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Caring for Pets When You are Ill

When you lose much of your strength or mobility, simple tasks like walking a dog or cleaning a cat’s litter box can seem overwhelming. And if your immune system is weakened by HIV/AIDS, cancer, kidney or liver disease, old age, or pregnancy, you must take extra precautions to avoid disease-causing agents that any human or animal—including pets—can transmit.

Yet living with an illness or immunocompromising condition doesn’t mean you have to live without your beloved pet. After all, research indicates that companion animals enhance immune functioning by decreasing stress levels and increasing levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. Pets provide us with a source of affection, support, and acceptance; enable us to feel needed and valued; and ease the pain, sorrow, and loneliness often experienced during illness.

For someone with a serious medical condition, the psychological and physical benefits of pet caregiving usually outweigh the risk of acquiring an illness from the pet—provided that proper precautions are followed.

How Could Pets Increase My Risk?

Although pets can do wonders for our physical and mental well-being, they can get and transmit disease. To minimize the risk your pet poses to your health, you must minimize the risks to your pet’s health. The key is to understand how best to care for your pet and to work with your veterinarian to keep your pet healthy.

Certain pets are more challenging than others. For example, many exotic animals, such as reptiles, are more likely than dogs and cats to transmit certain diseases, requiring owners to take extra precautions. (The HSUS, in fact, recommends that exotic animals not be kept as pets.) Likewise, puppies and kittens may be more susceptible to disease and prone to play-oriented nipping and scratching. And new pets may come with incomplete or unknown medical histories. This does not mean that you have to give up your playful puppy or can’t get a new pet. It simply means that you need to rely on a veterinarian or animal shelter adoption counselor to advise you on appropriate pet selection and care.

No pet is guaranteed to be or remain disease-free. But your veterinarian can suggest preventive guidelines to keep your pet healthy, test your pet for parasites and other problems, and provide medical care to help a sick pet recover. And you can minimize risks for you and your pet by keeping your animal indoors, making sure he’s well fed and groomed, and taking him to the veterinarian for vaccinations and annual checkups.

What Can I Do to Protect Myself?

If you have a compromised immune system, it will help to follow these precautions:

Wash your hands after handling a pet.
Wear rubber gloves when changing a litter box or cleaning up after a pet, and wash your hands afterwards.
Keep your pet’s nails short to minimize scratches.
Follow your veterinarian’s advice on keeping your pet free of fleas and ticks.
Keep your pet indoors and use a leash outdoors to prevent your pet from hunting, scavenging, fighting, and engaging in other activities that expose him to other animals and disease.
Feed your pet commercial pet food.
Keep your pet’s living and feeding areas clean.
Keep your pet’s vaccinations up to date.
Seek veterinary care immediately for a sick pet.

How Can I Meet My Pet's Basic Needs?

If your condition makes everyday pet care too challenging, you’ll need to find outside assistance to make sure your pet gets the food, grooming, exercise, and general care he needs. When relatives, friends, and neighbors can’t help, a nonprofit pet assistance organization may be able to lend a hand. Typically, these organizations help HIV-infected pet owners by providing everything from emergency foster care and
animal transportation to dog walking, pet grooming, and litter box cleaning services.

If you can use this assistance, ask local veterinarians, animal shelters, physicians, health care clinics, social service agencies, veterinary schools, and libraries
to refer you to resources in your community.

Preparing Pets for a New Baby

Congratulations, you’re expecting a Baby! If your family already includes a pet, you’ll need to help that first “baby” adjust to the new one you’ll soon bring home. You can help your pet cope with this big change in much the same way parents help children understand that a new brother or sister will be joining the family. By following the tips below, you can ease your pet’s stress, help her welcome your new baby, and ensure that your pet stays where she belongs—with you and your growing family.

Can I Keep My Cat?

If you’re pregnant, you’ve probably heard of toxoplasmosis because it can cause serious birth defects. However, toxoplasmosis is a rare disease in the United States and one that can easily be avoided. While the disease-causing parasite can be found in the feces of cats who ingest raw meat, birds, mice, or contaminated soil, toxoplasmosis is more commonly found in uncooked or undercooked meat.

