MEWSLETTER 41:  November 25th 2005

Hi there, and a very warm welcome to all the new subscribers to have joined us since the last issue of the MEWSLETTER hit your inboxes.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrated it yesterday – we all have much to be thankful for.

Please feel free to pass this MEWSLETTER on to your feline-loving family members and friends and perhaps encourage them to subscribe – it’s FREE!!!!

Although we’re still in November, this is a Christmassy issue with thoughts on gifts to give to the feline who has everything. 

We have some great articles for you and some news about cats that you can sponsor, foster or adopt.

In the last MEWSLETTER not only did I put the wrong date on the heading, making us a month later, I also gave some wrong information about the book written by Jackie Brooks and others.  The book is not called ‘Pink Jasper Sisters’, it is called ‘Pink Jasper: Gems From The Journey’ and it isn’t just poetry, it is a collection of stories, essays and poems chronicling the life journeys of the contributing writers.

‘Pink Jasper Sisters’ is the name of their website, and for more information on the book please follow the link here: 

http://homepage.mac.com/emaedel/personal1.html 

My sincere apologies to Jackie for my mistakes and for any confusion I inadvertently may have caused L

Jan Halliday completed her WING WALKING on 6^th November to raise money for the North Hertfordshire branch of the Cats’ Protection. This is the bit of ‘blurb’ from their publicity department:

‘Thank you to all those who donated money towards Jan, our kitten fosterer’s amazing Wing Walk. She was very brave on the day (see photo) and overall we managed to raise £1500 ($3,000) with money still coming in. This will go a long way to help the cats in our care and to make them comfortable this winter.  To find out more about our branch, please visit our website www.catsnorthherts.org’

You can see a picture of Jan on the wing of an aeroplane on the Home Page – it’s totally awesome and if you still want to donate you can go to the link and there will be details of what to do.    

IN THE MEWS

I’ve been monitoring Garfield’s output recently and a couple of times, just as I was about to go to bed, midnight has seen me in the garden, in my dressing gown, shining a torch on Garfield’s bottom so that I can see what he’s managed to do. I then enter this in my diary so that I can remember the details when I give the vet an update. If anyone found my diary, I dread to think what kind of person they might think I am when they read this entry, for example on 27 October:  '11.00 am: peed in the garden by the buddleia bush' or ‘4.00 pm: struggled to do a poo by the Mexican orange, but managed a few lumps.’

I don’t know if you remember when I wrote in an earlier MEWSLETTER that Garfield had fallen down the stairs (http://www.thedailymews.com/MewsletterArchives/mewslettersept0105.htm) and when I looked up to the top of the stairs, there was Timmy, looking terribly anxious.

I did wonder at the time if Timmy had been a bit over exuberant in his care for Garfield as he does nudge him along in the direction that Timmy feels he should go. But I’m glad I didn’t jump to any negative conclusions about Timmy’s actions, because a few days later, Garfield called out to me from the top stair and when I went to see what he wanted, tears sprang into my eyes as I saw Timmy stretched out across the top stair to prevent Garfield from falling down again. He does this time and time again now, and he’ll wait at the top of the stairs when Garfield comes down for a light snack or a ‘diary entry’ and then, when I take Garfield back up, he moves out of the way and will wait by Garfield’s bed for him. When I’ve put Garfield in his bed, with his teddy called Flump, then Timmy will lean over and kiss him, lick his forehead a few times, before settling down with Garfield. His devotion to his elderly companion is reminiscent of a young boy’s love for his Grandfather. Garfield is 19 and a half and Timmy is 9.

Ricky’s yoga article and pictures generated a lot of positive feedback and many of you have now decided to take up yoga, on the strength of Ricky’s recommendations! Let me know how you get on. My thanks go to Jared in Belgium who wrote a lovely testimonial, which I’ve placed on the Home Page – thank you.

In your MEWSLETTER:

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http://upchucky.com/games/hairball-bowling.html

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BOOK QUIZ:
The answers to the last month’s quiz are as follows:

1.                    The Enchanted Cat by John Richard Stephens

2.                   Crazy for Cats by Orietta Sala and Claudine Titeca

3.                   The Cat Who Came For Christmas by Cleveland Amory

The winners of the last competition were:

Jared Kline (Belgium) who has received his prize

Valarie Weigle (Florida) who was just pipped at the post! Valarie chose this website called: www.catsinsinks.com, which is all about cats in sinks!

Helen Dowd (Canada) www.occupytilicome.com Please keep Helen’s husband, Hart, in your prayers as he’s in hospital at the moment.

Well done all of you.

