Did you know small animals can make a wonderful pet?Small pets are a great way to teach responsibility, are usually affordable, work well in smaller homes and spaces, and most are generally easier to care for than larger pets. With proper care and attention, they are a wonderful addition to the family. We can’t wait to share a few tips on how to provide a loving home and the very best care.  When deciding on what kind of small pet to get, keep in mind you may need to get at least two. Guinea pigs and rats for example are very social and need a buddy. Hamsters however are better with just one. Also consider how much space you have for their home and play. Hamsters are solitary, nocturnal, independent and love to burrow and run on their wheel at night Guinea pigs are gentle, sweet and sociable so they need a companion/buddy, and can make an ideal first pet Rabbits are also gentle and sociable, best with a companion, and can be trained to use a litter box Rats are very smart and social and can learn fun tricks  Before you bring your new pet home, it's best to get their new home all ready for a happy homecoming. It's much easier and less stressful if you purchase supplies and get everything setup before you bring them home. Small Pet Supply Checklist   It will vary slightly by animal but generally these are the basics you need: Pet carrier for transportation home and vet visits  Appropriate large habitat with ample room for your pet to play and plenty of space for everything they need – Bigger is Better! It's fun to watch them burrowing and building tunnels or popcorning in the bedding.  Avoid wire bottomed cages, as this poses a risk of injury for their small and delicate feet  Plenty of carefresh soft, absorbent paper bedding for nesting and burrowing. It’s unscented, no soggy mess, easy to clean up, with lots of fun colors to choose from Food & water dishes that won't tip over or a water bottle that hooks on the side Appropriate food including fresh hay, pellets, treats, fresh fruits and vegetables, dark leafy greens Toys and accessories to keep them busy! It’s so much fun to watch them exercise on their wheel or run through a tunnel: Wood, wicker, cardboard, etc for chewing and entertainment and to wear down their teeth Tunnels or wheels for exercise, make sure the wheel is large enough to avoid back injury, no wires or mesh Hidey House: small pets need a place to seek shelter and feel protected. Small litter box and carefresh rabbit & ferret litter (for rabbits, ferrets or any small pets that use a litter box) Appropriate grooming tools Sand bath for those pets that cannot be bathed in water Playpen for safe social time  It's all about the location   Now that you have all the supplies, it’s time to have some fun setting up their home. Make sure to put their habitat in a well-lit area out of direct sunlight, with good ventilation, not too hot or cold.  Remember that most small pets are social creatures and will enjoy being able to observe you throughout the day; however, hamsters are more nocturnal and can get a little noisy at night running on his wheel!  Start by putting 2-6 inches of carefresh bedding in their habitat, or even more bedding off to one side or corner to give them ample space to burrow or nest—gerbils and hamsters will especially love you for this!  Then add all the accessories, being sure to secure the water bottle or water dish. Be creative!  Now you are ready to bring home your new pet!  Bringing them home   Your pet will need time to adjust to their new home. Keep your interactions to a minimum for the first few days, changing out their food and water when they are sleeping—give them time to feel safe.  Sit nearby and speak gently to them, letting them adjust to your presence and the sound of your voice. Observe them for any odd behaviors and contact your vet if you notice anything concerning.  As soon as your little ones are more used to their new home, start socializing with them and playing with them, a little more each day. Some small animals do not like to be held a lot but they may enjoy lots of soft petting – guinea pigs and rats even purr!  Be sure to handle them very gently. Small children should always be supervised.  Hamsters will squeak out of pure joy when being fed, running on a wheel, or receiving a new toy to play with, and guinea pigs make the cutest noises when they are happy.  Now you can provide the very best care and have FUN with your new small pet! 

