FurBabies Place

News gets old, memes become irrelevant, but dog snapchats (part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V) are immune to ageing. They've successfully cemented themselves on the internet like Mona Lisa in the Louvre, attracting huge crowds of curious visitors every day. Here at Bored Panda we're familiar with their power to brighten even the darkest of days, so we're happy to present to you another refined collection of some of the funniest and cutest we've found!

These incredible photorealistic pictures of cats with a pencil – the work of Paul Lunga from Hong Kong, he was a graphic designer. Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As nocturnal predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because the usual prey of cats make high frequency noises, so the hearing of the cat has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats also have a much better sense of smell than humans.

Welcome welcome welcome!

Start calling your agents and alerting the press because Tugboat is about to be the King of Hollwood! Hear all about Tug's upcoming rise to fame in Tugboat Tribune. This week Allegra has some CAT news, which may be breaking the laws of this podcast! We also have a great My Mutt Minute and some amazing Dog Tech that's saving lives!

Don't wait! Call a Corgi and tune in!

By Andrea Powell

Are you ready for some adorable fumbles, interceptions and adoptable puppies?!

Puppy Bowl XV will be aired on Animal Planet on Super Bowl Sunday at 3pm. The adorable match will be “Team Ruff” facing off against “Team Fluff”. The competition for most adorable and most playful is fierce.

Shelter puppies from around the country are featured and make up the two teams. To make sure that there is no unsportsmanlike conduct, there is a human referee and a sloth assistant referee. Mostly, they are making sure that every pup gets time to play on the field and call time outs to cleans up any accidents that may happen.

Photo: Animal Planet

The two teams compete on a specially-built bone shaped football field with toys. Each team of dogs hit the turf and grab a toy. Then the dogs must make it into the end zone with the toy for a touchdown! The team with the most touchdowns wins.

This year’s starting lineup is full of cuddly puppies ranging in size and personalities. Team Ruff starts with a Maltese named Pistachio. According to Animal Planet’s official bio, Pistachio “never cracks under pressure.” Another force to be reckoned with is Sierra, an Australian Shepherd, that is described as, “a first round hound leading the deed.”

Photos: Animal Planet

While Team Fluff features a heavy hitter named Gallagher. The Saint Bernard puppy is said “to put the ‘d’ and ‘o’ in dog.” A blind and deaf Lab mix named Bumble will use smell, taste and touch to score touchdowns for his team.

Photos: Animal Planet

Team Fluff is the returning champion and has been for the past two years. However, Team Ruff is ready for a comeback win. They are all winners in our minds and we just love watching them play.

You won’t want to miss the Kitty Halftime Show. It features shelter cats that will entertain you with their “choreographed” show and vibrant attire.

Photo: Animal Planet

However, the goal is to promote adoption to help dogs and cats find loving forever homes. All players are very good boys and girls that are vaccinated, spayed or neutered and ready to find a loving family. Be sure to watch the biggest game in dog adoption on February 3 at 3pm ET.

Photos: Animal Planet

If you are interested in adopting, please contact the individual rescue each dog is from. The rescues and bios of each dog are listed here with their starting lineup photo.

Take a look at two of the players preparing for the big game in the video below.

Proper greatergood_ctg_abovevideo

You can help shelter pets around the country by donating to Shelter Bowl. This year’s goal is to raise $20,000 to provide nutritious pet food to shelters across the country. Purina is matching donations up to $20,000, so your donation helps even more animals in need.

Help Feed Shelter Pets By Donating To Shelter Bowl: Click “Next” below!

Last May, iHeartDogs reported on the new PetSafe pet transportation policies set forth by United Airlines.

After several incidents, the airline revamped their protocols and announced they would no longer accept reservations for “snub-nosed” or “strong-jawed” dog breeds. They also limited travel crates to a maximum height of 30 inches, effectively preventing large dogs of any breed from traveling with United.

Although the new regulations were created to keep pets safe, they caused unfortunate collateral damage. The brave men and women of our military, Department of Defense, and State Department have long relied on United to ship their pets affordably. According to a Change.org petition created by Leo Mendoza, other airlines charge up to three to four times as much to transport large dogs.

When military spouse, Emily Sanders reached out to us with her story, we knew we had to help! Her husband recently received new orders to Guam. Without United Airlines as a travel option, it will cost the family $8,000 to fly their two German Shepherds to their new duty station!

Emily created a personal GoFundMe campaign to help keep her family together, but she fears for the countless other military families all over the world affected by the new policies.

