Easter Illies?

By Karin Krisher

We know these flowers are beautiful, but bringing Easter lilies home might give you (and your cat) more than you bargained for. 

Because Easter coincides with springtime, we understand the urge to decorate. Lilies smell amazing and add a delicate touch to any room. But they won’t do the same for your cats’ health, so considering a costume for the occasion is a safe bet.

Easter lilies are poisonous to cats, with potential to cause renal failure and even death in a matter of days if ingested. Much like raisins and grapes, we’re not sure what exactly makes the otherwise innocuous flower so volatile to felines, but we do know the decoration is not worth the scare, the medical bill, or the possible loss of your family member.

Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, frequent drinking and urinating and depression. Dogs are also averse to the flower, but their reaction is less serious, generally involving a stomach ache. If you’ve already brought the lily into your home, consider a trip to the vet if you spot symptoms.

Let your cats off the hook this Easter and choose a different flower. After all, a little curiosity shouldn’t have to hurt anyone.

Looking for a Nylon Dog Collar?

Every spring we get our dog, Diesel, a new nylon dog collar and switch him back to his standard leather collar in the fall. Diesel loves to swim, so we need something that can get wet and keep its form. While most women like to spend their spring shopping sprees picking out a new bathing suit, I gravitate to my favorite pet stores excited to pick out Diesel’s new collar.

Because I have been buying a new summer dog collar for years, I have favorite brands and believe that knowledge should be shared. Quality, style and durability in the water are my only real requirements, but–just like kids don’t want to be the dork with the out-of-style backpack–I want Diesel to feel like the hip dog he is.

RC Pet Products makes one of the best nylon dog collars and they have a wonderful selection of nice designs. Staying true to their outdoor-goods image, these collars

Dog Collar

RC Pet product's Regal Peacock collar

are high quality and have a reflective logo tag to help keep your pets safe at night—or visible to a flashlight. All their styles have matching leashes as well and they even make some sporty coats for those active dogs that need a little extra shelter from the rain.

Ruffwear is another go-to for high quality dog collars. Ruffwear doesn’t have as large of a selection for patterns and

dog collar

Ruffwear's Hoopie Collar

sizes as RC (toy sizes don’t exist) but they are sturdy and true to the outdoor dog look that you see at RC pets. You can also buy the matching leash, and they have some unique and sturdy clips on their leashes for those dogs that seem to pull through everything.

Looking for more variety or a holiday special? Check out Up Country. The selection here is vast. They have styles with every theme including cupcakes,

dog collars

Up Country's ribbon collar

stripes and everything in between; they even have nylon dog collars made especially for your wedding day. Up Country’s style is more cute than rough and tough, but don’t think that the quality is any less than the outdoor inspired brands. These collars don’t run.

Whatever you choose, make sure you keep your dog’s personality in mind. You don’t want to put cupcakes on your terrier that thinks he is a Sumo wrestler in a small package. Maybe butterflies are better suited for your Rottweiler or Pit Bull.

Pet Naturals’ Pet of the Week

It’s about that time again—time for pet of the week! We get a lot of feedback from our customers and employees sharing why their cats, dogs, turtles, fish and horses are the crème de la crème of pet-dom, but this week, we had to pick one that really caught our attention.

This is the story of Brittany Peduzzi, a Pet Naturals representative, and her gorgeous companion called Onyx. It’s a story about litter and grooming, supplements and hairballs, but most importantly, it’s a story about love.

“His legal name is Onyx the cat Peduzzi, but his nick (and more commonly used) name is Poopty,” says Brittany, who met Onyx at a particularly difficult time in her life.

After the death of her dog Ace, Brittany’s sister (who works as a representative in another of our animal divisions) suggested a kitten’s company.  When choosing her kitten, Brittany played with several to gauge their relationships but “wasn’t sensing anything from them,” she says.

 Just before she gave up hope, Brittany  “saw this tiny little kitten lying in the litter box sleeping.  All the other kittens were bouncing around and squeaking and playing, and this little kitten was sleeping in a litter box! I went over and picked him up and I could immediately feel that this little runt covered in cat litter was mine,” she says.

Fast forward ten years, and Brittany and Poopty are still going strong. Poopty’s meticulously clean habits and notorious pickiness about food have meant that Brittany has had to compromise certain creature comforts for her cat’s happiness, but she’s willing to try anything to make Poopty’s life everything it should be.

“His mood and location are a big factor in his pickiness. If other cats are around he won’t eat. But he loves to nibble on Daily Best and Hip + Joint for Cats,” Brittany says.

Onyx’s favorite spot to rest is, by no coincidence, the same as his mom’s—in her bed. “He’s always down by my feet, “ says Brittany. “He is there when I wake up and when I go to bed.”

That’s not the only endearing thing about Onyx. He can do a backflip, and he even tries to drink from the faucet (though he doesn’t always succeed).

