Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

Tony Bennett sang about San Francisco and now The Humane Society of the United States is singing praises about this city. Thanks to San Francisco’s pet friendly hotels, off-leash dog parks, vegetarian restaurants, it is ranked as America’s most humane city. Seattle, Portland, Washington D.C, and San Diego followed in ranking after San Francisco. Some of the factors that were used in the ranking were: the number of fur retailers per capita, the number of puppy mills, and the ratio of wildlife watchers to hunters.

Who would have ever guessed that your dog’s poop would be useful? That is what the park board commissioner is trying to figure out in Vancouver.

Being tired of all of the dog waste around in the city, he wanted to see if it could be used for anything else and found out that San Francisco was also researching this situation and was looking at the possibility of turning dog waste into bio-fuel to heat homes. The proposal in San Francisco is in its early stages. The Vancouver park board commissioner is proposing that dog waste be gathered at drop off spots and after using some processes, the methane gas would be the final result. And then the methane could be used to heat or light greenhouses or park restrooms. I’m all for this if this means I won’t have expensive heating bills.

Okay, so usually I’m not really a fan of circuses because clowns just really scare me, but I may overcome my fear of clowns to see one show: The Moscow Cats Theatre. This show showcases cats performing amazing tricks that your household cat probably doesn’t do (if your cat does, then your cat should belong in the show). The cats walk tightropes, walk on their front paws, climb a 10 feet pole and dive down, and leap eight to ten feet from one podium to another. There are a couple of token dogs and clowns in the show too. Here are just some of their national tour dates: in San Francisco from April 28-29, Portland from May 26-27, Seattle from June 2-3, and Montreal from June 23-24. I wonder if the cats are afraid of the clowns too.

This is the first laboratory-confirmed case of a non-recalled product containing melamine. One family confirms that the FDA is investigating these additional products.

Three 3-ounce varieties of Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics tested positive for melamine by UC Davis:

• Chicken Cacciatore, UPC 79105352055
• California Chicken Supreme, UPC 79105300117
• Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, UPC 79105300148

The test was privately requested by a California family whose cat fell ill.

Several varieties of Nutro Products brand pet food - including 3-ounce food pouches for cats, 5.3-ounce pouches for dogs and 12.5-ounce cans for dogs - are either on the FDA’s list or on Nutro’s own list at its Web site, www.nutroproducts.com. But the lists do not include the 3-ounce cans for cats.

The canned cat food that tested positive for melamine at UC Davis were the Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, California Chicken Supreme and Chicken Cacciatore.

Another family is claiming that Nutro canned food not on the recalled list made their cat sick. Their story is after the jump.

UPDATE: 2 new recalls today. Menu Foods and Royal Canin.

(For emailed alerts about future recalls and other important news, sign up for our free Itchmo Pet Safety Alert.)

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Watch for it. Christie Keith from Pet Connection will be on the news.

UPDATE: Video posted here. Thanks Howl911!

A bill called California Healthy Pets Act (AB1634) is being proposed which would require the spaying or neutering of most cats and dogs by the time they are four-months-old. If pet owners do not get their pet spayed or neutered, they will be charged a fine.

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I always assume that police officers can get away with anything, but not in this case. A California police chief was reprimanded and written up by a county ranger for having his dog run off leash on a trail — a violation of county law. I guess even the law can’t get away with some things. Beware, cities like Seattle are starting to crack down on dog owners if their dog is off leash in a non off-leash area. The Man is watching.