26
The short answer: "Yes"
The longer version: cats are generally pretty independent creatures, but they do miss their humans especially if we're not at home during the day. If you have just one cat, be prepared to be met with demands for attention, playing, and a great deal of petting when you are home. This will be strongest after you get the cat, because it ...
21
The short answer is no.
The longer answer:
Your pet rabbit is probably a different breed than the wild rabbits you see around. It's been bred from tame/domesticated rabbits for generations. It doesn't smell like them, and it doesn't know how anything about living wild. If you let it go free, it will almost certainly be killed or eaten.
If you are in an ...
21
Supervised outdoor time is fine, provided that you take adequate precautions to ensure that the cat stays supervised.
We've let our cats out onto enclosed balconies, and an enclosed screened-in porch, and they clearly enjoyed it (well, 2 of the 3). A cat harness, such as John Cavan suggests, is also a good solution, although some cats will not handle any ...
19
One of our cats loves going outside, but we've seen too many animals killed by traffic to let him do it freely. So, our solution to this was to get a cat harness and a long yard chain designed for small dogs. This lets him explore, eat some grass, hunt some bugs, and the like while being restricted from roaming totally free. He likes it so much that he purrs ...
19
As background, my husband has a similar electronics hobby and I sew. We lived in a house where we did our hobbies in the living room for a few years, but eventually moved into a house large enough that we each have a 'hobby room' and can shut the door to keep the cats out. I honestly believe this is the best long term solution.
While we lived in our small ...
14
The primary safety issue with invisible / electronic / underground fences is that they do not protect your pet from people and animals coming to your dog and possibly harming it. A standard fence, for example, keeps unfriendly dogs out as much as it keeps your dog in.
As for the collars, I bought a Tri-Tronics vibration only collar for one of my deaf dogs (...
12
Pets should NEVER be released into the wild.
There are countless reasons for this. Your pet might not be native to the area you live in. It can cause harm to the environment. It may carry a disease that the local wildlife do not have a resistance to. It doesnt have the survival instincts its wild cousins have. Pets are physically different than their ...
11
As keshlam mentioned, you shouldn't need towel approach for such basic things as ear or eye drops. At least if your cat is not very aggressive and/or very scared.
What I'd suggest instead is the 'peg trick'. It comes down to imitating the mother-cat holding a kitten by the scruff which puts the kitten in a calm/meditative state while being transported. It ...
10
I don't have much to say about terrestrial hermit crabs specifically, but the marines ones I have experience with can definitely be picky. Somebody else offered a great answer to another hermit question a few weeks ago, so hopefully they'll see this one as well.
I've personally seen hermits go through on average 2-3 good choices before they pick a new shell,...
9
Know that it will likely take time for the cat to adjust to whatever your routine is. I know that when I shifted from being home a lot to working/being on campus for school more, my cat took some time to adjust. He meowed more and worked harder to get my attention when I was home, until we both got used to the new schedule. Some cats might express this by ...
9
Regardless of floor choice, remember that they need a burrow-like "safe" area to cope with stress. Many pet rabbit hutches have BOTH a mesh floor portion and a little "house" like portion that has a solid floor with bedding. These are not used industrially because they take up much more space and require bedding changes.
You'll need to decide based on your ...
9
I have had dogs that loved being on a cable and I have had dogs that hated it. The placement of the cable, the personality and breed of your dog are very important.
I had a German Shepherd who we once tried to put on a cable. He hated it so much he tore it off the side of the house. We got an electric fence after that, but that did not work either. We ended ...
9
Chad (user9) has a fantastic answer. My answer on minimum space comes from a different perspective, and is just different not better.
For the pet house rabbit there are two common housing scenarios.
The rabbit has full access to some bunny proofed area all of the time. The bunnies "safeplace" for napping and such is a cardboard (or something) box that ...
