Rabbits are herbivores who feed by grazing on grass, forbs, and leafy weeds. In consequence, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest.

Rabbits solve this problem by passing two distinct types of feces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are immediately eaten. Rabbits reingest their own droppings (rather than chewing the cud as do cows and many other herbivores) to digest their food further and extract sufficient nutrients.

Rabbits graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half hour of a grazing period (usually in the late afternoon), followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding. In this time, the rabbit will also excrete many hard fecal pellets, being waste pellets that will not be reingested.

If the environment is relatively non-threatening, the rabbit will remain outdoors for many hours, grazing at intervals. While out of the burrow, the rabbit will occasionally reingest its soft, partially digested pellets; this is rarely observed, since the pellets are reingested as they are produced.

Reingestion is most common within the burrow between 8 o'clock in the morning and 5 o'clock in the evening, being carried out intermittently within that period.

Hard pellets are made up of hay-like fragments of plant cuticle and stalk, being the final waste product after redigestion of soft pellets. These are only released outside the burrow and are not reingested. Soft pellets are usually produced several hours after grazing, after the hard pellets have all been excreted. They are made up of micro-organisms and undigested plant cell walls.

The chewed plant material collects in the large cecum, a secondary chamber between the large and small intestine containing large quantities of symbiotic bacteria that help with the digestion of cellulose and also produce certain B vitamins.

The pellets are about 56% bacteria by dry weight, largely accounting for the pellets being 24.4% protein on average. These pellets remain intact for up to six hours in the stomach; the bacteria within continue to digest the plant carbohydrates. The soft feces form here and contain up to five times the vitamins of hard feces. After being excreted, they are eaten whole by the rabbit and redigested in a special part of the stomach.

This double-digestion process enables rabbits to use nutrients that they may have missed during the first passage through the gut, and thus ensures that maximum nutrition is derived from the food they eat.

This process serves the same purpose within the rabbit as rumination does in cattle and sheep.
Rabbits are incapable of vomiting due to the physiology of their digestive system.

If you've ever felt confused about how to choose the healthiest cat food for your feline companion, you're not alone. The pet food recall in the spring 2007 sent many spinning. Most pet owners are aware that pet supplies food manufacturers are required by law to list all of the product ingredients in order of weight. While that is helpful, an organized checklist is more useful when shopping. Here are some guidelines from top animal food experts.

Cat Food Ingredients in Order of Importance

1. Proteins

LOOK FOR: Meat or fish named on the label with words like--chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, herring, salmon, etc. Also acceptable are concentrated named meat proteins like--chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, herring meal, etc.

WHY? Cats are what scientists call "obligate carnivores". This means that they are designed to eat a meat diet. When you're choosing a food for your cat, you want it to have all the available nutrients to provide for good energy, strong muscle tone and a
stable immune system so the meat protein source should be primary.

AVOID: Unnamed food ingredients with words like--poultry by products, meat and bone meal, meat meal, poultry meal, animal digest, etc. Also avoid protein fillers like--corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, egg product meal, soybean meal, wheat germ meal.

TIP: If you look at a cat food label and group all the grain ingredients together, they are often more primary than the meat pictured by manufacturers. This disguises protein ingredients that are inferior, portraying them as nutritious.

REASON: Cat foods containing by-products, meat and bone meal or non-specific, generic meat meals are often rejected leftovers from the human food chain. That means they can contain "4-D" nutrient-deficient animal protein sources such as:

* Dead animals (including meat with sodium pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug though industry sources deny they use dead dogs and cats, however there are no laws or regulations against it).

* Dying animals (including those that FDA meat inspectors reject for the human food chain plus dying animals from zoos and pet farms).

* Diseased animals (according to federal meat inspection regulations, fuel oil, kerosene, crude carbolic acid, and citronella can be used to denature diseased meat before rendering).

* Disabled animals (including those who are too weak to walk due to disease or malnutrition).

2. Carbohydrates and Vegetables

LOOK FOR: Whole grains like brown rice and barley or starches like whole potatoes or sweet potatoes. Whole fruits and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, alfalfa, apples, cranberries, etc.

WHY? These whole grains and starches are actually digestible by cats providing a good source of energy. The whole fruits and veggies provide an excellent source of fiber plus natural occurring vitamins and minerals.

AVOID: Vegetable proteins and gluten, which are indigestible and cause allergies for cats, are made from refined flours, wheat, mill runs, brewer's rice, etc. Also watch out for processed fruits and vegetables like dehydrated potatoes, tomato pumice and alfalfa meal.

REASON: Vegetable proteins, especially soybean meal protein, have become favorites of pet food manufacturers because they are cheap sources of protein, giving them bigger profits and making it appear that cats are getting good protein. Glutens made from flours are merely cheap binders or "glue" in pet foods. Both sources can result in severe nutritional deficiencies.