If you’re concerned about possible exposure, ask your obstetrician to perform a simple blood test. If the result shows you were exposed to toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, you may be given medication, and your baby may be tested and treated soon after birth. Keep in mind that the odds of contracting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy are extremely low, and even lower for your baby. Being pregnant does not mean you have to give up living with and caring for your beloved cat. Toxoplasmosis is easily avoided by practicing good hygiene and responsible pet care. Just follow these simple steps to reduce the risk:

Avoid handling or eating uncooked meat.
Keep your cat safely indoors and away from wildlife.
Have someone else clean the litter box daily.
If you must clean the litter box, wear rubber gloves and thoroughly wash your hands afterward.
Feed cats only commercially prepared cat food.

How Will My Pet React?

No matter how much you plan ahead, the addition of a new family member may be difficult for your pet. Remember, your dog or cat was your first “baby” and is used to being the center of your attention. So it’s understandable that she may experience. Something akin to sibling rivalry when you introduce a new human baby into your household.

You can minimize this feeling by working with her before you bring home your baby. For example, because your new baby will demand a lot of your time and energy, gradually accustom your pet to spending less time with you. Drastically decreasing attention and frequently scolding, ignoring, or isolating your pet after the baby comes home will likely make your pet feel stressed. If your pet is particularly attached to the mother-to-be, another family member should develop a closer relationship with the animal. That way, your pet can still feel loved and provided for while mom is busy with the baby.

How Can I Prepare My Pet?

Below are several suggestions to make introducing your pet and baby safer and smoother for all. Be sure to carry out these changes months before the baby’s arrival to best prepare your pet.

Take your pet to the veterinarian for a routine health exam and necessary vaccinations.
Spay or neuter your pet. Not only do sterilized pets typically have fewer health problems associated with their reproductive systems, but they are also calmer and less likely to bite.
Consult with a veterinarian and pediatrician if the thought of your newborn interacting with the family pet makes you uncomfortable. By working with these experts before your baby is born, you can resolve problems early and put your mind at ease.
Address any pet training and behavior problems. If your pet exhibits fear and anxiety, now is the time to get help from an animal behavior specialist.
If your pet’s behavior includes gentle nibbling, pouncing, or swatting at you and others, redirect that behavior to appropriate objects.
Get your pet used to nail trims.
Train your pet to remain calmly on the floor beside you until you invite him on your lap, which will soon cradle a newborn.
Consider enrolling in a training class with your dog, and practice training techniques. Training allows you to safely and humanely control your dog’s behavior and enhances the bond between you and your pet.
Encourage friends with infants to visit your home to accustom your pet to babies. Supervise all pet and infant interactions.
Accustom your pet to baby-related noises months before the baby is expected. For example, play recordings of a baby crying, turn on the mechanical infant swing, and use the rocking chair. Make these positive experiences for your pet by offering a treat or playtime.
To discourage your pet from jumping on the baby’s crib and changing table, apply double-sided carpet tape to the furniture.
If the baby’s room will be off-limits to your pet, install a sturdy barrier such as a removable gate (available at pet or baby supply stores) or, for jumpers, even a screen door. Because these barriers still allow your pet to see and hear what’s happening in the room, he’ll feel less isolated from the family and more comfortable with the new baby noises.
Use a baby doll to help your pet get used to the real thing. Carry around a swaddled baby doll, take the doll in the stroller when you walk your dog, and use the doll to get your pet used to routine baby activities, such as bathing and diaper changing.
Talk to your pet about the baby, using the baby’s name if you’ve selected one.
Sprinkle baby powder or baby oil on your skin so your pet becomes familiar with the new smells.
Finally, plan ahead to make sure your pet gets proper care while you’re at the birthing center.

What Do We Do After Our Baby is Born?

Welcoming a new baby is exciting for your family. Remember when you first brought home your dog or cat? But before you bring your baby home from the hospital, have your partner or friend take home something with the baby’s scent (such as a blanket) for your pet to investigate. When you return from the hospital, your pet may be eager to greet you and receive your attention. Have someone else take the baby into another room while you give your pet a warm, but calm, welcome. Keep some treats handy so you can distract your pet.

After the initial greeting, you can bring your pet with you to sit next to the baby; reward your pet with treats for appropriate behavior. Remember, you want your pet to view associating with the baby as a positive experience. To prevent anxiety or injury, never force your pet to get near the baby, and always supervise any interaction. Life will no doubt be hectic caring for your new baby, but try to maintain regular routines as much as possible to help your pet adjust. And be sure to spend one-on-one quality
time with your pet each day—it may help relax you, too. With proper training, supervision, and adjustments, you, your new baby, and your pet should be able to live together safely and happily as one (now larger) family.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado.

