Tips will help furry, feathered, fishy friends

Dear Readers: Here are some favorite pet hints from Heloise Central. Hopefully one of your pets will benefit from a pet hint or two:

U Taking your pet with you on a long car trip? Feed it before you get into the car, then stop for feeding and a walk on a regular basis. Feeding pets in a moving car is not a good.

U Does your upholstered furniture have cat hair on it? Remove it easily using my favorite — duct tape! Wrap the tape, sticky side out, around your hand and blot over the material. Voil ° — hair is stuck to the tape.

U Dogs and cats can suffer from the heat, just like we do! They can get sunburned, experience dehydration and, of course, get overheated. So, keep an eye on them to keep them safe, and provide shade and fresh, cool water.

U Keep chocolate and your dogs separate! Under certain circumstances, chocolate (especially dark or cooking chocolate) can harm our pets. If your dog gets into chocolate, contact your vet immediately!

U Don’t keep your pet bird in the kitchen! Overheating nonstick cookware causes fumes to be released into the air. These fumes could damage or kill your pet bird because of its delicate respiratory system.

U Goldfish can live several years if maintained properly, and there are more than 100 different breeds, so choose fish with care.

U To deodorize a cat box, first pour a healthy layer of plain old baking soda on the bottom of the litter box. Then put the cat litter on top of it. Clean the box often, because cats can be quite finicky about their boxes. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I would like to share a money-saving hint and a healthy nutrition hint for your four-legged friend and your wallet. Instead of buying doggy biscuits for your doggy, just take a couple of pieces of fresh, dry dog food and treat your friend with that. This works just as well. Anna Victoria Reich, Stafford, Va.

Dear Readers: Diana Johnson of San Antonio sent a photo of her 4-year-old yellow tabby cat, Rocky, lying quite comfortably on the bed. Diana says, “Rocky is so adorable!”

Visit www.Heloise.com to see the pet photo of Rocky. Heloise

Dear Heloise: My family had gotten into the habit of feeding our little dog food scraps from the table, and now she is a little chubby. It was hard to not give her a treat. Now, I put her in another room or outside when we eat. She doesn’t get “bad” food, and no one feels bad about not giving her something. I think she lost a little bit of weight, and we are all happier. Melody Alberts, Cibolo, Texas

King Features Syndicate