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MEWSLETTER 53
Date: February 2, 2007 (Issue 10) About Pauline: A Quick Update from our friend! New Contest from Cats Delight: Win a CASE of cat treats! Valentine’s Day and Kitties: Happy Valentine’s Day! Animal Trivia for Valentine’s Day – a few romantic gestures… New Stories and Poetry (by Ed Kostro, Stacy Mantle, Lady Windsong, Terri Becket and Jack Stewart) Just For Fun: A new video all about cats! Warning: Cats and Candles don’t mix! Letters: Is there such a thing as a “Hearing Ear” cat? Many of you have written to me for an update, and your wish is my command. Read on to for a brief overview of Pauline’s recovery. About PaulinePauline went in for a bone marrow transplant earlier in January, and has been doing quite well with the procedure! From what I hear on my latest report from the UK, she is in Kings Hospital, and while she can’t receive any emails, she does send the occasional text message when she’s up to it. She is also able to receive regular mail, so if you need the hospital’s address, she would welcome any correspondence to break up the monotony of a long day! While she spent most of November and December in the hospital, she is (hopefully) nearing the end of a long and aggressive treatment plan and it is our sincere hope that she will be home with her kitties and feeling a LOT better in no time. In true Pauline fashion, her friend has reported to me that “…she radiates beauty and serenity…” which we all know is a given when it comes to Pauline! Get well soon! Okay – we have a lot to cover this issue, so bear with me! I’m going to try and break it into sections that are a little easier to coast through in case you don’t have time to read the entire mewsletter! But, if you have sent something to me and we haven’t covered it in this issue, please let me know. It’s hard to negotiate two sites, one that is weekly (www.petsweekly.com) and one that is monthly (www.thedailymews.com). I’ll do my best to catch up with you on the next mewsletter! Meanwhile, let’s get started! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Contest: Cats Delight is sponsoring our contest this month! You can participate in their generous offering of a case of new cat treats by clicking on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/cats_go_crazy_for_cats_delight.htm Here is a summary of the contest and how you can get free treats! Pamper your pussycat, mollycoddle your moggy and indulge your feline friend with a tasty new snack from Webbox. The well known pet food brand has launched a fantastic new range of cat treats, Webbox Cats Delight cat sticks. The range is available in four delicious flavours – beef & rabbit, salmon & trout, chicken & liver and turkey & lamb. Fast becoming a firm favourite amongst cats and owners alike, the new Webbox Cats Delight cat sticks are the perfect treat anytime of day. These delightful snacks are sold in packs of six for just 98p, available in ASDA stores. We’re giving five lucky cat lovers the chance to win a case of the delicious Cats Delight treats. All you have to do to enter is answer this simple question. Name one of the four flavours of the Cats Delight treat. To find out more about Webbox Cats Delight visit www.webboxpetfood.com or email catsdelight@mtjpr.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valentine’s Day is Arriving Soon! Now, in accordance with the traditions of Valentine’s Day, I am obligated to give you the standard warning for your favorite felines – cats MUST NEVER have chocolate, so when your significant other brings home candy and chocolate for you, please be sure to put it someplace where your pets can’t reach it. As you probably already know, many flowers are poison to precious felines, so be sure you review the article, Poisonous Plants and review our checklist of Toxic Plants before you leave them lying about. Just for fun, we have uncovered a few little pieces of trivia about Valentine’s Day for you and your pet! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valentine’s Day Cat (and other animals) TriviaAbout 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets. During the Middle Ages, the belief that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine's Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Up through the early 1900s, the Ozark hill people in the eastern United States thought that birds and rabbits started mating on February 14, a day for them which was not only Valentine's Day but Groundhog Day as well Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire! Some lions can mate over 50 times a day. Cats roll on their backs to show affection. They expose their bellies like this only when they feel totally secure. Cats with long, lean bodies are more likely to have outgoing personalities than their stockier cousins. They are also more protective of their home and more vocal and demonstrative. (My Tonkinese kitties, two of which lie in my lap while I type this, all agree! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New StoriesWe have had several new stories sent in and for that I thank you! I have placed them in a list below: “Making Homemade Noodles With a Kitten” by Ladywindsong http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/making_homemade_noodles.htm “The Sad Reality of Hurricane Katrina” by Ed Kostro http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/sad_reality_of_hurricane_katrina.htm “Creating our own reality, with help from the Great Cat”http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/creatingrealityp2.htm “Tribute to Tasha,” who sadly passed away in January, in “Napping On A Sunbeam” by Terri Beckett http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/tasha.htm “The computer guide for cat owners” by Stacy Mantle http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/thecomputercatguide.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just for Fun: I’ve been sent some cat humour from friends around the world and I wanted to share a very funny little video with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIqhUCZgwXQ&mode=related&search *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Candles and Cats Don’t Mix! The news story below is only one of several that I’ve read over the last year. Friends, if you have cats or dogs or ferrets or anything not confined in a cage at all times, DO NOT HAVE CANDLES IN THE HOUSE! It’s just one of those things that pet lovers need to learn to live without. Cats are incredibly talented, but if they simply brush up against a candle, they can easily set their tail on fire, or knock the candle over, and that’s all she wrote. A fire will inevitably result in a burnt kitty, a loss of property and could even cost you a life, more than likely your own. Learn to live without candles – there are many ways of having a romantic dinner or setting a nice tone for your house – candles are not necessary. Frankly, I’m tired of hearing about tragedies like this! Let’s keep everyone safe out there… Elderly woman dies trying to save cats from fire
Associated Press
TEXAS CITY, Texas -
Friends say a Texas woman was devoted to her seven cats -- and she died trying
to rescue them from her burning house. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Letter of the Month: Do you have a behaviour question? A question about your cat? Send them in to stacymantle@gmail.com for a quick answer! You can click here to see answers to previous questions. Hi I know you can train a dog for the hearing impaired but can you train a cat to do the same thing? Denise Welch Hello Denise! While most people consider the term "Assistance Cats" a bit of an oxymoron, I have uncovered a number of sources where the term proves true. Service work for cats, as far as I know, is mostly limited to seizure alert cats; behavioural, emotional and physical rehabilitation; contributing to those who need help with fine motor skills, and even helping those with disabilities such as multiple sclerosis. Perhaps the most common practice of training cats to help humans is through the use of "seizure alert" pets. These unique felines (and canines, birds and others) are trained to alert people who are prone to seizures, from 15 to 45 minutes in advance of an onset! This allows the person time to move to a safe area, take medication to lesson the seizure, or alert a family member or emergency service that can help them. I'm not completely sure how it works, but animals are able to recognize some type of biological change in the person prior to an imminent seizure and are trained to let the person know what is on the way. They are also being trained to alert diabetics to low blood sugar levels, somehow able to detect changes before science can. All types of animals, including cats, are used in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) programmes. AAT is defined by the Delta Society as "goal-directed intervention" and it uses animals to help people make cognitive and physical improvements. But, dogs and cats are not the only species used in these programmes. Monkeys, miniature horses, and many other types of animals are able to guide people who are visually impaired or otherwise assist in their daily lives. (Note: Check out the Delta Society online at: http://www.deltasociety.org/ for more information) Is there such a thing as a "hearing ear" or "seeing eye" cat? I haven't found any "official registries" so far, but I don't rule them out. While I'm not sure that cats can be "registered" as such, we do have at least one story of a seeing eye cat on the daily mews! You can view it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/seeingeyecat.htm. There are also dozens of personal stories that can be found on the internet, or even in the news, where a cat has "naturally" become a "hearing-ear" or "seeing-eye" cat. How can training be done? Positive training, or rewarding only the good, is one of the best methods for training your cat, as they simply do not respond to negative reinforcement. I believe that a lot of their ability to be a service pet depends on the animal’s own personality as well. The fact that they are so easy to train could also be attributed to their memory. According to extensive testing by the University of Michigan, dogs only retain information for five minutes, while a cat can remember something as long as 16 hours. This remarkable memory exceeds even monkeys and orang-utans. So, with their remarkable intelligence and fantastic memories, why have cats not been trained as "seeing eye" or "hearing ear" animals? I believe that one of the main reasons is their size. They are not as able to reach a doorknob and pull open a door, or pick up an object that has been dropped. Or maybe cats just don't want to be trained as assistance animals. Personally, I think cats would begin overcharging their humans with bids for extra canned cat food, maybe "faking them out" with alerts that aren't really necessary (i.e., standing at attention for a doorbell that's not ringing), or would extend their "lunch/nap break" from an hour to twelve hours. I have 18 cats living here that were supposed to be writing this column, yet here I am – typing away with only an occasional purr to let me know I'm heading in the right direction...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Making Homemade Noodles With a Kitten” by Ladywindsong http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/making_homemade_noodles.htm “The Sad Reality of Hurricane Katrina” by Ed Kostro http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/sad_reality_of_hurricane_katrina.htm “Tribute to Tasha,” who sadly passed away in January, in “Napping On A Sunbeam” by Terri Beckett http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/tasha.htm “The computer guide for cat owners” by Stacy Mantle http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/thecomputercatguide.htm Note able cats, cards to print out by Laura Dumm http://www.thedailymews.com/Cudellstreetcats/noteablecats.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for your patience, everyone! Please remember Pauline in your prayers and wish her a speedy recovery, and have a very happy holiday! Purrs and headbutts, and a VERY happy and romantic Valentines Day to all! Stacy Mantle
Author, Pack Leader
and Cat Herder |
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