The knock on cats by people who don't like them is that they're unpredictable. One of the traits often mentioned in support of this nonsense is how a cat will go from calmly being petted to attacking the hand that's caressing him -- and without any warning, it seems.

Sorry, but it just doesn't happen that way.

While many people will miss the signs of a change in attitude, if you know what you're looking for, a cat's body language will speak loudly and clearly as to what's going on in the animal's mind, especially when it comes to those seemingly out-of-the-blue attacks.

It's important to remember that cats are very sensitive to touch. The degree of sensitivity has both genetic and social factors. Some cats are born jumpy, while others are made that way because of a lack of socialization or proper training in their kittenhoods. (Never let a kitten come to believe fingers are for chewing on, even in play. Redirect your kitten's playful energy to toys instead.)

Activity levels also play a part in how much petting a cat will tolerate. Heavier, larger cat breeds are usually more satisfied to be sluggish lap kitties than are the lighter, more willowy ones who like to stay on the move.

While you likely can't turn a skitty kitty into a total lap potato, you can work to increase your pet's tolerance for petting by paying close attention to his body language as you slowly increase the time he spends in your lap.

You must first recognize that if your cat bites your hand while you're petting him, you've missed more than a couple of messages from him asking you to stop. The key one: a tail twitch that becomes more agitated, and finally escalates into a noticeable thump or thrash.

You should also be aware that some places are more sensitive than others. For a highly reactive cat, restrict your caresses to behind the ears, under the chin or the base of the tail. A long stroke down the back is too much for some kitties, and you're really taking chances when you decide to tickle your cat's tummy. The cats who enjoy it are well-outnumbered by the cats who'll quickly tire of a tummy rub and seek to stop it with teeth and claws.

Work to build your cat's tolerance to touch over time. When you pick your cat up for a petting session, don't surprise him. Come up on him slowly and pick him up gently, making sure his whole body is supported with a hand under his chest and one beneath his legs.

Pet him in the safe areas on his body only, watching for the first sign of a tail twitch. When you get that early warning sign, put your cat down immediately but gently. Don't let it go so far that he feels the need to jump off you or to bite. The key is to work up to the outskirts of tolerance and stop there, so your cat will learn to trust you in longer sessions.

Never hit a cat for biting. If you miss the signs and end up in your cat's nonaffectionate embrace, just freeze. Providing no resistance will help calm your cat so he will just let go. If you fight back or physically punish your cat, you are more likely to get bitten or scratched in the short run, and damage your relationship with your pet in the long run.

You cat is acting in the only way he knows how. It's up to you to teach him how pleasant petting can be. As any cat lover will tell you, teaching your cat to tolerate petting is well worth the effort -- for the both of you.

PETS ON THE WEB

Patti Moran almost single-handedly created the pet-sitting industry, founding an association and setting standards for others to meet. Her own pet-sitting business grew from two employees to more than 40, and she documented her success in a popular book, "Pet Sitting for Profit" (Hungry Minds Inc., $17.95). The association she founded, Pet Sitters International (www.petsit.com), offers help on its Web site to both those who want to start a business and those who want to find someone good to look after their pets. The organization also promotes a "Take Your Dog to Work Day," which this year will be held on June 22.

THE SCOOP

Characterized by the side-to-side sliding of one jaw over the other, the sound a parrot makes when grinding its bill may be annoying to you, but it should be music to your ears. That's because usually grinding attests to a satisfied and secure bird. You're most likely to hear grinding after your pet has a big meal (in which case, the expression is comparable to the belt-loosening utterances some humans let fly in similar circumstances). Some parrots also making grinding noises when they're drifting off to sleep.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PACK

Q: Please share these tips with your readers in reference to cleaning up pet urine.

When fresh urine comes out of the body, it is relatively clean, with little bacteria in the acid state. As the urine dries, it turns into alkaline salts, in which bacteria flourish and give off an odor. You should first treat an old urine stain with an acid solution (such as vinegar and water), which would offset the alkaline and bring the stain to a neutral pH. You should then apply an enzyme treatment to destroy the bacteria and eliminate the smell.

