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So thoughtful, these folks!

(via reddit)

related: Maddie’s turning one! 

 

WASHINGTON — Almost seven hours after getting stuck in a pipe near Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, a nine-week-old Pomeranian puppy was freed by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

The rescue mission began around 6:30 p.m. Saturday night when a woman asked firefighters for help near Blair High School.

Mongtomery County Fire’s Pete Piringer says a nine-week-old puppy fell into a pipe and got stuck. Rescuers brought in heavy machinery to dig around the pipe. Medics fed some food and oxygen to the puppy who was more than 10 feet below ground inside the six inch pipe.

Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, the Pomeranian puppy was finally and successfully rescued. But the lengthy ordeal  was frequently updated throughout Saturday night on Twitter by Piringer.

About 7hrs after getting stuck a pipe near MoCo Blair HS, a 9wk-old Pomeranian puppy was freed by #mcfrs pic.twitter.com/ugCDsgPTr1

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

U/D – a Silver Spring dog owner anxiously awaits for her puppy to be retrieved from pipe by #mcfrs tech rescue crews pic.twitter.com/ISKZr6w03E

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

#mcfrs Technical Rescue crews have stabilized the trench area & will begin to work on pipe in order to get dog out pic.twitter.com/KElmhRY0Aa

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

#mcfrs Collapse & Trench Rescue crews carefully prep site for extraction of puppy stuck in 6″ pipe, 10-12′ deep pic.twitter.com/3qxLqP7FIx

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

Update – Dog Rescue – puppy has eaten & is being provided O2, still stuck, a trench rescue plan is being implemented pic.twitter.com/e3zaRrm4Og

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

Animal Rescue Attempt…..#mcfrs FFs from FS16 tirelessly work to rescue 9wk old puppy stuck in a pipe near Blair HS pic.twitter.com/7IIgVt9ltl

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) April 19, 2015

The post Puppy stuck in pipe for hours freed by MoCo responders appeared first on WTOP.

Gas prices have fallen signifiantly in the last year or so, which is great news for consumers, if not necessarily for gas stations. There’s another hidden winner in this situation: tobacco companies. Customers who are spending less on gas have more money to spend on cigarettes, and gas stations happen to be a convenient place to buy them.

Of course, no one’s going to say, “Hey, it only cost $40 to fill up my tank: time to take up smoking!” Yet having more spending money might lead people who already smoke to buy at a gas station instead of buying in bulk elsewhere. That analysis comes from an actual tobacco company: Reynolds American Inc. released its earnings report, and it showed the first increase in sales since 2004 for that company. (Reynolds makes Camel and Natural American Spirit brands of cigarettes, and Grizzly and Kodiak snuff brands.)

Company representatives don’t actually expect that increase to last, but they do credit falling gas prices with the slight boost in sales.

Think how much tobacco companies could boost their profits if they actually used the free mascot that satirical news program “Last Week Tonight” designed for them!

Smokers Spend Gasoline Savings on Tobacco, Fueling Surprise Gain [Bloomberg]

While the trailer for next year’s superhero showdown Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is supposed to be kept under wraps in the U.S. until after its IMAX premiere on Monday, a handheld video of the trailer has already made its way online.

According to Variety, copies of the video — which appears to have been shot in a theater in Brazil — have been pulled by YouTube, but other services, like vidme, are still hosting the shaky 2-minute clip that features Ben Affleck in his first go as Batman and Henry Cavill taking his sophomore shot at playing the Man of Steel.

The movie is scheduled to premiere in March 2016.

Studios and exhibitors love to use exclusive trailer premieres as a way to lure consumers into going to theaters, but it doesn’t always work. Last year, the trailer for Marvel’s first Avengers movie leaked in advance of its theatrical debut, leading the studio to just go ahead and release an official version of the trailer.

Citing what they call repeated “disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine,” a group of physicians has written a letter to Columbia University asking it to remove TV’s Dr. Mehmet Oz from his faculty position there.

Ten doctors signed the letter sent to Lee Goldman, dean of Columbia’s Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine, led by Dr. Henry Miller of California’s Stanford University, reports the Associated Press.

