Category Archives: Pets and Family

A recent article in the New York Times described a number of research studies on “gifted word learning” dogs that can associate spoken words with objects, sometimes after very little exposure to the object. But what about cats? Do they learn language in a similar way? In this blogpost, I’ll explore what science tells us about how cats understand human language, how this differs from dogs, and whether it’s possible to teach your cat words.

While pets are nearly perfect, one thing they could improve is their lifespan. Wouldn’t it be great to bring home a dog or cat as a child and have that pet with you for the rest of your life? That question led me to investigate what factors influence how long our pets live—and what we might be able to do to keep them with us just a bit longer. What I found is the subject of this blogpost.

The end of 2025 is upon us—a natural time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the new one. Many of us will make New Year’s resolutions to improve our own health and habits, but what about those of our pets? If you’re hoping to prioritize your pet’s well-being in 2026, the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center’s Usdan Institute for Animal Health Education can help. In 2025, the Usdan Institute held twelve educational events, nine community events and three AMC signature events. In this blogpost, I’ve curated a list of on-demand recordings that align perfectly with common pet-health resolutions.

I debated long and hard about writing a blogpost on diarrhea the day before Thanksgiving. It seems like I should write about gratitude, but the diarrhea topic won out. Why?

Because pets are family, we include them in our holiday celebrations. Each year, the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center publishes a holiday gift guide for pets featuring a mix of fun gifts, health and wellness products and a few festive recipes so your pets can join the seasonal cheer.