A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. March's Theme: "Action and Inaction"
Volume 7 Issue 3 ISSN# 1708-3265

Index Meet Our Staff Free Subscription Donations Come Shopping Advertise in TSM Archived Issues

Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Gary Haggquist Doing and Not Doing Phil Kotofskie Action or Inaction? David Reber Taking Action Pam Dibbern Letters Alegria Imperial Sunshine and Rainbows Dj Brown It's All About the Balance Point Rev. Cheryl Jewett Avatar offers loads of fun with a green message David Suzuki PhD Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Wiccan Voices Crystal Blanton, HPs Being Mindful Janet Alston Jackson Pet-sense Jean Hofve DVM Life in the Raw Nicola Watt Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Cards & Curios Tarot Deck Reviews: with Dan Pelletier Archived Reviews All of T.S.M.'s Reviews

Pet-sense Five Resolutions Your Pet Wants You To Make by Jean Hofve, DVM As the New Year hurries on by, let's stop for a few minutes to remember the basic principles of health for our pets, and reaffirm our commitment to providing them the best possible care. Here is what your pet wishes you would do: Spend more quality time with me! As much as your dog or cat loves sitting with you while you work or relax, a 15-minute walk or play session provides many benefits. It's mentally and physically stimulating, which ultimately means less boredom and frustration—and thus a calmer and healthier pet. The amount of exercise and stimulation your dog needs depends on age, breed, temperament, weight, and social factors. For example, a young border collie needs a great deal of exercise that engages its mind, such as dog agility training or long-distance fetching games; while a middle-aged pug may be fine with a short daily walk. If you have two dogs who rough-house all day, a leisurely evening walk may be just what they need. Even cats need exercise, despite their reputation for sleeping 18 hours a day! Interactive play sessions with fishing-pole type toys not only provide exercise, but also deepen your cat's bond with you—and it's fun! Perhaps most importantly, play sessions will satisfy those strong hunter instincts, and create a more serene, more confident cat. This is especially important in a multi-cat home with an unbalanced hierarchy; the lowest cat on the totem pole will be much more comfortable in "hunting territory" where interactive games take place. (Be sure to turn the iPod and cell phone off—this is your pet's quality time with you!) Feed me right! Good nutrition is the foundation of good health and long life. You want your pet to not only survive, but thrive—so consider adding canned, raw, or homemade food. Dry food diets lead to many problems, including obesity, arthritis, digestive problems, urinary tract disease, and diabetes. Cats in particular need more high-protein, high-moisture diets for optimal health, but all pets benefit from less-processed foods. Appropriate supplements are a part of good nutrition. While pets eating a balanced commercial food don't need much in the way of added vitamins and minerals, giving extra Omega-3 fatty acids, digestive support (digestive enzymes and probiotics), and immune support (antioxidants) will provide big benefits that will help your pet live a longer, healthier life. Omega-3 fatty acids (healthy anti-inflammatory oils). Omega-3s are precursors to many important hormones and other compounds in the body. In dogs and cats, they're especially important for skin and coat health. Lack of a healthy balance of essential fatty acids is linked to many serious health conditions, such as allergies, skin diseases, obesity, cancer, insulin resistance, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, behavioral issues, and cognitive dysfunction (senility). Because dogs and cats are very limited in their ability to convert plant-based Omega-3s into essential DHA and EPA, the best forms for pets are fish oil and cod liver oil. If you can only give your pet one supplement, make it Omega-3s. Digestive support (digestive enzymes and probiotics). In nature, our pets' relatives eat their food raw. We can mimic the benefits of the wild diet by adding digestive enzymes to our pets' food. Probiotics—friendly bacteria—help the natural bacterial population in the gut stay balanced and healthy, and prevent pathogenic bacteria from making our pets sick. Immune support (antioxidants). The immune system is large and complex, and in our modern world, is constantly under attack from all sides—indoor and outdoor air pollutants, chemicals in fabrics and household products, electromagnetic radiation, and airborne viruses, molds, and toxins. Antioxidants, which help the body detoxify itself and prevent damaging inflammation, are a great way to boost the immune system. A combination of antioxidants is much more effective than any single one. Give me appropriate veterinary care! Pets need annual veterinary check-ups. Regular care from the veterinarian is important to detect and correct problems early, and to maintain good dental health; but take it easy on the vaccines. Most adult animals do not need any vaccines except rabies as required by law. Help me look and feel good! Adequate grooming involves maintaining a clean, healthy coat, claws, ears, eyes, claws, and teeth. Bathing. Cats rarely need a bath, but dogs are attracted to (and like to roll in) things that smell good to them—but not so good to us! Also, that "doggy" odor can become unpleasant without regular shampoos (diet also has a great deal to do with development of this odor). Brushing/combing. Most pets learn to enjoy grooming if they're introduced to it slowly and in a pleasurable way. It should never be a battle! Combs dig deeper than brushes, which tend to gloss over the top coat. Nail trimming. Your vet or groomer can do this every few weeks if you have a particularly uncooperative pet, but if you start trimming your puppy or kitten early in life and take care not to hurt them, most pets will accept claw clipping or filing at home. Very active dogs may wear their nails down naturally, but it pays to be vigilant. Over-long claws are uncomfortable to walk on and can actually grow around into the pad, causing horrific wounds. Ears, eyes, and teeth. Keeping the ears and eyes clean and healthy is an essential part of good grooming and maintenance. Any cat or dog can develop waxy buildup in the ears, although floppy-eared dogs still take the prize for ear issues. Nearly every pet has some degree of dental disease by the age of 3. Prevention is key, because these sensitive organs can be easily damaged and expensive to restore to health. Keep the bugs away from me! In many places, fleas are a year-round problem. Other parasites, including intestinal worms, heartworms, and disease-carrying ticks, are also a threat. A healthy diet and good hygiene are the first-line deterrents, but talk to your vet so you know what the particular issues are in your area. Do your homework if you're traveling, since parasite seasons and distributions vary widely in different areas. Anti-parasitic medications can be strong and potentially harmful; discuss holistic alternatives with your vet. As we resolve to take better care of our pets, and start working on these steps, something interesting and wonderful happens—we just naturally start taking better care of ourselves, too. And that's good for our pets, ourselves, and our planet! Dr. Jean Hofve recently retired from holistic veterinary practice, but still writes and consults on holistic health and nutrition. She recently co-authored "The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care" with nutritionist Dr. Celeste Yarnall. She is a Medicine Woman of the Mountain Wind Lodge Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization (Oklevueha Native American Church of Sanpete). She founded SpiritEssence in 1995, which remains the only line of essence formulas for animals created by a veterinarian. For more information on pet health, nutrition, and behaviour, please visit the free article library at www.littlebigcat.com.

Copyright (c) 2010 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

Any advice given is for informational purposes only.