The group writes that Oz, who formerly practiced as a cardiothoracic surgeon before becoming a regular on the Oprah Winfrey show and starting his own brand of TV talk show medicine, “has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.”

In repeatedly showing “disdain for evidence-based medicine” in pushing “miracle” weight-loss supplements that haven’t been scientifically proven, he has “misled and endangered” the public, the letter says.

Columbia told the AP in a statement only that it “is committed to the principle of academic freedom and to upholding faculty members’ freedom of expression for statements they make in public discussion.”

The AP couldn’t reach Oz for comment.

Last year, Dr. Oz was grilled by Missouri Senator Clair McCaskill, Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection during a hearing about the false and deceptive advertising of weight-loss products.

“When you feature a product on your show, it creates what has become known as ‘Oz Effect,’ dramatically boosting sales and driving scam artists to pop up overnight using false and deceptive ads to sell questionable products,” the Senator explained. “I’m concerned that you are melding medical advice, news and entertainment in a way that harms consumers.”

Dr. Oz admitted during that hearing that the weight-loss treatments he mentions on the show are frequently “crutches… You won’t get there without diet and exercise,” and that while he believes in the research he’s done, the research done on these treatments would probably not pass FDA muster.

Here’s the letter in full:

“We are surprised and dismayed that Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons would permit Dr. Mehmet Oz to occupy a faculty appointment, let alone a senior administrative position in the Department of Surgery.

As described here and here, as well as in other publications, Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops. Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.

Thus, Dr. Oz is guilty of either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgements about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both. Whatever the nature of his pathology, members of the public are being misled and endangered, which makes Dr. Oz’s presence on the faculty of a prestigious medical institution unacceptable.”

Physicians want Dr. Oz gone from Columbia medical faculty [Associated Press]

Without even having tasted Starbucks’ newest flavor promotion, the S’Mores Frappuccino that’s heading to stores for the summer, my teeth have already made up their mind about this thing, and boy, are they worried.

After the sugar rush that was the recently departed Birthday Cake flavor, customers jonesing for more of that sweet stuff can get the S’mores drink starting April 28 for a limited time, just in time to gear up for summer (H/T Huffington Post). The drink aims to remind people of the “nostalgic summer experience of roasting” the tasty treats, a spokesperson explained.

The frozen blended beverage comes with a slate of sugary ingredients designed to challenge/delight even the sweetest of sweet teeth: There’s a base of “marshmallow-infused whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce,” followed by a “creamy blend of graham, coffee, milk and ice,” more marshmallow whipped cream and then a “graham cracker crumble.”

For those who don’t feel like waiting around for the barista to assemble all the levels of this icy sugar blast, the S’mores flavor will also come in single-serving bottles at grocery stores and the like, for a limited time only.

On behalf of cold-and-sugar sensitive teeth everywhere, my set of chompers would like you all to know that they’re scared… really, really scared. They might need a bread hug just to calm down.

WASHINGTON — The driver of a Porsche has been charged with attempted malicious wounding after a road rage incident escalated Friday afternoon, leaving two vehicles so damaged they needed to be towed.

David Ray Godfrey, 69, attempted to pass a 2012 Freightliner in his 2012 Porsche Carrera on the Route 7 bypass between West Market and South King streets in Leesburg, Virginia, at about 1 p.m. Friday.

Godfrey had originally been involved with a separate road rage incident when the driver of the Freightliner attempted to exit the bypass to get out of the way. However, Godfrey attempted to exit at the same time, ramming into the truck.

Then, Leesburg police say, Godfrey drove around the truck and repeatedly rammed into the area of the truck’s fuel tank. Officers than arrived and intervened.

Godfrey was arrested and charged with attempted malicious wounding and released on $5,000 bond.

The post Driver of Porsche charged in Leesburg road rage incident appeared first on WTOP.

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A restored steam engine locomotive will return to Roanoke next month.

The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1OkevVJ) reports the Virginia Museum of Transportation’s Norfolk & Western Class J 611 locomotive will head into Roanoke on May 30.

The locomotive is being restored at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. The engine has been inoperable for 20 years.

The Virginia museum will offer rides starting in June.

