Blog Posts by Sarah D. Bunting

It probably seems like every pet-related headline you've read for weeks is hectoring you not to buy anyone a pet as a gift this year. "I get it," you grumble, "but the kids really want an animal to love, and I can't hold them off much longer!"

We're here for you -- not with real pets, because we still think you should hold off on that until a quieter time of year. But these substitutes might help. Some make great gag gifts for office Secret-Santa pools; others, used correctly, can start to teach your kids about caring for a living pet. Still others back up your files! We hope you'll find something to love in our list of giftable pets...or at least something that will stall the kitten requests for a few weeks.

I struggle every year to find cool, chic holiday cards -- and not just cool and chic, but different from the ones I've sent in previous years. I can't really do those photo cards, either, because getting all three cats into a single photo is impossible, unless they're fighting, which goes against the whole peace-on-earth vibe of the season. 

You may have an amiable Retriever who's fine with wearing antlers for the Christmas photo; if not, try the rabbit cards from Ashley Q. Fine Stationery ($9, Felt & Wire). They're not particularly Noel-y, but they're elegant, and make great gifts for the rabbit-owners in your life. Or go with these "Santa's Little Helper" holiday cards from Rock Scissor Paper ($14), which feature a mod design aesthetic and a cute Boston Terrier.

And if, like me, you still really love Sanrio items even though you're about 145 years too old for them, xlalax's Etsy store has some super-cute Chococat holiday cards ($1.25 per).

You can also find cards from your favorite

Tommasino, an Italian housecat, just inherited a huge fortune thanks to his former owner, the late Maria Assunta. Five more super-rich pets (and their crazy, or merely VERY grateful, owners), below!

A quick internet search will turn up thousands upon thousands of animal slippers for kids -- dinosaurs, sharks, Nemo gear, and so on -- but if you want an almost scarily realistic pair of slippers representing your family's favorite dog breed, look no further than these Schnauzer slippers by Dambino ($23.59 on Amazon). The company makes several other breeds, like Shih Tzus and Dalmatians, and you can also get the Himalayan-cat slippers.

If you want something the younguns won't grow out of quite as fast, get them some animal art supplies. AlphaPets Origami ($12 at Uncommon Goods) is a board book and an origami manual, including instructions and pre-scored fold marks to make creating a paper zoo cinchy for little hands.

Little hands can also draw their own zoo with the animal crayons from Giggle.com ($7). They come in a cute bus-shaped box, and they're plastic, not wax, which makes for easier coloring (and less melting on hands).

What pet gifts are your kids begging for? Talk to us in the

The Cat Dancer is a classic cat toy, and you can't beat the price ($2.75 on catdancer.com), but after a while, your triceps start to ache; I ended up attaching mine to a deadbolt. If you'd like cat toys that play with the cat for you, and/or let your cat do his pouncer-cise routine even when you're not home, I've got you covered.

But let's start first with another classic, the laser pointer. Cats looooove these, and you can get one in the shape of a mouse that doubles as a keychain ($10.75 on Amazon). Or you can get the slimline style with the attachment that makes the laser dot itself into the shape of a mouse (Drs. Foster and Smith, $8.99).

You still have to hold the pointer and press the button, though, so if you really want to automate, try the Laser Image Chase Toy from Hammacher Schlemmer ($29.95). Your dog might like it too; the laser oscillates in a random pattern and has four speed settings, as well as modules of 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes of play.

The more analog version, the

Cold weather in many parts of the country plus an economy that's still kind of in the toilet could add up to a blue Christmas for a lot of pets (and/or their owners!) this December. A little bit of help from you could make a big difference to a feral cat, a shelter dog, or a senior or homeless pet owner who needs a bit of a boost. How can you help?

WebVet: Is a pet the right Christmas gift?

Let's get this out of the way first: do not help by getting a shelter pet as a holiday gift. It's a kookoo time of year, the recipient may not be prepared for a new roommate, and so on. TV commercials make it seem like a sweet idea, but please, save any actual adoptions until January, and do your homework first.

Vetstreet: Fostering a shelter pet for the holidays

Okay, to the positives! A straight donation is always welcome, of course, whether it's a national organization or a local outfit; Yahoo! Search the closest branch of the ASPCA, or find a breed-rescue league in your city or state. (To make sure

Pet-themed jewelry is a crapshoot -- emphasis, alas, on "crap." For every semi-cute pair of bird earrings, there are 48 hideous ceramic orange-kitten pendants.

Arhaus Jewels has the knack, though; their sterling-silver dog-bone charm ($25) is tiny and cute, and I also like the "Puppy Love" necklace, a sterling-silver pawprint on an oxidized disc ($50). Very classy.

And you Democrats and/or Portuguese Water Dog fans can pick up a pair of Bo buttons from the president's web store for just $6.

...Oh, the dog wants to accessorize too? We stopped counting the varieties of hand-tooled and/or blingified dog collars at "a jillion," but our favorite is this snappy argyle collar with optional matching bow tie from BigpawCollars on Etsy ($17).

Or you can put him to work St.-Bernard-style with the St. Bernard Dog Collar Barrel from KegWorks ($49.95 for half-liter size). It has a functioning spigot and everything, perfect for getting lost in the mountains of a December evening. (NB: We advise neither

bowserbeer.comYou've thought about getting your cat a fountain. You don't understand why she won't just drink out of a bowl like a "normal" feline, and you're tired of turning on the sink for her (it wastes water), or fishing her out of your bath when she falls in trying to drink Mr. Bubble, or shooing her out of the toilet. And by "you," I mean myself, of course.

Cats love fresh water -- especially the kind that comes in a glass that a human has just filled for herself -- so a fountain is just the thing. But so many of them are dowdy monstrosities that take up too much space; have a lot of teeny, hard-to-clean parts; and make a buzzy noise that both human and feline consumers dislike. Plus, if a fountain's made of plastic, it can cause the feline chin acne many cat-owners find themselves battling.

But there's hope for your furry free-range drinker and your interior design. Pioneer Pet makes a snazzy space-age drinking fountain in stainless steel or ceramic ($37.04 for the latter on Amazon; the