Hi Glynne

I have 2 small dogs and 7 (yes, 7!) adored and spoilt cats…

Normally they have the run of the neighbour’s garden, but today new people moved in, with 3 big and vicious dogs in tow.
The dogs are so big they can even jump over our wall if they want to. Now I have no idea how I can keep my cats out of harms way. Do you have any ideas for me?

I think the most important thing is to make them aware of the presence of the dogs next door, I did that and I still found one of my cats trying to go over the wall a little while later. How can I get the message across?
I’m also looking into raising the walls somehow, or even moving.

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My friend Linda never stopped bragging about her bantam rooster Henry and his snazzy, trophy wife Hen-rietta. I didn’t tell her but I thought their names were rather lacking originality. As a kid I named my roosters after famous jockeys of the day which I thought was more descriptive …Tiger Wright and Cocky Feldman were my favourites.

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Hi 2 things I want to ask you. Firstly my cat has been diagnosed with FHIV he has lost a lot of weight which I obviously understand will happen as the virus is breaking down his immune system and he has diarrhea and occasionaly throws up all related to the illness, what i want to know is do you know what I could give him to build up his weight and boost his immune system. Again, he eats all day long but he needs something like an extra supplement??? (Ive tried some stuff for diarrhea from the vet but it doesnt seem to help…Can you help?

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Hi
We have recently adopted a 1year old Jack Russel. She gets loads of attention, but still won’t allow my 7 year old Labrador to come near me. She growls and bites. The Labrador is an easy-going dog, but it is really irritating to have this little Jack Russel biting her all the time. Also, she wees in the Labrador’s food bowl as soon as she sees her eating. What can we do? (The Lab is also a bitch.) Thanks!

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Which bird species can talk?

Unfortunately no bird is able to talk a human language without first being taught to say words which is achieved by repetition, patience and perseverance.
Most of the parrot family make good candidates while some while some species and individuals learn more easily than others. Budgies, Indian Mynahs and Crows can also be taught to mimic sounds along with many other birds I guess.

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I thought it would be a nice change to put the cat amongst the pigeons and dispel a few myths about our four legged friends. I would also like to explain how food shortages affect your pet’s behaviour, because when animals are presented with a lack of food, their survival instinct kicks in, and this leads to all sorts of behaviour problems.
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Please help! My 1 yr old English Bulldog does not chew her food at all. We are now wetting her pellets and giving her a mushy meal split into 2 to prevent her from choking. Is it too late to teach her to chew and not gobble her food? Any advice will help please

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Please can you help with my 11yr old jack Russell cross bitch. Until recently,she has been the bottom of the pecking order in our family of 4 dogs. sadly,they have all suddenly passed on, due to old age, and she, being younger is left alone. I also have a cat the same age as the dog, and they have grown up together. Both get lots of attention. The problem is, that the dog has suddenly turned on the cat, and regularly tries to attack her. it really cause so much strife.

I would be happy to take her to see someone in the JHB area.

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Hi,

We adopted a cat (male neutered) from the SPCA about 6 months ago. He was apparently about 6 months old when we got him and a stray.
He seems to use the litter box for doing his business… however he has used everything else to wee on.
He wees on our bean bags on a daily basis, the sleeper couch, we had curtains in a box he wee-ed there. He also in front of me jumped into this basket with a lining and wee-ed there. The final straw for me was when he wee-ed on my pillow and our bed and duvet.

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I used to stop on busy freeways to rescue stray dogs. But I have since realised that it is not worth putting your life at risk.

I’ll never forget the little brown Staffie lumbering down the middle of a main highway towards me. Ongoing traffic was dodging her to the left and right, but what I remember most clearly in that split second was the look of absolute resolve on her little face… it was almost as though she knew her last moment on earth was drawing to close … her eyes had already died and she seemed prepared for the impact.

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