First up we have an expanded recall of Diamond dog foods due to potential Salmonella contamination.  (If you have questions or want replacement product or a refund, contact Diamond Pet Foods at 800-442-0402, 8 am – 6 pm EST, Monday through Friday or check out their site www.diamondpetrecall.com.)

1. Diamond Puppy Food (dry dog food)

2. Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice

3. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula (dry dog food)

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Kaytee is recalling 2 types of baby bird food due to dangerously high levels of Vitamin D which can cause kidney failure.  Signs of hypervitamintosis D in birds include:

• Lethargy
• Anorexia
• Crop stasis
• Vomiting
• Dehydration
• Polyuria
• Polydipsia
• Stunting or delayed development

For important information on tests and treatment read Kaytee’s hypervitamintosis D information page for you and your veterinarian.  (Call Kaytee at 1-800 Kaytee-1 (800 529-8331) or email kayteehandfeedingbabybirdrecall@central.com for information on a refund.)

1. Kaytee exact Hand Feeding Formula Baby Bird 

2. Kaytee exact Hand Feeding Formula Baby Macaw 

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Kaytee is also recalling a mouse, rat, & hamster food due to potential salmonella contamination.  This food was widely distributed around the world—states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin; and, into the countries of Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Dutch Antilles, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, and Trinidad.   (Call 1-800-Kaytee1 (800 529-8331) phone number or Kaytee.com for questions regarding pets that have been fed the product.  For a refund, fill out this form on the Kaytee site.)

1. Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Mouse, Rat and Hamster

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And finally, DuMOR produced for the Tractor Supply Company is recalling a poultry feed due to incorrect packaging.  This one can be confusing if you look at the FDA site, so here it is in a nutshell.  Some packages of DuMOR Poultry Grower/Finisher (which is for chicks) actually contain DuMOR Poultry Layer 16% Crumbles (which is for egg layers).  The adult food can be harmful to chicks.  (For more information contact your Tractor Supply Company location, or Feed Solutions Customer Service at 615-315-4092 or 615-315-4090 (Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM CDT).

1. DuMOR Poultry Grower/Finisher

And don’t miss these cat stencils and these dog breed stencils. Or you can make a stencil from your own photos of your pets.

Have a fun Halloween and keep your furred & feathered friends safe!

Cats

Rabbit

Dogs

Ferret

Rats

Mice

Birds

Fish

Reptile

(via SilhouetteArt)

A reader asked about tutorials for making silhouette pet portraits, so here you go!  You can do this for any pet, so don’t limit yourself to cats and dogs.  A budgie portrait would be really cute!

The video shows 2 techniques—a higher tech version that uses Adobe Illustrator & a robot cutter and lower tech version that uses tracing paper.

Here’s a second tutorial on how to make another version of a silhouette plaque.  Just use your pet’s portrait instead.

More ideas on ways to use pet silhouettes from Martha Stewart.  I think the suggestion to have a custom rubber stamp made of your pet’s silhouette is a great idea.  It would also make a nice gift for a pet lover.

I love this tote bag tutorial—it’d make a cute pillow too!  I think I’d sew the silhouette rather than glue it though.

Larger scale pet silhouettes made from plywood are a unique application.  You’ll need a jigsaw, router, or something similar for this project.

This two-toned silhouette portrait is lovely.  You can use all sorts of colors and patterns to create something really nifty!

An appliquéd onsey or t-shirt is pretty cute.

Amazon now has a dedicated site for pet products—Wag.com.  I wonder if this will have an effect on the specialty pet sites (like PetExpertise.com) I like for finding progressive training tools and books.  I hope it means more people will have accesses to quality foods, tools, and information!

(Note: I’m not connected in any way to either site, other than having ordered products from PetExpertise and Amazon.)

Check out the article to learn more and keep your receipts for next year’s taxes, if you’re fostering or providing some other service.

Spread the word about Paws for Japan happening today.  Be the Change for Pets is working to raise funds for World Vets, who is on the ground in Japan and is already assisting Japanese animal welfare groups.  You can make a donation here.

And Pawcurious has organized a bunch of online business who are donating proceeds from today to World Vets. Check out the post to see the businesses participating, and don’t miss the Blog Hop below it where there are more business listed among the blogs promoting the event. For example, Yarntini is having a raffle of yarn & fabric and the professional pet photographer, Poochie Freak Photography, is having a greeting card auction.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Note:  Hurricane Irene has me thinking about disaster preparedness so I’m reposting this.  It a good reminder that we should all be prepared for an emergency, so I challenge you to start your emergency preparedness kit this weekend for your whole family—pets included!  Our thoughts are with those on the East Coast and we’re hoping for the best.

The anniversaries of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina remind me how important it is that we plan to care for our whole family for an extended period of time in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.  Turns out September is National Preparedness Month, so this is a great time to start getting prepared.  This post has been a long time coming and was researched consulting the AVMA, FEMA, ASPCA, HSUS, CDC, Petfinder, & more.  I hope you find it useful!  (I ask that if you re-post it, that you give credit to & link to PetProject.)

