When you are among people who love animals, you are among friends.

Although I've always known this, the point was reinforced on the road in Georgia, first in the big city of Atlanta, where the world's largest cat show came for three days in November, and then in the small town of Thomasville, where I spent time with friends and their four cats, four dogs and a cockatiel.

Some 3,000 miles from home and I couldn't have been happier.

In Atlanta, I rode up and down elevators with luggage that meowed, as the world's top pedigreed cats made their way from the hotel to compete at the Cat Fanciers' Association International show. An Abyssinian named Tinbats Morgan's Passing, owned by Reg and Lynn Martin of Chatsworth, Calif., topped nearly 1,300 other cats at the show. But for most of the cat-lovers who came, the name of the winner wasn't really the point of the exercise.

The show was really a celebration of the feline, with cats about as varied as cats can get. Patched cats and solids, ticked coats and tabbies, long-haired and short, slender and chunky, each as breathtakingly beautiful as the next, and all with fur that begged to be touched (torture for the cat-lover, because petting the cats is not allowed at this show -- or any other). Eyes of many colors and shapes glistened with good health and, occasionally, ill temper. (These are cats, after all, and cats aren't all that enthusiastic about noise, crowds and strangers.)

Solace could be found among the vendors of the Georgia World Congress Center in what had to be the best collection of goods for cats and their people ever assembled. Toys, jewelry, books, beds -- anything you could imagine, times four. A cat-lover would have a hard time escaping with her line of credit intact, and I managed to only because the car rental agency had already put its claim on it.

This is one fine cat show, and if you're anywhere near Kansas City, Mo., when it moves there next November, you shouldn't miss it. Even if you won't be allowed to pet the cats.

How hard is it to survive without those pats? I know, exactly. By the time I got to Thomasville, four hours from Atlanta by car (and nearly to Florida), I was vibrating from the strain and in need of a major fur fix.

A tiny tabby named Robocat was happy to help, as were a trio of handsome retrievers by the names of Sundance, Calypso and Lucky. My friends Peg and Joe love animals and laughter, and on the wide porch of their old house we shared plenty of both, as the worst of my withdrawal pains started to ease with every touch of my fingers on warm fur.

Robo's purr could be heard a block away, carried on a cool South Georgia breeze, and if I had been physically able to do the same, you could have heard my satisfied rumble all the way back home in California.

Were it not for missing my own dogs, I might never have gone home.

Pets on the Web: While dogs have been enthusiastic in their pursuit of airborne discs from the moment the first Frisbee came out of the package, the creation of the sport traces back to a single dog, a whippet named Ashley. The slender beastie and his owner slipped on to the field during a nationally televised football game a couple of decades ago and put on a show that brought roars from the crowd. They were shooed from the field that day, but were invited back so many times afterward that Ashley became a media star. The dog is long gone, of course, but his fellow Frisbee hounds now compete in a series of regional events leading up to a national championship in a sport that's still a kick for all involved.

If you think your dog has flying-disk potential, take a peek at the Web site of the National Capital Air Canines group (motto: "Where the Fur Comes to Fly"). The site (http://www.discdog.com) is comprehensive and well-organized, with many links to other related Web pages.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Does it seem like there's more dog fur in your house these days? There's a reason for it: The big fall shed.

Dogs typically lose their winter coats in the spring, when it is replaced by a shorter, lighter one for summer. In the fall, this cycle is reversed, as the summer coat is shed to make room for heavy protective fur for winter. The change is most obvious in "double-coated" breeds such as collies, shelties and keeshonden. Those breeds carry not only a harsh, protective long overcoat, but also a soft, insulating undercoat -- and they lose masses of fur from both in spring and fall.

The amount of shedding varies widely from breed to breed. German shepherds, for example, are prolific year-round shedders, while poodles seems to lose little fur at all. Shorthaired breeds may shed as much as long-haired breeds, but since the hair they shed is easily overlooked it may seem they are shedding less.

Even the heaviest shedders can be tamed, however, by a regular and frequent schedule of combing and brushing. After all, the fur you catch on a comb won't end up on a rug, chair or sweater. Work gently against the grain and close to the skin to catch as much of the ready-to-fall fur as possible. Ask the folks at a reputable pet-supply store for advice on the proper kind of grooming equipment. The brush that works fine on a Doberman won't make much headway in the thick mane of a full-coated collie at the height of a seasonal shed.

Shedding is normal no matter the breed, but some heavy shedding can be a sign of health problems. Skin allergies, parasites and hormonal problems may trigger above-average shedding, and poor nutrition can also be a cause of coat problems.

Become familiar with your pet's normal pattern of shedding, and ask your veterinarian for advice if coat condition seems too dull or excessive hair loss is noticed.

Pet-pourri: Are all calico and tortoiseshell cats female? Not always. One out of 3,000 cats with such markings is male, according to a study by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri.