Unusual Eating Habits in Dogs and Cats

If your pet has an appetite for such oddities as socks, rocks, or even feces, chances are you’ve wondered—and worried—about her unusual eating habits. In this case, your worry may be justified: Not only can your possessions be destroyed or damaged, but objects such as clothing and rocks can produce life-threatening blockages in your pet’s intestines.

Eating non-food items has a name: It’s called pica. A specific type of pica is stool eating—either the dog’s own or that of another animal. It’s called coprophagia.
Rarely seen in cats, coprophagy is fairly common in dogs, especially those who tend to be highly food-motivated. Although it’s not necessarily dangerous to the animal, it probably is unacceptable to you.

Why Animals do This

The causes of pica and coprophagy are not known. Many theories have been proposed by various experts, but none has been proven or disproven. One idea is that such behaviors may be attention-seeking behaviors. If engaging in one of these behaviors results in some type of social interaction between the animal and her owner—even a verbal scolding—then the behavior may be reinforced and occur more frequently.

Others think these behaviors may be attempts to obtain a necessary nutrient lacking in the diet, although no nutritional studies have ever substantiated this idea. Pica and coprophagy may also stem from frustration or anxiety. It’s even possible that the behaviors begin as play; as the animal investigates and chews on the objects, she eventually begins to eat or ingest them.

Some experts have suggested that coprophagy is carried over from the normal parental behavior of ingesting the waste of young offspring. Others believe that coprophagy occurs more often in animals who live in relatively barren environments, are frequently confined to small areas, or receive limited attention from their owners. It’s also possible that dogs learn this behavior from other dogs. Because pica and coprophagy are not well understood, stopping these behaviors may require assistance from an animal-behavior professional who will work individually with you and your pet.

What Doesn't Work

Interactive punishment (punishment that comes directly from you, such as verbal scolding) is usually not effective because it may be interpreted by your pet as attention. What’s more, many animals learn to refrain from the problem behavior when their owner is present, yet still engage in the behavior when their owner is absent.
Punishment after the fact is never helpful. Animals don’t understand that they’re being punished for something they did hours or even minutes before. This approach won’t resolve the problem and is likely to produce either fearful or aggressive responses from your pet.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado.

Removing Pet Stains and Odors

You know how it goes: The minute you turn your back, your pet decides that your new carpet is the perfect place to relieve himself. You clean and clean, but you can’t get rid of that smell. What can you do?

Well, for starters, you need to find which areas are soiled and then retrain your pet to avoid eliminating in those areas. And to do that, you’ll have to clean those areas, and clean them well. Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

Find all soiled areas using your nose and eyes. A blacklight bulb will usually show even old urine stains. Turn out all lights in the room, use the black light to identify soiled areas, and lightly outline the areas with chalk. Black lights are available for rent through the Larimer Humane Society.
Clean the soiled areas appropriately to remove the odors.
Rule out medical causes for the behavior by visiting your veterinarian.
Figure out why your pet is urinating or defecating in inappropriate areas. (For help, see our tips sheets “Solving Litter Box Problems,” “Housetraining Your Puppy,” and “Reducing Urine-Marking Behavior in Dogs and Cats.” These tips sheets can be found at www.larimerhumane.org.
Make the areas unattractive or unavailable. (For help, see our help sheets on dog aversives and cat aversives. These help sheets can be found at www.larimerhumane.org.
Make the appropriate “bathroom” area attractive. (For help, see our help sheets “Positive Reinforcement: Training Your Dog (or Cat!) with Treats and Praise,”
“Housetraining Your Puppy,” and “Solving Litter Box Problems.” These help sheets can be found at www.larimerhumane.org.
Teach your pet the appropriate place to eliminate by using positive reinforcement techniques.
To be successful, you need to follow all these steps. If you fail to completely clean the area, your retraining efforts will be useless. As long as your pet can smell his personal scent, he’ll continue to return to the “accident zone.” Even if you can’t smell traces of urine, your pet can. Your most important chore is to remove (neutralize) that odor with the following steps.

To Clean Washable Items

Machine wash as usual, adding a one-pound box of baking soda to your regular detergent. It’s best to air dry these items if possible. If you can still see the stain or smell the urine, machine wash the item again and add an enzymatic cleaner (available at pet supply stores) that breaks down pet waste odors. Be sure to follow the directions carefully.

