From a bossy cat to hungry hedgehogs – your pet queries answered

HE is on a mission to help our pets  . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.

Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years. He says: “If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy.”

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This week Sean helps a reader with a bossy pet cat[/caption]

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Q) MY cat Bob has claimed the best seat in the lounge and he goes berserk if anyone sits on it.

It’s a really comfy armchair so the rest of us end up squished on the sofa. What should I do?

Just let Bob rule the roost or evict him from his comfy seat as he has his own beds — although he doesn’t want those?

Kathleen Brown, Dorchester, Dorset

A) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Dogs have owners, cats have servants.

If Bob has deemed that his throne is for him and him only, then it’s not your place really to say otherwise.

You just have to accept your fate and respect your feline overlord’s wishes.

In all seriousness, there is a trick that may work and fool Bob into thinking it was his decision to give up the seat for humans. Tin foil!

Cats are very particular about what they sit on.

And a sheet of tin foil on the chair cushion when he’s not looking will really reduce its appeal.

Once he’s stopped sitting there you can move the tinfoil and sit there instead.

It may take a few weeks to regain control.

Q) MISTY, our 16-month-old toy poodle, has a problem when we take her out in the car or go to the local shop.

When I wait outside in our vehicle with her, she starts getting stressed and crying and yelping for my wife.

Is there any solution to this problem?

Terry Taylor, Sheffield

A) Separation anxiety is a complex issue and there’s not a quick fix or one-size-fits-all solution.

First things first, your wife and Misty need to start working on their independence and not being joined at the hip all of the time.

That could mean using baby gates in the home so Misty gets used to not constantly following her around.

She’ll learn that it’s fine to be on her own sometimes.

Then, set up false departures from the car over time.

During these, occupy Misty with distraction games and reward-based training to remain calm and not worry as your wife will return and nothing bad happens.

A lot of this depends on your reactions to her when leaving, waiting and returning, so enlisting the help of a qualified animal behaviourist will probably get quicker and more favourable results.

Q) I HAVE a family of hedgehogs that live in my garden.

With their numbers in such decline I really want to do everything I can to help them.

I put out dog food and there’s always clean water.

I have a hedgehog house too, although they choose not to use it.

Can I do anything else?

Tina Bryan, Newcastle

A) Sadly they are in massive decline but there’s some evidence hedgehogs may be doing slightly better in urban areas than their rural cousins.

Dry or wet cat food is best as supplemental food, but never fish flavours.

And never bread or milk, which causes severe tummy upsets.

Then, leaving wilder areas and weeds to grow in your garden will encourage lots of native insects that they feed on.

Creating some dead hedges or log piles provides habitat to hide in.

Don’t use any sprays or chemicals and if you have a pond make sure there are logs, rocks or a ramp to allow wildlife to climb out.

If you don’t have a pond, even making one out of a small container will be a magnet for wildlife.

Finally, encourage your neighbours to cut holes in walls and fences, about the size of a CD case, 13cm diameter.

They need to visit 20-30 gardens each night! There’s loads of great info at hedgehogstreet.org.

Star of the week

HEROIC Moggie the cat raised the alarm when his owner got stuck in an outbuilding on her farm.

Madeleine Rogers, 86, and her husband, Geoff, 75, took Moggie in as an eight-month-old stray.

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Moggie the cat raised the alarm when his owner got stuck in an outbuilding on her farm[/caption]

Now four, he has repaid Madeleine’s kindness after the wind blew her barn door shut, trapping her inside.

Madeleine, from Kent, said: “Moggie heard me banging and shouting and came through a hole we’ve cut for him in the shed wall.

“I told him, ‘Go and find Geoff’, and he did it.

“He kept meowing until he followed. I’d have been stuck for hours otherwise. He’s my hero.”

Dog tired? Choose the right pooch

LABRADOR retrievers and Dachshunds make the best four-legged sleeping companions, a survey found.

But the worst pups to share your duvet with are fidgety bull terriers, German pointers and Hungarian Vizslas.

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Apparently, 50 per cent of us share our bedrooms with a dog, but the results from sleep tech firm Simba Sleep, in collaboration with animal behaviourist Professor Peter Neville, reveal you need to choose your canine bedfellow wisely.

Prof Neville said: “Most dogs like to ‘sleep in a heap’ for warmth and security.

But while Labradors, hairier breeds, crossbreeds and large dogs will be happy to sprawl on top of the covers, terriers, Dachshunds and thin-coated breeds may expect to burrow under the covers to secure warmth alongside you.

So, if you are a restless sleeper, or a kicker, you might be safer and be more likely to sleep undisturbed if you allocate a special zone for your dog on the other side of a large enough bed for them to burrow into and sleep, rather than expecting to cuddle up together.”

The other best breeds to share a bed with are border terriers, Pomeranians and cocker spaniels.