We love cats that give it a try anyway. And seriously, what’s not to love? Onyx and Brittany are clearly a match made in kitty heaven, and that’s the best part of owning pets–finding little mates with whom we can share this crazy experience we call life.

How we Respond to a Pet Vitamin Overdose

By Karin Krisher

It’s happened to every pet owner. You’re late for work and toss your dog a chew (in our case, probably Daily Best) before you race out the door. When you return, exhausted, you open the door and see a scene from your worst nightmare: your pup, some poo, and a bag of chews, torn to shreds and, of course, totally empty. You have a vitamin overdose.

What’s your first reaction? (Aside from cleaning up the smelly stuff!) Do you gag a vitamin overdoselittle? Do you hold your animal’s paw and feed him chicken soup? Or do you do what the package instructs, and call a health professional? And if so, how much will he or she be able to do, or tell you?

Luckily, Pet Naturals has an answer. You don’t need to be bewildered at the sight of  the last night’s dinner on your rug that could indicate a possible overdose. You don’t need to feel guilty calling us up and letting us know that for some reason, your cat’s acting a little funky today, and it might be because he ate a whole bag of Calming XL for dogs.

The NASC’s take on a Pet Vitamin Overdose

When you purchase a supplement with the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) seal, you are purchasing access to an organization that offers clear Vitamin overdoseand detailed support in cases like those described above. We’ve got a system in place to deal with these events efficiently and with real care for you and your pet.

Calling Pet Naturals, you’ll speak with a customer service representative who will ask you all the nitpicky questions you’d expect: “How old is your dog? What does your cat weigh? Tell me about the poo,” and the like. That representative wants to be sure that you know your animal is safe, and will probably ask if you’ve had a conversation with your vet, and what was recommended. Because every animal (and every product) is different, your representative will not be able to recommend a direct course of action, but can assure you that the event has been dually noted, and talk you through some of your concerns.

How we Handle your Pet’s Vitamin Overdose

Then the reporting begins. Not only will your representative report this event immediately to our front desk and research and development department, who will contact you to clarify and discuss, but the NASC also has a larger system for reporting events, called the Adverse Event Reporting System. All NASC members must report on a monthly basis, and the system tracks events by ingredient or product, and also by SKU (based on company).

This reporting system is fantastic for you because the FDA has access to it. If any one ingredient or product or company SKU pops up more than normal, they’re on it. These types of systems are designed to keep consumers—and their pets—safe.

So next time you enter your house to find your feline friend passed out with his tongue deep in a bag of Smelly Cat, don’t freak out. Just call a health professional, call us, and rest assured that the NASC seal is designed to have your back, one hundred percent of the time.

March Store of the Month: MadCat

Madcat

MadCat in Madison, Wisconsin is the kind of pet store that makes you feel like everything is all right with the world. It’s the kind you tell your kids about. It’s the kind we’re proud to support.

MadCat, founded by Ted O’Donnell (a Vermonter!) in 2002, has three locations in Madison that serve up everything pets need on a silver platter—or maybe a neon green one signed with a funky paw. The fun, furry dynamic is pervasive in the three stores that help educate and serve this college town, home to over 40,000 students. With the backing of the young community and the MadCat teams’ creative capabilities, O’Donnell has been able to dream up some unique ideas for his stores.

MadCat has a solid reputation as a socially conscious company. A few years back, O’Donnell had the idea to start an environmentally friendly refill program that allows customers to bring in empty jugs of cat litter and get a new, refilled jug for a nominal price. The program was a great success right out of the gate.

After the program took off O’Donnell realized its creative potential. He was struck by the concept of decoration, and the MadCat fad of jug art was born.Madcat

Instead of plain, white jugs of litter, a colorful variety splashed the scene at MadCat as the staff made recycled jugs into its new canvas for creativity. As far as O’Donnell knows, MadCats’ fun signature effort is theirs alone. This creative endeavor has spread the MadCat name all over homes, dorms and businesses in Madison. The jugs range from

The MadCat Truck

portraits, to cartoons, to humorous, awareness-building sayings that promote not only art, but also a green environment with quirky community spirit.

Every six months, MadCat invites local graffiti artists to the store to paint and spray the company truck. From funky local artists to budding college students, the contributors decorate the truck to represent the store and current trends. The truck, which helps deliver MadCat products in the area, adds a local and creative presence to the long lanes of traffic.

MadCat is, of course, focused on cats, but celebrates the fantastic dogs of the area as well.  This company  is all about quality products, helpful employees and supporting the animal community with a strong sense of self. MadCat does not sell any pets in store, instead supporting cat rescue and animal adoption. MadCat has been voted “Madison’s Favorite” pet store by alternative newspaper Isthmus seven years running.

It looks like the folks at Isthmus and Pet Naturals can all agree with Ted when he says, “This is the kind of pet shop we all wanted to shop at when we were kids, but didn’t exist.”