Q: Stormi, my new kitten, will be an indoor-outdoor cat. I know she needs to be vaccinated and eventually sterilized, but isn’t it better to let her have one litter of kittens before that? A: Cats live longer, healthier lives if they don’t have kittens and are sterilized between 2 and 6 months of age….

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but many people prefer to have cats, birds, or fish as pets. So in the interest of equal time, here are some practical and fun items to let them know they are your special fur, fin, or feather pet. (Courtesy of Your Cat Backpack) Bring Kitty Travel Cat Navigator…

Q: My cat Milo is a “dog cat”: He comes when I call, fetches small balls, and loves to play with toys. Last week, I caught him batting around a laundry detergent pod. Should I let him play with those things, or are they toxic? A: Laundry detergent pods are so dangerous to pets that…

By Kelly Hayes From The Gazette Colorado Springs—As summer approaches, you might have plans of traveling with your furry friends. And in Colorado and many other states, that means a lot of outdoor adventures. “There are plenty of hiking trails, running trails, everything that a lot of people like to bring their pets to,” said…

Q: My husband and his friends want to play their paintball games on our rural property. Our dogs would be confined to the house during the games, but I’m concerned about their safety once they’re back outside. Are dogs attracted to unexploded paintballs, and if so, are the paintballs safe to eat? A: Paintballs are…

Q: I mentioned to a friend that I am sending Bert, our new dog who is wild and undisciplined, to a training school to learn to settle down and mind his manners. My friend responded that this trainer uses shock collars to train dogs, which she feels is inhumane. What’s your opinion? A: The preponderance…

Q: I have such a bad cold that I can’t go to school. Mom is afraid I’ll spread my cold to our puppy, Barkley, so she won’t let him sleep on my bed or cuddle with me on the couch. Can dogs really catch a person’s cold? I don’t want Barkley to get sick, but…

Q: I recently adopted a handsome orange male tabby cat named Henry. At night, his eyes are luminescent, reflecting a variety of bright colors. Is he unusual, or do all cats’ eyes shine in the dark? What causes this magic? A: Henry’s magic glow arises from the “tapetum lucidum,” Latin for “bright tapestry.” It’s a…

Q: When Toto, my 10-year-old terrier, looks at me, his eyes appear cloudy. At last week’s wellness exam, his veterinarian said his eyes are healthy and he has no cataracts or other problems. So why do his eyes reflect a cloudy white-blue-gray haze? A: It sounds like Toto has a condition called nuclear sclerosis, which…

Q: I am a vegan, and I want to feed my cats a vegan or vegetarian diet. What’s your advice? A: Veterinarians who specialize in nutrition recommend against feeding vegan or vegetarian diets to cats because research has shown that these diets are not nutritionally adequate and therefore not safe over the long term. Moreover,…