“Enlisted family members do not have the kind of money to be able to spend up to $10,000 every 3 years when PCSing (Permanent Change of Station),” Emily writes in an email to iHeartDogs. “To fly a pet to places like Japan, Guam, Korea, and Hawaii it used to cost approximately $500-1000 per pet (through United Airlines). That is a manageable fee many military families can afford for their beloved fur-babies.”

The Change.org petition was created in an effort to persuade United Airlines to make an exception for military families who are being deployed abroad or back Stateside. It currently has close to 120,000 signatures, but the goal is to reach 150,000.

“Without this change, Military and State Department families face some very difficult choices that could have painful consequences,” the petition states.

Please join the fight to ensure our U.S. service members and their furry family members stay together no matter where they are stationed!

Do you want a healthier & happier dog? Join our email list & we'll donate 1 meal to a shelter dog in need!

Tags: airplane safety, breed restrictions, change.org, military family, petition, United Airlines

An early snowstorm had encouraged the humans to just cuddle at home during the weekend. Tristan had come into the room with that little tremolo in his voice that he uses for intensely important issues. We had to agree it was a crisis.

We had been slowly feeding the Emergency Food over the holiday weekend, and now the least favorites were appearing in the buffet. We told him we would “go to the store,” and we did.

Tristan was very happy (the stacked paws are a major clue) because he was able to exert some influence over his environment. His complaints were taken seriously. This is, in some ways, even more ideal than his humans anticipating his every need. The more cats are able to think, instead of simply worrying, the happier we all become.

develop teamwork

My cats know the phrase “go to the store” is an acceptable answer to their look of betrayal when they look in the bowl and get a surprise they don’t like.

I believe in switching up flavors and brands. This keeps our cat more flexible about what they will eat, safeguards against any one food having not enough nutrients, and spreads a possible toxin load.

But this doesn’t mean they don’t have favorites. Because of course they do.

We try to keep all four supplied with foods that offer high to medium satisfaction. Between Reverend Jim’s tummy issues, Olwyn being especially fussy (of course!) and Tristan developing a fondness for a particular type, there’s some juggling going on to keep everyone happy.

I encourage my cats to let me know when they are hungry, since their appetites taper off in warm weather, and ramp up in the cold. In addition, if we are feeding cats who are still growing, there might be extra servings involved, especially when they are young and their little tummies can’t hold much.

So with all these factors, I don’t tell them what and when to eat. I want them to get into discussions with their humans. We get feedback that lets us give them more satisfaction, and they feel they have some control over this important part of their survival.

Cats are used to being autonomous hunters who manage a territory. The more we can duplicate this in the home, the more their instincts mesh smoothly with their circumstances.

build understanding

When I help my cats develop their thinking skills, there are fewer instances of anxiety, simply because they have a better idea of how all the parts work together.

If dinner is disrupted and they had no part in the process, there’s nothing they can do but worry. If they know they can consult with the management, they are less likely to feel helpless. Feeling unable to take any useful action is a source of stress.

Tristan had actually cut us some slack. This was the third day without any of his favorites, and he was starting to wonder if we still loved him. That’s the point of worry for any cat experiencing substandard service and not understanding why. What happened to our happy taking care of each other?

Acknowledging their distress and apologizing for upsetting them are ways we can show we still care. This soothes their biggest worry, which is that things have changed and so have our feelings for each other.

When we took Tristan’s complaint seriously, and then acted on it, he gained a sense of security. We responded to his worries and feelings, instead of ignoring them.

grow trust

By supporting these avenues of communication, my cats know they can do something to fix things that seem broken. Instead of being anxious, they can at least act on their grievances. When they are used to telling me what they need, I have that much more help when it comes to keeping the routines running to their satisfaction.

Cats want to be active participants in their care, from careful observation and monitoring to expressing opinions through verbal or body language. When it comes to mealtime or playtime, some of my cats want to summon me, some want to be summoned, and some want to take turns.

If we let our cats know we welcome them thinking about processes and being a part of them, they have the respectful partnership we both want.

See my post, Breaks in Service, for more about feeding cats in an emergency.

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There’s more ways to understand our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on WHY CATS DO THAT.

There’s times we know for sure what our dogs are thinking, like when we try to quietly open a container and he comes running – he’s thinking “FOOD!” Or when he’s barking at squirrels through the window – depending on your dog, he could be thinking “FRIEND!” or “GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!” But there are other moments, like when he lays down next to you and sighs, or when he’s just quiet, wide awake, sitting. We wonder what he’s thinking, but we probably couldn’t guess.

Thoughts Of A Dog on Twitter fills in the blanks for us. Of course it’s not written by an actual dog, but it’s every bit as wholesome as you’d expect your dog’s thoughts to be!

