WebMD is not only a great website for people, but it covers animal issues too. I found a list of foods dogs and cats should never eat: Prunes, grapes, onions, guacamole, alcohol, raisins, and raw meat or eggs. I know people who for some reason want to feed their pets raw foods. Wolves and big cats in the wild eat raw meat, because they have to. It is also eaten immediately. We do not know how long the raw meat or eggs have been sitting around and they are easily infected with e. coli or salmonella. Those bacteria cause food poisoning and extreme diarrhea. Since we can cook the meat and eggs, why would anyone risk their pet's health? I know some herbs and teas are excellent for people and ancient Chinese medicine has many good points, but to revert to things before we had our modern knowledge can be dangerous and, to me, puzzling. I have had ten dogs since childhood and here is the rundown on how long they lived and their diets.

When I was a child, my mother fed our dogs canned dog food and dry mixed with warm water. One did get cancer, one probably had heartworm disease, but the collie lived to be 15 as an overweight, canned dog food eater. The next group ate the same thing. One had a brain tumor, one simply got too old to walk, and one lived to be 17-and-a-half. All were over the vet's weight recommendation. My beagle, Becky Sue, was really fat and did have a tumor on her spleen. That, I think was cancer from obesity.

My present group of three so far: One died of cancer at 11, one is 13 and fine, and one is 11 and fine. They are all overweight. The one thing every dog had was lots and lots of exercise. Even the heaviest had three walks a day for a least a half hour each time. So, canned dog food cannot be the cancer cause, nor the water, nor the weight. I think it was a gene thing. So that makes 4four who had cancer and 6 did not; all on the same lifestyle. I do not think raw meat would have done any good and might have caused much harm.

Out of 21 cats, unfortunately five were hit by cars, so we will never know. Two had leukemia, one had an enlarged heart, and the other 13 all lived to be at least 16 and died of kidney failure, which I consider a natural cause of old age. I have two now who are 18 and 15. They all ate canned and dry cat food of the common brands, but again they had access to the outdoors. You know your own pets, but I just wanted to let you know my lifelong experience with dogs and cats.

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My sister, a great cat lover, wanted me to include this bit of advice. Kittens love to play with toys with bells inside, but if they get the tiny bell out it could be swallowed and cause choking. I would get toys scented with catnip or without anything inside. Cats also love feathers on a stick, chasing string or ropes and flashlight beams. We once had a kitten fall into the toilet, so be sure the lid is down, at least until your cat is grown. The kitten was okay, but he had been sitting up to his neck in cold water for an hour or so.you can call Jill at 626-5979 or her cell 845-389-1968, or email her at d work with legislators to ban trapping in that beautiful, natural area. It should not be a place of suffering.