Pet care: Rabbits

Feeding your Rabbit: Fresh hay should make up the bulk of your rabbit’s diet and needs to be readily available at all times. Adult rabbits can eat timothy, grass, and oat hays, while younger rabbits should be fed alfalfa. When choosing hay, make sure it looks and smells fresh.

Lettuce, Hay, Broccoli, Carrot

Also feed your rabbit a variety of vegetables like basil, broccoli leaves, carrot tops, clover, lettuce, mint parsley etc. Fruits like strawberries, seedless apples, pineapple, raspberries and bananas can also be given. Make sure the fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed before feeding them.

Raspberry, Strawberry, Banana, Apple

Fresh water must always be available to your rabbit. On a hot day you can drop an ice cube or two in your rabbits water bowl.

Grooming your rabbit: Rabbits are naturally clean animals and wash themselves frequently. But you still need to groom your rabbit on a regular basis. Rabbits go through shedding cycles a couple of times in a year. Brush your rabbit's fur to remove all the excess fur. Regular nail clipping is also important because long nails can get snagged on things or they can curl into your rabbit’s paw.

Toys for the rabbit: Pet rabbits also need entertainment. They like chewable toys, these toys keep them happy and distracted from chewing other things. Wood toys and cardboard castles are also good for house rabbits.

Toys

Pet care : Puppy

Bathing a puppy:

• Very young puppies don't generally get very dirty, and it's best not to bathe them before they're 7 - 8 weeks old. Depending on the size of your puppy, you can use the bathtub or the kitchen or laundry room sink for puppy's first bath.
• When you're bathing a puppy you only need a few inches of warm water in the tub or sink. This also depends on the size of your pup.
• Use a hand-held shower head or jug, gently wet down her coat.
• When you're bathing your puppy it's important to make sure that the water soaks the coat, and gets all the way through to the skin, so wet her thoroughly.
• Mix a little shampoo with some warm water in the jug and pour it over her. 
• Lather well but avoid the eyes and ears. Use a warm, soapy wash-cloth to clean her face instead.
• Take your time to rinse your pup thoroughly and make sure that you get all the soap out of her fur.
• Towel dry your puppy gently, if she has long or thick hair try squeezing rather than rubbing.

Grooming pups:

• The right brush and comb is essential for your breed of dog and should be one that will effectively brush the entire depth of the coat.
• To introduce each comb or brush, show the brush to the pup and then feed a treat. Do this a few times, and then brush a few short strokes on the back and reward with a treat for good behaviour.
• Do the same process with combs and nail clippers. Grooming sessions should be short but frequent for puppies. 

Feeding puppies:

• During the first six to eight weeks of life the puppy should stay with the mother. The mother’s milk provides the best nutrition and provides antibodies to help protect your puppy from disease. Starting around four to six weeks of age, begin introducing your puppy to puppy food by making a gruel by blending the puppy food with milk replacer. Offer the gruel three to four times a day gradually reducing the amount of milk replacee used to make the gruel. This way your puppy gradually learns to adapt to solid food and gastric upset is minimized. 
• By around eight weeks of age your puppy should be eating solid food. Smaller meals are easier to digest for the puppy.
• There is no set age when the switch from puppy food to adult dog food should be made because it will vary with the breed and individual dog. 
• When making the switch to adult food, do it slowly over the course of one to two weeks by gradually mixing in increasing amounts of the adult food with decreasing amounts of her puppy food to minimize gastric upset.

Pet care: Cats

Bathing, Feeding, and Grooming Cats

Bathing cats:

• Cats normally don't require bathing, but if your cat does need a bath, don't try to do it alone, get someone to help you. A cat gets panicky on a slippery surface, so place a towel or rug over the side of the tub or basin for the cat to cling to. Hold the cat with one hand and lather quickly with the other. 
• Make certain the water is lukewarm.
• Use a hand-held spray hose to thoroughly wet your pet, taking care not to spray directly in her ears, eyes and nose. If you don’t have a spray hose, a plastic pitcher or unbreakable cup.
• Always use shampoo for cats, buy them from pet stores & follow proper instructions. 
• Wash the head, ears, and neck first. If you don't, any fleas that are on the animal will take refuge there while you clean the rest of its body. Be careful not to get shampoo in the eyes.
• To avoid colds, keep your cat inside for several hours after a bath.
• Wrap your cat in a large towel and dry her with it in a warm place, away from drafts. 
• Do not keep your cat in the water for too long.

Grooming Cats

• When your cat starts to shed hair, usually after the cold-weather months, massage its coat with your hands, then stroke the animal from head to tail with your palms. 
• If you encounter tangled fur when combing a long-haired cat, use your fingers, not a comb, to separate the tangles.
• When brushing short-haired cats, be sure to brush between the shoulders where the cat can't reach to groom itself.
• Your cat's claws will be easier to trim if you press the paw to expose the nails. Use special clippers from the pet supply store - never use human nail clippers on a cat. 
• Clean only that part of the ear canal that you can see, using a cotton swab soaked in mineral oil or alcohol. This should be done monthly.

Feeding Cats

• Never offer bones to your cat, they may catch in your pet's throat.
• If moist pet food is not eaten within two hours, refrigerate it. Dry food and biscuits are the only foods that can be left out for any length of time.
• Do not feed dog food to a cat. Buy only cat food.
• If you're going to change your pet's diet, do it gradually. A sudden change may be a shock to the animal's system.
• Don't worry if your cat eats grass; many animals actually graze.
• On a hot day, fill your pet's bowl with cold tap water and freshen it often.

You can always get some good tips and tricks about taking care of your kitty by reading a good book about raising cats.