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6A Daily News – Saturday, April 14, 2012 healthPetsactivities & Animal Island: Kitty dreams are a mystery By Marc Morrone Newsday (MCT) Question: We adopted a kitten 7 months ago. She has brought so much joy into our lives, and we are always learning more about her. I notice that when she is sleeping, she seems to be dreaming quite a bit — her whiskers move and her limbs are twitching. Do cats dream the same way we do, and what could she be dreaming about? Answer: Many species of animals 'Trio' is running poor George's life experience REM — or rapid eye movement sleep — and certainly there is something going on in there while your cat or dog is twitching away in an otherwise sound sleep. Exactly what is going on, we can't say because they can't tell us about it when they wake up. Up to 60 percent of a cat's sleep is REM sleep, plus your average adult cat sleeps about 16 hours a day. That allows lots of time for dreaming. We don't exactly know how REM sleep benefits cats and other animals, but we do know that it is vital and should be allowed to proceed without any inter- ruptions on your part, no matter how much she twitches. ___ white marble chips or river rock on top of the soil around the shrubs. This will make the beds as unattractive to the cats as wire mesh. workable, the best way to keep the cats out of it is to no longer have it attrac- tive to them. There are several ways to do this. The best but most labor-inten- sive way is to lay wire mesh flat against the ground on top of the soil in the beds, wrapping it around the stems of the shrubs and pegging it down with U-shaped pins that you can make out of wire coat hangers. Lay a thin layer of mulch on top of the wire to hide it from view. Now the cats will no longer be able to dig in those beds. Planting a thick evergreen ground cover in those beds also will keep the cats out, but it will take a while for the plants to become established enough to persuade the cats to stay away. If you prefer a more contemporary look to your beds, you can forget about the wire and just spread a layer of Rescued dog MCT photo Wichita firefighters were cleaning up what they thought was an unsuccessful dog res- cue when one of the firefighters spotted the animal's nose on Thurs- day, April 12, in Wichita, Kansas. After two-and- a-half hours of search- ing and cutting through concrete, firefighters found the dog safe and sound. 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GOOD for 8x10 & 10x24 Units We offer a $25 check for referrals upon rental. 64 Mulberry Ave., Red Bluff • 527-1755 website: www.americanselfstorage.biz AMERICAN SELF-STORAGE www.weshootya.com 857 Washington St. Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-527-3369 RECEPTION 2012 5:00-7:00 PM Tuesday, April 17th , Refreshments will be served Come and see the photo that was "Selected as one of Sports Illustrated's 2011 Pictures of the Year" This event is part of the 2011 • "Eleven Days of Round-Up" Oh Snap! The Daily News wants your photos: Cute kids, Adorable pets, Inspirational sights, Any shot you think readers would enjoy You might just see it in the Daily News Send pictures to editor@redbluffdailynews.com or drop off at 545 Diamond Ave. in Red Bluff. Include a caption. Q: My next-door neighbor lets her three cats outside all day long and sometimes all night, as well. They use the flower beds next to my front porch as a litter box. Relations between us are strained, and talking with her about the problem is pointless. Can you tell me how to keep these cats out of the flower beds around my porch? The weather is nice now, and I want to sit on my porch without having to smell cat urine. I tried a granular product that I got from the garden center. The directions claimed the smell would keep cats away, but it did not work. A: If the soil in the beds is soft and that work also. Many garden centers sell a sprinkler with a motion detector inside. Hook your hose up to the sprin- kler and set it near the beds. When an animal walks near it, the motion detec- tor senses this and the sprinkler goes off — scaring the animal away. ___ There are some high-tech products Q: We had a termite swarm right at our front door the other day. I noticed that for the few days prior to the swarm, our cats were hanging out there, gazing intently at the floor. After we had the exterminators come, the cats no longer hang out over there. Could they have sensed the termites somehow? A: Termites do have a peculiar odor that most animals can smell. Many pest-control companies have capital- ized on this by training dogs to sniff out and detect termite activity in their customers' homes. Plus, cats can hear extremely well, and, before swarming, termites can make quite a bit of noise as they scurry about getting ready to make their mad dash to the surface. Your cats may have been listening to the termites as they were preparing to swarm. ___ er. Bunnies make great pets. I have kept them all my life. But as a new bunny keeper, you need to follow some rules. Bunnies are subject to lots of unintentional abuse by people who HOP TO IT, BUNNY OWNERS So your child got a bunny for East- • Be prepared to make a long-term commitment to caring for your bunny. They can live more