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MEWSLETTER 40: October 18 2005
Dear All, and a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers who’ve joined us since the last (proper) MEWSLETTER. What a traumatic time I’ve had! First something nasty seeped its way into all the Microsoft components of the computer and then once that was fixed, I found that my website had been ‘got at’ and every time I added a new page, the right margin wrapped itself around and under the bottom margin. Thankfully, I have a good friend who understands my editing package better than I do, and he put things right for me. So three MEWS and half a dozen head butts for Jeff in Southampton, UK, for all his very hard work and late nights in putting every thing back together again. I’m very grateful to him. Where I live in the South East of England, we’ve had a particularly good summer, with plenty of long, hot balmy days. Since the garden work was finished in early August, the cats have made full use of every new surface for sunbathing, stretching themselves out to allow the sun’s rays to warm their bellies. Ricky likes the stone circle area and each morning before breakfast he practises his Yoga positions. Extending his right front paw and left back paw – s-t-r-e-t-c-h – then he reverses paws. He does this a few times, has a quick wash and then after a full Salute to the Sun (raising his bottom in the air and pressing his chest to the ground) he has a bit of a shake before coming in to breakfast, his chakras neatly aligned and his aura finely tuned, ready to calmly face whatever the day might cast his way. You can see pictures of Ricky in Yoga mode by clicking on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/rickyyogasessions.htm Our television screens showed the unmajestic side of Nature when we witnessed the destruction and devastation that Hurricane Katrina wrought in New Orleans. There are numerous agencies that are helping to pick up the pieces; rehoming displaced persons; food aid; transporting pets to humane shelters, where hopefully they will be reunited with their distraught owners. If you want to help in any way, Michelle’s site at www.betterbudgetting.com has plenty of ideas, and Sandy’s at www.sundropdesigns.com/charities also lists ways in which you can help. www.pitstop.com has the most heartrending pictures of canine victims of Hurricane Katrina. Continue to the end of the ‘show’ because there are three links to websites where you can help; Best Friends, Noah’s Ark and PetFinder. Do you remember me telling you in a previous MEWSLETTER about the time I spent about half an hour talking to my handbag thinking it was Sam curled up asleep on the sofa? Well, I thought I’d tell you about EMBARRASSING MOMENT #2!! Some years ago when Biggles and Garfield were mere slips of felines they used to sleep on my bed at night. They’d come and go throughout the night doing whatever it is that cats do while you’re asleep, but they were always there when I woke up. One particular night, it had been raining when Garfield had been in the garden. He had a habit of checking if I was awake by stroking my face. It took supreme will power on my part to not open my eyes – if I did, he’d be pulling back the covers expecting me to provide an early breakfast! On this occasion, I remained ‘fast’ asleep and after several strokes to both cheeks, chin, forehead and nose for good measure, he realised that his efforts were in vain and he resignedly settled down to sleep. Early next morning, there was a knock on the door, and sleepily I went down to open it, to find a very startled looking postman, giving me a package that was too big to put through the letter box. He started to say something, but thought better of it, so I smiled and closed the door, excitedly clutching my new surprise parcel. As his face had seemed so startled, I decided to look in the mirror to see what might have caused such a reaction from him and I nearly had a fright myself. My entire face was covered in mud – across my forehead, down my nose, on both cheeks, my chin – Garfield certainly did his paw work well! IN YOUR MEWSLETTER *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Animal Welfare Book Review: Mo – Cat of My Heart by Barbara E Moss Cat Chat Charity profile Cudell Street Cats by Laura Dumm Ed Kostro: Katrina Rescue Journal Kitty Bits Mewsers’ Mewsings Napping on a Sunbeam Purrfect Poetry Quiz *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A hilarious and addictive game for you to play!!!! http://upchucky.com/games/hairball-bowling.html *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* BOOK QUIZ: I want the authors to the book titles below and if you have a website you can nominate it, or you can nominate a favourite site including the Daily Mews if you wish! A modest prize will be given for the first respondent so hurry up and don’t miss out! A word of warning – sometimes there are several books with the same title! You’ll need to scroll through them. Who wrote the following?
