How would you like to know that the strident meow your cat is directing toward you means “Clean my litter box” or that the woof your dog is making means “Sweet potatoes again. Bummer”? Finding out what our pets are “saying” may not be too far in the future, according …

The domestication of dogs was a great step forward for humankind, and a new genetic study reported in Nature Communications (May 14, 2013) suggests that it may have happened about 17,000 years earlier than previously believed at 15,000 years. Our species may have been living together and affecting each other for …

Neutered and spayed dogs and cats live longer, according to the 2013 State of Pet Health Report, released by Banfield Pet Hospital, the world’s largest veterinary practice. Neutered male cats live 62 percent longer than unneutered ones. Spayed female cats live 39 percent longer than unspayed ones. Neutered male dogs live …

Jackie Bonasera was drying her hair in an upstairs bathroom in her Long Island, NY, home when her dog began barking. It wasn’t like him, so she ran downstairs to see what was wrong. Flames were shooting up one side of the garage. She ran outside, and then realized Cain …

Has the time come for cat cafés in the U.S.? Recently I wrote a blog that mentioned that cats wandering through the open-air cafes in Key West added to the atmosphere, and in September, Petfinder‘s associate producer, Bethany, mentioned, in her blog,  a short-lived cat café in NYC where people could …

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” opens on Broadway this week. Although it has a promising cast, I predict the one to watch is the cat. If you remember the Audrey Hepburn movie, you may remember the cat without a name. He (or she) is a key element because it’s pretty much a …

Today white smoke appeared above Vatican City. A new pope had been chosen to lead the Roman Catholic church.   I immediately began receiving texts and seeing tweets from friends reacting to the news and speculating who it might be. When it was announced that a Jesuit from Argentina, Cardinal …

A friend of mine works as a delivery person and keeps an eye out for companion and barnyard animals on her route that are being abused. She sometimes sees pets who are chained in yards with no water or shelter, and she intervenes or reports the neglect. Now, thanks to …

Key West charms me. People gather in Mallory Square to watch the sun go down each evening, while street vendors, artists and entertainers ply their various trades. Chickens roam the streets, wandering into sidewalk cafes. The number of apparently feral cats makes me uneasy because I worry about the depredation …

A new law in Great Britain requires that all dogs must be microchipped by 2016 “or else,” according to Gllian Pensavalle on Buzz:60. The “or else,” in this case, is a fine that amounts to about $800 in U.S. currency. Ouch! (Cats, by the way, are exempt from the new law.) …