MEWSLETTER 33: January 25, 2005

by Pauline Dewberry

Hi there, everyone and a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers.

Well Christmas has been and gone in a flurry of tinsel, wrapping paper and Carols, and who could forget the devastation of the tsunami on Boxing Day, 26th December. If you’re able to give to any of the charities who are helping out, whether it’s for human or animal help, then please give as much as you can.

All the cats here at the Daily Mews had a quiet Christmas, as did I. I was still stretched out on the sofa, recuperating from the operation in November. Garfield, however, had a fit just before Christmas that was brought on by his diabetes. He spent a day at the vets’ surgery where he underwent blood tests and the like, and it was discovered that his pancreas is now making its own insulin. With the half a unit a day I was giving him, he had overdosed and that caused the fit.

He has now been off insulin for about 6 weeks and he is eating quite a bit more, and has put back a little bit of weight – which is good. He has started going out in the garden (in all weathers) a couple of times a day to go to the toilet and now that I’m up and about and no longer lounging on the sofa, he has relinquished sofa duties with Timmy, and now takes himself upstairs to spend the day on my bed, with Timmy almost Velcroed to his side. Timmy has taken it upon himself to watch out for Garfield and I’ve written an article about their friendship, which you can read here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/feline%20friends.htm

January 25th 2004 was a day that will never be forgotten by Jim Willis.
He was out celebrating his birthday with friends. The first time he’d been out for more than an hour away from his furr-family for ages and on his way back home, he heard the sirens – and realised they were attending a fire in his home. He lost everything, his home, belongings, and 14 of the animals that he’d spent his life looking after; animals that had been given up because they were unhomeable, unmanageable, unlovable. But Jim homed them, managed them and loved them. Only 6 of his animals survived and Jim began the long, slow process of rebuilding their lives again. Jim thanks everyone who sent donations and letters of sympathy.

So today, on the anniversary of that tragic occasion, please keep Jim and those he lost in your hearts and prayers. [ If you like, please light a candle in their memory or do something extra special for an animal; please give a rescued animal a good home if you can. Thank you. Jim]

If you would like to donate money, food, or any items that would be helpful to Jim in rebuilding their lives, his address is: P.O. Box 99, Langeloth, PA, 15054, USA – I know that he and the animals will be very grateful to you for your kindness, generosity, and concern.

You can read his incredibly moving tribute to those of his furr-family who lost their lives that dreadful January day in his latest article here:

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

February 14th is Valentine’s Day and my thanks go to Laura Dumm for our fantastic HOME PAGE illustration. You can see Laura’s Cudell Street Valentine cartoon here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/Cudellstreetcats/cudellstreetvalentines.htm

Laura Dumm, our resident Cudell Street Cats’ cartoonist, has triumphed again. She has come up with a new series called ‘Some Cats Are ...’ and you can see the first one here: http://www.thedailymews.com/Cudellstreetcats/somecatsarespoiled.htm

Ed Kostro has written a delightful Valentine’s Day story about the love his cat Buddy has for Princess Gabriella that will have you sighing with delight – read it here:

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

Roger Kiser is a gifted writer whose stories have appeared in Petwarmers and Heartwarmers. His latest story, Cat Man, is a joy to read. Click here to read it:

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

Check out his book ‘American Orphan’ as well – the proceeds of which will go to help abused children. http://cyberwit.net

Hart Dowd in Canada sent me a sweet little snippet that you’ll all enjoy:

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

The creative folk amongst you who love to quilt will love the latest designs at www.Sundropdesigns.com.   From 1st February there will be two new designs, featuring a cat and dog for you to make for Valentine’s Day – click here to browse this great site and make sure you return in time for 1st February:

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

I owe an apology to all of you who tried to email Wendy M Tugby regarding her book ‘Over The Rainbow Bridge.’ I was a bit too liberal with my ‘ns’! Her correct email address is: RYNCHANON@NIGHTWING.FSBUSINESS.CO.UK.  You can contact her with your experiences of ADC (After Death Connections) or with regard to buying her book.

Gerald Schiffhorst’s wife, Lynn’s, first book for children was published in October. It’s called: ‘IT’S GREAT TO BE A GHOST’ and is a collection of nine stories for 8 – 10 year olds about a playful ghost called Giggle, who saves animals and goes to the moon. There is only one CAT in these stories, Gerald tells me, but his cat Lizzie had a paw in the creative process. Lynn has a website: www.trafford.com/ and her book can be ordered from the UK and elsewhere from orders@trafford.com 

Kathy Whirity is a wonderful writer and I just loved her story ‘A Midnight Dance of Cat and Mouse.’ You can read it here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/midnightdanceofcatandmouse.htm

At last we have another chapter from Dan Weiss on Frankie Weiss and her magic – to read this latest instalment from the Weiss household, please click here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/frankieweissmagic9a.htm

You know what it’s like. You start off with one cat, or maybe a pair of kittens, and before you can turn round, you’ve got half a dozen snoozing on all your sofas. I can really identify with Valarie Weigle’s hilarious account of how her feline population kept growing – with a little help from her two dogs, Sampson and Delilah. Click here to have a good laugh –

http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/howtoget5catsintwoyears.htm

Garfield will be 19 in March, and already secret plans are being drawn up in preparation for the BIRTHDAY HAT. For those of you who weren’t around last year for his birthday, you can log on to a favourite website of mine: www.molliesbigheart.com where there is a whole selection of Garfield’s 18th birthday photos for you to enjoy. Ollie, who had been writing his diaries until he went on strike last August at aged two – protesting that he was no longer a kitten – also wrote about Garfield’s birthday and you can see what he wrote here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/kittendiaries14.htm

Guylian, who make the most delicious chocolates, have linked up with Project Seahorse, and everytime you buy a box of their Guylian Sea Shells, you are supporting Project Seahorse, which believes that saving seahorses means saving the seas. For more information, visit Project Seahorse on the web at: www.projectseahorse.org and for more information on their chocolates, go to www.guylian.be. With Valentine’s Day a few weeks away, you have the purrfect excuse to treat yourself or your loved one (human, that is!) to an enormous box of Sea Shells and you’re protecting sea horses too!

Well, I think that about wraps it up for another month. Wherever you live in this world of ours, I pray that you’ll be warm, safe, and that peace prevails. I look forward to receiving your feedback – good or bad – and please don’t forget to send in your stories/anecdotes about your own feline families.

So, until next month, God bless you all, and have a purrfect month.

Your friend – Pauline
Garfield – Chief Consultant and Executive Director
Billy and Timmy – Field Advisors
Sam – Ethnic Minority Advisor
Ricky – Counsellor and Psy-cat-therapist
Ollie – Butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth cheeky little chappie!!!!

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