Send your answers to p.dewberry@ntlworld.com The winners of the last quiz are: Sue Coate, Massachusettes Jared Kline, Belgium Helen Dowd, Canada: www.occupytilicome.com Bridget Haggerty, Ohio: www.irishcultureandcustoms.com A modest prize has already been sent to Sue – well done and thank you to those taking part. You have to be in it to win it! Oh, I nearly forgot to give you the answers:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ANIMAL WELFAREMaida W Genser has written a very good article highlighting the problems of the over 55s living in condos in Florida – they are not allowed to have pets and she has also got a petition which you can sign, to get this stupid rule revoked. See both links below. http://www.thedailymews.com/AnimalWelfare/nopetrules.htm She says: ‘Please join me in this effort to change attitudes and no-sense no-pet rules. You can help by signing our petition to allow pets in condos at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/738171316.’ Ed Kostro went straight down to New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina did her worst, and helped to round up the traumatised pets and make them comfortable and in some cases, reunite them with their equally distraught owners. Read his moving account here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/journalkatrinarescue.htm BOOK REVIEWMo – Cat of My Heart (The Story of a Heart and Its Love) is a beautifully written book by Barbara E Moss and tells of a journey through depression and loss helped by an intelligent, and loving ginger cat (who looks the image of my Garfield!) called Mo. Barbara’s journey is beset with several setbacks along the way, but through finding love again with a feline companion, she grows stronger and stronger. The reader will find much strength in this book, despite the sorrows and sadness, and emerge greatly enriched and blessed for having read it. You can buy the book direct from Barbara at this email address: bee642@msn.com or directly from Xlibris (www.xlibris.com/bookstore) Phone 888-795-4274 ext. 276. The price is $23.99, plus postage ($1.42--book rate; $2.21--first class; in the U.S.), when ordered from the author. For further information you can go to Barbara’s website: http://www.sydnassloot.com/ CAT CHATHow many of you have cats that like to watch television? Lenora in North Dakota has written a sweet little anecdote about funny little Bunny the cat who loves to watch television – but she keeps running round the back to see where everything goes! http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/littlebunny.htm Sometimes cats go through the most horrific experiences but there is usually someone who steps in and takes them home. Read the heart-warming story of how Peanut became Robin and the nurse who loved him back to health: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/luckyme.htm A little white cat called Snookie who lives in London has written an account of having to use sunscreen to protect himself from the rays of the sun. Read about him here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/snookiesunbathing.htm During very hot weather, cats often like lying in a bath because the cool enamel helps to lower their body temperature. Lenora in North Dakota has written about Stevie, a cat, who took this one step further! Read about his adventures here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/stevie.htm Helen Dowd has sent an update on the little kitten that she was hand-rearing, who has undergone another change of name. You can read about Sparky here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/sparkyupdate.htm CHARITIES AND ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRESThis is the Cat Charities section renamed so that ALL animal charities and rescue centres can be featured, and you’ll love the following article written by Benny Archuleta who took over the Dachshund Rescue website. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/dachshundrescue.htm Mike in Newfoundland sent me the fund raising details of the Exploits Valley SPCA back in August but I was unable to get them posted on site because of the problems I had. I’m sorry to say that a couple of the events have already happened, but there are some more to come, so if you live in Canada, you can get along to them. If you don’t live in Canada, you can still support the SPCA in other ways. Check it out here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/evspca.htm How far would you be prepared to go to raise funds for charity?? Jan Holliday will be WING WALKING for the North Hertfordshire (UK) branch of the Cats Protection on 6th November. She hopes to raise £2,000. If you want to find out more, or to sponsor her please go to this site: www.catsnorthherts.org/wingwalk.htm You can donate on line or send a cheque to Cats Protection North Herts, PO Box 18, Stevenage, SG1 3WZ. (UK) CUDELL STREET CATSThere is a bit of the thespian in all cats, methinks, and Laura’s latest cartoon sums this up purrfectly! See her latest cartoon here: http://www.thedailymews.com/Cudellstreetcats/theatrical.htm KITTYBITSHave you ever received an electric shock when you stroked your cat?? Not only does it surprise you, but there is a look of surprise on your cat’s face as well. Find out why it happens in this little snippet of information. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/electricshock.htm NAPPING ON A SUNBEAMLosing a cat is a very upsetting experience and some people find relief in writing down their feelings, or writing a tribute to their beloved cat. In the first article, Marjorie writes about her precious Atticus, who came back to say goodbye to her. http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/catcamebacktosaygoodbye.htm Back in July, Divot, Margy’s treasured cat passed away and Margy found a degree of comfort and peace in writing poetry to his memory. Read her poems here: http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/divot.htm Pete was an amazing cat who left behind an equally amazing legacy for his distraught owner Niki. Read about Pete, here: http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/peteheaven.htm I’m very sorry to have to tell you that Princess Gabby, Ed Kostro’s much-loved cat, lost her battle with liver cancer on 30th September. Ed writes a fitting memorial poem to her here: http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/PrincessGabby.htm And Chuckie, who was featured in the last MEWSLETTER with Tripod, sadly had to be put to sleep on 11th October. Please keep Hazel, her grief-stricken owner, and Tripod in your prayers at this sad time. For all our contributors, please put them all in your prayers that they might know peace and comfort at this time of pain and loss. PURRFECT POETRYWe have a ‘pride’ of poems this time. Does anyone know what the collective noun is for a whole bunch of poems???? I know a book would be an anthology. Jared in Belgium wrote this great little poem about a cat earning his breakfast! http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/breakfast.htm Helen in Canada wrote a poem about ALL her cats in this entertaining little poem: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/catastrophe.htm Terri Beckett wrote a very atmospheric poem based at the time of the Pharaohs; read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/goddessremembers.htm As well as writing his journal on his experiences in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Ed wrote a haunting poem. Read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/katrinaeyes.htm For those of you who have been following Orlando’s Adventures, here is the latest poem in the series by Jackie Brooks: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/orlandototherescue.htm Jackie also wrote the following poem, which is a rhyming couple style of question and answer, which is called a ‘pregunta’. Pregunta in Spanish means question! http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/pussycatpussycat.htm Both Ed and Jackie have articles published in a terrific little book called ‘CATS DO IT BETTER THAN PEOPLE’ (200 Life Lessons You Can Learn From Your Feline Friend) which I hope to review in time for the next MEWSLETTER. It would make a great gift for Christmas. Jackie also is a co-author of a book called ‘Pink Jasper Sisters’ and the link to find out more is here: http://homepage.mac.com/emaedel/Personal1.html Speaking of gifts for Christmas, check out the latest poster on the Home Page at the top on the left hand side. Le Lavabo is part of a series of 4 posters all featuring cats in various poses in the bathroom. They’re all really good and very good value for money. With Christmas just a whisker away they would make a lovely present for someone – or for you! So go on, spoil yourself!! Snookie’s owner has sent a couple of questions, which the great minds of the Daily Mews subscribers may be able to answer: When Snookie makes a funny purr-meow call (all at the same time) is he merely greeting me or calling me by my name? What do your readers think? Our other cats have also done this when in close proximity to me. How do I protect Snookie from rushing across the road or being careless? When the lorries go down the side of our house he is scared of the noise so hopefully he'll be careful but we don't know for sure yet. Can anyone give us any ideas on protection? Ed’s note: Snookie hasn’t been allowed out yet until after he’s had ‘the operation’ which was done on 17th October. After this date, he’ll be allowed to come and go at liberty, which is always a worry when someone lives on or near a main road. Earlier in the MEWSLETTER, I asked if anyone’s cats like to watch television. I bought a DVD for my cats called ‘Kitty goes hunting, plus Kitty goes fishing’. I tested it out on Billy who was mesmerised by the activities on the screen. A succession of mice, birds, butterflies, fish, crabs, frogs, ducks, - all manner of wild life in their natural habitat – all collated into a montage with sounds has been put together in these films to amuse your cats. It lasts about an hour and the slogan promises ‘NO MORE BORED KITTYS’ I have never seen Billy sit so still and so enthralled and pay such rapt attention to what was happening on the television. I haven’t tested it yet on the other Daily Mewsers but think it would be a success. I got it from a gift company called www.nothingbutthecat.co.uk but you could get it direct from http://www.petqwerks.com. If you do get it, let me know how your cats react. I think that just about covers everything. I hope you enjoy all the new postings on site and will let me have your own stories, poems, or amusing items for future postings. If you have any feedback, good or bad, please let me know. Thank you all for your continued support both in prayer, and by your encouraging emails. I did lose a few subscribers since all this ‘trouble’ began, which is a shame, as you’re all so precious to me, but thank you all for being so patient. I greatly appreciate you all. Until the next MEWSLETTER, which will probably be towards the end of November – unless you beg me to do one sooner than that! Take care, and have a PURRFECT time!! Your friend Pauline – editor Garfield – Chief Technical Advisor and Assistant Editor Billy and Timmy – TV censor and Care of the Elderly (respectively) Sam – Ethnic Minorities Advisor Ricky – Psy-CAT-herapist and Holistic Health Guru Ollie – A Mouse A Day keeps Mum on Her Toes!!!!!!
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