Guest post by Linden of @CavyCoterie We all know it's important for our furry friends to get the best possible nutrition, but did you know some small pets, like Guinea Pigs, need vitamin C every day? There are a myriad of reasons why vitamin C is important for guinea pigs. It is essential for keeping teeth and jaws strong. Vitamin C also keeps both scurvy and dental disease away, while boosting the immune and vascular system. Guinea pigs are unable to make or store their own vitamin C so the best way to make sure they receive their daily vitamins is with a delicious offering of vitamin-rich vegetables. Red and green peppers, rosehips, parsley, kale and other dark leafy greens are all excellent sources of vitamin C. However, if your guinea pig is young, sick, or pregnant, the best way to administer an extra boost of vitamin C is with a liquid vitamin administered via syringe. An average guinea pig needs 10-20mg of vitamin C daily but if the animal is sick, your vet may recommend more. Many pet stores sell water-soluble vitamin C drops marketed towards small animals but these products are ineffective. The dose of vitamin C, when mixed with water, becomes so diluted it will not provide your pet with the amount of vitamin C it needs each day. Plus vitamin C will break down too quickly and lose potency if used in a water bottle that is in constant sunlight. These drops are often flavored so if the animal doesn’t like the taste, it pollutes their fresh water supply and turns them off drinking and can lead to dehydration. There are vitamin C cookies sold for small animals but there is no way to be certain the vitamin C hasn’t been affected by heat during the baking process or by light, since the cookies are stored in light-penetrable bags. Like guinea pigs, Chinchillas need consistent vitamin C primarily for dental health. These critters spend so much time chewing, they need strong teeth to munch their hay. Before administering vitamin C to rabbits, consult a vet. While rabbits can synthesize their own vitamin C, there is debate over whether or not it can lead to further health issues. Omnivores, such as rats, ferrets, and hamsters, do not need daily vitamin C but benefit from the added boost to their immune system when ill. The dose needed is much smaller than for herbivores, so a quick phone call to the vet can confirm proper dosage.

(Pictured: Grand Prize winner, Maddie)  Bigger is better when it comes to a small pet’s home—they may be little but even small pets need elbow room! A larger habitat allows pets’ the room they need for exercise and more space to sleep eat and play. Be sure to read our Bigger is Better for Your Small Pets blog, by Dr. Ruth MacPete if you haven’t already. The Contest Our carefresh community is chalked full of amazing small pet owners who are giving their little ones the absolute best life! To celebrate them AND proper small pet care, we launched the Bigger is Better Contest during National Pet Month. We asked for friends of carefresh to submit photos of their small pet’s home and we were absolutely blown away by all the amazing submissions we received! We wanted to toot their horn for them, and share some of our contest winners! Pictured, going clockwise, are winners Kaylee S, Rosie, @mydear.hammies, and Ava L. These are just a small sampling of the truly wonderful homes being provided for the smallest member of these families.  Updated Recommendations We’ve updated the habitat size recommendations on the back of your carefresh bedding bags to be in line with these recommendations for proper small pet care! These pint size pets may be small, but they give lots of love. Be sure you provide them with the space, bedding, hay and exercise they deserve. And remember, in this case bigger is better.

Would you say that you’re a cat or dog person? According to a recent survey, your answer might also reveal a lot about your sustainability habits and ambitions! 2,000 cat and dog owners in the United States were polled for this survey, and of those pet parents, 69% believe they enjoy a more sustainable lifestyle compared to the average Americans. However, when asked about the steps they’ve taken to lessen their overall impact on the environment, just half of all cat owners say they’re recycling frequently or more often. While only 44% of dog owners said the same about their own recycling habits! The households where cats and dogs live together are having an especially hard time sorting their trash, with only 37% of those pet parents are recycling more. Thankfully, the survey also reveals that a whopping 94% of respondents made an effort to live more sustainably than they did a year ago. Nearly one in five even claim that they’ve “radically transformed” themselves and their sustainability habits over the past year. For almost half of the polled pet owners, that includes seeking out more environmentally friendly foods and products for their furry friends and swapping to biodegradable poop bag or an all-natural cat litter. “Many people don’t realize that clay litter and crystal litter are strip-mined from the Earth and don’t decompose,” said Dr. Ruth MacPete, DVM. “That’s why it’s important to look for options made from natural materials, like wood fibers, that are compostable and biodegradable.” While taking care of more than one animal species might make recycling more difficult, it seems to lead to more mindful pet parents with 67% having considered the impact of their pet on the planet. Almost three out of four of dog owners say that they spend more time outside because of their pet; with two thirds agreeing that their outdoor playtime with their pooch has made them more environmentally-minded. Compared to only 11% of feline enthusiasts who allow their cats to roam indoors and outdoors freely. “It can be tempting to let your cat outside so you don’t have to have a litter box, but it is actually much safer and healthier for cats to stay indoors,” said Dr. Ruth MacPete, DVM.  “In addition it allows you to monitor your cat’s eliminations, which can help monitor their overall health and allow you to identify diseases early.” Of course, some outside playtime isn’t out of the question, as 63% already allow their cat some supervised or safe access to the outdoors. According to our respondents, the 5 best ways to reduce your pet’s paw print on the planet: Switch to biodegradable waste bags or litter Buy more sustainable food Switch to products with better ingredients Spay or neuter them Adopted them from a shelter instead of a breeder

