Cats shortchanged by many pet owners

• Cats receive only half of the health care protection that dogs do, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. In another study by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, pet owners with at least one dog and one cat in their household said they were more attached to the dog than the cat by a 3-to-1 margin. A third of pet owners surveyed believe it’s more critical to take a dog than a cat for a wellness exam with their veterinarian, an alarming statistic as cats are less likely to show signs of sickness or pain than dogs.

• One Maltese is now a million-

dollar beauty, crowned with a $4.2 million tiara made by her owner, a Thai jewelry designer. The designer wanted to do something special for his 15-yearold dog and had a crown made for her from precious stones handed down to him from his mother. The crown took two months to make and is crafted out of titanium and 250 carats of emeralds and diamonds.

• British pets are also experiencing the struggles of a poor economy. Last year the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported the number of abandoned animals increasing by 57 percent. Britons have also increased their inquiries about giving up their pets by 52 percent. The United Kingdom’s best-known animal rescue center, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, in South London, is struggling to fit in more animals: Last December the charity reported taking in more than 1,000 more pets than it had the previous year.

• One drug-detection dog wasn’t at all slowed down by a novel attempt at distraction: The 31 pounds of marijuana the dog flagged were stashed in bags of dog food. The El Paso, Texas, drug dog wasn’t deterred by the smell of dinner, resulting in the arrest of the 25-year-old Juarez, Mexico, man driving the dog food-loaded car. 