If your pet urinates or defecates on the sheets or blankets on a bed, cover the bed with a vinyl, flannel-backed tablecloth when you begin the retraining period. It’s machine washable, inexpensive, and unattractive to your pet.

To Clean Carpeted Areas and Upholstery

For new stains that are still wet, soak up as much of the urine as possible with a combination of newspaper and paper towels. The more fresh urine you can remove before it dries, especially from carpet, the easier it will be to remove the odor. Place a thick layer of paper towels on the wet spot and cover that with a thick layer of newspaper. If possible, put newspaper under the soiled area as well. Stand on this padding for about a minute. Remove the padding and repeat the process until the area is barely damp.

If possible, put the fresh, urine-soaked paper towel in the area where it belongs—your cat’s litter box or your dog’s designated outdoor “bathroom area.” This will help remind your pet that eliminating isn’t a “bad” behavior as long as it’s done in the right place.

Rinse the “accident zone” thoroughly with clean, cool water. After rinsing, remove as much of the water as possible by blotting or by using a “wet vac.”

For Stains That Have Already Set

To remove all traces of heavy stains in carpeting, consider renting an extractor or wet vac from a local hardware store. This machine operates much like a vacuum cleaner and is efficient and economical. Extracting/wet vac machines do the best job of forcing clean water through your carpet and then forcing the dirty water back out again. When using these machines or cleaners, be sure to follow the instructions carefully. Don’t use any chemicals with these machines; they work much more effectively with plain water.

Once the area is really clean, use a high-quality pet odor neutralizer available at pet supply stores. Be sure to read and follow the cleaner’s directions for use, including testing the cleaner on a small, hidden portion of fabric first to be sure it doesn’t stain.

If the area still looks stained after it’s completely dry from extracting and neutralizing, try any good carpet stain remover.

Avoid using steam cleaners to clean urine odors from carpet or upholstery. The heat will permanently set the stain and the odor by bonding the protein into any man-made fibers.

Avoid using cleaning chemicals, especially those with strong odors such as ammonia or vinegar. From your pet’s perspective, these don’t effectively eliminate or cover the urine odor and may actually encourage your pet to reinforce the urine scent mark in that area.

If you’ve previously used cleaners or chemicals of any kind on the area, then neutralizing cleaners won’t be effective until you’ve rinsed every trace of the old cleaner from the carpet. Even if you haven’t used chemicals recently, any trace of a non-protein-based substance will weaken the effect of the enzymatic cleaner. The cleaner will use up its “energy” on the old cleaners instead of on the protein stains you want removed.

If urine has soaked down into the padding underneath your carpet, your job will be more difficult. In some cases, you may need to take the drastic step of removing and replacing that portion of the carpet and padding.

To Clean Walls and Floors

If the wood on your furniture, walls, baseboard, or floor is discolored, the varnish or paint has reacted to the acid in the urine. You may need to remove and replace the layer of varnish or paint. If you do so, make sure the new product is safe for pets. Employees at your local hardware or home improvement store can help you identify and match your needs with appropriate removers and replacements. Washable enamel paints and some washable wallpapers may respond favorably to enzymatic cleaners. Read the instructions carefully before using these products and test them in an invisible area.

Retrain Your Pet

Finally, in conjunction with cleaning, be sure to teach your pet where you want him to eliminate. To do this, make the “accident zone” unattractive and the appropriate “bathroom” area attractive, and see our related tip sheets at www.larimerhumane.org. The retraining period may take a week or more. Remember, it took time to build the bad habit, and it will take time to replace that habit with a new, more acceptable behavior. Treat your pet with patience and give him lots of encouragement!

Reducing Urine Marking

Much like the miners during the Gold Rush, dogs and cats are territorial animals. They may “stake a claim” to a particular space, area, or object. They let other people and animals know about their claim by marking it using a variety of methods at different levels of intensity. For example, a dog may bark to drive away what he perceives to be intruders in his territory. A cat may mark a valued object by rubbing her head against it.

Some pets may go to the extreme of urinating or defecating to mark a particular area as their own. Urine-marking is not a house soiling problem. Instead, it is considered territorial behavior. Therefore, to resolve the problem, you need to address the underlying reason for your pet’s need to mark his territory in this way. Before this can be done, however, take your pet to the veterinarian to rule out any medical causes for
his behavior.