Since fresh urine is acid, adding vinegar doesn't help: It actually sets the stain in an acid state. In essence, you have given the urine more power to turn into alkaline state and smell. Once in alkaline state, the stain will attract moisture out of the air, activating salts and bacteria and smelling again and again.

Never add vinegar to a fresh urine spill. Instead, blot with warm water and a towel several times. Follow with a mild dish detergent, one teaspoon per quart of water, and continue to rinse and dry. Finally, add an enzyme treatment to eat any bacteria that may be present.

Enzyme treatments are manufactured under many different names and are available in pet-supply stores and catalogs.

I hope this information helps. I too have pets and go though the same problems as everyone else. -- Vince Elko, Rocky Carpet Cleaners, Folsom, Calif.

A: Thanks for the tips. It seems as if urine problems are something that we pet lovers never completely escape. After years of living with perfectly house-trained dogs, I now find myself cleaning up small urine spills on a regular basis. Occasional leaking goes with the territory when you have a dog who's quickly approaching the age of 15.

Someday I'm going to build my dream house, and one of the most pet-friendly features will be the floors. I see them as completely waterproof and scratchproof, and I see a big drain in the middle. Every day I'll just take a big hose and rinse everything away -- paw prints, pet hair and the occasional accident alike.

Please don't tell me this is impossible. Leave me to my dreams!

Q: Would it be a good idea to get two puppies at once? I'm in and out a lot and worry about leaving a puppy alone. Would getting two at once help to ease the loneliness, or would it create problems of which I am unaware? I have had only one dog previously, and I lost her at age 14 a decade ago. -- L.E., via e-mail

A: Most people haven't the time to raise one puppy right, and trying to raise two at once can be setup for disaster.

Two puppies who are raised together will often bond more tightly with each other than with the human members of the house, especially if the pups are from the same litter. Experienced show breeders, who often "grow out" a pair of promising puppies, often get around this problem by sending one of the youngsters to be raised by another breeder.

House-training can be a challenge with two puppies, because one may not get the concept as quickly as the other. Fresh messes from the one who's not getting it may prompt backsliding in the other pup. Obedience training and all-important socialization can also be hard, since you have to find the time to work with each puppy individually.

If you wish to have two dogs more or less "instantly," I'd recommend adopting an adult dog and then a puppy. Give the adult dog a couple of months to settle before bringing in the pup. You'll still need to take time to work with both individually, but if you choose properly, the adult dog should slide easily into your life, giving you ample time to work with the puppy.

You should also consider adopting two adult dogs. Puppies are wonderful, but there's a lot to be said about skipping those crazy first months of their lives. For many families, an adult dog is flat-out a better match.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies," "Cats for Dummies" and "Birds for Dummies." She is also affiliated with the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or send e-mail to writetogina(at)spadafori.com.

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

In my messy minivan, you'll find most of the tools of a dedicated pet-rescuer. Dishes. Bottled water. Canned cat food. Old towels. One of those cheap collar-leash combos you can find at any veterinary clinic.

Not that I really care what people think, but I've always assumed the impromptu animal-rescue work I do would be universally considered worthwhile, even virtuous. Not so! I recently discovered there are people who think it's nothing short of crazy. And one of those people is now an ex-almost-friend of mine.

Is it possible for pet lovers to be friends with those who don't care about animals? Probably not, I've always figured, considering the fact that no one in my own personal inner circle is without furred or feathered family members. And they're not casual animal lovers either. Their pets go on vacations, have greeting cards sent in their names, and are not to be forgotten on birthdays and holidays. We don't care if others think we're nuts: Our pets are family to us, and that's all that matters.