than a decade, and the child who was given the bunny a week ago will be in college then, and who will be caring for the bunny? • The bunnies that are kept as pets are the domesticated version of the European rabbit. They are not at all related to native cottontail rabbits and cannot survive should you choose to let them loose in the woods or a park. • Bunnies, like all grass-eating mammals, have complicated digestive processes and need lots of grass, hay and fiber in their diets. Most bunny foods sold in pet stores do not have enough fiber and are loaded with crunchy treats that do not help out a bunny's digestion at all. • Any pet being kept in the house does not need hormones rushing through its body. Get your bunny spayed or neutered. The bunny will be healthier and have fewer medical problems. • You would not keep a dog locked up day and night in a pen outdoors. Nor should you keep a pet bunny locked in a hutch. A pet bunny should be kept indoors. Bunnies can be potty trained in a litter box, just like a cat. • Just like a cat or a dog, a bunny have no idea what they got into when they got a bunny on the spur of the moment — so please pay attention here. deserves regular veterinary care in case it gets sick or needs its nails or teeth trimmed. • To learn more about keeping a bunny as a pet, visit the House Rabbit Society website at www.rabbit.org. "devilish." George's list of troubles include having to replace three TV remotes due to Trio chewing on them, trying in vain to get socks, toilet paper, dish towels and his checkbook out of Trio's mouth before they are destroyed, and having to drive down to the end of his cul-de-sac to pick up Trio after he's escaped upon opening the garage door. Wow, George, Trio really has gotten the best of you! Your troubles seem somewhat related, as they all stem MODESTO — George describes his Beagle puppy as from Trio having too much personal freedom that he hasn't yet earned. In addition, it seems like you are so busy doing damage control, you haven't had the time to set yourself and your environment up for prevention of these issues. So, place Trio in his crate while you read this, and then prepare yourself for "Puppy Management 101"! First, let's be clear in that all of Trio's behavior is normal. Puppies have big energy bursts throughout the day, are interested in putting everything into their mouths and are always looking for something new and appealing to do. As Trio's owner, it's your job to steer him toward acceptable things to chew on and interact with. Keep a solid inventory of ideal puppy items: chewy items and numerous toys with various textures. These should be rotated and offered any time you sense that Trio needs something to focus and chew on — before he chooses an item on his own. Second, Trio should have access only to the room you are in. You can accomplish this by placing a baby gate up to prevent him from going from room to room, or you can have him attached to you via a 6-foot leash. In any case, you should be able to visibly see what Trio is doing in the house at all times. baby, but with canine safety in mind. Part of making sure Trio doesn't grow into a habitual chewer of human items means that he should have no access to them as a puppy. So keep your socks up off the floor, close the bathroom doors so he can't get to the toilet paper, and place dish towels, checkbooks and anything else of value out of reach. No matter how diligent you are at puppy-proofing your home, there will still be instances of Trio getting hold of something off-limits. How you respond will affect whether or not he continues to do this. If you are in the habit of going after Trio to get an item away from him, Trio has effective- ly taught you how to play chase! You have other options: If he grabs an off-limit item, do not react with any excitement. Instead, slowly move toward the refrigerator or treat jar, and start to sweetly talk about "cookies!" This will likely bring Trio back to you, and then an exchange can be made — cookie for human item. Another option would be to quietly and slowly move indirectly toward Trio, until you are able to step on the leash that is attached to him, thus preventing him from running away from you. Then you can calmly trade items with him. Trio hasn't yet earned the freedom of being off leash when outdoors. So make sure you don't open the garage door until Trio is on his leash. But definitely do take him out in the front yard to play with him; part of preventing a dog from always trying to escape is to allow him to become familiar with the outdoors under your supervision. Finally, George, get started in a positive-based training program. Trio needs to learn the value of paying attention to you and your directions — because all good things should come from you, and you need to learn how to communicate your wishes to Trio instead of just dealing with his mistakes. In short, a dialogue between you needs to be created, so you can direct Trio down the path of behavior that you desire, and then let Trio reap the rewards that come with polite compliance. Third, "puppy-proof" your home just as you would for a Write to Lisa Moore in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto, Calif. 95352. 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