Category: Mice

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How To Report Pet Food Complaint to FDA

If you suspect your pet has gotten sick from it’s food or you think there’s something wrong with the food, be sure to file a report with the FDA. The FDA has instructions on the information to include and where to file the report. It’s okay if you don’t have all the info. listed, just include as much as you can.

If you transfer your pet food to bins or other containers, it’s important that you keep the packaging until all the food is eaten so you can provide information on the variety, point of manufacture, lot numbers, best-by dates, etc.  I haven’t been good about this at all.

When you file a report, you’ll deal with your state’s Complaint Coordinator.  Check the FDA list for each State’s contact information.

I think it’s also a good idea:

  • to file a report with the manufacturer and let them know you’ve filed one with the FDA
  • to get your veterinarian to file a report
  • to be diligent about reporting concerns given how long it can take the FDA to respond
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Thrifty Things: Towels & Bowls

I’ve written before about some of the great things you can find for your pets at thrift stores & garage sales and I was reminded today just how much money you can save by recycling or repurposing things you find at thrift stores.

A bunch of the towels we use on the cats & dog had become pretty ragged & threadbare, but the towels we use for ourselves are still too nice to be relegated to the pets. I wasn’t about to go buy new towels for the 4 legged creatures, so I checked my favorite thrift store and found 4 thick bath towels for under $8 total, which is about the cost of one new towel.

I also needed a couple of glass bowls for water and found good sized Pyrex bowls for under $5 total that will be perfect. Pyrex is thick and pretty rugged so these bowls won’t get chipped or cracked.  Sweet!

Here are some of the other things I’d try to find at a thrift store or garage sale before I bought them new:

  1. pet crates (This is probably the best bargain you’ll find. Crates can be pretty pricey ($20-150+), but I see them in all sizes pretty regularly at my favorite thrift store.)
  2. bird cages
  3. glass aquariums
  4. stainless steel pet bowls
  5. Habitrail components
  6. kitty condos (you could recover it pretty easily with carpet remnants and a staple gun)
  7. storage bins with lids (for storing toys or to make your own awesome litterbox)
  8. blankets for pet beds
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Thrift Store Finds

piggybank

You can save some real money on pet supplies using thrift stores and garage sales.  Remember, don’t getting anything that’s broken or questionable.  Don’t save money at the expense of your pets.    Here are some of things I’ve spotted:

  1. pet crates (This is probably the best bargain you’ll find.  Crates can be pretty pricey ($20-150), but I see them in all sizes pretty regularly at my favorite thrift store.)
  2. bird cages
  3. glass aquariums
  4. ceramic or stainless steel pet bowls
  5. Habitrail components
  6. towels (for baths or bedding)
  7. kitty condos
  8. storage bins with lids (for storing toys or to make your own awesome litterbox)
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Animal Cruelty Law & Free Speech

firstamendment

The Supreme Court will hear a case that claims a law banning the sale of videos of animal cruelty infringes on First Amendment Rights.

The specific case to come before the Court is that of Robert J. Stevens, who was sentenced the 37 months in prison for selling videos of dogfights.  It’s not as simple as it sounds, though, because the videos contained dogfights from decades ago or that took place in Japan, where dogfighting seems to be legal.  As the article points out, this means that:

it may well be a crime for an American to sell a video of a bullfight that took place in Spain, where bullfighting is legal, or of hunting or fishing out of season.

Personally, I am unsure of how videos of animal cruelty differs from videos of child pornography or murder.  It sounds like the Supreme Court will likely over-turn the law.

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