Still, I was optimistic that a developing friendship with a person who had no pets was going to be fine. After all, I'd had Benjamin with me when we met, sitting in a warm patch of sunlight outside a coffee house. She had said he was a handsome dog and petted him without reaching for a packet of hand sanitizer. Ben isn't exactly a good judge of character -- he likes everyone -- but he offered her his paw with dignity and held her gaze while she admired him. A good start, I figured.

We met for coffee a couple of times more and finally decided to grab some dinner together, planning to meet some of her friends at a restaurant. I picked her up, and we hadn't gone but a mile or two when I saw a young shepherd mix pacing in fear at the side of a busy boulevard.

I pulled over and reached for a leash. "What are you doing?" she said.

"Getting that dog," I replied, opening the car door while she complained that we'd be late for dinner. As I inched soothingly toward the half-grown pup, I could hear the radio volume increase behind me and then the driver's side door slam. She wasn't going to help, that was for sure.

The dog came to me willingly, wagging his tail and jumping into the back of the van as if he'd done it many times before. I told my dining companion to call her friends on the cell phone. We wouldn't be making it to dinner after all.

She was dumbfounded by this turn of events. After some give-and-take, we agreed instead that I'd drop her at her home and she'd go on without me. Her last words: "I knew you were into animals, but this is ridiculous."

And they were last words to me, indeed. She has no room in her life for an animal nut, and I have none for someone who considers dinner plans more important than an animal's life. We probably both spent the next few days complaining about each other's behavior to our real friends, the sympathetic ones who share our respective points of view.

As for the dog, he was quickly reunited with his family because of his ID tag. When they finally stopped looking for him long enough to answer the phone (he'd slipped out just a few hours earlier), the reunion was easy to arrange.

Two days later they brought over a basket of fruit and a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant to thank me for helping their pet.

It's one of my favorite places to eat, and I'm thinking of inviting them along. I bet we could be friends. They'd understand a van full of pet gear. I just know it.

PETS ON THE WEB

If you're missing a pet or have found one, you might want to tap into the resources of the Missing Pet Network (www.missingpet.net), a volunteer effort founded by staffers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and managed by animal lovers in each state. The site offers information on how best to find a lost pet, as well as help with disaster planning for families with pets.

While the Missing Pet Network is probably the most wide-reaching in scope nationally, many local shelters and other animal groups maintain lost-and-found listings. To find these, use a search engine like Google (www.google.com) and put in some words such as "Lost Pets" and your city and state. A good collection of links to missing pet pages can be found at www.eburg.com/(tilde)dalmatia/splinks.html.

THE SCOOP

What could feel nicer on a cold day than a massage -- for your pet? Not only will a massage make your pet feel good and strengthen the bond between the two of you, but it will also do good things for your own physical well-being. Giving your pet a massage will help to relax you and lower your blood pressure. What a deal! Maryjean Ballner's books will help you learn to give your pet the healing touch: "Cat Massage" and "Dog Massage" are a bargain at $11.95 each, and your pets will thank you for their purchase. You can find out more about the books (as well as a "Cat Massage" videotape) at www.catmassage.com.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PACK

Q: You recently answered a question about the golden retriever who (as dogs always do) snacks on the contents of the litter box. We solved this problem by placing heavy, covered litter boxes, preferably in corners, with the opening toward the wall.

Enough space can be left for a cat to slide through and into the litter box, but not for a dog to be able to forage inside. -- Munira Murrey, via e-mail

A: Your strategy works great for cats that tolerate covered litter boxes. Those with asthma should have open ones, though, so they are less bothered by the concentration of litter dust and other irritations.

Your note reminds me of setup in my friend Jan's house, designed to keep the dog out of the cat food. Her husband got a plastic milk crate, set it on its side and secured it with the opening in a corner. The cats can easily hop over the crate, through the triangle-shaped opening and into the crate where the dishes are. The dog can't fit, though, and is forced to watch the cats eating -- a torment the cats likely enjoy immensely.

When dealing with litter-box snackers, you have to always make sure your cat is comfortable with the arrangements you've made to keep the dog at bay. If you don't, you'll be finding little kitty offerings elsewhere in the house. If the cat's not happy, no one is happy!

