ArcaMax

Whenever a dog (or cat) suffers the loss of an animal companion, it can be helpful to adopt another pet to fill the void. Very often though, when the older pet dies, we are left with another grieving pet and the decision as to whether adopt again.

I am not sure why the family can't adopt another dog right now; it could be for financial reasons or because they are older themselves and can't handle the care of another pet. But your suggestion of adopting an older dog or a dog closer to the surviving dog's age not only finds a home for an often difficult to place older pet, but may provide the limited companionship a surviving dog might need for its remaining years.

Dear Cathy,

Regarding your advice to Carol about her cat that wants to go outside, why not suggest that she harness and leash the cat and take it for a walk? -- Bill, Nesconset, NY

Dear Bill,

That's not a bad idea. Not every cat will warm up to being on a leash, but many cats enjoy getting outside, just like dogs, and leash walking may be an option.

To teach a cat to walk on a leash, she should buy a harness and let the cat get used to wearing it around the house for about five minutes a day (and then adding the leash), using positive reinforcement to reassure her feline. Once the cat is comfortable, she can then venture outside for short trips in the yard. If Carol is patient and consistent, she could enjoy a nice stroll with her cat -- or at least some interesting meanderings.

Depending on where she lives, she also could build a catio, which is a custom-built, screened-in enclosure that attaches to the house and allows the feline access to the outdoor space via a window, door or cat door. If the catio is placed in the middle of the yard, which might be the case with some of the new retail cat enclosures being sold today, she would have to run mesh tunnels into the yard, so the cat can go back and forth, or be willing to carry the cat back and forth to the space for its outside time.

Either way, Carol has more options for accommodating an indoor cat's persistent requests for outside time.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)

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