3. Fats, Oils and Preservatives

LOOK FOR: Named fats from quality sources like--chicken fat, lamb fat, sunflower oil, herring oil, etc. Natural preservatives like mixed tocopeherols and Vitamin E from whole foods are preferable.

WHY? Fats and oils from named, nutritious animals and plants provide a rich source of essential fatty acids that help produce healthy skin and lustrous coats. The natural quality preservatives in proper balance to your cat's foods ensure they get all the necessary nutrients for life and good health every day.

AVOID: Fats from non-specific sources like--animal fat, poultry fat, vegetable oil. Also stay away from synthetic preservatives like BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin.

REASON: Because the standards for pet foods are much less than for human food, pet food manufacturers are allowed to use rendered animal fat, vegetable fats and oils that have been rejected as inedible for humans. They can include rancid oils and fats or used restaurant grease, which have been disguised with flavor enhancers made from processed by-products. Plus synthetic preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ethoxyquin can cause liver and kidney damage or even cancer. They are used solely for a longer shelf life, not nutrition.

4. Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements

LOOK FOR: Antioxidants from natural sources like fruits and vegetables. Vitamins like Ascorbic Acid, Beta Carotene, Biotin, etc. Chelated minerals may also be added like iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, etc.

WHY? These are all natural or food sources of quality nutrition and supplements ensuring your cat stays healthy and lives longer.

AVOID: Artificial flavors and colors. Another common additive is propylene glycol, a less toxic version of antifreeze used in cars.

REASON: The flavors and colors are added by the manufacturers to make them look more appealing to pet owners and taste more appealing to cats (and dogs). While propylene glycol adds a sweet taste to the food, it should NOT be part of your cat's daily food fare.

SOURCES: Pet Food Report from Animal Wellness Magazine, Fall 2007; Animal Protection Institute "Get the Facts: What's Really in Pet Food," May 2007 at API4animals.org; Dr. Wendell O. Belfield, DVM, "Food Not Fit for a Pet" at Belfield.com.

With the recent recall in pet food, most dog owners are doing just that – making dog food on their own! Though most experts will argue that there is nothing better than a homemade diet for your pet dog, it is best you do this temporarily until and unless you consult with you local vet, as most dogs have certain nutritional requirements. If there are going to be any dietary changes, then it should be done very slowly so as to avoid digestive upsets. Ingredients and recipes should be rotated to make sure there is nutritional variety in your pups diet.

Never feed your pet dog bones, especially if the bones are cooked. Fragments of the bone can break loose and get lodged in the dog’s digestive tract. Wild dogs and stray dogs who eat bones can do so because they also tend to consume a lot of hide and hair, which act as a ‘padding’ for the bone fragments and help them pass through without getting lodged anywhere. Other dangerous foods to avoid are avocados, macadamia nuts, raisins, garlic, chocolate, mushrooms, grapes and onions.

Dog Food Recipes: Doggy Hamburgers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of hamburger meat (stir fried in a tablespoon of canola oil).
• 1 boiled and chopped eggs.
• ½ a cup of cooked oatmeal.
• 1 jar of baby food green beans.
• 1 jar of baby food carrots.
• 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese.

Mix all these ingredients well and serve at room temperature. You could also add a good puppy mineral/multivitamin supplement for good measure. Make sure you store the unused portions in an airtight container in the fridge and throw away any remains after three days.

Doggy Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of boiled and chopped chicken.
• ½ a cup of brown rice, cooked.
• ½ a cup of mixed vegetables, boiled.
• Three to four tablespoons of chicken broth, unsalted

(Point to be noted: Salmon can be substituted occasionally for broiled poultry, but chicken broth has to be omitted.)

Stir the contents together and serve the mixture at room temperature.

Basic Dog Food Recipe
This recipe combines rice with meat and veggies for a well-balanced dog food.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce of ground beef, preferably hormone and antibiotic free.
• 2 cups of brown rice, cooked.
• 1 ounce of mixed vegetables.
• 1 or 2 ounces of plain yogurt.

Fry the ground beef in a frying pan till it turns brown and then set the dish aside. Steam the vegetables until they are soft and tender. Remove the veggies from the steamer and allow it to cool slightly. Add the veggies to the beaker of a food processor and pulse them till they are chopped coarsely. Mix these chopped vegetables with the ground beef and rice.

Multi-Grain Kibble

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of whole-wheat flour.
• One and a half cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour.
• ½ a cup of soy flour.
• 1 cup of corn meal.
• 1 cup of dry powdered, non-fat milk.
• 1 cup of rolled oats.
• ½ a cup of wheat germ.
• 1 tablespoon of salt.
• ½ a cup of brewers yeast.
• 1 egg.
• 3 cups of water.
• 5 tablespoons of corn oil.

Heat the oven to about 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the corn oil and egg. Stir water into all the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture and mix all the contents well. The batter should be thin. Pour the batter on baking sheets and spread it evenly like you would for a pizza base. Bake the sheets for about 45 minutes.

Cool this kibble and then break it into smaller pieces. Store the pieces in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Pets are an important part of any home, and your dollhouse is no exception! As you set up your dollhouse, think about whether you want to purchase a dollhouse pet and a few accessories to go with it. Here we will describe the pets and accessories available if you are looking for a cat. Some other animal options, though not discussed here, include dogs, birds, fish, farm animals, small critters such as rabbits, amphibians, and butterflies.

Cats, like dogs, come in a very large variety of options. There are just as many kittens as cats available, and most types of cats are represented. Like dogs, dollhouse cats are made and painted to look as much like their real-life counterparts as possible—in size, shape, and color.

Again, though the breeds aren’t specified, some of the cats available are Burmese, Shorthair, Persian, British, Balinese, Tabby, and Calico. There are striped, tiger, orange, black, white, gray, and tawny cats to choose from.

Though not as many specific breeds of cats are available as with dogs, there are many more cat “poses” you can buy. You can buy cats standing, laying down, sleeping, in a pouncing position, in a “curled-up-and-purring” position, cats who are batting at toys and playing with balls of yarn, cats who are climbing over a wall or a piece of furniture, cats perched as if on a windowsill, stretching cats, cats curled up on pillows, cats who are scratching their ears or grooming, cats wrestling with each other, cats basking in the sunlight, and cats trying to get a fish from a fishbowl! Again, most of these “poses” are available with cats or with kittens, and you can choose which type or color cat you want.

Accessories for Cats

In addition to some of the accessories that come with a few of the cat poses mentioned above, there are a lot of options you can choose when buying accessories for your cat. There are several beds for pets—most made out of wicker—in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can also purchase the necessary litter box and kitty litter. There are several colors of kitty food dishes, and you can choose to have them empty or with food already in them. For food, there are generic foods and brand name items. Some boxed options include Meow Mix, 9 Lives, Ocean Blend, Crave, Special Dinners, Chef’s Blend, Tender Vittles, Fish Ahoy, Friskies, and Purina Cat Chow. You can also buy canned food (Bright Eyes and Purina are available). Speaking of “food”, you can also buy mice for your cats to catch, and you can even buy mousetraps to place around the house as well. There are also “toy” mice for your cat to play with. Finally, there is also a pet carrying basket.

Conclusion

Having a cat in your dollhouse makes your dollhouse feel more like a mini home. It gives your dollhouse a little extra something for everyone to “ooh” and “aah” about, and children will be delighted once they spot your pet.

When you decide to add a new cat to your home, it's normally more exiting for you and your family than it is for the cat you already own. Although most cats are solitary by nature, most will also come to accept or eventually tolerate any additions. Cats can be very territorial, which is why you should always be careful when you introduce a new cat to your current cat.

If you are introducing kittens to one another, the entire introduction process can be short, lasting as little as 10 - 15 days. Introducing cats to each other all depends on their temperament and their personality. When you introduce a new cat to your current cat, you should always make sure that you give your current cat plenty of love and attention. This way, your cat will feel secure and know that he isn't in competition with your new cat for affection.

When you bring your new cat home, you should let him stay in a safe room until you have finished introducing the cats. Your safe room can be any small room in your home, such as a bathroom or spare bedroom. The key here is to use a room that your current cat doesn't go in. In the room, you should leave your new cat a scratching post, bed, water dish, litter box, and food dish.

At first, your current cat may howl and hiss when he stands at the door, trying to tell the other cat that he doesn't belong. When this happens you should ignore it, as punishing your cat for his behavior will only lead to more problems. After a while, the first cat will start to act calm when he is near the new cat's door. As he starts to act calm, you should pet him and give him praise.

When your first cat starts to go by your new cat's door and doesn't howl or hiss; you can start introducing them to each other. The best way to do this is to get them used to each others scent. You can start letting them eat out of the same food dish, although you'll want to feed them at different intervals at first. This way, the scent of each cat will be present at the food dish, and each cat will get the scent when he eats his food.

Once both cats have got used to the scent, you can begin to feed them closer together. To do this, you should keep your new cat in the safe room with the door closed, and your first cat on the other side of the door with his food dish. This time, feed both cats at the same time. After doing this a few times, they should start eating without any hissing or growling. At this point, they are ready to be introduced to one another.

When you introduce them to each other in the same room, a bit of growling and hissing is to be expected. Although they may be used to each others scent; your first cat will still feel a bit awkward with your new cat being in his territory. You should play with them both at first, so they can smell one another and greet in their own way. If they start to fight you should break them up, and give them some time apart.

It may take some time to get them fully used to one another, although once they do - they will become playmates for life. Cats love to be social, although it may be a bit rough at first, especially for your first cat. Cats can be very territorial, especially if you have a kitten around. If you get both of them used to each other early on - it will be a lot easier to add future cats to your home.

If you need further information on finding the right pet beds visit on line store. You will also find a large range of pet supplies which include dog collars, cat litter, dog clothes and many more for all pets.