___

Online:

www.fireup611.org

___

Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com

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If you use coupons, what type do you use? Some surprising information came up at this week’s Association of Coupon Professionals conference, which is an actual thing. It’s not surprising that such a conference would discuss how much consumers like coupons, but it is surprising that 71% of consumers reportedly still use paper coupons.

Yep. Dead-tree coupons are still a thing! While retailers can distribute coupons digitally to more people more efficiently, the study found that redemption rates were much higher for old-fashioned paper coupons. It’s notable that the survey was only about consumer packaged goods: food, toiletries, and other items that you’d find coupons for in a circular in the newspaper. What about coupons for clothing stores and other retail venues? They didn’t present information on that, and it would be interesting to see the results.

Even millennials, the generation of American consumers broadly defined as “anyone younger than the Consumerist editors,” apparently still like paper coupons. According to this study, 61% of millennials still use coupons that came in flyers, as opposed to digital coupons that they printed out. Where are they getting these coupons?

70% Of Consumers Still Look To Traditional Paper-Based Coupons For Savings [GfK Research]

While we humans dread the arrival of flu season every year, we aren’t the only ones who can get sick by coming into close contact with the fellow members of our species. Veterinarians in the Midwest are warning pet owners over a recent canine flu outbreak, telling them to keep sick pooches away from clinic waiting rooms filled with their furry brethren.

At least 1,000 dogs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana have been sickened by the H3N2 strain of the flu virus, reports the Associated Press, though it’s not clear yet how effective current vaccines are against this particular strain.

Dogs can develop a persistent cough, runny nose and fever, and although the virus can’t jump to humans, cats could fall ill from it as well. A small percentage of pups will develop more severe symptoms, experts say, with some deaths associated to the H3N2 infection.

Clinical assistant professor Keith Poulsen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine advises pet owners with sick dogs to make arrangements with their vet to schedule a test outside the veterinary clinic, to cut down on the risk of infecting other dogs.

As such, keeping your sick pets away from anywhere they’d sniff, lick or otherwise interact with their friends is a good idea.

“It’s really no different if you’re talking about dogs or toddlers, if you think they’re sick, don’t bring them to day care,” Poulsen said.

Canine flu outbreak sickens hundreds of dogs in Midwest [Associated Press]

DC Animal Watch Washington Post These cases were handled by the Washington Humane Society, which operates its shelter at 7319 Georgia Ave. NW, and the District's, at 1201 New York Ave. NE. For information or assistance, call 202-723-5730 or go to www.washhumane.org. Looking for a ... and more »

FLINTSTONE, Md. (AP) — Corrections officials say a dog with the K9 unit at the Cumberland prison complex died when the car it was traveling in caught fire. A second corrections dog was rescued by two officers, who were not hurt.

According to the Allegany County 911 Emergency Center, a car fire was reported about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 68 in Flintstone.

Mark Vernarelli is a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He says in an email that the two dogs and two officers were driving to the Cumberland complex, where they were assigned.

Vernarelli says the dog that died had recently completed the K9 unit’s training program, in which dogs are trained contraband detection and patrol.

The post Corrections dog dies when vehicle catches fire on I-68 appeared first on WTOP.

Prince William County crime report Washington Post These were among incidents reported by Prince William County police. For information, call 703-792-7245. DUMFRIES AREA. ASSAULT. Mountain Laurel Loop, 3300 block, 8:25 p.m. April 5. A woman allegedly sprayed a female neighbor with pepper, then ... and more »

Fairfax County Animal Watch Washington Post The following incident was reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. Searching for an owner: Rolling Rd. and Delong Dr., March 31. A loose 3-year-old bichon frise was captured ... and more »

If you have only one job and take the standard deduction, filing your taxes can be pretty simple. It’s so simple, in fact, that fraudsters are happy to do it for you, stealing your refund in the process. What happens to taxpayers who get stuck in this situation? Tax fraud is complicated, and sometimes they end up waiting for a very long time to get their money back.

How long? CNN profiled people who have been victims of tax refund fraud, including one retired accountant who normally doesn’t receive a refund at all and had almost $10,000 issued to a fraudster back in 2011. She had to wait to get her actual refund until January 2014, since such a large fraud led to a large investigation.

An IRS spokesperson explained to CNN that investigations take such a long time because the agency has had its budget cut and no longer has the resources to evaluate complicated fraud cases quickly. While they can take some measures like checking out returns that come from

Where does the information that fraudsters need to come from? Last year, hacks of payroll databases were a popular target and handy source of income data and personal information. One case targeted health care workers, and experts are now afraid that people whose personal information was stolen in the massive Anthem breach could also end up victims of tax fraud.

A hacker stole our $3,500 tax refund [CNN]

Washington Times

D.C. wants police body camera footage exempt from public records requests Washington Times D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wants footage from the Metropolitan Police Department's expanding body camera program to be exempt from public records requests, making the District one of an increasing number of jurisdictions trying to limit access in order ... Mayor Bowser softens stance on keeping DC police body camera footage privateMyFox Washington DC DC Mayor Wants Body Cameras On All Cops, But You Can't See The FootageDaily Caller DC Mayor Wants Body Cam Footage Exempt From RequestsCBS Local Huffington Post -W*USA 9 -WTOP all 10 news articles »

PotomacLocal.com

H-Mart opens 49000 square foot store in Manassas Junction PotomacLocal.com H-Mart opened up the doors of its new 49,000 square foot retail space in Manassas Junction today, located on Centerville Road in Manassas. H-Mart is a supermarket chain based out of New Jersey, according to a release. The building was formerly used by ... and more »

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A Montgomery County mother is irate that she was not notified for hours after her children were stopped by police for walking home alone from a park.

For the second time since December, the Meitivs’ six-year-old daughter Dvora and 10-year-old son Rafi were picked up by Montgomery County police as they made the almost 1-mile walk to their Silver Spring home unsupervised.

The Meitivs believe there is no reason why they shouldn’t let their children walk to the park and play. Danielle Meitiv tells WTOP that the risk of child abduction is low and the most dangerous thing a parent does is to put their children into a car. They believe in teaching their child self-reliance and responsibility.

Child Protective Services issued a statement saying that the Department of Human Resources, which oversees the agency, is reviewing the Meitivs’ case and will speak to all those involved.

“Protecting children is the agency’s number one priority. We are required to follow up on all calls to CPS.”

Meitiv called the reaction by CPS heavy-handed and lacking in common sense. She also feels harassed by the agency and by the adults who called police regarding her children’s activities.

“This machine starts to move and nobody stops and thinks … Are these children hurt, are they lost, are they abused?” Meitiv says. “(The police) observed my kids for three hours. It’s pretty obvious they’re not neglected children. They’re healthy, they’re well behaved. They’re clearly well-fed, well-dressed, articulate, intelligent, confident. There’s nothing in that list that suggests neglect.”

Police say they are mandated to report suspected abuse and neglect cases to the state agency and are investigating whether the Meitivs broke the law.

Meitiv says she and her husband dropped off their children at Ellsworth Park to burn off excess energy after a six-hour car trip to see relatives. They were told to be home by 6 p.m. Dvora and Rafi were almost home when they were stopped by police along Fenton Street.

Unlike in December, the police didn’t bring the children straight home to their parents.

Her children would spend another five hours away from their parents. During that time, they had little to eat. They weren’t able to use the restroom until arriving at a CPS building in Rockville. And they didn’t understand why the police wouldn’t let them go home, she says.

Montgomery County police released the following timeline:

• 4:58 p.m.  — 911 took a call for an unattended child in the area of Fenton and Easley streets
• 5:00 p.m.  — Officer dispatched
• 5:01 p.m.  — Officer arrives , speaks to the original caller and identifies the children
• 5:16 p.m.  — Officer contacts CPS
• 6:10 p.m.  — Officer contacts another CPS employee
• 6:41 p.m.  — CPS says a decision is pending
• 7:18 p.m.  — CPS directs police to take the children to its Rockville facility
• 7:43 p.m.  — Children arrive at CPS Rockville

Meitiv was not reunited with her children until 10:30 p.m., she says.

Montgomery County police spokesman Captain Paul Starks says police are obligated to report suspected neglect or abuse to CPS and that it was the state agency’s decision that police shouldn’t contact the Meitivs.

“It’s very difficult, without doing some sort of a query and preliminary investigation, just to return the children to the home without doing something first to ensure that it is a safe environment,” Starks says.

When the children didn’t arrive home, Meitiv and her husband began frantically searching the neighborhood.

Finally they heard from CPS.

“They’d had them for three hours at that point and hadn’t bothered to call us … two blocks from here sitting in a car for three hours,” she says.

The couple then waited at the facility in Rockville for two hours before they were allowed to see their children.

“It never occurred to me that the people we trust to protect our streets and to protect our children are the people that we now have to fear,” she says.

The couple signed a temporary safety plan to get their children released and they plan to obey it. They’re not allowed to let the children out of their sight even to play in the yard or walk to the school bus.

The couple plans to appeal the unsubstantiated neglect finding from the December incident and they are weighing their options regarding Sunday’s events.

“My philosophy hasn’t changed,” she says. “We’re going to fight this.”

WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this report.

Watch CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman discuss Maryland law and the Meitiv case on “CBS This Morning”:

The post Free-range mom speaks out: We’re being harassed appeared first on WTOP.

There are some endeavors so inherently delicious, it’s a wonder more people don’t undertake them. But alas, not everyone has the means to craft a ginormous 5.5-ton Rice Krispies treat and steal the world record for doing so.

That’s where a team of students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison calling themselves Project 15,000 came in, reports Reuters, wrangling Rice Krispies cereal, butter and marshmallows into an 11,327-pound behemoth.

Though their goal had been 15,000 pounds (7.5 tons), measuring in at 10 feet by 10 feet by 6.5 feet tall, the group’s huge treat is more than 1,000 pounds heavier than the reigning champ, a 10,314 pound treat made in California back in 2010 recognized by Guinness World Records.

The students started mixing up the treat on Thursday with 9,000 pounds of donated marshmallows, 5,500 pounds of Rice Krispies and 900 pounds of butter, and finished the project on Sunday, using a huge wooden mold.

Pieces of the treat will now be cut up and sold off to raise money for Wisconsin charities. Extra cereal will also be donated to food pantries.

“We had an ambitious goal and we succeeded,” one of the project leaders said.

Wisconsin students’ Rice Krispies treat a snap, crackle, colossus [Reuters]
University of Wisconsin Students Say They Broke Record for Biggest Cereal Treat [NBC News]

There appears to be a bit of a war brewing between Italian pizza makers and McDonald’s after the fast food company aired a commercial depicting a child overjoyed to receive a Happy Meal over pizza at a local pizzeria.

CNBC reports that the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) – also known as True Neapolitan Pizza Association – treatened to sue the Golden Arches, saying the commercial in question is an attack on the country’s cultural traditions.

AVPN says in a statement that the commercial, which shows a family waiting at a local pizzeria being transported to a McDonald’s after the child exclaims that he wants a Happy Meal, is a “dishonorable attack against one of the symbols of the Mediterranean Diet.”

The company further claims that the fast food chain’s commercial suggests children don’t like pizza, as well as indicates that McDonald’s promotes an unhealthy diet and unfairly targets children with advertisements.

“It is obvious that the American colossus is trying to discredit its main competitor, but speculating on children’s health is just too much,” AVPN Vice President Massimo Di Porzio said in the press statement.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s tells CNBC that they haven’t heard from AVPN personally. The commercial, which first aired on YouTube in February and on Italian TV in March, was taken off the air on Sunday as previously scheduled.

Industry analysts say that McDonald’s latest ad was a fairly significant change from its traditional European marketing strategy that targets family dining and locally sourced products.

“There could be a very real risk of a backlash here, as the local pizza trade association has come out with all guns blazing and a section of the Italian public seemingly don’t need much encouragement in terms of pushing back against McDonald’s,” Bryan Roberts, director of Kantar Retail EMEA’s Retail Insights, told CNBC.

Italian pizza makers threaten McDonald’s over ‘attack’ [CNBC]

Have you noticed a lot more solar panels on homes recently? While an increase in solar panel installations can partly be explained by pointing out that people are more aware of energy conservation issues and want to save money, there’s a much simpler reason why there are more panels on roofs all of a sudden: they’re now super cheap, and aspiring solar panel owners don’t have to pay for the panels or their installation up front anymore.