Now for this month’s quiz:

I want the author to the book titles below and if you have a website you can nominate it, or you can nominate a favourite site. A modest prize will be given for the first respondent so hurry up and don’t miss out! You have to be in it to win it! Also, there may be more than one book with the same title, so please scroll down.

Who wrote the following:

1.                    Is Your Cat too Fat?

2.                   Watchers in the Sun.

3.                   Cats 99 Lives.

Send your answers to p.dewberry@ntlworld.com

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A’MEWS’MENT ARCADE

http://www.thedailymews.com/amewsments/10thingscatsdontunderstand.htm

Cathy Goodwin Ph.D from Seattle, Washington, wrote this great piece for cats that are forced to move house with their owners. You can read it here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/amewsments/10tipsforcatswhorelocate.htm

BOOK REVIEWS

I have received so many books to review over the past couple of months and to be honest, if I did review them all here in this MEWSLETTER, you would still be reading it come next Easter, so I’m going to carry them all over until the next issue which will be out just before Christmas. I’m also thinking of adding a new section on the website which will link with the Book Picks page which will not only review books, but other products as well.

I will just mention that two of the books I have received are on the Home Page which you can click on and it will take you to Amazon.co.uk so if you want to purchase them, you can do so via Amazon. Look out for Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul and Cats Do It Better Than People, in which our own very special Jackie Brooks and Ed Kostro are contributors.  

I received another terrific book only yesterday that is called ‘HAPPY CAT DAY – a manifesto for an official CAT HOLIDAY’ by Tiger Hample (a bold visionary feline). I will review this book in detail next time, but suggest you head over to Tiger’s website in the meantime www.happycatday.org.

CAT CHAT

Ron Hevener writes about a beautiful little kitten in a charming tale of mystery and magic. You can read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/honeyjar.htm

Jimmy by Jack Stewart MSc is a lovely story about how a little stray who looked similar to a cat he’d seen in Greece, who moved in and found love.

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

Just after the last MEWSLETTER was sent out, we had another ‘situation’ involving a mouse, 3 cats, and one screaming woman. Ollie has a habit of bringing in little field mice and after he’s finished playing with them, he leaves them to their own devices.  You can read about this latest ‘shameful’ affair here:

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

If you missed the previous article, you may like to read it here:

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

Some time ago, Mike Kolonel, from Canada, sent me this really lovely piece. An Old Man’s Prayer for His Cat is the poignant last wishes of an elderly man and his concerns for his elderly cat. You can read it here:

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

Who wants a Holy Land Cat? by Marty Rauch is the wonderful story of an American woman who lives in Jerusalem. She rescues cats and rehomes them all over the world. You can read her amazing story here:

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

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OFFERS

I’m thrilled to report that two websites have offered subscribers to the MEWSLETTER a discount if they quote a particular code. For subscribers in the US, a great supplier of cat and dog gifts and must haves for your feline companion, www.catwalkfurniture.com, have offered a 10% discount if you quote DM1205. This discount is only valid up until 24^th December. So hightail it over there and mosey around for some great ideas. You’ll get free shipping if your order totals more than $50 after the discount has been deducted.  

For subscribers in the UK, www.madaboutcats.com, a favourite website of mine, is offering a 10% discount if you quote MAC-DM24/12 when ordering. The discount will not run in conjunction with any other offers and is only valid until 24^th December. There is a message box in the order process for discount codes to be added. The discount will be deducted off the order value manually - the discount applies to value of the items ordered and not the cost of P&P (shipping). The code must be quoted on the order for the discount to apply.

ED KOSTRO

Ed has been back to the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina 3 times now and he has written another moving account of his experience there. You can read it here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/journalkatrinarescue2.htm

EMRO updates

The Daily Mews is sponsoring one of the Egyptian Mau cats at EMRO and we’ll be featuring regular updates on ESKANDER, the cat we’ve chosen. You can read about him here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/eskandersponsormau.htm

Even more worrying, is that the authorities in Giza have begun a new wave of poisoning cats and dogs and you can do your bit by writing to the embassy or consulate in your own country to share your views and the horror of this treatment. Click here to find the embassy of your country:

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

FELINE FITNESS

No matter how stunning your Christmas fairy looks, your cat will think he’ll look better at the top of the tree instead! This is a MUST-READ article on things to do to keep your pet healthy and happy.

