Woof, Meow, Tweet: Your Guide to Pet Health

Having an animal is a wonderful experience. They can teach you love, responsibility, and how to care for another. Yet just like people, pets can become ill. When that happens, it’s important to know everything about their health and how to take care of them.

This guide provides you with a range of resources to keep your animal healthy and happy. Having an animal is a serious responsibility but with the help of this guide, you can know that you and your pet are ready for any situation. This guide also features information about adopting a new pet, training them, playing with them, traveling with them, and what to do when it is their time to pass on. Use this guide to make the most of all of your experiences with your pet.

Insurance - Health - Behavior & Training - Nutrition - Grief & Bereavement - Shelters & Charities - Toys & Treats - Other

Pet Health Insurance

24 Pet Watch: 24 Pet Watch is an insurance company with a variety of plans specifically for cats and dogs.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): This section of the NAIC specializes in pet health insurance. They attempt to give consumers relevant information before purchasing pet health insurance and have various warnings to prevent you from dealing with fraudulent companies.
North American Pet Health Insurance Association: NAPHIA tries to create standards in pet health insurance. The website features material regarding the purchase of such insurance as well as the standards to which their associate insurance companies are committed.
Pet Insurance Review: Pet Insurance Review provides valuable testimonials from people who have used pet insurance. It can be a useful website for finding which companies provide the best aid
Pet Plan: Pet Plan is consistently ranked as a top pet insurance provider in America for cats and dogs. One distinguishing factor that makes Pet Plan different is their lifetime coverage plans, coverage for alternative therapies, and some other benefits that other companies do not offer.
Pets Best Insurance: This Aetna-related pet insurance company offers highly competitive rates and covers many different procedures. Their plan pricing, which is advertised to start as low as $19 per month, involves savings for signing up multiple pets.
Petshealth Care Plan: This pet insurance by The Hartville Group for cats and dogs generally covers 80% of medical costs and offers 4 different levels of coverage for a range of plans from which customers can choose.
USA.gov: This government website explains the basics of buying pet insurance and presents some questions that one should ask when purchasing a pet insurance plan.
VPI Pet Insurance: VPI Pet Insurance is an established pet insurance company that is part of Nationwide Insurance. The website helps you find the best insurance plan for your pet and explains the billing process in an easy way. The insurance company covers a range of different pets including birds and exotic animals.

Animal Health

American Animal Hospital Association: The AAHA is a noteworthy animal veterinary association that sets standards in animal care, develops publications, and creates educational programs for veterinary hospitals.
American Veterinary Medical Association: The AVMA website emphasizes information for both veterinarians and pet-owners. There are various documents concerning pet health that can be easily downloaded from the Animal Health section of the site.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: This resource by the ASPCA explains the steps to take if your pet may be poisoned. It also describes how you can try to prevent your pet from ingesting poisonous objects or foods.
Healthy Pet: Healthy Pet, a part of the AAHA, presents visitors with a user-friendly interface that is also full of useful information for all pet-owners including pages about adoption, traveling, and fun activities for pets and children.
Human Foods that Poison Pets: This guide by Petalia.com lists the various foods humans eat that can be extremely dangerous for animals to ingest. There are also explanations as to why certain foods are so hazardous to pets.
Pet Poison Helpline: This helpline, run by board-certified veterinary internal medicine (DACVIM) and emergency critical care (DACVECC) specialists, operates 24 hours a day and charges a low fee ($35) compared to other helplines.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: The FDA relays information to consumers about human and pet foods that have been found unsafe. Use this website to make sure that you and your pet have not eaten potentially-dangerous foods.
Vet Info: Vet Info has an enormous amount of articles about pet illnesses and their common causes as well as how to prevent them. The website also has a feature where you can instantly message a question to a veterinarian that is online.

Animal Behavior and Training

About.com Cats: About.com features many different articles on topics such as Behavior 101 and Litter box training in this guide to training your feline.
Association of Pet Dog Trainers: APDT is an association for pet dog trainers. It can be used to find certified dog trainers in your area.
Dog Obedience Training Review: This review of training tips is a do-it-yourself guide to training your dog. It covers topics from behavior problems to teaching cool tricks.
How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: This guide to toilet-training your cat is written by Karawynn Long, who herself read many book about the topic and learned to do it. Teaching your cat to do this can save you the time and money associated with litter boxes.
Perfect Paws: This guide by Perfect Paws offers an assortment of extensive information for training both cats and dogs.
Preventing Behavior Problems: This guide by the University of California San Diego Veterinary Medicine division thoroughly explains how to introduce both cats and dogs into one’s home while preventing any behavioral problems.
Unleashed Behavior And Training Services: This canine training service in Minnesota is run by an experienced dog trainer. Both private classes at your home and group classes are offered with varying lengths of time.

