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MEWSLETTER 60 24th October 2007 Hi there and a very warm welcome and a gentle head-butt and purrs to all our new subscribers who hurtled through the cat-flap this month to escape the drizzly rain that we, here in the UK, have been enduring seemingly non-stop throughout the summer months! You are most welcome to send this Mewsletter, in its entirety to all your feline-loving friends and family. Those of you who have AOL please copy and paste the links into your browsers. Thank you.
Before we get started, I must apologise for the delay in sending out this Mewsletter. Unfortunately for several weeks now I’ve not been feeling very well and have had zero energy – so sadly, everything suffered. I do hope you’ll understand and won’t hold it against me for me too long, at least!! I was concerned at one point that I might have to go back into hospital again – and I really didn’t want to have to do that. I’m still not great but thought I’d try to get the Mewsletter out to you. Here is a poser for you this month. Do you think animals have souls? I think they do. I think that any sentient being has a soul and as God created all things, I believe that they go to Heaven as well. I can’t for one minute think, or believe, that our companion animals that have given us so much love and affection in this life, would be subject to living without us when we leave this earth. I’d be interested to hear your views. Some of us have experienced what are termed ‘After Death Connections’, or ADC’s, or occasionally, we’ll see something that we take as a sign that our pet is alright and that they’re hoping we’ll be alright, as well. Annette Maraist, from the US, wrote a touching story for www.angelanimals.net when her beloved Siamese cat, Crystal, had passed away. Some weeks later, she was driving in the rain when she saw a beautiful rainbow. She took this as a sign from God that not only was Crystal alright, but that she would be okay as well. I’ll give you the link to Annette’s story a bit further along in the Mewsletter. Another good friend of mine, Jim Colasanti, Jr. also from the US had another one of his lovely stories published in www.petwarmers.com about the time he had to go away on business and his three-legged dog, Joseph, ‘visited’ him in the early hours of the morning. When he arrived home, he asked his friend Sam if one of their 16 dogs had passed away, and was told it was Joseph. Somehow, Jim knew it would be him because he had made that ‘pit’ stop on his way to Heaven. After Biggles, Garfield’s brother, was run over and killed when he was 11 years old, (10 years ago) he made several visits to see me. I’d be aware of a ginger flash in the corner of a room, or he’d be sitting on his favourite chair and Garfield or Charlie would stare at the chair. I often felt him lying on the bed next to me in the position that he always took when he slept alongside me. I found it very comforting to have him there and to know that he was alright. I believe that our pets do sometimes come back to visit us, to let us know that they are all right and to check on us because they know how sad we are that they are no longer with us. It hasn’t happened with all the cats I’ve lost and I don’t know why that should be because they were all deeply loved and losing each one of them devastated me for months at a time. Wendy Tugby wrote a book called ‘Over The Rainbow Bridge’ which deals with After Death Connections and if you want to read my review, go the Book and Product Review section or click on the link: http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/overtherainbowbridge.htm She has written another book on the same subject which I haven’t had chance to read yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll review it and give you the details. I’d be interested to hear if any of you have experienced either what Annette or Jim have, or if your pet has contacted you in other ways. One book I read and reviewed recently was ‘Stuff on my Cat’ by Mario Garza. It would seem that this book, and the website that it’s taken from www.stuffonmycat.com has a cult following and was considered ‘cool’ by Yahoo and GQ magazine. Mario is a 23 year old graphic designer and judging by the work he’s done on www.robotplague.com he’s very good at what he does. But I have to be absolutely honest and tell you that I really didn’t like the book at all. I didn’t find it hugely hilarious to see cats with a variety of items on them. Why would anyone want to do that? Do you think I’ve lost my sense of humour since having chemotherapy last November??? I don’t think I have, but I don’t find it amusing when people dress their dogs and cats up in costumes or other silly things. I know some of you may say ‘what about Garfield’s birthday hats?’ and I agree with the question. In my defence it was only once a year in recent years and he never complained – had he shown any annoyance I wouldn’t have done it. He actually seemed to like posing with his new birthday hat on and a couple of the other cats lined up to try them on as well, not wanting to miss out. But I do draw the line at some of the ridiculous Halloween costumes that people put on their cats and dogs. Cats are cats. Dogs are dogs. Neither are little furry children and should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. You may disagree with me, and that’s ok, as well. I have two copies of the book which I’m happy to give away so if you’d like a copy (don’t think I’ll judge you because I won’t!) write to me at the usual address and I’ll send you a copy. If you want to add your comments to what I’ve written, I’d be glad to hear them. Thanks to all of you who signed the petition against Australian children’s author, Kay Kessing, who cooked and ate feral and stray cats. For those of you who would like to sign the petition, the link is below. http://www.petitiononline.com/kessing Staying in Australia for a moment, I read today that the government has sanctioned the eating of kangaroo meat. Greenpeace commissioned a special report which claims that Australians can dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by eating less beef and more kangaroo – which is apparently being hailed as a ‘new’ superfood as it is nutritious and low in fat. Apparently kangaroos don’t pass wind like sheep and cattle do so the folk are being encouraged to throw a few kanga burgers on their barbies. Kangaroos have been eaten by Aborigines for the past 40,000 years but today’s hunter in Australia is likely to make a ham-fisted job of it instead of the recommended bullet to the head for instant death. I feel very unhappy about this because in an age where animals are treated so badly, it’s the little Joeys in the pouch that will suffer because they will be just discarded and left to die by the side of the road or wherever their mothers have been shot while the parents can die a long lingering death if not expedited correctly. There is a programme which airs on Animal Planet each evening in the UK called ‘Roo Gully’ which features a British couple who have set up a kangaroo sanctuary. They carry the Joeys and injured roos about in pillow cases (in lieu of mother’s pouch) and it’s a very touching programme. For more information, visit: www.roogully.com. They are always happy to receive donations and they are happy to have people go out there to help them maybe for a couple of weeks or longer if you can spare the time. Also in Australia there is an amazing service provided by Ian Robinson, and his daughter, Alysa. If you check out their website: www.petsinheaven.com.au you will see what I mean. Ian very kindly answered some questions I’d written and asked him with a view to writing an article about him and his personal cremation services in the Melbourne area, but because I’ve been so unwell, unfortunately, this article and several others I was planning to write, didn’t get done. Hopefully, I will have an in-depth article for you next time. At this time of year when the days are shorter and the nights close in earlier and are longer, many people get a condition called SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. It would seem from a survey carried out by the leading veterinary charity PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) that as many as one in three cat and dog owners noticed a downturn in their pets’ sleeping and behavioural habits. If you notice your cat or dog seeming low in spirits try to engage in more games with them. Hide their food in special food toys so they can hunt for their dinner which will sharpen up their senses. If you have a dog, take it for longer walks and play more games while you are with it. Talk to your pets to comfort them as they don’t know why they have the ‘blues’ and whatever you do, don’t overfeed them in a bid to ‘cheer’ them up, in the way that we might reach for chocolate or sweet things. Another item to cross my path recently was the moon bears of China being milked for their bile which is supposedly a vital part of Chinese medicine. It has to be said that there is no support whatsoever to suggest that bile is a useful component of any medication. This is yet another barbaric and senseless act of cruelty from a country whose Human Rights are questionable as well as their treatment of animals. They really need to clean up their act before the Olympic Games next year – in fact, I would go the whole hog and say that countries should boycott the Games because of their despicable record in human and animal treatment. One British woman, Jill, has spent many years trying to rescue these bears from their appalling conditions. They are kept in cages which are so tiny the bears cannot stand up and they are constantly being milked for their bile. Sometimes, when the farmers go to see their bears in Jill’s sanctuaries, they are ashamed of how they once treated them, realising that these bears are majestic creatures which should be left alone in the wild to live their lives normally. If you would like to do more to help Jill to help these bears, please log on to www.animalsasia.org Write to your own representatives to complain about this in the strongest terms possible. I received a link to a video which is on YouTube about the trade in cat and dog fur also in China. It doesn’t make for easy viewing, but I do urge you to watch the video (it’s 3minutes 20 seconds long) and then write to your representatives in government, demanding that China should be banned from hosting the Olympic games and also to ensure that fur trims on clothing are labeled with the origin of country and whether or not it’s fake or real fur. I’ve asked in clothes shops here in the UK when a hood on a coat has a fur trim, and if the sale’s assistant doesn’t know whether it’s cat’s fur or not then I don’t buy the coat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Np5x74NfU You may have to register with YouTube in order to see the video – I did, but the registration doesn’t take long. Mary Alice from Cornwall, UK, sent me a link – with a petition to sign – about a starving dog which was used in art. The only problem was this dog was DEAD. The website is in Spanish and although I am fluent in Spanish I couldn’t understand it very well. It’s a bit like the Turner prize where Damien Hurst had a cow in formaldehyde – and they call that ‘art’. If you would like to add your voice and disgust to the use of a dead dog in art, please follow the link below and sign the petition. Thank you. http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html There is one more petition to sign and then I think I’ll get off my soapbox and get on with the links! The UK as you probably know is hosting the Olympic Games in 2012 and it’s been brought to my attention that colonies of feral and stray cats are in danger of being crushed and starved to death at the sites where workmen have begun to excavate the land. The Celia Hammond Trust, which is based in South London, has put together a petition to get this stopped. What they would like to do is to humanely trap the cats, neuter and spay them and where possible find new homes for them. If this isn’t possible, they will be released in another part of the country. To sign this petition, please click on this link below. Thank you. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/115356064 One final thing: what did you think of Al Gore getting the Nobel Peace Prize? I overheard Sam discussing it with Timmy, Billy and Ollie. He was incensed because he said that Al’s presentation was full of inaccuracies and mistakes. We ALL know that Hurricane Katrina was NOT caused by global warming, don’t we? Are we going to have the wool pulled over our eyes and believe that it was? Surely not! The trouble is with plausible reasons like this, is that they can become fact in time and people will believe them to be true. The real reason why the tragedy at New Orleans happened was because of years and years of gross negligence by successive governments who did nothing to maintain and shore up the levees. I would question a man who can’t get his facts right before putting him in charge of the country because what else will he do to pull the wool over the electorate’s eyes in years to come over future issues. Well worth thinking about. Firework season is upon us again in the UK with Guy Fawkes Night and Diwali being the worst nights for animals as fireworks are let off for hours at a time. The trouble is that Guy Fawkes Night is on the 5th November and Diwali is on the 9th November but from late September fireworks are available to the public to buy. From then on intermittently until past New Year’s Eve when more are let off, we get fireworks non-stop. There is a law that fireworks can’t be sold to anyone under the age of 18 but kids do manage to buy them and they are the culprits behind nightly nuisance. I don’t want to be a complete killjoy and say that fireworks should be banned – although I’d be very happy if they were – but I think they should be kept for public displays only. The money these displays raise, which are usually run by the local councils, go to local and worthy charities. A downside of fireworks is that in the wrong hands, many animals are maimed or even killed. Many dogs, for example, have a life-long phobia caused by the loud bangs of fireworks and many of the charities that I have on the links page all have a section on fireworks and suggest that you keep your cats and dogs inside all night. Close the curtains and turn the TV or radio on so there is some background noise and act as normally as possible. If you act scared your pet will pick up on your emotions and this will upset them even more. For a free download on Fireworks and Pets, please log on to: www.bluecross.org.uk Or click on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/fireworkwarnings.htm In the last Mewsletter I mentioned a link to a video of a Russian woman who had hoarded over 130 cats. I’ve just received details of a woman in Illinois who had over 300 dogs, cats and various birds, all mainly kept in cages in filthy conditions. The rescue operation, carried out by the TAILS Humane Society, took several days and was a mammoth task by any stretch of the imagination. Hundreds of the animals were already dead, and some died later but for the majority they will be found new loving homes. When questioned, the woman said she hadn’t done anything wrong. To read more about this sad story, please click on the link below: http://www.tailshumanesociety.org/ Needless to say, donations are urgently needed and any help that can be given to help clean these animals up etc would be gratefully received. For those of you who live in or around Newfoundland, Canada, Mike sent me details of their forthcoming events at the Exploits Valley SPCA. So try and get along to support a worthy cause. The annual SPCA Fall Bazaar will take place on Monday, Nov. 26 starting at 7PM. It will be at the Royal Canadian Legion on Queen Street in G.F.W. It will be a craft and bake sale as usual. