Magazine

For thousands of years, these fascinating dogs have been considered a treasure in Afghanistan, their country of origin. Nowadays too, these long-haired runners are something special for many dog lovers across the entire world.

Forget “silent night” – for cats, the festive season can be wrought with potential dangers and ever-mounting stress. Here we will give you plenty of advice on how to care for your cat this Christmas and how to avoid dangerous situations from the outset. If you follow these five simple tips and tricks, you are guaranteed to spend a safe and relaxed Christmas with your cat. Sparkling fairy lights, glittering Christmas baubles, colourful tinsel and twirly ribbon everywhere – no other time of year is as exciting and tempting for a cat as Christmas! However, the festive season is also the most dangerous time of the year for felines, as shown by the accident statistics of various veterinary clinics! In the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, between baking mince pies, setting up candles, decorating the tree and sending out cards and gifts, many overlook the fact that all of these changes can be unsettling for our feline friends. However, with a little care and consideration, you can get your cat just as exciting for the festive season, as we explain with these handy tips.

It is sensible to vaccinate your rabbit if it spends part of the year in a secure outside enclosure. Seeing as other fury members of the household such as cats and dogs regularly get vaccinated, the questions arises whether there are also vaccines for rabbits.

Two researchers carried out an investigation into the noise exposure of one of the aquariums due to the visitors in the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, and found some surprising results. They hid an underwater microphone in a one cubic metre aquarium to register the effects of visitors tapping on the glass. Helmut Kractochvil and Harald Schwammer investigated this activity for four weeks, counting the taps per 100 visitors between midday on Monday to midday on Friday, and then from midday to Friday to midday on Monday. They then introduced three different signs with the inscriptions: “Tapping on the glass kills the fish”, “Only idiots tap the glass”, and “Please do not tap the glass”.

Those who have dealt with the needs of cockatiels will have noticed that the common ideas that this bird is the “ideal bird for beginners” or is “easy to handle” don’t necessarily apply. If you follow the basic rules for the correct care for this species, you will greatly enjoy your entertaining mini-cockatoos and they, in turn, will enjoy your company.

There is absolutely some truth in the old saying “no hoof, no horse.” Horses’ hooves are always under stress, whether the horse is standing in the stables, out in the pasture, being ridden or in the school. The smallest deformity can have a disastrous impact on the whole of the horse’s skeleton. The correct hoof care isn’t as time consuming as most horse handlers think. One thing is especially important and that is continuity.