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MEWSLETTER 38: July 5, 2005 by Pauline Dewberry
Hi everyone, and a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers. Please feel free to forward this MEWSLETTER to your feline loving family members and friends. From the emails I have received from many of you, your summer has arrived. And with the advent of the hot weather, our pets need protection from the sun too. Click here for an article on protecting your cats against sunburn and what to do if they get sunstroke. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/catcareinthesun.htm http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/warningsignsheatstroke.htm Here in the UK, our weather is breaking all records again: the hottest day, the wettest day, the longest hours of sunshine, etc and all the Daily Mewsers and myself were wilting under the intense heat. As I had pruned the Mexican Orange tree and removed the rosemary bush which had become very woody, Ricky was a bit disgruntled because he had no where to go to lie in the shade. But he’s found another spot now and it’s hard to find him at times because he virtually disappears from view in amongst a couple of low-lying shrubs. Just recently I had a little 8-month-old tortoiseshell kitten to stay for a week while her family went on holiday. It coincided with the hottest week in June and all the Daily Mewsers – Garfield included – took it upon themselves to show their disfavour. That does raise the question of how many cats is too many? Just adding one can upset the feline dynamics of the group and bring about catastrophic events. You can read about their rantings and ravings here: http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/houserules6catsonly.htm Fleas are a nuisance at this time of year, and I received an excellent article on reading the labels on flea products. It’s amazing how many people use inappropriate flea products for their pets – many of which are potentially life threatening. Of my 6 cats, 4 are allergic to the properties in flea collars so they all use Front-Line on the back of the neck – the other two wear flea collars. When you put a collar on your cat, you should always check every so often to make sure that there aren’t any red or sore patches around the neck area – this is a sign that the collar is irritating the cat and must be taken off immediately. Leave it a while before using something like Front-Line. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/fleaproductcare.htm QUIZ Here are the answers to last month’s quiz: 1. Enough to make a cat laugh: Deric Longden 2. Cats: The Rise of the Cat: Roger Tabor 3. A cat is watching: Roger A Caras And the successful Feline Sleuths were: Hart Dowd (Canada) whose favourite web site is www.occupytillicome.com Helen Dowd (Canada) who says: Please visit my "Heavenly Sunshine Book" site: http://mysite.verizon.net/res8ren5/ with thanks to Jo-Ann Falace, for setting this site up for me. Laura Jowalski (Pennsylvania) Jared Kline (Belgium) Linda Collier (Maryland) Valarie Weigle (Florida) http://www.trucksnpaws.com Now for this month’s quiz: who wrote the following? 1. Incredible Cats 2. The Cat’s Mind 3. The Church Cat: Clerical Cats in Stories and Verse Send your answers to p.dewberry@ntlworld.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO FEED A HUNGRY ANIMAL. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com The animals and I thank you. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* June 12th was a special day in Ricky’s life. It was the day that I saw him in the rescue centre and brought him home to live with the other Daily Mewsers, and myself. That was 7 years ago and because he had no teeth, Kevin, our wonderful vet, thought he was possibly about 6 years of age – although he could have been older, or younger, so now, 12th June is Ricky’s official birthday – the day of new beginnings and on this particular birthday he’s possibly around 13 years old. Ricky is a very quiet cat and spends a lot of time by himself. He’s a great purr-machine with loud gusty purrs as he tucks into a bowl of ‘sweeties’. Recently, I noticed that he seemed a bit off colour so I took him to the vet where he was given a thorough medical examination. A large mass was felt in the liver area and his lymph nodes were swollen so he was booked in for an x-ray and a complete M.O.T. The mass proved to be unprocessed faeces and his blood test didn’t reveal anything worrying, but the chest x-ray revealed he has an enlarged heart. He hasn’t been given any medication for it at the moment, but we’re obviously keeping vigilant about any subtle changes that might be going on in that gorgeous ginger body. I told Kevin that he would freak out in a normal sized hospital cage so he was put into a very large dog cage, with his lavender teddy (for relaxation) and a Cat In The Hat catnip toy. Apparently, he didn’t move from the spot where he was put – only his eyes moved! He spends a lot of time wedged in various planters in the garden and comes in with all the soil and debris attached to his belly fur – but he’s not a slave to fashion, and doesn’t let a bit of grit get him down. Recently, Ricky has taken it upon himself to ‘visit’ me and sit next to me for a few moments at a time. He still hasn’t made the great decision to sit on my lap; having done it once he decided that lap sitting was not for him. But he’ll sit a few inches away from me on the sofa and a front paw will stretch out and just touch my thigh, or if I’m wearing a skirt (rarely), he’ll touch the fabric. He always checks with me that it’s ok to do this and of course, I always tell him how special he is and what a great cat he is. I feel this urgency to cram as much love in his remaining time as possible, to try and eradicate the memories of his earlier experiences where he was kept in a rabbit hutch for a year. What he could have possibly done to deserve such treatment, I can’t begin to imagine, but each time he does something, like get up on the sofa, or get up on my bed, he always looks to see if he’s allowed to do it. For those of you who don’t know Ricky’s story, please click here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/introricky.htm Talking to my handbag (thinking it was Sam - last month’s MEWSLETTER) touched memory chords with a few of you, and Ed Kostro sent me this funny little story, which I’ll share with you in this MEWSLETTER. ‘Ever since the day I first brought Gabby home from the animal shelter, she has religiously greeted me at the front door, even when not feeling well. Not that long ago, as I carted in numerous grocery bags from the garage, going in and out the open front door, and placing them in the dark front foyer, I talked and talked to good old Gabby - as I always do when I get home. When I finally bent down in the dark to pet her, as I always do, too - I found 'she' was really one of my dog Turbo's numerous black and white stuffed animals! I burst out laughing, and as I climbed the stairs to the living room with the grocery bags, I spotted both Gabby and Turbo at the very top of the stairs, both with very puzzled looks on their faces - wondering who the hell I had been talking to down there!’ I’m sure we can all relate to Ed’s story. Let me hear some more! Ed also found a little battered kitten, the worse the wear for fending by himself for some time, which he named Lakeshore Louie. You can read about him here: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/lakeshorelouie.htm Ed kindly sent me a profile on Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah for our Animal Charities section this month. You can find it by following this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/bestfriendsanimalsanctuaryutah.htm With regard to the Moving House article I wrote for last month, Judy in Canada wrote to tell me of her ‘Moving House’ story and thought it might prove useful so you can read that in the Cat Chat section. Click here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/movinghouselily.htm Orlando’s Adventures by Jackie Brooks continues with Orlando’s escape from being press-ganged and witnessing the Boston Tea Party. Click here to read the next instalment of his thrilling adventures: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/bostonteaparty.htm My thanks to Laura Dumm for her stunning illustrations for Orlando’s Adventures and the thrilling sequel, Boston Tea Party, To see Laura’s latest Cudell Street cartoon, please click here: http://www.thedailymews.com/Cudellstreetcats/clockcat.htm Amiee Amarral in Massachusetts sent me a fun cat person profile quiz, to see it, click here: http://www.thedailymews.com/amewsments/catpersonprofilequiz.htm June 28th was the second anniversary of Charlie dying unexpectedly and you’ll find a tribute to him in the Napping on a Sunbeam section here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/charlie.htm If you would like to have a memorial feature to your cats that have gone to Rainbow Bridge, then please send details in the usual way. You can include a small photo, too, if you’d like to. Noticing how lovingly Timmy waits at the top of the stairs for Garfield and how he’ll settle down alongside him, it’s wonderful how some animals become the seeing eyes or hearing ears for their companions. Ed Kostro has written a very moving tribute to a beautiful dog called Meadow that he had the pleasure of looking after. Click here for this beautiful tribute: http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/angelsrestmemorials/0405/Meadow.html A story that Ed wrote about Meadow and his dogs, Turbo and Chica Blanca is going to appear in the soon to be released ‘Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers’ Soul’ – so be sure to get yourself a copy. I have received a request from Janet Hayward in Australia. She is writing a book about cats and their 9 lives and wondered if any of you have got any stories to relate about how your own cats have bounced back from the brink of illness or accidents – using up a life or two in the process. Contact Janet with your stories at this email address: haywardj@ihug.com.au If your stories are chosen to appear in the book, you’ll be given the credit and a copy of the book on publication. Here’s a nice little story from Kay Brewer, who took on a stray Mama cat and her kitten – she named them Sweetie Pie and Sugar. You can read about them here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/sweetiepie.htm Helen Dowd has also written a story about a stray Mama cat, written from the cat’s perspective – which is lovely. You can read about Finders’ Keepers, Losers’ Weepers here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/finderskeepers.htm Did you know that lilies are poisonous to cats? They are lethal in fact, and if a cat ingests the pollen from a lily, he can die within a few hours. Please read this article and follow the link at the end of it to get more information about which plants (including house plants) are poisonous to cats: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/poisonousplants.htm Ron Hevener, who is an artist, author, and animal advocate, has also got a new book out. Here is the link to the book, which you can buy on line: http://www.blueridgegraphics.com/ron/highstakes%20onlinead3.html To look at his other books, and drawings, you can visit his website here: www.ronhevener.com I do get sent some wonderful links to other cat-related websites and this next one is simply wonderful. For those of you who struggle with your feelings on the loss of your pet, and wonder if it does go to Heaven, this website has all the answers. It is written by a wonderful Christian man, Bill la Salle, in Canada, and I spent a lot of time looking around it. I love this site, and I know you will too: http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/w_lasalle/ This next site also believes that our pets go to Heaven and is also written by a Christian woman, Mary Porter. Please click here to visit her site: Mary has written a couple of books outlining the point of view that our pets, do indeed, go to Heaven when they die. I find that a very comforting thought. She is going to send me a copy to review soon, so in a future MEWSLETTER, I’ll be able to report back to you. For those of you who would like nothing better than to make new friends and chat about your cats, here is a great feline forum that will suit you. Click here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACE_forum/ - don’t forget to mention the Daily Mews when you get there! If you like adventure books with a strong feline character, then look no further than Vic DiGenti’s fantastic book ‘Windrusher and the Cave of Tho-Hoth’. Click here for Vic’s website where you can read all about this fantastic book! More feline quotes have been added to the Paws for Thought section, click here to read them: http://www.thedailymews.com/pawsforthought.htm Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the Home Page to see a picture of Garfield in his teens in mid-air as he catches a catnip mouse Till the next MEWSLETTER, which should be towards the end of the month, take care and have a purrfect month. All good wishes Pauline – editor |
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