MEWSLETTER 31: October 3, 2004

by Pauline Dewberry

Hi everyone, and a very warm welcome to all my new subscribers – you are very welcome! Hope you are all in the pink of health and unless you live in Australia or New Zealand – in which case, you’re enjoying your Spring, we here in the rest of the northern hemisphere, are now in Autumn! Leaves are falling fast and furiously now and we’ve had some blustery weather here in the UK plus our usual copious amounts of September rain – added to August rain, and no doubt, October rain!!

For those of you in the US who were caught in the paths of the hurricanes I hope that the clean up operations are almost done and your lives are getting back to normal. The Humane Society have put out a request for donations of blankets, food, money and anything anyone can spare to help with all the animals who were left homeless because of the hurricanes. If you can help in any way, please contact the Humane Society. I’m sure that what ever you can give, they will be grateful.

https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_jeanne?source=drfhbe

Following the little piece I wrote about purrs being available on prescription, I received several emails agreeing with me. Kathy D wrote to tell me of a website where you can purchase a CD of a cat purring – and it’s very therapeutic. I have ordered one but at the time of writing, it hasn’t arrived yet. I shall let you know in the next MEWSLETTER what I thought of it! http://chetday.com/catspurrcd.shtml  If any of you have already purchased a cat’s purr CD, then please write and let me know what you think.

QUIZ RESULTS

Congratulations to Bridget Haggerty of Cincinnati, Ohio and Chantal of Canada who were the first to get all the answers right to last month’s quiz. Check out Bridget’s website – it’s great and full of very interesting articles on Irish culture and customs.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com

The answers are as follows:
1. What breed of cat won the Supreme Cat Show last year? Manx
2. At rest, how many times a minute does a cat’s heart beat? 110-140 per minute.
3. In which book is the Cheshire Cat a character? Alice in Wonderland.
4. How old is a kitten when his eyes first open? Between 7 and 10 days old.
5. What is the name of Bob the Builder’s cat? Pilchard.

Now for this month’s quiz –

1. How many claws does a cat have on each of its front paws?
2. Who created the cartoon characters ‘Tom’ and ‘Gerry’?
3. What was the name of the cat in Pinocchio?
4. What is the gestation period for a cat?
5. What is the largest number of kittens ever recorded in one litter? a) 9, b) 19, c) 29?

Good luck!

Many people get a cat as a pet because they’ve heard that they are not as dependent on human company as dogs are. Dogs need regular daily walks and lots of exercise – but cats more or less amuse themselves. This is true, but your cat does need to interact with you if you are to form a bond that will lead to a mutually satisfying and affectionate relationship. If you are some one who is out of the house for long periods, perhaps at work all day, and you are considering getting a cat, then this guide is for you.
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/guidetocatownershipforworkingperson.htm

Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? In this crazy mixed up world we live in you can now clone your cat. Personally, I think there are enough cats that need homes without cloning a whole lot more. People are prepared to pay $50,000 (I have no idea what that might be in pounds sterling, I’m afraid, but if someone wants to let me know, I’ll be glad of the information) for a clone of their cat – what a shame if they have that much money to spend, they couldn’t spend it on more humane issues. If you want to see the article about cloning then here is the link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/08/eveningnews/main641999.shtml?cmp=EM8706

You can send me your views and I’ll publish them in the next MEWSLETTER.

For those of you who love to quilt, here is a great website – and there are some great cat designs:

http://www.sundropdesigns.com/catshoppe.html

If you want to be cerebrally challenged then go to my favourite cat site (other than the dailymews, of course!) www.molliesbigheart.com and do some of the word games. I spent ages doing various games and suddenly realised I was starving hungry – hours had passed! Here is the link to a word search – it’s great fun!

http://www.molliesbigheart.com/games/seek/index.html

I have mentioned this before but I make no apology for mentioning it again – but did you know that everytime you light a cigarette, your pet is smoking too? Just as other people in the same vicinity as smokers can have passive-smoking related illnesses, so can our pets. Their lungs are so much smaller than a human’s, and their capacity for filtering out the toxins is therefore much less – so if you are a smoker, please think about your pet’s health. There is a rise in respiratory problems in ALL pets: dogs, cats, parrots, caged birds – any animal that shares our living space, so before you light that next cigarette, please think about the animals.