Q: When we used to travel with our pets to the homes of our friends and families, we had temporary tags made up to pop on the pets' collars while visiting. If your dog somehow got loose while you're at your parents' house, you'd rather the pet-finder had a local contact. The tags are cheap, and you just store them with the keys to your folks' home until next time. -- P.T., via e-mail

A: Some of the larger pet-supply stores have machines where you can make your own pet tags -- they're fun to use, really.

I like to travel, and I take my pets whenever possible. Years ago a dog-loving friend and co-worker, Judy Jordan, shared her solution for temporary pet IDs: key tags.

She uses those simple round paper ones you can get cheaply at any hardware store. When she's at a campground or in a hotel, she writes the name and phone number of the place on the tag, plus a room or campsite number. They're so easy to find and inexpensive that it's no big deal to make up a new one every day.

I've used this tip for years, although I prefer to use the heavier plastic key tags that you can slip a piece of paper into. It's not as convenient, since you have to cut up some 3-by-5 cards beforehand to have paper for inserting. But my dogs are water dogs, and if there's a puddle to splash through, they'll find it. While the plastic tags aren't waterproof, they're certainly more water-resistant than paper tags.

My pets also always carry the tags of one of those national tracking services as well, with an 800 number good for wherever we roam.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies," "Cats for Dummies" and "Birds for Dummies." She is also affiliated with the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or send e-mail to writetogina(at)spadafori.com.

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

It's a New Year's tradition around my home, one that has outlived a handful of pets, but it still works to ensure the safety of the animals who share their lives with me now.

Yes, dear readers, it's time for the annual New Year's neck check. I started pushing for this tradition a decade ago, and I still believe it's as important as ever. Like checking your smoke detector batteries twice a year when the time changes, checking your pet's collar and tags annually will ensure that an important safety measure is in place should you and your pet ever need it.

Why New Year's? Because it's easy to remember, and besides, what else are you going to do besides eat, drink and watch football? Start your neck check with a look at your pet's collar first. A properly fitted collar is important, but so too is the right type. For dogs, a buckled or snap-together collar made of leather or nylon webbing is the best choice, and the proper fit is comfortably close but not too snug. Make sure your dog's not wearing a "choke" collar. These are for training and walking only, and they pose a life-threatening hazard if left on an unsupervised dog.

Cats should be wearing a collar with an elastic section that will allow your pet to wriggle free if he gets caught on something. If you do have the right kind of collar on your pet, take a minute to look at the holes and the fasteners. The collar is weakest at these spots, so if you see signs of excessive wear or strain, you'll need to replace the collar soon.

If the collar passes muster, it's time to look at the tags. A license is great, but since many lost pets are picked up by people in the neighborhood, it's a good idea to supplement the license with an ID tag that has a couple of phone numbers -- yours and the number of a friend or relative. Check to make sure the information is current and legible, and if not, make a note to order a new tag right away. I never put the pet's name or my address on the tags. Instead, the tags say "REWARD!" with a collection of phone numbers. I want to get the point across that I want my pets back quickly.

My pets also carry tags from a company I really like, 1-800-HELP4PETS. The service is available 24 hours a day, and it can also authorize veterinary care if your lost pet is injured and you cannot be immediately located. The service is $40 for the first year and $25 per year after that. (More information is available by calling the 1-800 number, or by visiting www.help4pets.com on the Web.)

Don't delay in fixing any problems you find with your pet's neck check. Problems with collars and tags are easy to fix -- and collars and tags are the cheapest insurance you can buy against loss or accidents.

A final note: A microchip is another form of identification well worth considering. The tiny transponder, about the size of a grain of rice, is inserted by a veterinarian over the shoulder blades of dogs and cats, or in the breast of birds, and serves as a permanent identification that cannot be slipped off or removed.