Pet Nutrition

Cat Info: This website is host to lots of important advice concerning your cat’s diet including tips about which types of food you should feed your cat.
Dog Aware: Dog Aware presents a detailed guide to dog food diets and how they can be supplemented or changed for specific purposes.
Hill's Pet Nutrition: Hill’s prescription diet pet food is a high-quality pet nutrition plan that focuses on managing or preventing illnesses in pets.
iVet Professional Formulas: The animal food provided by iVet was formulated by veterinarians for other veterinarians to give to their animal patients. Its specific ingredients are carefully put together to create a special diet for a range of animals. It is exclusively available from your veterinarian.
Natura Pet: Natura Pet is in charge of various brands including Innova, EVO, Health Wise, and more, all of whom make pet food only from natural ingredients.
Nature’s Variety: Nature’s Variety is a natural pet food company that is focused on providing your pet with a holistically nutritional and natural diet.
Royal Canin: This scientifically-driven and serious pet nutrition company offers a wide range of diets for both cats and dogs at both the retail and prescription level.

Grief & Bereavement Resources

Animal Chaplains: Animal Chaplains has a lot of information regarding pet loss and places to call or contact for free to discuss one’s grief about pet loss.
Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement: The APLB is a nonprofit association made up of generous volunteers who wish to help others in their bereavement over the loss of a pet. They have free chat rooms as well as events in Washington DC and the New York area.
Everlife Memorials: This site has many articles pertaining to grieving over a lost pet and also has resources on what to do next including support, aftercare, and memorials.
Pet Loss: Pet Loss is a website for anyone who has ever lost a pet. It has a lot of thoughtful and sensitive articles as well as virtual global candle-lighting ceremonies and an online chat room.
Pet Loss Support Page: This page gives readers ten tips on coping with pet loss including what to tell children and what to do about one’s feelings.
Pets Everlasting: At Pet Everlasting, you can always find someone to talk to about your grief. The site features a range of different articles about losing a pet and how to deal with the loss.

Animal Shelters and Charities

Adopt a Pet: Adopt a Pet is a celebrity-advertised pet adoption service that connects visitors to various humane societies, animal shelters or an SPCA.
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: The ASPCA, based in New York City, has a database for adopting animals all over the US. Their website also provides information about events, programs, pet care, and animal cruelty.
Animal Shelter: This national organization was created to help save the lives of homeless pets by allowing people look for potential pets using the online directory.
Humane Society: The Humane Society’s adoption service makes adopting a pet really simple. They also help you find a local shelter that will help you find the type of pet you are looking for.
Pet Finder: Pet Finder is a database of pets from all around America and Canada that also has various videos about adoption and pet care.

Many online websites about adopting animals from shelters specific to certain states can easily be found with a quick search.

Toys & Treats

FDA Caution: This warning about toys and treats by the FDA is important for all pet-owners to read in order to prevent problems for your animal.
Healthy Pets: Health Pets sells pet supplies, medication, treats, and toys for all types of animals.
I-Pets: This internet pet supplies store has a range of USA rawhide dog bones, chews, and toys.
Operation Santa Paws: If you’re feeling generous, make a donation of dog treats, toys, or supplies to an Operation Santa Paws location near you to benefit homeless dogs from all over. They collect donations for a long period of time right up until late December and start up again soon after.
Revival Animal Health: Revival Animal Health is an online pet superstore with toys, treats, supplies, and much more for both cats and dogs.
Vermont Pet: The Vermont Pet store offers customers organic catnip, natural dog treats, a variety of pet toys, and free pet behavior information.

Other

1800PetMeds: This website has affordable prices for many different pet medicines and supplements that are delivered right to your door.
American Kennel Club: The American Kennel Club is a club that requires registration and membership. It has a magazine and hosts numerous events for purebreds and mixed breeds.
Dog Breed Info Center: The Dog Breed Info Center has numerous photos of different breeds and also has information about the breeds. It is helpful when trying to find a specific desirable breed to adopt.
Dog Friendly: This website lists a range of different places and activities where your dog is happily accepted. It features City Guides for Dogs, Outdoor Dining Guide for Dogs, and more.
HomeAgain Microchip Identification: With this microchip, if your pet ever gets lost, HomeAgain’s Microchip Identification service can track them in a national database no matter how far they have traveled. Members of the HomeAgain lost pet network are alerted and are on the lookout if this happens.
Petco: Petco sells an assortment of animal supplies for all types of pets. You may also be able to find one of their stores in your area.
Pet Place: Pet Place has a vast array of articles to help raise your animal while keeping it safe and healthy. You can also find information about insurance, adoption, behavior, and some photos of animals.
PetSide: PetSide is a website about your pet’s health and well-being. The site even has an interactive symptom-checker called PetVet that can help you identify what may be wrong with your animal.
Petsmart: This major retailer of pet food and supplies stocks many of the brand-name items and things that you may need when raising your pet.
Pets Welcome: Pets Welcome is a website that helps you find a motel, hotel, or a bed and breakfast that will gladly allow you to bring your animals. This is not only limited to cats and dogs; other pets including birds, ferrets, and other small animals are also allowed. The website also has events and attractions for you and your pet to visit.

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