Blog Posts by vetstreet.com

By Nora Zelevansky, vetstreet.com

Cats are mysterious creatures. With their penetrating eyes, silent steps and hiding spots, they'd make great feline sleuths - which is perhaps why there are a slew of cat detective stories out there.

Related: 4 Games Cats Enjoy Playing the Most

Here's the scoop on six new kitty page-turners worth investigating.

When The Big Cat Nap hits shelves in April, Rita Mae Brown (and her feline coauthor Sneaky Pie) will have been writing about the sleuthing kitty duo of Mrs. Murphy and Pewter for 20 years. This time, their human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, discovers the town mechanic dead.

Bonus: Brown's nineteenth mystery novel, Hiss of Death, in which Harry goes into the hospital and discovers a well-liked nurse murdered, comes out tomorrow.

Clea Simon's pet noir tale, Cats Can't Shoot (out in April), follows animal psychic Pru Marlowe and her trusty feline friend,

By Linda Lombardi, vetstreet.com

It's International Polar Bear Day and what better way to celebrate these brawny yet somehow still adorable bears - I mean, have you seen our photos of Siku? - than to share some I-never-knew-that facts about the Arctic-roaming creatures.

RELATED: The Busy Life of Siku the Polar Bear; Also, See Him on Live Cam

No way, you say. You've seen them depicted together a million times! But consider this: It was always a cartoon or an illustration, never a photograph, right? That's because, in real life, they two species dwell at opposite ends of the earth: Polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins hang out in the Antarctic.

Study your ancient Greek for further proof: The word "Arctic" derives from the Greek word for bear, while "Antarctic" in Greek means "without bear."

Brown bears can be equally hefty when it comes to

By Kristen Seymour, vetstreet.com

Miss Kitty, Whiskers, Lucky and Scooby may seem like adorable - not to mention popular - names for a feline or canine. But just like baby names, the kind of monikers we pick for our pets ebb and flow with the times.

After mining Vetstreet's records to determine the top cat and dog names that have been trending up over the past 12 years, we decided to also take a look at pet names that have drastically dropped off the popularity list.

See Also: Top 10 Trendiest Names

For some added insight about these down-trenders, we turned to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard and creator of babynamewizard.com, to help us divine why Brandy and Snowball have fallen off the favorability track to make room for all the Lolas and Coopers now in the pet world.

While analyzing the trendiest pet names, we discovered that owners often find inspiration in human baby name books when selecting a name for their pet. According

By Mikkel Becker, vetstreet.com

Q. My dog hates to be in her crate. Do you have any tips for getting her to go inside and stay in the kennel?


A. Crate training can be challenging for dogs who already have negative associations with kennels. The trauma of being left alone in a confined area often outweighs the lure of treats. There may even be a component of separation anxiety tied to their distress.

Related: See Video on How to Crate Train Your Dog

Start by talking to your veterinarian about the possibility of separation anxiety. If you have the option, take a video recording of your pet when she's home alone and show it to your veterinarian. In many cases, canines with separation anxiety do better when they're not crated.

Once you've received guidance from your veterinarian about how to properly address separation anxiety - or rule it out altogether - you can proceed with retraining your pet to go inside the kennel. A vet may

By Laura Cross, vetstreet.com

After watching all the dogs strut their stuff at the Westminster Dog Show, it's hard not to search for the nearest Pekingese breeder to find a dog like Best in Show winner Malachy. If canine lineage is important to you, then researching reputable breeders is the next logical step in your search for a pup that will fit in with your family and lifestyle. However, if you still want a purebred dog and aren't too concerned about show-worthy bloodlines, then you can adopt a pup on Petfinder.com. In fact, 25 percent of the thousands of dogs listed on Petfinder are purebreds.

SEE ALSO: Should Dogs and Cats Sleep in Your Bed?

Check out these seven breeds, representing the winners of the groups and Best in Show from across the country - all of whom need forever homes.

The winner of the Toy Group, GCH Palacegarden Malachy, or Malachy for short, is a Pekingese. If you found Malachy's cartoonish looks endearing, then Prince from

By Dr. Marty Becker, vetstreet.com

In the spirit of the great shockumentaries that are late-night cable favorites, I am going to expose veterinary medicine's heinous funny bone with a joke we call "Give your cat this medicine at home."

It starts out with a cat lover putting off the trip to the veterinarian with a sick cat in order to avoid the following chain of events: Cat hides under the couch; human attempts to extricate the cat and stuff him into a carrier; cat claws shred human flesh like a feline Freddy Krueger; cat finally womanhandled (man of the house nowhere to be found, so manhandled not a possibility) into the carrier. At this point, the pet owner makes a quick drive to the veterinary hospital, often while being serenaded with the unhappy sounds of a cat plotting revenge.

Related: Best Ways to Give a Cat a Pill

And now we find ourselves in the exam room. Let the show begin!

Out explodes the cat, hissing and raking the air with claws extended.

By Jennifer Paull, vetstreet.com u000a u000a u000a u000a If you ever spot a dog jumping onto a ski lift, don't worry, the high altitude isn't getting to you. You may have spotted a canine avalanche expert, an essential member of a search-and-rescue team. u000a u000a u000a These rescue dogs deploy to locate skiers, snowmobilers and other mountaineers (sometimes even other dogs ) who get caught in an avalanche. They can trace a buried victim far more quickly than human searchers, with the ability to sniff out people stuck under several feet of snow. u000a u000a u000a See Also: Photos of 6 New Breeds Debut at Westminster Dog Show u000a u000a u000a u000a And since victims have a good chance of survival if they're found within 15 minutes (barring other trauma), every second - and every sniff - counts. u000a u000a u000a Ski patrollers and community search-and-rescue volunteers train and handle these dedicated dogs. To be eligible for emergency response, both the dogs and their handlers must

By Kim Campbell Thornton, vetstreet.com

Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show winners typically bow out of their show careers after taking the prestigious prize and go on to produce puppies, become therapy dogs or just master the art of sofa lounging. Here's a look at how five past champs now spend their time.

See Also: Secret Lives of Westminster Show Dogs

2011 Winner: Hickory the Scottish Deerhound Has Babies and Chases Bears Hickory the Scottish Deerhound Has Babies and Chases Bears

Motherhood was the path taken by GCh. Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, the elegant Scottish Deerhound owned by Dr. R. Scott and Cecilia Dove of Virginia. After becoming the first in her breed to take Best in Show in the history of Westminster, Hickory has since produced nine puppies, who are currently four months old.

When she's not playing with her pups, Hickory runs for miles every day on the family farm, located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Although she's normally calm and serene, once outdoors, Hickory turns into a keen coursing dog,