Your dog is there for you, but Thoughts Of A Dog is there when you need to know what he’s thinking. And reminder: your dog is everything you need!

When you need to feel loved:

When you need motivation:

To remind you to appreciate the little things in life:

When you just need to know everything is going to be okay:

Of course the most uplifting thing on the internet comes from the point of view of a dog! Also, @dog_feelings will frequently tell you good morning and good night, so set the alerts to pop up on your phone and enjoy your daily messages from a dog!

See more from @dog_feelings by following on Twitter!

H/T: countryliving.com

Do you want a healthier & happier dog? Join our email list & we'll donate 1 meal to a shelter dog in need!

If you're owned by a cat or just have a general fondness for felines, you've no doubt heard of catnip (also called catmint). You may even have first-hand knowledge of the intoxicating effect this very ordinary-looking plant has on susceptible cats.

Study Reveals the Cat-Attracting Chemical in Catnip Is Produced in an Unusual Two-Step Process Never Before Observed

Scientists still don't know exactly why catnip drives some kitties wild, but they've identified the substance that causes the effect. It's nepetalactone — a type of chemical called a terpene. Recently, researchers at the John Innes Centre in the U.K. have also learned how catnip plants produce nepetalactone:

"This simple, small molecule is part of an unusual chain of events, not previously seen by chemists," according to a John Innes Centre press release.

"Usually in plants, for example peppermint, terpenes are formed by a single enzyme. … [T]he researchers report that in catnip terpenes are formed in a two-step process; an enzyme activates a precursor compound which is then grabbed by a second enzyme to produce the substance of interest.

This two-step process has previously never been observed, and the researchers also expect something similar is occurring in the synthesis of anti-cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine from [Madagascar] periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, and elsewhere in olive and snapdragon."1

In their study, published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers describe how nepetalactone is produced in microscopic glands on the underside of the leaves of catnip plants.2

In addition, the study identified three newly discovered enzymes with unusual activity. The researchers hope a better understanding of how nepetalactones are produced can help them learn how plants synthesize other chemicals as well.

Catnip Appears to Influence Areas of the Feline Brain Related to Play, Hunger, Predation and Sexual Behavior

So we have a name for the magical chemical in catnip, and we now also know the unique way it's produced, but we still don't know exactly why it does what it does to our feline friends. "A cat reacts to catnip with ecstasy and unbounded joy," Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a veterinary behaviorist who runs the Behavior Clinic at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, writes in PetPlace.3

Behaviors people have witnessed after offering catnip to kitties include nosing, chewing and batting the catnip container while drooling buckets; shaking their heads; rolling around and rubbing their bodies on the floor; losing their balance, falling and stumbling around; repetitively kicking their hind legs; and showing excitement and chasing behavior.

Dodman offers a few possible explanations for all this exaggerated feline activity. He believes that since some of the behaviors are playful in nature, catnip puts kitties in the mood to have fun.

Chewing and drooling seem to be associated with getting food, while rolling and rubbing appear to be sexual behaviors. Tandem hind leg kicking could be a predatory behavior, along with chasing. Ultimately, it seems catnip may inspire overt expressions of several natural feline behaviors, almost as if it allows kitties to temporarily let go of their inhibitions.

"This implies a general excitatory effect on areas of the brain, particularly those centered in and around the hypothalamus, the region that controls appetitive, predatory and sexual behavior," Dodman writes.

Catnip May Help Feuding Felines Call a Truce

According to Dodman, research suggests that not only does the nepetalactone molecule have an opioid shape, it also has an opium-like action, meaning it stimulates opioid receptors in the brain in the same way morphine does.

When a susceptible kitty gets hold of catnip and absorbs the nepetalactone, his pleasure centers (opioid receptors) in the brain are activated and he switches from Grumpy Cat to Goofy. But although catnip appears to make some cats "high," it is an entirely harmless and non-addictive herb.

It may even help smooth the way in multi-cat households, for example, with fighting felines. Kitties who don't get along may view each other in a friendlier light while under the influence of catnip — and the ceasefire has been known to hold after the effects of the nepetalactone wear off. In addition, catnip has pain-relieving properties that may be helpful for some kitties, similar to the effects of marijuana in some people.