If you have a microchip implanted in your pet, it's not possible to check for the chip as part of your New Year's neck check. But do make a mental note to ask your veterinarian to scan for it the next time your pet visits. Most veterinarians have hand-held devices that can detect the presence of a chip, and can determine if it has stayed put in a spot where it can be found by shelter workers, should your pet ever stray.

Remember, though, that a microchip doesn't take the place of ID tags. They complement each other, and even if your pet is chipped, he should still wear tags.

PETS ON THE WEB

Want to know more about the medication your veterinarian sends home for your pet? Then you'll want to bookmark the Pet Care Forum's medication database (www.vin.com/PetCare/Articles/VetHospital/M00762.htm). The Pet Care Forum is the Veterinary Information Network's effort to provide the general public with the expertise of top veterinarians and other animal experts. (VIN itself, with which I have been associated for years, is an online service for veterinarians.)

The online medications section is the work of Dr. Wendy Brooks, who provides the details on a few dozen drugs commonly used in veterinary practice, from over-the-counter products such as aspirin and Benadryl to such high-profile prescription offerings as the arthritis drug Rimadyl.

Incidentally, if you'd like to have an expanded reference in book form, order a copy of "The Pill Book Guide to Medication for Your Dog and Cat," by veterinarians Kate A.W. Roby and Lenny Southam (Bantam Books, $6.99). I can't recommend it enough.

THE SCOOP

The Wall Street Journal reports that with more and more hotels taking in pets, it's a natural progression for the travel industry to now be putting together pet-friendly vacations. Walking tours and winery visits are already being offered, as well as a packaged tour of the south of France.

The last destination is a natural: As much as we North Americans love our dogs, the French go one step further when it comes to embracing the dogs of others. Dogs are a common sight in restaurants and shops, places where those of us on this side of the Atlantic would never dream of being allowed with a dog in tow.

The Journal notes that for those looking for upscale travel with their dogs, the Petswelcome.com Web site is launching its own travel service this summer, and is planning to put together tours that include some very grand digs, indeed.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PACK

Q: My niece has a small female dog she loves to death. Not only does she care for the dog, but she also clothes her. Recently she brought up the idea of piercing the ears of her dog. Is this cruel and unjust? -- J.M., via e-mail

A: You're putting me on, right? Really, I can't imagine it would be any more cruel, unjust or painful than the ear-piercing my cousin and I got at the mall when we were 12, but it's likely you'd have to add anesthesia to the mix to get a dog to sit still for it. That would up both the cost and the risk.

This is one genie that needs to be put back in the bottle and corked up but good. I'd hate to see something like this catch on. What a waste of money and a needless infliction of pain!

Tell your niece to make a donation to a pet shelter just for thinking up such nonsense and to put the idea out of her mind for good. Making the poor dog wear clothes every day is bad enough.

Q: I want to offer a tip to people with hard-of-hearing pets. I have a deaf cat, and my old Chihuahua is going deaf, too. I blow on those pets to wake them. I can start with a gentle puff, and if that isn't enough I can blow a bit harder. The effect is "adjustable" that way, unlike stamping on the floor. -- B.B., via e-mail

A: Just make sure you aren't too close to your pets' faces when you blow. One of the problems with deaf animals is that they can react with a snap if startled from a sound sleep. I don't want your face to be too close if that happens.

My friend Peggy takes care of my dog Andy when I'm out of town. The old boy's not completely deaf, but he sure doesn't hear what he used to. Peggy is retired from a career as a nurse, and over the years she discovered that older patients with hearing loss seemed to have an easier time hearing voices that were lower, more male than female in tone. So she started making a conscious effort to lower her voice to a growly baritone (or as close as she could get to it) when talking with such patients.

Last time Andy stayed with her, she tried the technique on him, too. And it worked just as well.

So instead of just upping the volume with heard-of-hearing pets, you might also try lowering the tone.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies," "Cats for Dummies" and "Birds for Dummies." She is also affiliated with the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or send e-mail to writetogina(at)spadafori.com.

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