworm infection. Clinical signs are rare since tapeworm infection rarely causes a problem. Some clinical signs can be a dull coat, an itchy anus, diarrhea or lethargy. Treatment is via oral deworming medication, an injection or a spot-on.

Tapeworm infection of humans is not common but can occur occasionally, usually in children who have ingested a flea which contains the larvae of the tapeworm. Adults can become infected with tapeworms by eating infected meat that is not cooked properly.

Hookworms (Ancylostoma species)

These worms are most commonly seen in young dogs and cats. Adult worms live in the small intestine, with the eggs passing out of the body in the stool. Animals become infected with hookworms by the following routes: eating infective eggs or larvae, penetration of footpads or skin by larvae, transmission through the milk while nursing young, or transmission from the mother into the fetus while still pregnant. It takes three weeks from the time of infection until eggs are passed into the feces. Hookworm infection can cause a severe and sometimes fatal anemia in young, weak, or malnourished animals. Clinical signs are weight loss, diarrhea, and bloody feces. Worms are occasionally seen in the feces. Treatment consists of oral deworming medication and correction of any anemia. A follow up treatment is given 3 weeks later.

Hookworm larvae can penetrate human skin and potentially cause a skin problem called Cutaneous Larval Migrans. No one should be barefoot for 5-7 days while the pet is being treated for hookworms.

Whipworms (Trichuris species)

This worm affects dogs 3 months of age or older. The adults live in the large intestine and eggs are passed in the feces. Diagnosis can sometimes be difficult because whipworms are not prolific egg-layers. Infection is via fecal-oral transmission. Eggs do not appear in the feces until 3 months after infection. Clinical signs that can be seen are weight loss and diarrhea, with or without blood. These worms are usually not seen in the stool. Treatment consists of an oral deworming medication with a follow up treatment in 3 months.

Treating your pet

Regardless of whether your pet is an indoor or outdoor creature, you should deworm them regularly to keep good hygiene. Many indoor cat owners believe that since their cats are not hunters, there is no way they could have acquired worms. However, the author has seen many indoor cats with fleas (brought in on the owners clothing or shoes most likely) and many fleas are infected with the tapeworm Dipylidium. Therefore even purely indoor cats can be carrying worms.

Puppies and kittens should be wormed every 2 weeks from 4 weeks of age up until 12 weeks. The worms they would be carrying at this age are roundworms, ingested via their mothers milk, so the recommended treatment is to treat with the drug fenbendazole (Panacur), which is available as a liquid, as sachets of granules or as a paste in a syringe.

Dogs and cats greater than 12 weeks old can be dewormed using conventional worming tablets. This should be done every 3 months for optimum protection. There are a whole range of products out there, but the strongest and most effective ones are always those purchased from a veterinarian. Products purchased over the counter from supermarkets or pet shops will often only protect against one of the types of worm and not the others, or will only provide 1 month protection rather than 3.

Here are some useful tips on how to keep your pet worm free:

1. Adult cats and dogs should be dewormed with a veterinary licensed product every 3 months.
2. Over the counter deworming medications may not always be effective.
3. Prevent your pet from eating rodents such as mice, rats and rabbits.
4. Prevent your pet from eating earthworms (roundworm infection).
5. Prevent your pet from eating feces (tapeworm infection).
6. Remove feces from your lawn, street, or kennel daily.
7. Exercise your pets in grassy areas not frequented by other animals.
8. Control fleas! (Fleas carry Dipylidium tapeworm)
9. Deworm females before breeding and again after whelping to prevent infection of newborn puppies/kittens.
10. Deworm puppies and kittens every 2 weeks from 4 to 12 weeks of age.

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Who is mauidivegirl designs?

Lisa has had a passion for art and design for as long as she can remember. The Chicago native with a graphic design background navigated the corporate jungle for many years, but decided in 2004 to take a leap and leave the 9 to 5 grind and the cold weather behind, move to Maui and focus on her island inspired handmade jewelry.

Maui, an island in the middle of the ocean; her favorite recreation, scuba diving; and a passion for design, mauidivegirl designs was born.