One factor is that there’s a global glut of solar panels. The price has fallen significantly in recent years. During the last decade, industry and government in China realized that solar power would be important in the future, which it is. They responded to this prediction by building a huge number of solar panel factories and cranking them out. Factories began cranking out panels in 2009, leading to a massive oversupply. That cut prices worldwide, making it a lot cheaper to cover your roof with solar panels.

Of course, “cheaper” is relative. If you haven’t looked into it, you might not realize how expensive having solar panels installed on your roof can be. NPR’s Planet Money team hung out at an installation site on Long Island where covering a home with 41 panels would cost about $25,000 including installation. What do homeowners who don’t have extra cash and who don’t want to take out a loan to save money on their power bills do? It turns out there are companies that will bear the cost of installing panels, in exchange for a monthly payment.

This isn’t altruistic, of course: investors are putting up the money to put solar panels on roofs across the country. They’ll make that money back with interest. SolarCity gets to employ installers and sell panels, and homeowners get to pay slightly less for electricity over the next few decades while paying off the bill for their installation.

Episode 616: How Solar Got Cheap [Planet Money]

WASHINGTON — They can’t tell us if they’re in pain. And it’s not like we can call 911 and have a paramedic show up if our pet is in distress. But a new local class is making it easier to help our furry friends by being prepared in the event of an emergency.

Animals lovers in Prince William County have been learning the art of CPR and other lifesaving measures for pets. Through March, the county offered classes at some of its community centers.

“You have to prepare,” Melissa Korzuch, president of the Prince William County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said in a news release. “There’s no ambulance that will come by and pick up your pet. So, you are the first responder.”

The class uses life-like stuffed cats and dogs to practice giving compressions. Also, participants learn to hold their hands over the animal’s snout while breathing into the pet’s lungs.

Learning the measures could very well be just enough to keep a pet alive long enough to get him to the vet, Korzuch said.

“What we tell people is that the number one problem when there’s an emergency with pets at home is that you panic. You don’t know what to do. This class will help you be prepared for when those things happen,” Korzuch said the release.

The county plans to offer the classes — based on American Red Cross CPR instruction — again in July for a fee of $50, reports The Washington Post.

Watch a video about the classes:

h/t: The Washington Post

The post Class demonstrates the power of CPR for pets appeared first on WTOP.

This is a sponsored post by veterinarian Elizabeth Arguelles of Just Cats Clinic at Lake Anne Plaza.

Obesity is a common problem among cats and can negatively affect their long-term health. Excess weight puts additional strain on a cat’s body and increases the risk of developing diabetes, joint pain, liver and heart problems, or other issues as it gets older.

The cause of obesity is typically very straightforward. It usually develops when your cat’s food intake exceeds its energy requirements. Typically, this means overfeeding coupled with an overly sedentary lifestyle. The good news is that obesity can easily be prevented by feeding your cat a nutritious diet, portion control, and ensuring that it gets regular exercise.

What is obesity?

Obesity is determined by percentage of body fat. If a cat has accumulated enough fat that it weighs 10 to 20 percent more than its ideal body weight, then it is considered “overweight.” Medical obesity occurs when the kitty’s weight swells to more than 20 percent of the normal weight.

Is there an easy way to check if your cat is obese? Obesity is determined by more than body weight alone. When touching your cat, you should be able to feel its backbone and palpate its ribs. If you cannot feel your kitty’s ribs without pressing, then it is potentially carrying too much fat. Always consult your veterinarian to confirm the diagnosis. You should also be able to see a “waist” between the back of your cat’s rib cage and hips when looking down. There should be a “tuck” in its tummy when viewed from the side, meaning the abdomen should go from the bottom of the rib cage to the inside of your kitty’s thighs.

What can you do if your cat is obese?

If you believe that your cat is too heavy, please visit your veterinarian. Once your vet has determined that your feline friend is indeed overweight, the first step is to help your cat with weight loss. Depending on your kitty’s specific case, your vet might prescribe a different diet either over the counter or prescription or may even have you switch to more wet food as opposed to dry food. Typically, diets lower in calories and fat, but higher in fiber can help your cat feel full without all the unnecessary extra calories.