9
People's opinions on this will likely vary widely. Personally, I favour a set-up that allows enough pasture for horses to graze without need for supplementation in fair weather. I also feel strongly that it is better for the horse if they can be outside as much as possible. I know that many horses spend much of their lives in stables, but I have seen many ...
9
Personally, I'd be wary of leaving a dog outside alone without a physical fenced boundary. Even if the dog knows to stay inside, others (dogs and humans) don't. That said you have several options.
Long Line
You can get what is essentially a 50 ft (around 15 m) leash and he can go where he pleases within the radius. It may be different enough from the ...
9
Use vertical space.
Keep breakables out of spaces the cat has access to, behind door or behind glass or at great heights (some cats can jump to the top of a fridge, so that's a minimum). You can train cats that there are surfaces they aren't allowed on but (a) you want to do that without the breakables present, (b) there is no guarantee they will behave ...
8
The main reason the mother comes back for her kitten is that the kitten is not weaned. That is, it is not finished with drinking her mother's milk and is not ready to handle the bigger world. If that world would be the wild.
For a long time it was normal to separate a kitten from its mother from 6 weeks on. It is about the time they can start to learn to ...
7
An enclosure is really the only option if you want to let them out without a harness and leash. You can't just let a cat out and watch them not to run away. They will run away faster than you realize, if there's any chance at all. After the fact all you can do is wait and hope they'll come back later.
An adult indoor cat is probably scared of the outside ...
7
The act of bunny proofing your home is about providing a safe and comfortable place for your rabbit(s) to play and exercise while protecting them and your home from incidental damage from the rabbit's natural tendencies and needs (e.g. chewing). The practicality of doing this to your entire home depends, of course, on your home and that's where the caveats/...
7
The last sentence of your question, provides some insight to the answer here. If your dog is not well trained now, and she is used to wandering, it would take significant work to train her not to leave the yard. While not impossible, without constant supervision while she is out, it is unlikely to be successful.
You also indicate concern that the fence ...
7
There are few answer here suggesting scents, oils, or other additives that you can apply to discourage your cat from an area.
If you decide to attempt to use an additive to discourage any animal from a behavior, test it in a small area first.
True Life Example Scenario: Generally rabbits can be trained not to chew on things through training (clap your ...
7
A good way of doing it would be having a room set up where there aren't any places the kitten could get stuck. Say, the bedroom with the bottoms of dressers blocked off.
That way, as you introduce your new kitten, you'll be able to accurately judge what places you need to cover, because you know the exact size of your kitten's head. You'll also be able to ...
7
No,
First hedges grow much denser than rose bushes, and thorns are not an effective deterrent for a dog. Even a fence is not always a good means of containing a dog, who is determined to leave. I have new neighbors who moved into house with a 40 year old hedge as a fence, it was about a week before the first dog went through the hedge, and their dogs are ...
7
A basic search online against "GPS electric fence" using any given search engine reveals several brands of electric fences using GPS technology vs. using wireless technology. Here is a video explaining the technology.
In my experience with GPS, there is too much delay, variance, false positives, inaccuracy, and unreliability. That being said, I have NO ...
6
I believe it depends on what the climate is. If the outdoor hutch is located in a northern climate, the rabbits will have to be brought in during the winter to keep from freezing to death. If it is a warm climate, it might be feasible to let the rabbit live in an outdoor hutch.
I have seen rabbits kept in outdoor hutches in Florida and Pennsylvania. The ...
6
Blocking off areas that are not safe for your rabbit is an option. But this is not always possible, if the couch needs to be away from the wall to provide clearance for the curtains, or if there are other concerns about bunny safety.
First position the couch with the desired spacing between the back of the couch and the wall. Decide if an 8, 10 or 12 inch ...
6
There's a few things that will work for cats, though you'll have to try them to see what works on her.
Tinfoil - the look of the light reflections when they step on it scare them. Try putting it around the area she goes when she starts to jump. Putting it on top might cause her to jump up, then launch off in fear, and you can't dictate which direction that ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
