pets

Cats May Have a
More 'Profound Mind'
Than We Thought

Cats May Have a More 'Profound Mind' Than We Thought

Research shows cats track their owners' movements around the house

(Newser) - If you've ever sensed that your aloof cat, who appears to ignore you, nevertheless seems to know just where you are at all times, you may be onto something. A new study out of Japan shows that cats may actually track their owners as they move around the house,...

Woman Looking to Adopt
Pet Finds Her Own Lost Dog

Jul 11, 2021 4:50 PM CDT

Woman Looking to Adopt Pet Finds Her Own Lost Dog

Aisha Nieves had given up hope of ever finding Kovu

(Newser) - When Kovu disappeared, Aisha Nieves was heartbroken. Her dog had been her constant companion for years, and her best friend. Until one day she came home from work to find Kovu gone, having escaped from a hole in her fence caused by a car driving through it, CNN reports. She...

Chance You'll Pass COVID
to a Pet Is 'Surprisingly High'

NEW STUDY

Jul 9, 2021 12:29 PM CDT

Chance You'll Pass COVID to a Pet Is 'Surprisingly High'

Cats appear to be more susceptible than dogs

(Newser) - There's a "surprisingly high chance" people who contract COVID-19 will pass it on to their pets, according to the author of a yet-to-be-published study, with cats especially susceptible. Researchers searched for antibodies in 48 cats and 54 dogs from 77 households where a prior COVID-19 infection was confirmed...

Pet Boom During
Pandemic Strains
Veterinarians, Staffs

May 13, 2021 4:05 PM CDT

Pet Boom During Pandemic Strains Veterinarians, Staffs

Overwork, compassion fatigue already were problems

(Newser) - During the gloomiest stretches of the pandemic, Dr. Diona Krahn's veterinary clinic has been a puppy fest, overrun with new four-legged patients. Typically, she'd get three or four new puppies a week, but between shelter adoptions and private purchases, the 2020 COVID-19 pet boom brought five to seven...

Watchdog Raises Alarm About Popular Flea Collar

Mar 2, 2021 1:09 PM CST

Biden Plans White House Surprise

CBS Sunday Morning teases news of a feline

(Newser) - Major, Champ, and ... pussy-kitty? Looks like Joe Biden's hope for reuniting America will extend beyond Democrats and Republicans, the Guardian reports. A CBS Sunday Morning tweet teased the fact that the new first family—which includes the two aforementioned German shepherds—will be "joined by a cat."...

Petco: Say Goodbye to 'Shock' Collars in Our Stores

Petco Won't
Sell Product
That Brings
Pain to Pets

Oct 7, 2020 8:44 AM CDT

Petco Won't Sell Product That Brings Pain to Pets

Pet supplies chain also wants its competitors to stop hawking electronic 'shock' collars

(Newser) - A pet product that's been labeled "controversial" by the Humane Society will no longer be sold by one major chain. Petco announced Tuesday that consumers won't find human- and bark-activated "shock" collars—devices that administer electronic pulses of varying intensity and duration to help train animals...

Thousands
Mourn Charlie,
a Very Good Boy

Thousands Mourn Charlie, a Very Good Boy

Obituary for stair-hating, banana-loving dog goes viral

(Newser) - Sallie Hammett wrote an obituary for her dog, thinking it would help her sort through some tough feelings. Having now gone viral, the write-up—designed to look like it would appear in a newspaper —has thousands mourning along with her. "Born July 15th, 2013, in Easley, South Carolina,...

We May Be
Doing Our Pets
More Harm
Than Good

We May Be Doing Our Pets More Harm Than Good

Esther Woolfson writes about the ways humans unintentionally hurt the animals they love

(Newser) - Esther Woolfson was at a street corner waiting for the light to turn when she noticed that the young dog being walked by the man next to her was wheezing. Might have been a pug or French bulldog, "but he’s one of those that now form a widespread,...

First Dog in US
to Test Positive Is Dead

Jul 30, 2020 4:33 PM CDT

First Dog in US to Test Positive Is Dead

Buddy, a 7-year-old German shepherd, contracted COVID in Staten Island

(Newser) - The first dog to be diagnosed with the coronavirus in the US has died. Buddy, 7, had tested positive in April in Staten Island, National Geographic reports. The family pet "was the love of our lives," Allison Mahoney said. "I can’t wrap my head around it....