Did you know that litterbox problems are one of the main reasons cats are surrendered to shelters? And while in some cases inappropriate elimination has medical or stress-related causes, a lot of times an appropriate set-up can make your kitty love their litterbox instead of avoiding it. While your individual kitty’s preference may vary, here are some guidelines: Not all litterboxes are created equal When it comes to a litterbox selection, simple is better. An uncovered tray that is easy to get in and out is the way to go – avoid top entry boxes, boxes with sides so high a kitty needs to jump in, flaps and covers. After all, you wouldn’t want to have to go through obstacle course to get to the toilet, would you? Jo’s tip: If you have issues with litter tracking, place your box inside another, much larger one. Mess contained! Using a low-tracking litter, like Okocat Less Mess also helps! Size does matter Your kitty’s box should be 50% longer than their body (measured head to bum, excluding the tail) and twice as wide as their body shoulder to shoulder to make it comfortable for them to turn around. Jo’s tip: If you can’t find an appropriate size litterbox, get a large storage box instead and cut out an entry in one of the sides (remember, easy to get in and out!). Just be careful not to injure yourself! Multiply! Cats are like chips and it’s hard to have just one. If you live with multiple felines, you will need multiple litter boxes. The general rule is number of litter boxes = number of cats + 1. Place your boxes in various locations – two boxes side by side look just like one big one to a cat. Jo’s tip: If you just added a new member to your household and one of the cats suddenly starts eliminating outside the box, it can be a good indication that love is not necessarily in the air. Contact a cat behavior consultant or a veterinary behaviorist for help in integrating the kitties. Location, location, location Everyone likes privacy and a bit of quiet and peace when they’re using the bathroom and cats are not an exception. Place your litterbox in a spot that feels safe to your kitty. Avoid proximity of loud appliances, like washing machines or dryers that can start making noises unexpectedly and scare the cat. If you have a dog or a toddler, consider a location that is inaccessible to them. A baby gate with a pet door or a strap holding the door just ajar are just a couple of ideas how to limit their access. Jo’s tip: Make sure you have at least one box on every floor of your house, so your cat doesn’t have to run far to go to the toilet. This is especially important if they’re older or sick. What’s the scoop on litters? Clumping or not clumping? This can depend on your and your cat’s individual preference, just remember that the methods of scooping each type is different. When choosing your litter also consider how much dust it generates – clay and silica litters can be very dusty and even have impact on your cat’s health. Think like a cat – what would you like to be standing on? Soft, smaller particles, like ökocat Super Soft or ökocat Featherweight, feel better on cat’s paws. This is especially important if your kitty has sensitive paws (like all declawed cats do), is older or just a kitten. The other sense to remember is smell. Scented litters were created for humans to mask the smell, but they can be very aversive to cats, whose sense of smell is much better than ours. The better way to keep the litterbox from being smelly is to keep it clean. Jo’s tip: If you want to change the type of litter you’re using, make sure to make it gradual. Start by replacing ¼ of your litter with the new type, then make it ½ and ¾ at the subsequent full clean-ups before you go fully in with the new stuff. Cleaner is better My basic guideline when someone asks me how often they should clean the litterbox is scooping twice a day (I like to do it first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening), full litter change and clean up once a week and a new box once a year. This may be more often if your kitty is not feeling well or has a medical condition, and the box gets dirty faster than that. Avoid using any harsh cleaners, their smell may be too aversive for your cat. Hot water and soap are usually all that’s needed. Jo’s tip: Place a small trash bin with a tight lid or a Cat Genie bin next to a litterbox – it will make scooping the litter faster, easier, and less of a chore (win for you) and you will end up doing it more often (win for your kitty!). VERY IMPORTANT If you did your best to set up their bathroom the right way but your kitty is eliminating outside of the litterbox, do not punish them – take it as a sign that something is not right. Make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as you can to eliminate any possible underlying medical causes. Your kitty should get a full medical check-up, including urinalysis, blood work and anything else your veterinarian deems necessary. If your cat receives a clean bill of health but still dislikes their box, reach out for help to a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (CCBC), who can identify the triggers and make a behavior modification plan tailored to you and your kitty. To find a CCBC, check this online directory: https://m.iaabc.org/consultant/ Guest Post by Joanna Wachowiak-Finlaison, CCBC, CPDT-KA, a certified dog trainer and cat behavior consultant currently living in Houston, Texas. When she’s not helping pet owners from all over the country to rehabilitate their reactive dogs or solve litterbox problem cases, she has fun training her 17-year old kitten, Kicia, her Malaysian-born dog, Fuji, and her little flock of chickens. info@highfiveanimaltraining.com, www.highfiveanimaltraining.com