503-528-1800
4327 NE Fremont St.
Tues - Fri 10am - 6pm | Sat & Sun 10am - 5pm | Closed Mondays

Category: Cat Behavior

July 4th Tips for Pet Owners!

By Green Dog Pet Supply The 4th of July is a bad time for many pets around the country, but in places like Portland where people seem to be very big fans of the larger illegal fireworks that are so easy to get, it’s often a complete nightmare for people whose pets are terrified of the noise. Some people choose to go camping in remote areas with their dogs, and one customer routinely gets in the car with her dog on the 4th and just drives and drives for hours,

Congratulations On Your New Kitty!

Whether you’ve gotten a kitten or an adult cat, we hope that these tips will come in handy for you: Nothing’s more fun than a new kitten, and we know you’ll have a blast. However, there are some things that we feel are sometimes not well communicated to new cat owners about the long term care of cats that could help you make your kitty’s life as long and healthy as it could be, as well as helping you to avoid behavioral issues in the future. We might be called

Setting Your Cat Up For Litter Box Success

Both wild and feral domestic cats prefer to eliminate in different areas outdoors every time, covering the scent of their waste in the soil. Luckily, indoor cats are pretty amenable to using a litter box as long as conditions seem acceptable to them. Just know that if they ever start to eliminate outside the box, they’re telling you that something is wrong. Though it may seem to humans that this behavior conveys “spite” this is not the case. Realize that what you’ve asked them to do is against their true

Products We Love: Silver Vine for Cats

Many people know that catnip can create a euphoric and playful feelings in many cats, but other cats don’t seem to be affected. There are actually several other plants that could create this same effect, especially one called silver vine, which is in the kiwi family. Interestingly, a recent study shows that more cats reacted to silver vine than to catnip, and moreover, almost 75 percent of the catnip non-responders responded to silver vine. If your cat hasn’t enjoyed catnip, or even if he loves catnip, you should really give

Have You Heard Of A Catio?

By Christine Mallar The Feral Cat catio tour in Portland has sold out again this year! What’s a catio? It’s an enclosed outdoor space for kitties that keeps them safe from harm’s way and protects much of the wildlife that is harmed by outdoor cats every year. Between 2-4 billion birds a and 7 -20 billion small mammals are killed by cats in the U.S. alone. The introduction of cats has caused the extinction of at least 33 endemic species on islands throughout the world. We of course adore our

What the Heck is Target Training?

By Christine Mallar We just brought in some nifty extendable target training sticks to the store, and so I thought I should write up a description of what it’s used for, as targeting is such a fun and really easy activity to do with your pets, no matter what species – I’ve even taught a fish to target. No, seriously! This isn’t an indication of what a good trainer I am, it’s just an illustration of how easy it is to teach and learn this behavior. (In fact, I have

Training a Cat

There’s a lot of cat stuff on our minds these days as we’ve recently adopted a 10 year old Himalayan cat. So many people think that cats don’t need anything – we hear this all the time. They seem to understand that dogs need interaction, exercise and mental stimulation, but cats, (especially indoor cats) need these things as well. One thing we hear a lot from the people who think their cats don’t need anything is how horrible their cats’ behavior is and how destructive these cats are to their

It’s Healthier to Feed on a Schedule

We at Green Dog strongly believe that both dogs and cats do better physically with scheduled feedings as opposed to leaving food in the bowl all day. I know that many of you groan when we say this, as cats especially can be difficult to convince that this is an OK way to be fed. However, if you stick to a schedule (perhaps twice a day at the same time every day for dogs, and ideally several times a day for cats, dividing their daily amounts into 2 or 3

A tip on getting your cats to drink more water

Cats often do not drink enough water to stay as hydrated as they should be. This is because cats in the wild would get a lot of moisture from eating raw prey, but cats who are fed dry kibble are not getting that valuable hydration from their food. Cats don’t generally have a strong thirst drive, as they have evolved to get the moisture they need from the prey that they eat. A mouse’s composition is close to 80% moisture. A tiger’s meal consists of meat, bone, organs and moisture.

Pet Hair Everywhere! (and my pet won’t let me groom her!)

Now that the weather’s getting warmer, we’re seeing dogs in the store who are “blowing their coat” – another term for seasonal shedding. Some of you might say, “Seasonal shedding?? But my pet sheds all the time!” While Seasonal shedding normally happens a few times a year, shedding all the time is a common complaint, and one that can often be cleared up with the addition of fatty acids to your pet’s diet, and especially by a change to raw foods. We have many great brands in the store, and