In other instances, your veterinarian might suggest that your cat stay on its regular food, but that you limit it to specific portions or frequencies. Whatever food you and your veterinarian decide on make sure it is nutritionally balanced and a high quality food to keep your feline friend feeling great all around.

It is critical that you consult your veterinarian before making any dietary changes designed to reduce weight. Shedding pounds too quickly can cause a cat to develop serious and potentially fatal liver diseases in the short term and to become malnourished in the long term. Simply reducing the volume of food your cat consumes is not recommended without consulting your veterinarian.

Once your cat is on the new food plan determined by its vet, it is up to you, the cat parent, to resist the temptation to give your feline friend snacks. And just like for humans who are on a weight loss plan, regular weigh-ins are essential. Those usually take place every two to three weeks at your veterinary clinic. If your cat prefers weigh ins at home, purchase a digital baby scale for maximum accuracy.

Are there other things that you can do at home to help? Increased physical activity is also very important for both weight loss and maintenance. Talk to your vet about exercises that burn more calories and help to enrich your feline’s well-being.

The post Beyond 9 Lives: Fat Cat is an Unhealthy Cat appeared first on WTOP.

Jumping on the anti-neonicotinoids bandwagon with Portland is home improvement retailer Lowe’s, which says it’ll stop peddling the pesticide many critics say is to blame for declining honeybee populations.

Other retailers including BJ’s Wholesale Club and Home Depot took similar steps last year, reports Reuters, choosing to pull the pesticide also known as neonics, which are used on many U.S. crops as well as lawns and gardens.

Scientists and other critics of the stuff say bees are dying because of neonicotinoid pesticides, which is bad news for all the plants that honeybees pollinate, including plants that make food consumed by Americans. Basically, bees are free labor and really good at their jobs. Without them, it’d be a lot harder to make sure those crops get pollinated.

A study released in 2014 by Friends of the Earth and Pesticide Research Institute showed that 51% of garden plants bought at Lowe’s, Home Depot and Walmart in 18 cities in North America contained neonicotinoid pesticides at levels that could harm or kill bees.

Lowe’s says it will start phasing out neonics in shelf products and plants by the spring of 2019, pending the availability of alternatives.

Lowe’s to eliminate pesticides that hurt crop pollinating honeybees [Reuters]

Because no one wants to arrive in their hotel room and find used soap awaiting them in the shower, guests are always given a fresh bar upon checking in. While many of those partially used bars surely end up wasted in the trash, one non-profit group is collecting a bunch of leftover hotel soaps to help people in need.

Clean the World started seven years ago, founded by a tech company worker who traveled often. He tells the Associated Press he was hit with a thought one night while staying at a Minneapolis hotel.

“I picked up the phone and called the front desk and asked them what happens to the bar of soap when I’m done using it,” recalled Shawn Seipler, the group’s CEO. “They said they just threw it away.”

He did some research and found that millions of used bars of soap from hotels around the world end up in landfills every day. Meanwhile, people in developing nations are dying from illnesses that could be prevented simply with better access to personal hygiene products.

That’s how Clean the World began, and it has now expanded to include industrial recycling facilities in Las Vegas, Orlando and Hong Kong, places where there are plenty of hotels and used bars of soap can be collected by the thousands. Heck, they’ll even take half-used bottled shampoos and the like as well.

Though people in the U.S. and other developed countries might take hygiene products for granted due to their ubiquity, soap and other items aren’t as plentiful in many other nations.

“A lot of people are surprised to find out that one of the most effective ways to prevent many deaths is actually just hand-washing with soap,” Global Soap director Sam Stephens said. “We’re hoping to make a difference.”

Clean the World announced this week that it’s teaming up with another initiative called Global Soap to step up production, hygiene education and delivery to those in need.

Together, they say they’re now collecting used soap from more than 4,000 hotels, and have delivered about 25 million bars to 99 countries, as well as homeless shelters right here in the U.S.

Here’s how it works: The soap is collected, shredded, run through machines that get rid of any residual bacteria another guest may have left, and then get shaped into new bars and packaged up. People get soap to wash their hands and possibly prevent the spread of common infectious diseases, and everyone wins.

Group hopes recycled hotel soap helps save lives worldwide [Associated Press]

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