You are excited because you have recently moved to St Ives, a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney. It is the perfect place for you to build your family. It is just 18 kilometres away from Sydney’s Central Business District. You have brought your whole family with you and, of course, your pet dog or cat.

Since you are new to the suburb, you still do not know the exact locations of different establishments. You have to research these important establishments so that you know where to go when you need something.

You value the life and health of your pet/s which is why you must find the local St Ives vet that is nearest you. The role of a veterinarian in your pet’s life is very important because he or she knows how to properly assess the animal’s health, diagnose a condition, treat the said condition or prevent it from getting serious.

If you live in the suburb of Turramurra, then you will go to a Turramurra vet or a Ku-ring-gai vet. The vet’s clinic should be easily reached so that if there are emergencies, you can easily take your pet to the hospital.

The more established the clinic, the better. You want an animal hospital that is capable of providing all sorts of medical care to your pet/s. A reliable hospital has the facilities for internal medicine, surgery, critical care and emergency medicine, cancer medicine, dermatology, advanced dentistry, pathology and more.

They should also provide services for a house call or an ambulance pickup. This service is especially useful for pet owners such as the elderly or those who are mostly indisposed or busy. There are some hospitals that allow you to leave your pet in the facility if you need to quickly do some errands or if you will be away for a short while.

The vet that you should choose must be a licensed professional, with years of training under his or her belt. This is to ensure that your pet is receiving the best care from the best professionals.

A reliable veterinary clinic/hospital would typically have a website that you can visit. This is because a website holds important information about the services that are offered and the staff working for the establishment. You will be able to get to know the vets because their credentials and work experience are posted online, as well.

If you are looking for a St Ives vet, just use the internet. In the clinic’s website, you should be able to find important information such as contact details and directions on how you can reach the clinic/hospital.

If you’ve ever passed by the local pet supply store during the weekend, you’ve likely encountered one of their weekly pet adoption events, and you know how difficult it is to resist the cute eyes of a fluffy kitten pleading with you to take him home with you. But before you give in, remember that pet training includes a lot of responsibility, time and money.

Unfortunately, many people are blinded by the cute façade and they don’t realize off the bat what they’ve gotten themselves into. As a result, adopted cats can suffer from neglect or end up surrendered to the animal shelter, and in the worst case scenario, put to sleep because an adequate home cannot be found for them. But in the right environment, an adopted cat can thrive and enrich the lives of the people in its household. So if you’re looking to adopt a cat, take into consideration the following.

Is everyone in the household willing to adopt a cat? Many animal shelters will require everyone in the household to be present in order to adopt. If anyone isn’t willing to put up with a cat in the house, then this will cause serious friction in the future. Think of it this way: should a couple uninterested in taking care of a child go to an agency and adopt?

Similarly, each of the members of your household will take some part in being a caretaker for this cat. If anyone is unwilling to take on this responsibility, he or she will likely conflict with the other caretakers and in turn create a negative environment for the cat who needs its caretakers to be willing and involved in its care.

If you adopt a cat, do you have the necessary environment, supplies and funds? If you have a landlord, you will have to make sure that cats are allowed in your residence. Also, you should have adequate space for your cat to roam around. You will also need a litter box supplied with clean litter, food, and occasional veterinary services. The cost of taking care of one cat is about $50 per month. Are you able to, and are you willing to spend for your cat’s care?

Finally, do you have the time? A cat requires less care than a dog, but still requires ample time and devotion. Your cat will need about 30 minutes of exercise a day, and will likely need comforting in adjusting to its new home. Cats are not as aloof as popular opinion might have you believe. Most cats enjoy the company of their owners and want attention and love.

If you have considered the above and decided that you fulfill the requirements, then you can check out various cats at the local animal shelter. It is recommended to adopt a cat from a shelter because not only is it cheaper, but also your cat will already be neutered or spayed and have the necessary shots.

Also, pet training needs love and care. Many shelters have pictures and videos of their available pets online, and if you find one you like, make an appointment to see the animal and to potentially provide it with it’s new, loving home.

Did you happen to read in the New York Times that a doting pet owner with a border collie happened to be able to teach his dog to recognize and act appropriately to more than 1000 words? Of course the extent of that vocabulary does astonish everyone. The very fact that a dog can be trained to do all kinds of things and recognize words isn’t surprising though . Everyone’s dog does that. The only pet training question that remains to be answered is – why can’t you get your cute cat to do something like it?

Is it impossible to get a cat to do anything? Not really. Cats certainly can be a little more stubborn in their resistance to learning. But it can be done. Cats have been with us for close to nine or ten millennia; they were domesticated by humans because humans needed them to be able to hunt bothersome rats and mice with. That’s what they were selected, bred and trained for. Hunting qualities were what made cats desirable around humans. No one in particular in the beginning domesticated cats for how cute and furry they were. If they had thought it back then, they would have selected cats that were friendly in addition to being good mouse catchers. Dogs on the other hand were selected for their friendliness and for their sociable nature. So we ended up with dogs that were friendly and responsive, and cats that were good hunters and quite unresponsive. But you still can work with them against their nature.

You’ll have to think outside the box a little bit when you train a cat.  Successful pet training is all about recognizing what kinds of rewards different animals respond to. While for instance, pet training a dog, you’d be happy to treat the animal to a nice encouraging pat and a couple of encouraging words, cats don’t really care for that stuff. They will do your bidding only for food. And then, they won’t be that happy doing it. Cats can be trained to use the toilet bowl, come to heel and follow on order, and even slap the palm of your hand with a paw. And some of the same pet training philosophies will work for both: clicker training, positive reinforcement and so on.

If pet training really works with cats, why aren’t we seeing more trained cats around? It’s because people don’t generally mind it when cats don’t behave. A dog, a large powerful animal, can be quite a bother if it doesn’t learn how to be around people. A cat is small and it tends to be a quiet animal. The most it can do is wake up really early and demand breakfast. The kind of things a cat does – how bad can it be?