China Pulls a 180
on Its Dog Policy

May 30, 2020 4:45 PM CDT

China Pulls a 180 on Its Dog Policy

Beijing says it's following 'the progress of the times'

(Newser) - Looks like China has a new official dog policy—namely that people can no longer raise and trade them for commercial purposes, People reports. "With the progress of the times, people's civilization ideas and eating habits are constantly changing, and some traditional customs about dogs will also change,...

Dogs Can Get
the Virus, Too

Apr 28, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

Dogs Can Get the Virus, Too

NC pug appears to be first confirmed canine case in US

(Newser) - It's not just feline pets at risk of the novel coronavirus. A dog in North Carolina has what may be the first confirmed US case of COVID-19 in canines, NBC News reports via a study out of Duke University. Researchers tested Heather McLean, a professor of pediatrics, and each...

US Confirms First Cases
of Coronavirus in Pets

Apr 22, 2020 1:55 PM CDT

US Confirms First Cases of Coronavirus in Pets

2 cats in New York tested positive

(Newser) - Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the US, federal officials said Wednesday. The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in...

The 'Most Famous Dog'
in America Is Dead at 18

Mar 7, 2020 5:00 PM CST

The 'Most Famous Dog' in America Is Dead at 18

Marnie was beloved for her curious look and lolling tongue

(Newser) - You know Marnie, the lovable Shih Tzu on Instagram with a curious face and wagging tongue? Well she died this week at 18, and TMZ reports that her LA owner has posted a touching message online. "It is with much grief I share the news that Marnie passed away...

Experts: Dogs, Cats Can't
Pass Coronavirus to Humans

Mar 5, 2020 12:10 AM CST

Experts: Dogs, Cats Can't Pass Coronavirus to Humans

Hong Kong case is 'likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission'

(Newser) - Pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of the pathogen if they catch it from their owners. That's the conclusion of Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department after a dog in quarantine tested weak...

Spotify for Dogs
Is Now a Thing

Jan 15, 2020 6:29 PM CST

Spotify for Dogs Is Now a Thing

Music streaming service now offers podcasts, custom playlists for dogs, cats, and other pets

(Newser) - The real question is: Will the fish be able to hear it? If you've ever worried that your dog or cat might get lonely while you're at work, Spotify has come up with an official solution, per Reuters : pet-geared playlists and podcasts. After the company's research revealed...

Woman Hires Plane,
Offers $7K Reward
for Missing Dog

Dec 20, 2019 5:16 AM CST

Woman Hires Plane, Offers $7K Reward for Missing Dog

Jackson was taken from outside SF grocery store

(Newser) - "I just want my precious little boy to come back in my arms where he belongs," says a San Francisco woman who has gone all-out in an effort to find her dog, which was stolen from outside a grocery store on Saturday. Emilie Talermo has raised more than...

Lorde Loses
Her Muse,
Delays Album

Nov 4, 2019 6:03 AM CST

Lorde Loses Her Muse, Delays Album

Singer reveals her dog Pearl died last month

(Newser) - Lorde has been working on her third studio album, but fans they may have to wait a little longer than expected. BuzzFeed reports that over the weekend, the 22-year-old singer sent a message to her newsletter subscribers, revealing the reason for the delay: the death of her dog, Pearl, who...

Research Claws at
'Crazy Cat Lady' Stereotype

NEW STUDY

Aug 22, 2019 9:20 AM CDT

Research Claws at 'Crazy Cat Lady' Stereotype

It suggests cat owners are no more anxious, depressed than others

(Newser) - Roughly half of Americans buy into the "crazy cat lady" stereotype, generally believing cat owners to be single women surrounded by numerous balls of fur, according to a 2015 survey spotted by the Los Angeles Times . It's a long-standing idea, as evidenced by an 1872 editorial in the...

State Supreme Court
Rules in Dog Custody Dispute

May 29, 2019 2:47 AM CDT

State Supreme Court Rules in Dog Custody Dispute

Pets are property, not family, Maine court says

(Newser) - Maine's supreme court has upheld a ruling granting a man sole custody of his dog, denying his ex-girlfriend's bid to take the pet. The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday affirmed that pets are property in confirming a district judge's decision that the Lab-boxer mix named Honey belongs...