Her inspiration comes from the surrounding nature of the Hawaiian islands both above and below the sea with it’s life, texture, color and patterns. Lisa’s designs combine natural shell, lava, coral, pearls, gemstones, sparkling crystals and story telling into island inspired, budget-friendly wearables, gifts, favors and keepsakes.

Lisa lives on Maui, Hawaii with her husband Todd and their two cats BooBoo and Schmoo. She continues to be stimulated everyday by the colors and beauty of her environment. When she’s not designing, Lisa can be found combing secret beaches for shells, making hand built pottery, cooking and enjoying countless hours of underwater exploration.

Proud vendor of: Whole Foods Hawaii • Persimmon Boutique, Waikoloa, Hawaii • The Enchantress Boutique, Wailea, Maui, Collections Boutique, Makawao, Maui • Neil Pryde, Kahului, Maui • Travel Traders Gift Shops Hawaii & Kauai

http://www.mauidivegirl.com
adorn yourself with aloha ~ handmade jewelry inspired by the sea

All items are beautifully island packaged ready for gifting. Let the islands come to you with this beautifully crafted collection. Perfect for weddings, gifts or a reminder of the islands and they’re gorgeous beaches.

Your pet dogs and cats have a number of important day to day requirements in order to maintain excellent health condition. Certainly, you would want your beloved pets to remain as fun and enjoyable companions, ones that are full of life and energy.

Therefore as much as possible, we only provide them with the best, freshest and most delicious food for them to keep on going, growing and glowing.  We only want our animals to have the best lives to enjoy, do we not?

Homemade pet food versus Brand name

If we humans love to eat, so do our dogs and cats. Hence, whatever good and delectable food that we feed them is definitely appreciated. We can have two options when it comes to pet food, the home made type or those brand name pet food products. Home made can be very meticulous to prepare while one can easily go to the pet shops, groceries and supermarkets and pick up a bag of popular dog or cat food brands in a grocery counter.

Some pet owners prefer to feed their dogs with homemade pet food. This is because they can control the types of ingredients to be used in the food preparation. Of course many of us would prefer that the food that our animals eat are all-natural, sans chemicals, additives and other synthetically made ingredients that are potentially detrimental to their health.

On the other hand, branded pet food is the choice of many other individuals because of the popular notion that manufactured food products for animals are better, quality wise. Indeed, it is true that many brands that have become house hold names because of the proven health and nutritional benefits that such products provide to pets.

For more articles and discussions about pet food, dog food coupons and everything else about our beloved pets, do visit our Pinoy Pet Blog.

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Bringing your pet in to Thailand

The following requirements apply if you plan to bring your cat or dog into Thailand for 6 months or more by air as part of your accompanied baggage.

1)      Obtain an authorization to import your pet by air. This can be done at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok.

2)      At the airport you would need to :

-         Obtain an authorization form allowing to transit animals via Thailand.

-         Fill out an application form for special importation.

Please be advised that you may be required to pay fees for the above applications as well as import duties on your pet. Import duties are waived if your pet will be in Thailand for less than 6 months, but you will need to fill out a guarantee form and pay a deposit at the airport.

Other requirements

1)      Entry certificate signed in the country of origin by registered veterinarian , describing the age, breed, sex, color etc… of your pet.

2)      Rabies vaccination certificate – your pet must be vaccinated at least 15 days prior to arrival.

3)      Leptospirosis vaccination certificate – your pet must be vaccinated at least 21 days prior to arrival

4)      The animal must be healthy and free from any sign of infectious or contagious disease.

Keeping pets in Phuket

There are several pet shops in Phuket which supply pet food, kennels and accessories. A few also provide baths, grooming, spa and salon services for your pets. There are few dog kennels breeding quality dogs and puppies for sale and also an International dog school with multilingual training.

Dog & Cat care

If you have long – haired dogs and cats you need to keep them in air-conditioning a lot of time. They can become unhealthy and lethargic if kept in the heat. Tyhey will also most likely develop heat rashes. Ticks and fleas can also be a bit of a problem in Thailand, so you should visit a vet to get your pet treated.

Maids can be a great help in taking care of your pets. However, when hiring you should make sure that the maid likes animals and is comfortable taking care of them.

