17 Fuss-Free Pet Care Tips

Tired of the cat jumping onto the table during meals?

Fill a spray bottle with water and whenever the cat hops up, give him a squirt.

Eventually the mere sight of the bottle will send the cat running.

Here’s an easy way your dog can let you know he needs to follow the call of nature.

Hang some bells from the doorknob and your dog will quickly learn to associate the sound with the door opening.

Soon he’ll be nudging the bells himself to tell you it’s time to go.

Saying, ‘Outside? Want to go outside?’, and jiggling the bells for a few days every time your dog goes out can speed things along.

Use a plastic storage bin to make a doghouse that will withstand a rainy day.

Cut a hole in the bin that’s big enough for your dog to pass through.

Flip the bin over on its lid, stick a dog bed inside it and you’re done. Cats will also appreciate this type of semi-enclosed housing.

Use a sheet of plastic to protect doors from your dog’s claws.

Head to the local hardware store and buy a piece no more than 3mm thick.

Cut the plastic so that it fits between the doorjambs and is 300mm higher than the reach of your dog.

Mount the plastic to the door using 20mm x 8g panhead screws.

If your dog has a heavy coat, skip the brush and instead use the vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment.

It’ll clean the dog and suck up all the loose hair, too.

Your dog will be a little apprehensive at first but he may learn to love it.

Clean up kitty litter in half the time with this nifty trick.

Line the tray with a kitchen garbage bag before adding the litter.

When it’s time to change the litter, simply lift out the bag, tie it up and throw the entire contents away.

Plastic paint trays from the hardware store are cheap, easy to clean, and make ideal birdbaths.

The ribs on the bottom provide traction and the tray’s slope allows birds to choose whether they want to wade in deep or shallow water.

Strong winds can send pet bowls flying so make a dish that won’t blow away.

Fill a plastic bucket with a few centimetres of sand then fit a second container of the same size inside it.

Use the inside bucket as the food dish.

Hot days are tough on rabbits so here’s a great way to keep them from overheating.

Fill plastic bottles with water, freeze them then place them in the hutch.

The bunnies will love to laze against the bottles as the ice thaws.

This is also a great way to help cool down dogs and cats.

Keep your birdbath steady and its water an even depth by levelling a paver stone underneath it.

Dig a hole about 50mm deeper than the paver thickness.

Pour and spread a 50mm layer of paving sand in the hole.

Set the paver on the sand and check it with a short carpenter’s level.

Lift one edge of the paver and add or remove sand to level it as required.