Alternatives for Kitties Who Don't Respond to Catnip

In a study published in 2017, researchers exposed 100 domestic kitties to powdered or ground silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian root and catnip to observe their reaction.4

The plants were presented to the cats in their own living environment a minimum of five times in random order. There was at least a five-minute washout period between scents to allow the kitties to clear each scent from their noses before moving on to the next. The researchers were looking for reactions similar to those seen in cats susceptible to catnip, and found that the cats responded positively to all four plants:

• 79 percent responded to silver vine
• 68 percent responded to catnip
• 53 percent responded to Tatarian honeysuckle
• 47 percent responded to valerian root

There was no difference in response rates between male and female cats, but younger kitties had more intense reactions. The four plants were also analyzed to determine levels of five known or suspected active compounds that cause the behaviors and were found to have significantly varying levels of the five tested compounds. Additional observations:

• It was the fruit galls of the silver vine plant that drew the most intense response, though some of the cats also responded to the wood of the plant
• Almost 75 percent of the catnip non-responders responded to silver vine, and about 33 percent responded to Tatarian honeysuckle
• The level of nepetalactone was highest in the catnip and only present at negligible levels in the other plants
• Silver vine contained the highest concentrations of all other compounds tested

The researchers concluded that olfactory enrichment for kitties may have great potential. They noted that silver vine powder from dried fruit galls and catnip were most appealing, and silver vine and Tatarian honeysuckle appear to be good alternatives for kitties who don't respond to catnip.

For many pet parents, warm weather is a welcomed treat. We get to spend more time outdoors with our four-legged companions, enjoying the sunshine, participating in fun outside activities. That is, until we hear that all too familiar buzz of the mosquito.

Not only are these pesky, winged biters annoying, they can lead to a slew of complications ranging from itchy bites and hot spots, to heartworm disease and West Nile Virus, and more.

Unfortunately, many of the effective pesticides and mosquito repellents we use to protect ourselves are highly toxic, even deadly, to our furriest family members. Luckily, it’s easy to safely and naturally repel mosquitoes from your yard with a little creative landscaping using these 6 dog-safe plants that naturally repel mosquitoes – and other pests, too!

Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

This hardy, easy-to-grow plant is more than just a tasty addition to your favorite recipes – it naturally deters mosquitoes, too! Unlike most other insect-repelling herbs, basil doesn’t have to be crushed or ground in order to release the scent and oils that keep mosquitoes at bay. There are a wide variety of basil plants, all of which provide some relief from the flying pests, but lemon basil and cinnamon basil are the most effective. Bonus: Basil plants naturally repel house flies, too!

Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

We all know cats (and some dogs!) love catnip. But, mosquitoes absolutely hate it! Some studies have actually shown catnip to be several times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET, a potentially dangerous chemical used in many bug repellents. Catnip is easy to grow and can be planted in pots strategically placed around the yard and seating areas to keep bugs at bay. Just remember, while you’re repelling mosquitoes, you might be attracting the neighborhood cats…

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

In addition to being a beautiful, colorful, and fragrant addition to your garden, mosquitoes despise the calming, fresh scent of lavender. Lavender can be planted in your garden, right in the ground, or grown in pots on your deck, porch, or windowsill, both indoors and out for a splash of color, a fresh, calming fragrance, and to keep those tiny vampires away from you and your pets.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

Lemon Balm, also known as horsemint, is another hardy, easy-to-grow plant that naturally repels mosquitoes. Thriving well in both sunny spots or in the shade, this plant gives off a strong scent similar to citronella that mosquitoes despise. Grow it in a pot and place in the center of your patio table, beside entryways, or around the yard to keep the area clear of mosquitoes. And, best of all, while mosquitoes can’t stand Lemon balm, bees and butterflies don’t mind it at all!

Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

Because of its strong, minty aroma, many insects, including mosquitoes, steer clear of peppermint plants. However, because these plants tend to grow aggressively, you may prefer planting them in pots and strategically placing them around sitting areas, on windowsills, and near entryways, rather than planting in the ground. Plus, while they’re non-toxic to dogs, many enjoy the taste and smell and will nibble or roll around in them, killing the plant. Bonus: Use the leaves to add flavor to teas and other delicious minty recipes!

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Another pet-safe option for naturally repelling fleas, that’s also useful in the kitchen, is rosemary. Unpleasant to both mosquitoes and other flying insects, rosemary is quite versatile. Plant in pots, protect your herb garden from insects, or use around the perimeter of your yard to keep insects away while at the same time attracting butterflies.

Plants to avoid:

The plants listed above aren’t the only ones that naturally repel mosquitoes – but they ARE the plants that are both effective against insects AND safe for dogs. Always remember when designing your garden to be mindful of plants which may be toxic for your fur-family. Citronella, while highly effective against mosquitoes, is deadly to dogs, as are Geraniums, certain varieties of Marigolds, and Garlic plants.

For more information about landscaping – especially with dogs in mind, check out this PAW-some article on Dogscaping!