For further information contact: Pet Control office, Bangkok International Airport , Arrival Lounge (counter 7 and 8).

Please cheque aboven before bringing your best friend to Thailand ,

Sponsord by : www.allphuketrealestate.com

Don’t end up with a £5,000 fine by getting it wrong, everyone should read this!

Many of us in the UK love to spoil our pets with various accessories like coats, jumpers, ‘doggles’ and even shoes! One of the most important things however that should not be neglected or forgotten is a Pet ID Tag.

Pet Identification not only makes sense (in case you pet gets lost) but also is a LEGAL requirement in the UK!

The law requires your to have your name, address (including postcode) and ideally phone number on the pet identification.

“The Control of Dogs Order 1992 mandates that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the name and address (including postcode) of the owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. Your telephone number is optional (but advisable).” [ref Kennel Club website]

If you don’t follow the law with this, you could risk a £5,000 fine!!

In our opinion, the BEST way to get your pet identification all wrapped up, is to take our 5 step plan…

Get your pet microchipped
Get yourself a quality engraved pet ID tag disc. Ideally ensure it’s a nice thick disc, with quality engraving (not cheap scratch engraving like you might find in help yourself pet shops). Add your name and address. And hopefully if space, phone number. Also if you can, add a line like “I am microchipped”.
Ensure the tag is attached to the collar with a high quality split ring. Don’t use one that has a cheap round metal attachment which will eventually bend and allow the tag to come loose from the collar!
Get an embroidered personalised dog collar with your name and phone number. This ensure that if for some reason the tag has come loose from the collar, or an old person who cant read the small engraving text, can still easily find your phone number from the large text embroidery on the collar!
Check the details are up to date at regular intervals, if you move, change name, or phone number then get your pet identification updated immediately.

Best Pet Collars sell personalised custom embroidered dog collars and have a fantastic range of pet ID tags which can be with you in less than a week from ordering.

It’s sad when a close animal companion leaves this world. I’ve experienced it several times and each time I feel a strong need to have some sort of keepsake to remember my pet by. Some of the items in my memory box include baby kitten and puppy teeth and a 4″ long whisker that my big cat shed the day before a dog caught him flat-footed.

When we really love our pets and can afford to give them a special send-off, we may decide to cremate them. Then comes the question “what do I do with my pet’s ashes?”. That can be a difficult question to answer. I know someone who still has their ashes in a cardboard box 2 years later because she can’t decide what to do with them. Of course we could always spread some of the ashes at our pet’s favorite outdoor spot or there’s always the urn. But somehow an urn can feel a little cold and impersonal. Luckily there’s pet cremation jewelry!

One of the best and most popular ways to have our pet’s ashes close is to keep them in pet cremation jewelry. There are many types of cremation pendants that will hold a small portion of your pet’s ashes. Most of these involve a small hollow pendant made out of metal, wood or a simple glass tube. You put the ashes of your pet in the hollow vessel and a plug or screw top seals the hole. This is a nice and convenient way to carry your pet’s ashes as a piece of jewelry. Many of these manufactured cremation pendants are pretty basic and a bit uninspiring. However, there are some very beautiful pendants of this type and some of the more expensive ones are even handcrafted. Prices for these types of cremation pendants range from around to over ,000 with the average price for a quality piece running a bit over 0.

If your tastes run more towards the artistic and handcrafted, a unique and elegant way to keep your pet’s ashes around your neck is a hand blown glass cremation pendant. These cremation pendants aren’t just simple containers to put your pet’s cremains in. Instead, the glass artist who creates them actually inserts your pet’s ashes into the molten glass while they are creating your pendant! As the ashes are being inserted into the glass, a chemical reaction takes place that creates many tiny CO2 bubbles. These bubbles combine with the ash to form random intricate patterns . When your pendant is finished, you can see your pet’s ashes inside and they become an integral part of the art inside the pendant.

These pendants are priced from around to 0 with some artists also offering glass memorial marbles. Although it’s more difficult to find a glass artist who will custom make these pendants, it’s worth looking at some to see what they’re like. Although as a glass artist I’m a bit biased, I can’t think of a more beautiful and unique way to keep your pet’s ashes close to you.