More poems again this month, Ed Kostro has written ‘Faces’ which you can find here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/faces.htm

and Margy Ohring has written another two lovely poems about her cat Josie. You can read them here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/josie'spen.htm  and
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/too%20early%20....htm

Jim Willis’ beloved Sheltie, Sadie, passed away last November after a long illness. Jim, utterly heartbroken, wrote this moving poem in her memory:
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/lastwalkinwoods.htm

Jackie Brooks has written about her cat Calli in a wonderful poem called Scallywag
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/scallywag.htm

Remember the wonderful stories about Beau Gest written by Gary Littlebear? ‘Rocket Scientist’ and ‘Tipperary’? Well, after a long wait, Gary has written another heart-warming story about Beau and his new female feline friend, Keeko. You can read this lovely story here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/likecatsanddogs.htm 

Following on in the vein of Gary Littlebear’s fantastic story about Keeko and Beau Gest, Philip Duckett has written a great story about his cat Kitty and Fenrir, the dog – who, as time went on, became more cat-like than dog-like.

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/fenrir.htm

Ollie has been bringing home tiny field mice and then releasing them in the house, rather like a small child brings home a kitten or a puppy, then, having got bored with the mouse, he goes off to play. He looks at me as if to say ‘Can I keep it? Please? Please?’ The rest of the cats are left to follow the mouse around the house as I try not to shriek and behave as calmly as possible, while trying to catch it and deposit it elsewhere in the hope that the cats won’t find it and bring it back in again. You’ll enjoy this story about the events of a recent weekend where a tiny field mouse led us all in a merry dance!

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/mousewhogotaway.htm 

Laura Dumm has drawn another brilliant cartoon this month to celebrate Halloween. You can see it here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/halloween.htm

Ollie’s gripe about food combinations last month in the MEWSERS’ MEWSINGS, ‘Prawns and WHAT?’ has now got a great illustration by Laura. Check it out here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/prawnsandwhat.htm

Garfield has a soft toy, which he takes to bed with him, but it suffered a fatal injury when I decided to give it a wash. You can read about this here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/bananaman.htm

Two little stories from Dan Weiss this time which I’m sure most of us will be able to identify with in one way or another. To read them, please click on these links:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/bluecomforter.htm

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/newworld.htm

When researching for ‘cats in the news’ stories I came across two that featured washing machines. (See Home Page – scroll down) We all know that cats are inquisitive animals and that they like their warmth and comfort. So when you are doing your laundry, please check that your cat or kitten hasn’t found a soft cosy spot to sleep in amongst the dirty linen. Just a few extra seconds to check could make the difference between life and death.

Finally, Laura Adams wrote an incredibly moving, and heart-breaking story about Meeka, a pit bull terrier, whose puppies had been rescued from an act of sheer barbarism. You can read it here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/lessonoflove1.htm

If any of you can find me a video on Turkish Van cats, I’d be very grateful, as I have received a request from one of the Daily Mews’ subscribers.

That about wraps it up for another month. I hope you enjoy the slightly new look Home Page which I hope will make finding the new postings easier. Your feedback and comments, good or bad, are always welcome – as are your poems, stories for CAT CHAT, news about charities, quotations, humorous stories etc. Just send them to me in the usual way.

Take care, and have a purrfect month.

Pauline - Editor
Garfield - Assistant Editor and Chief Technical Consultant
Billy and Timmy - Home Affairs and Wild Life Advisors
Sam - Ethnic Minority Affairs Advisor
Ricky - Building Bridges Advisor
Ollie - Chief Mischief Maker and General 'Butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth' Advisor

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