One of the best things Patti and I ever did was to have two pet doors installed in our laundry room – one on the inside, the other to the patio. Before that happened we were glorified doormen for our cats. Truth be told, sometimes we still are. There’s been a trade-off, though. Yes, the house stays cooler or warmer, but we sometimes have a possum or raccoon wander inside searching for food – such is life at the Thompsons.
If the occasional extra dinner guest ever become a hassle, I suppose we’ll install an electronic pet door. Smart pet doors are great if you have an indoor cat and a dog who comes and goes on its own. Smart doors work with a radio frequency emitting chip. When the pet door reads a signal, it unlocks; when it doesn’t, it locks again.
Which brings us to my next favorite pet product – automatic feeders. We’ve tried the timer-types before, but our cats prefer grazing from gravity-fed feeders. They’re happy, so we’re happy and luckily they haven’t gained weight, so far. Yes, we cater to our pets and think of them as our fur-babies. Chances are you feel that way about yours, too. After all, they’re family members, Right?
You never know when your dog will come home wet and dirty from a hike, so make a space in your mudroom or laundry for a wash station where it can be easily cleaned. Make the space dark and cozy and your dog will respond well to its den-like environment – letting the space pull double duty as a kennel.
Wash stations are often raised so we don’t have to bend over to wash our dogs, but but that means older dog must jump up or be lifted into those stations. The neatest built-in feature I’ve seen was a fully tiled, 6′ by 5′ mudroom that was essentially a shower room designed to clean both dogs and people beautifully. Its center floor drain had a strainer to keep hair from clogging the plumbing, and for easy cleaned up the entire room could be hosed down with the handheld shower head. Instead of bending over or lifting a dog into a wash station, you simply sat on the toilet seat to wash it.
Older dogs with poor vision need helpful independent-living options – like well lit, low rise stairs leading down from your deck and thick plantings alongside pathways to help them maneuver around their yard safely.
Speaking of plants and pet safety, be careful around these plants. Autumn Crocuses, Daffodils, and Tulips – the entire plant is toxic with the highest concentration of toxicity in their bulbs. Amaryllis causes vomiting, depression, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hyper-salivation, anorexia, and tremors in dogs. Azaleas causes mouth irritation, vomiting and diarrhea and can cause a drop in blood pressure, coma, and death. Dumb Cane causes mouth irritation, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing in cats. Mother-In-Law plants when eaten causes vomiting and diarrhea and sometimes heart arrhythmias. Tiger, Day, Asiatic, Easter, and Japanese Lilies are highly toxic to cats. Even small bites causes severe kidney failure. Oleander can cause fatal heart abnormalities, muscle tremors, incoordination, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Sago Palm when eaten causes bloody vomiting and diarrhea, bleeding disorders, liver failure and death. Sowbread is poisonous to dogs, causing mouth irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, heart abnormalities, seizures and death.
Having a safe home, easy cleanup, and hassle-free feeding and a little friendly independence makes sharing your life with your fur-babies a joy.
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