House Soiling or Urine-Marking: How to Tell the Difference

Your Pet May Be Urine-Marking If:

The problem is primarily urination. Dogs and cats rarely mark with feces.
The amount of urine is small and is found primarily on vertical surfaces. (Dogs and cats do sometimes mark on horizontal surfaces.) Leg-lifting and spraying are dominant versions of urine-marking, but even if your pet doesn’t assume these postures, he may still be urine-marking.
Any pet in your home is not spayed or neutered. Intact males and females are both more likely to urine-mark than are spayed or neutered animals. However, even spayed or neutered animals may mark in response to other intact animals in the home.
Your pet urinates on new objects in the environment (a shopping bag, a visitor’s purse), on objects that have unfamiliar smells, or on objects that have another animal’s scent.
Your pet has conflicts with other animals in your home. When there’s instability in the pack hierarchy, a dog may feel a need to establish his dominance by urine-marking his territory. If one cat is intimidating another cat, the bullied cat may express his anxiety by urine-marking.
Your pet has contact with other animals outside your home. A cat who is allowed outdoors may come home and mark after having an encounter with another cat outside. If your pet sees another animal through a door or window, he may feel a need to mark his territory.
Your dog marks frequently when you walk him.

What You Can Do

Spay or neuter your pet as soon as possible. Spaying or neutering your pet may stop urine-marking altogether. However, if he has been urine-marking for a long time, a pattern may already be established.?
Resolve conflicts between animals in your home. (For help, see “Canine Rivalry” and “Feline Social Behavior” and “Aggression between Family Cats.”)
Restrict your pet’s access to doors and windows through which he can observe animals outside. If this isn’t possible, discourage the presence of other animals near your house. (See “Discouraging Free-Roaming Cats.”)
Keep your cat indoors. He’ll be safer, live longer, and feel less need to mark his territory.
Clean soiled areas thoroughly. (See “Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains.”) Don’t use strong-smelling cleaners because they may cause your pet to “over-mark” the spot.
Make previously soiled areas inaccessible or unattractive. (See “Aversives for Dogs” and “Aversives for Cats.”) If this isn’t possible, try to change the significance of those areas to your pet. Feed, treat, and play with your pet in the areas he is inclined to mark.
Keep objects likely to cause marking out of reach. Items such as guests’ belongings and new purchases should be placed in a closet or cabinet.
If your pet is marking in response to a new resident in your home (such as a roommate or spouse), have the new resident make friends with your pet by feeding, grooming, and playing with him. If you have a new baby, make sure good things happen to your pet when the baby is around. (See “Preparing Your Pet for Baby’s Arrival.”)

For Dogs

Watch your dog when he is indoors for signs that he is thinking about urinating. When he begins to urinate, interrupt him with a loud noise and take him outside. If he urinates outside, praise him and give him a treat. When you’re unable to watch him, put your dog in confinement (a crate or small room where he has never marked) or tether him to you with a leash.
Practice “nothing in life is free” with your dog. (See “Nothing in Life Is Free.”) This is a safe, nonconfrontational way to establish your leadership and requires your dog to work for everything he wants from you. Have your dog obey at least one command (such as “sit”) before you pet him, give him dinner, put on his leash, or throw him a toy. Establishing yourself as a strong leader can help stabilize the hierarchy and thus diminish your dog’s need to mark his territory.

For Cats

Try to monitor your cat’s movements. If he sniffs in an area he has previously marked, interrupt him with a loud noise or squirt him with water. It’s best if you can do this without him seeing you. That way, he’ll associate the unpleasantness with his intent to mark, rather than with you.

What NOT to do

Don’t punish your pet after the fact. Punishment administered even a minute after the event is ineffective because your pet won’t understand why he is being punished.

Pets aren't People

Dogs and cats don’t urinate or defecate out of spite or jealousy. If your dog urinates on your baby’s diaper bag, it’s not because he is jealous of, or dislikes, your baby. The unfamiliar scents and sounds of a new baby in the home are simply causing him to respond like the animal that he is. Likewise, if your cat urinates on your new boyfriend’s backpack, it does not reflect his opinion of your taste in men. Instead, he is behaving like a cat.

Dominance or Anxiety?

