Struggling carmakers still offer treats for dog lovers

Of course, the big news in our weekly syndicated feature is old news to regular readers of this blog... DogCars.com's Dog Car of the Year, the Dodge Grand Caravan:

Last year we went quirky, choosing the love-it-or-hate-it Honda Element as our first-ever DogCars.com canine hauler of the year.



This year, we went traditional, choosing the quintessential minivan, the redesigned Dodge Grand Caravan, as our “Best in Show.” Chrysler may be struggling for survival, but its minivans still offer plenty to the dog lover looking for a comfortable ride for a canine companion.

What probably is news to you, though, is that as of this week, you can view our full-page feature exactly as it's sent to our client newspapers... starting this week (PDF). In addition to a full report on this year's dog cars, you'll get information on feeding your bird a better diet:

Variety is the name of the game when it comes to feeding your pet bird. This means that in addition to offering high-quality pelleted food, you should be offering a wide array of healthy “people food”—fresh vegetables, fruits, pasta, bread, scrambled eggs. Whatever has good nutrition for you is also good for your parrot.

Plus: crate training tips from Gina, the inside story on pet treats, keeping plants safe from nibbling cats, and the scoop on feline tap water taste testing from our own Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker Shannon:

Cats are notorious for not drinking enough water, and their near-chronic state of dehydration contributes to kidney and bladder problems. Getting cats to drink more can be a key to better health, but you may not need to offer purified water (as is sometimes suggested) to do so. As reported by Dr. Eric Barchas in his veterinary blog on the Dogster.com Web site, a recent clinician’s brief put out by the North American Veterinary Conference suggests that cats like tap water just fine, in fact choosing it over purified water in a small study. No matter what kind of water your cat prefers, chances are he’ll drink more of it if it’s kept recirculating, so consider one of several pet drinking fountains on the market.

All this and more, in our Pet Connection newspaper feature, which you can read right here!

Comments

[Pamela Picard]

Cats get plenty of water when fed a species appropriate diet. A steady diet of grain based kibble, which is to say all kibble, leads to bladder and kidney dysfunction.

[Gina Spadafori]

Pamela, that is your opinion, and is wide open for debate. There is much to recommend a species-appropriate diet/home prepared diet -- and my cats are on one, for opinions of my own -- but it's not the magic health wand the raw-food zealots believe it to be. And it doesn't preclude a cat from needing to drink water.



So give it a rest.

[Steve]

We've never had a problem with our felines not drinking enough water. We change the water daily twice a day so it's fresh. They know what they need according to season what have you and everything works out pretty good. We use filtered water for ourselves and them.



We work hard to not be hypochondriac's constantly obsessing and worrying about our pet's health so the low stress around the house definitely has it's health benefits.



Now my brothers cat has decided to refuse to drink unless it's from the second bathroom upstairs with a constant trickle from the tub faucet. Feline the Boss syndrome.

[Susan Fox]

We've got one that lurks in the bathroom waiting to lick the water off the shower floor or out of the sink, one that insists on water in a human glass, plus they drink from the dog's Dogit waterer and are seen looking like little panthers crouched by the pond getting a drink. The official Bowl of Cat Drinking Water sits forlornly by their food bowls slowly evaporating until we refill it, to address our need to do our duty concerning Proper Cat Care, I guess.

[Steve]

"one that insists on water in a human glass"



Oh yeah that one too. Or a grey tabby that loved cantaloupe and honeydew melon.