Happy New Year! With the start of a new year, many of us make resolutions, and most of them revolve around our health. We vow to eat better and exercise more. We resolve to spend more time with loved ones and enjoy life more.

For most of us, our pets' health and happiness takes priority over almost everything else, so while you're making resolutions to improve your own life, here are five simple things you can do for your pets that will keep them happy and healthy this year and beyond.

1. Feed a species appropriate diet. Nutrition is the foundation for good health. If you're not already feeding a raw or grain-free canned diet, consider making this the year you make the switch. Your pets will thank you for it. For cats, you'll find a wealth of information on feline nutrition, and on how to switch your cat to a healthier diet, in the Feline Nutrition Section on The Conscious Cat.  

2. Don't allow your pets to become overweight. Unfortunately, obesity runs as rampant among pets as it does among humans. Maintaining a healthy weight for your pets is crucial to their good health. The health risks associated with obesity such as diabetes, osteoarthritis, and heart disease can easily be prevented.

Dr. Karen Becker, a holistic veterinarian who writes extensively for Mercola Healthy Pets, blames humans for the obesity epidemic among pets. "Domesticated dogs and cats have no choice but to eat what we feed them and exercise as we allow it," says Becker. "Wild canines and felines, while they have other challenges to survival, follow their natural instinct to eat species-appropriate food and be physically active. Think about it - have you ever seen a fat, lumbering wild dog or feral cat?"

3. Refuse unnecessary vaccinations. According to the new American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) vaccination guidelines for 2011, yearly re-vaccination is no longer recommended. The American Association of Feline Practitioners has been recommending less frequent boosters for core vaccines (every three years) for the past several years.

Research by Ronald Schultz, professor and chair of pathological sciences in the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, has shown that immunity for some vaccines lasts even longer than that, anywhere from 7 to 15 years. The risks of overvaccination range from autoimmune diseases to cancer. Educate yourself, and discuss vaccinations with your veterinarian, before agreeing to that annual "booster shot."

4. Regular playtime and exercise. This will not only keep your pets happy, it's also a wonderful time for you to bond with your pets, and it helps you relieve your stress.  

5. Regular veterinary check ups. The American Association of Feline Practitioners recommends a minimum of annual wellness examinations for all cats in its Feline Life Stage Guidelines. According to the guidelines, "semi-annual wellness exams are often recommended for all feline life stages by veterinarians and veterinary organizations. This advise applies to dogs as well. Pets often show no signs of disease, and earlier detection of ill health, body weight changes, dental disease, and so on, allows for earlier intervention.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2013 for you and your pets! 

(c) Ingrid King 2013. All Rights Reserved. 

But what happens when fear becomes a part of our daily lives?

We live in a culture of fear. There has never been a time when people have been afraid of so much. Three out of four Americans say they feel more fearful today than they did twenty years ago. The media would have us believe that we need to be afraid of everything: the weather, the economy, terrorism, the government, threats to our health. If you listen to them, Armageddon is just around the corner. We get warnings via e-mail, text and social media. Our online lives are driven by fear of security breaches with the passwords, codes and questions required to access the sites we visit (how many of us really remember the kid's name that lived three doors down from us on the first street we ever lived on?).

Nature did not design the fear response to be a non-stop occurence. When it kicks in, higher levels of adrenalin and cortisol are released into our system. This leads to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate and delivers increased oxygen and energy to muscles. While this is necessary in a real fear situation, it is ultimately a stress response, and we know that prolonged periods of stress lead to illness - in ourselves, and in our pets.

It's hard not to buy into this culture of fear, but there are ways to cope:

Don't watch the news. This is the single most effective step I know of toward better mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health. You are discerning about what you put into your body - why not use that same judgment about what you allow to enter into your mind? If you must watch the news, don't watch first thing in the morning or just before you go to bed.

Change the story in your mind. Before you buy into one of those fear based stories, use common sense. How likely is it that this thing you fear will happen? You have the power to control your thoughts: change your story.

Set boundaries. Turn off some of the alerts you get. Do you really need daily stock market updates? Do you need an e-mail each time a weather alert is issued?

Meditate. Meditation, or any other form of a structured spiritual practice, will help you shift your mindset from one of fear to one of love and connectedness with something greater than you.

Spend time with your pets. Studies have shown that petting a cat can lower your blood pressure and reduce your heart rate. It's impossible to be fearful when you watch a sleeping cat.

Don't buy into our culture of fear. Create a world where you're in charge of how you feel.  

(c) Ingrid King, 2013. All Rights Reserved.  

Photo courtesy of prozac1, FreeDigitalPhotos.net