It’s not that I’m all gloom and doom. It’s just that in the event of a disaster, I don’t want to be forced to rely on other agencies, if I can help it, and I know my pets will be safest under our care, so I’m working to be as prepared as possible. I live in earthquake country and we have a kit to take care of everyone in our family—human, feline, and canine. Getting prepared has been an ongoing process so I can spread out the cost and spread out the time & energy spent on the project.

Make sure your whole family is taken care of and do not leave your pets to fend for themselves. Keep them with you. If you evacuate and think you’ll only be away from your home a short time, take your animals with you! You don’t know when or if you’ll be able to return to your home.

I’ve divided the list into categories and put a ♥ by the items to start with first. Don’t get overwhelmed. Begin with the ♥ items and once you have those, set a goal—maybe 1-2 items every other week? And begin by gathering at least 3 days worth of supplies and work up to 1-2 weeks. Defray the costs by checking thrift stores and looking for sales—buy an extra bag of cat litter when it’s on sale, etc. Some of the items listed will double for a human preparedness kit.

Tasks:

1. ♥Microchip every animal & keep the registered contact information up-to-date
2. ♥Make sure your pets have collars and up-to-date ID tags, consider adding an out-of-state contact phone number too (it’s recommended families have an out-of-state contact (relative or friend) because when phone lines are flooded with calls, it’s sometimes easier to reach someone out of the area.)
3. ♥Talk to your vet about obtaining medication for your emergency kit
4. ♥Construct a First Aid Kit (I’ve compiled a comprehensive list for a well stocked kit)
5. Place “Pets Inside” stickers at each entrance to your home listing what types of animals you have & how many—here’s where you can get a free decal
6. Make up “Lost” posters for your pets (in case they get lost) with space for up-to-date contact information if you’ve evacuated, here’s a form that will create a poster for you
7. Develop a plan that doesn’t rely solely on public emergency shelters (most won’t allow animals)–we plan to keep our pets with us, so we have a tent, etc.
8. Petfinder has a number of useful links for finding pet friendly motels/hotels—identify nearby options & options outside your local area
9. Coordinate with a nearby friend or trustworthy neighbor to take care of your pets in case something happens while you’re away from your home (make sure your friend or neighbor is familiar with your pets & that your pets are comfortable with them, give them a key & care information for your pets, be clear about your arrangement—will they just feed & water your pets at your house, will they take custody of your pets, etc.)
10. Find out if your vet will board animals in the event of an emergency
11. Contact your local animal control & humane society about their disaster plan (what services they plan to provide, where they intend to be located)
12. Plan to keep your pets separate from each other—animals under extreme stress or in pain can be unpredictable and your dog could attack your cat, etc.
13. If you live in a disaster prone area:
    1. consider putting a leash at every exit to your home, if you have a dog
    2. consider using a feeder on a timer
    3. consider using a waterer with a reservoir
    4. if you are likely to evacuate, find a vet in that area ahead of time
    5. coping with evacuation gridlock
    6. make sure you’ve planned for space in your vehicle for your pets
14. Familiarize yourself with what to do in an emergency
    1. the AVMA has a superb manual
    2. the Humane Society has good tips, including dealing with everyday emergencies
15. Special tips for preparing for tornados

Documents:

1. ♥up-to-date vaccination records (could help in your obtaining shelter)
2. ♥pet license records
3. ♥recent photos of all your pets, include distinguishing marks (for lost posters, online notices)
4. ♥photos of you with your pets (documenting they are your pets)
5. detailed descriptions of your pets

Items:

1. ♥1-2 weeks worth of food (wet & dry–small cans of wet since you can’t refrigerate them)
2. ♥1-2 weeks of water for just your pets
3. ♥2 bowls
4. ♥manual can opener
5. ♥spoon (for food)
6. ♥litter box
7. ♥1-2 weeks supply of cat litter
8. ♥litter scoop
9. ♥poop bags
10. ♥ID tags with space to put up-to-date information (in case you’ve evacuated)
11. ♥sturdy, extra leash (for each animal)
12. ♥sturdy, extra collar (for each animal)
13. ♥sturdy, extra harness (for each animal that they can’t slip out of)
14. ♥carriers/crates (for each animal in appropriate sizes)
15. bedding
16. large garbage bags
17. tie out/stake(do not leave dog unattended, ever)
18. long line leash
19. muzzle (cat & dog, helpful in case of injury, may help you obtain shelter for you & your pets)
20. toys
21. paper towels
22. dish soap
23. dish brush
24. disinfectant for cleaning crate, etc.
25. pet shampoo
26. grooming supplies
27. bath towels
28. blanket (to capture a skittish pet, cover a stressed pet, immobilize a pet for treatment)
29. treats
30. chew treats
31. hand truck, cart, or wagon (this could be especially important if you have a number of animals or a large dog and need to move them to another location while crated and don’t have use of a car)

Cute!  Here’s a Pet Tee project for that little someone in your life. (via CRAFT) Ellen over at The Long Thread has a great tutorial on how to make these custom pet tees with pics of your own pets.  She tells you how to photoshop your images and what to do next.  Pretty easy!

You’ll need:

• digital images
• computer
• ink jet printer
• photoshop or image software
• iron-on image transfer paper (don’t use the opaque version or the color of the shirt won’t show through the image)
• iron
• cotton shirt

If you need help with how to use iron-on transfer paper, check out this video tutorial and this tutorial with some more tips.