Here's why: The gene that governs how the orange color in cats will be displayed is on the X, or female, chromosome. Any cat, male or female, can be orange, but in males that color usually is expressed in the tabby pattern, sometimes called a "ginger tom."

Females, however, can be orange tabbies, torties or calicoes. (The last two are genetically similar, except that the calico has white patches.)

Because orange females are divided among calicoes, torties and tabbies, it often seems that most orange tabbies are males, and statistically, males do make up the majority of orange tabbies. But it's a lot more common for females to be orange tabbies than for males to be either calicoes or torties.

That's because for a cat to be a calico or tortoiseshell it must have two X chromosomes, and that means in the vast majority of cases it's going to be female. When the calico pattern exists in a male, it's because the cat has three sex chromosomes, two X, one Y, a genetic rarity that occasionally shows up in cats (and people, too). If both of those X chromosomes carry the calico blueprint, you're looking at one rare cat: a male calico.

For the record, such "male-female" animals are called "Klinefelter males." They're usually -- but not always -- incapable of reproducing.

Pets on the Web: Want to know how a cat show works? Confused about the difference between the Norwegian forest and the Maine coon? Curious about how many color varieties you can find in Persians? You'll find the answers to all your questions and more on the Web site of the Cat Fanciers' Association (www.cfainc.org), the dominant breed registry in the world of cats. The CFA site is useful if you're interested in pedigreed cats or cat shows, but general cat care information is pretty basic here. The site of another breed registry, The International Cat Association (www.tica.org), offers a lot of the same sort of information with a different spin -- check out the TICA information on showing mixed-breed cats.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

With the U.S. jobless rate reported recently at 24-year low, perhaps its time to address an unemployment problem no one seems to talk about, even though it affects tens of millions of Americans -- of the canine variety.

The good news is we don't need a government program to set this problem right. The better news is you and your dog will both be happier for the efforts you put into fixing the matter in your own home by finding something for your pet to do.

Dogs have a work ethic that puts the Puritans to shame. We put it there ourselves, through countless generations of selective breeding. No animal has lived and worked as closely with humankind as the dog, and no other has been more tailored to our needs. From the smallest toy breed to the largest wolfhounds and mastiffs, we've created breeds to fill all the jobs we had in mind. Herding, draying, protecting, and hunting prey as small as a mouse and as large as an elk -- wherever we saw a need, we bred a dog for the task.

And now they all sit, these dogs, in back yards and on couches while we're at work. No sheep to herd, no ducks to retrieve, and the terminating of pet rodents strongly discouraged. Thousands of years of selective breeding gone to waste. They're bored. So they dig, they bark, they mope.

It's just not right.

But before you wonder where you're going to put that flock of sheep for your unemployed herding dog, consider that even as our jobs have changed over the years, so have employment possibilities for dogs. While competitions exist to test the instinctive abilities -- such as herding tests and retriever trials, as well as more modern competitions such as agility trials -- I find that a creative approach to work can help fulfill a dog's needs.

Such has been the case in my house with the retriever Benjamin, a young dog who watches lines of migrating birds trace across the sky and gives me a pointed look once they're out of range.

"Hey," he seems to say. "Weren't you supposed to shoot those?"

Since I have no need for dead ducks, I've taught him to use his inbred skills in a way I find useful, creating possibly the world's best laundry retriever. He picks up the socks I drop on the way to the laundry room and at my command drops them into the open washer, along with his plush toys. To be so useful makes him giddy with joy.

Your dog could be just as happy. A friend's dog fetches the tissues when she sneezes and slams doors shut at a word. Following her example, I started to teach Benjamin to fetch the cordless phone, but stopped once I realized dog spit was hard on the equipment and no fun to touch when he finally brought the phone my way. With cold season at hand, we're working on that tissue trick now.

OK, so maybe canine unemployment isn't that pressing a problem. Still, consider that while such tricks may seem silly to some, they can go a long way toward strengthening the bond between you and your pet and making him more responsive and obedient.

Your dog wants to feel useful as much as you do. Train him, praise him, and let him work. You'll both be better for the experience; I promise.

Pets on the Web: Politics from a cat's-eye view? Why not, I say, and could it really be any worse than the legions of somniferous and overpaid pundits? If you suspect that all those argumentative folks in Washington need is an afternoon nap, you'll want to visit the Web site of the Socks The Cat Fan Club, dedicated to "America's first Democat."

The Web site (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6157/) does push a $12 fan club membership kit, but it contains enough news to keep fans of the black-and-white cat happy. The cat himself, according to the Web site, hasn't been very happy lately, with the recent departures not only of his owner, Chelsea, but also the first lady's press secretary, Neel Lattimore. Socks, the White House reports, "is speechless over Neel's departure."

Don't worry, Socks: Chelsea will be home for the holidays soon.

For a free print copy of the newsletter, send a name and address along with a 32-cent stamp to Socks The Cat Fan Club, 611 South Ivy St., Arlington, Va. 22204-2429.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600