Urine-marking can be associated with dominance behavior. Some pets, though, may mark when they feel anxious or upset. For example, a new baby in the home brings new sounds, smells, and people, as well as changes in routine. Your dog or cat probably isn’t getting as much attention as he was used to getting. All of these changes cause him to feel anxious, which may cause him to mark. Likewise, a pet who is generally anxious may become more so by the presence of roaming neighborhood animals in your yard or by the introduction of a new cat or dog into your household. If your pet is feeling anxious, you might consider talking to your veterinarian about medications to reduce his anxiety while you try behavior modification techniques.

Overcoming Boredom

Is your pet getting into mischief when you are away from the house? Maybe it is getting in the trash, destroying furniture or other household items, or making a lot of noise. There could be a variety of reasons behind your animal’s behavior, but one possibility is boredom. Just like you probably prefer to be busy or “entertained” during the day, your pet could benefit from some mental stimulation while you are away.

There are many ways to keep your pet active and entertained while you are out, but one of the easiest is to use food-release toys. Food-release toys are exactly what they sound like – toys that release food as the animal interacts and plays with them. Most animals are food-motivated and will gladly work for food. Using these toys to keep your pet busy has several benefits:

Your pet is engaged in an appropriate, positive activity.
Your pet can’t get in the trash or destroy the furniture when it is playing with the toy.
Your pet stays active while playing with the toy which helps to release excess energy.
The mental stimulation of puzzling through the toy helps tire your pet.

Hopefully, your pet will be sufficiently tired from working on the toy that it will take a nap instead of moving on to inappropriate behaviors.

Below are some examples of quality food-release or puzzle toys you might try with your pets. As with any new toy, you should always supervise your animal with the toy the first few times you use it. Once you are sure they know how to play safely with the toy and will not destroy it to get to the food, you can begin leaving it with them while you are away from the house. If you leave often or for long periods of time, you might consider getting a variety of toys that you can rotate. Or you can give your pet several of the toys at one time to keep it busy all day.

Please remember to account for all of the calories you are feeding your animal throughout the day. If you are leaving several food-release toys with them while you are away, consider reducing the amount of food you feed for their regular meals. Better yet, do away with the regular meals, and feed all of their meals through food release-toys. If you do this, be sure to use a high quality, balanced food in the toys rather than just “treats” and other “junk-food”.

Dogs

Good food-release toys for dogs include: Kongs®, Buster Cubes®, Nylabone® Crazy Balls, Molecuballs®, SPOT Roll-a-Treat® balls, the Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat®, and Canine Genius Leo® toys. To get your dog interested in the toy, fill it with their dry kibble, and roll it around with them until they figure out that the food will fall out. Kongs® are particularly versatile as a food-release toy. As your dog gets really good at getting the dry kibble from the Kong®, you can make it more challenging. Begin by soaking their kibble in water so it is somewhat mushy, stuff the Kong®, and then let them play with it. If your dog gets really good at getting the softer food out, place the stuffed Kong® in the freezer overnight before giving it to your dog. You can make the Kong® even more enticing by topping it off with a little bit of peanut butter or by sticking a dog biscuit out the end of it like a popsicle stick.

Cats

There are currently no food-release toys designed specifically for cats, but several of the dog toys work well for cats. Use the smallest size of the toys designed for dogs. Good ones to try include the Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat ®, Molecuballs®, and SPOT Roll-a-Treat® balls.

Birds

There are a variety of puzzle toys designed for birds, and many of these toys can be found at any reputable pet store that carries bird supplies. The puzzle toys can be filled with food or you can try stuffing them with old newspapers for your bird to shred. Bird Kongs® can be stuffed with a mixture of seed and peanut butter; however, please be aware that some larger birds can destroy these Kongs® if they choose to.

Ferrets

The Kong Company makes Kongs® designed specifically for ferrets, and these too can be stuffed with food. Ferrets also enjoy running through tunnels and shredding newspaper. Your ferret may enjoy exploring toys or objects that make crunching or crackle noises, and some toys that crackle that were designed for human babies may be appropriate. As with any new toy, please be sure to supervise your pet and ensure your pet’s safety.

All Pets

Use your imagination in creating fun, interactive, puzzle toys for your pets. Just be sure any materials you use are safe and non-toxic. Always supervise your pet the first several times you give them a toy until you are positive the toy will be safe if left alone with your pet. Many of toys on the market are designed specifically as human-interactive toys, and should not be left with your pet unsupervised.

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