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

If you want to read the hilarious tale of Mog the Mutinous, and the assault of the Christmas Tree, click here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/ohchristmastree.htm

KITTY BITS

Slippers, the president’s cat, written by Jared Kline, is glimpse into the secret world of the White House – and the effect that ONE cat had on the dignitaries of the world! Read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/slippers.htm

MEWERS’ MEWSINGS

You know how it is. You go out for the day and leave your cat to his own devices. This is a first paw account written by Snookie on his personal view of the time he was left on his own for the day. http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/snookiesmoans.htm

NAPPING ON A SUNBEAM

Sad news to report this month, Fluke, Laura Dumm’s cat, passed away in October. He had been living with leukaemia for a number of years and he featured in one of Laura’s first cartoons for the website.

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

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

Laura has written about a little tortoiseshell cat that she named Elsie. Elsie was a stray feral cat that gave birth to Bogart, a little creamy ginger cat under her porch. Laura rescued Bogart when it was apparent that Elsie wasn’t able to feed him properly as she was so thin, and after taking advice from a rescue centre, Laura’s plan was to catch Elsie and have her spayed.  You can read the sad story of Elsie here: http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/elsie.htm

There is much to be said for the admirable TNR schemes that many parts of the US run – too many people get rid of their cats for the stupidest and most selfish of reasons, leaving them to the mercies of the elements and predators. It’s down to people like Laura and many others that I know of through the Daily Mews who take care of strays – in addition to their own feline families – and feed them, and if they’re able to catch them, they get them neutered or spayed so that they can’t produce anymore unwanted kittens.

If you take on a cat – please make sure that you can afford to look after its wellbeing for a number of years and not just for a few weeks until the novelty wears off. Why should other people pick up the tab for your selfishness?

Sabrina, who was Valarie Weigle’s much-loved cat in Florida, also passed away recently, and we send our love to her and our condolences.

To anyone who has recently lost a beloved feline companion, if you need a listening ear, contact me at the Daily Mews email address.

NEIL THE VET

I’m very EXCITED as we have our very own VET on the premises; well, almost. I live in Kent and he lives in Scotland, which is the other end of the UK, but it FEELS like he’s on the premises of the Daily Mews!! Mr Neil McIntosh BVM&S MRCVS will be writing an occasional series – time permitting – and we start off this month with a timely reminder of when to annoy (sorry, I mean, call out) the vet or not.

Some years ago one of the vets from the surgery where all my 6 cats go, lodged with me for a few months, and I echo Neil’s comments wholeheartedly about being called out at 4.00am for nothing more serious than a dog that has just been sick.

http://www.thedailymews.com/NeiltheVet/workallhitandmyth.htm

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Maryjean Ballner and her cat Champion, star in the cat massage video entitled ‘Your Cat Wants a Massage!’ Following the steps in this video, I gave Sam a massage and he was hooked! Each time I sat down on the sofa, he rushed over to me and meowed loudly as if he was telling me to give him another massage. So – our ‘tester’ gave it a full paws up and 10/10. Roger A. Caras, President of the ASPCA said this of the video: ‘If there ever was a win-win situation – it’s Cat Massage. What a wonderful idea!’ Contact Maryjean on the following email address to order your own copy of the Cat Massage – your cat will thank you for it! You have enough time to get it as a Christmas present. maryjean@dogandcatmassage.com

I’m thrilled to have received the second in the quartet of the Cats’ Purr CDs. This one is a ‘relaxing’ one and I tested it out last Saturday. I put it in the CD player, and slowly sipped my cappuccino. The next thing I knew over 30 minutes had gone by and I’d been sound asleep! So it’s definitely relaxing!!! This is something that you can buy for yourself as a Christmas treat and you can buy it direct from the website: www.purrfectsymphony.com.  You can telephone on 0151 334 3561 and the CD costs £9.99 plus p&p.

PURRFECT POETRY

If a cat were to write about the blessings it would bestow on its home and family, and surroundings, then this poem by Trudi Rosi (Snookie’s Mum) would probably be nearest the mark for accuracy. Check it out here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/catscreed.htm

I’m pretty sure there was something else I meant to put in this MEWSLETTER but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was. If you sent me something for the website or the MEWSLETTER and I’ve not included it, please contact me again – and I’m sorry for not including it this time.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the MEWSLETTER and will take advantage of the discounts that the two websites are offering.  Until the next issue, which will hopefully be out just before Christmas – can you believe that it is only a month away? – where has this year gone to??? – wishing you a Purrfect time and let’s hope that we can help Tiger instigate a HAPPY CAT’S DAY holiday to celebrate soon!

Take care, and all good wishes

Pauline – editor
Garfield – Chief Technical Advisor and Assistant Editor
Billy and Timmy – TV censor and Care of the Elderly (respectively)
Sam – Ethnic Minorities Advisor and Massage Tester
Ricky – Psy-CAT-herapist and Holistic Health Guru
Ollie – A Mouse A Day keeps Mum on Her Toes!!!!!!   

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