PRINTWhat a pet wants
Unusual items for smaller friends
BHARAT CHOUDHARY
May 7, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Although they might not pencil in the answers to Sudoku puzzles in the morning or enjoy the latest title off the best-seller list with a cup of tea, animals need more than just food and a place to call home. Check out the latest and possibly strangest in animal accessories.
Chinchilla Bath House: The Turks aren’t the only ones who need bathhouses. This chinchilla hut is a win-win housing situation for both owners and pets; it gives the sand-bathing beauties their privacy and keeps their dust-flinging action contained.
Most helpful
Poop Freeze: Pets drop it like it’s hot. Their, umm, droppings, that is. Poop Freeze, which looks like a can of WD-40, helps with puppies just learning the ropes or with gathering the fecal remains of older dogs’ bad eating decisions.
$14.95, 10-ounce spray, poopfreeze.com
Most impractical
Super Pet Critter Cruiser:
Indulge your hamster’s love of fast, Italian-looking cars with this hamster wheel that sits inside a flashy pink plastic automobile. Too bad it screams midlife critter crisis.
$17.99, petsmart.com
Most functional
TownHaus dog crate furniture: Forget the scent of rich mahogany and leather-bound books. Who are you kidding, anyway? People will be way more impressed when they see your pet’s new lounging location is an end table that doubles as a doghouse. Your pooch now sits below the stack of books you’ve been meaning to read.
$399 for small (comes in sizes S – XL), denhaus.com
- Columbia's menagerie
- Fenced in
- Animal house
- A pet by any other name
- Rabbit tricks
- Doggy OCD
- Confessions of a Paranoid Cat Owner
- 5 things not to feed your pets
- Vox's cutest pet winners
- Family resemblance
- The real cost of pets
- Mythbusters
- Working like a dog
- Small deaths kill me
- Scratches, Tiger and Toby
- Love knows no lease
- The pet from hell
- The parakeet Cold War
- Of pug and Pam
- Mourning Jack
- All aboard
- Confessions of a Paranoid Cat Owner
- Vet school: a closer look
- Menu: Pets unleashed!
- CoMo celebrities
$18.79 (comes with free bath sand), Award Pet Supply
Taste of the Wild dog or cat food: One owner’s tabby might be another’s mountain lion. No judgment here. If Fancy Feast isn’t feeding your cat’s inner puma, or if Pedigree is too tame for your German shepard, Taste of the Wild has venison-, salmon- and buffalo-flavored treats to satisfy any carnivorous craving.
$12.09 (5-pound bag), Award Pet Supply
Walltank: Here’s a fishy take on the Mona Lisa. Add water to the half fishbowl to complete your fish’s new hole in the wall, but just make sure to mount it securely. No one wants to cry over spilt fish.
$19.99 (comes with red gravel and plant), Columbia Pet Center
CritterTrail Outhouse: What do puppies, babies and kittens have in common besides the fact that they’re insanely adorable? They all can be potty trained. Thanks to the CritterTrail Outhouse, you can add gerbils, hamsters and mice to that list as well. Whether your pet will see it as more than a purple snooze cave is questionable at best.
$10.19 (comes with litter and scoop), Columbia Pet Center
The Quick Release Dog Backpack:
Although we’re not entirely certain what a beagle would put in its backpack (maybe a cell phone?), a leash holder and durable nylon construction make this one way to make sure all members of the family are pulling their weight.
$37.39 for small (comes in sizes S – XL), Award Pet Supply
Birdy Buddy: Coral, a cockatoo who lives at Award Pet Supply, simply can’t recommend this birdie blankey enough. Plushy and warm, it comes in three different colors and sizes for any bird, from parakeets to yellow-collared macaws. Who knew birds were into the Snuggie before humans?
$5.99 for medium (comes in sizes S – L), Award Pet Supply
Bamboo Play Catfisher: No, this isn’t for catching a tasty, Southern-fried meal. The Catfisher makes torturing your kitty while sitting on the couch much easier with a rod and reel. Remember: This is catch and release.
$24.99 (comes with catnip and two mice), Treats Unleashed
- Award Pet Supply, 445-8249
- 1610 I-70 Drive SW #B
- Treats Unleashed, 234-2275
- 1400 Forum Blvd. #35
- Columbia Pet Center, 499-4536
- 407 Business Loop 70 E
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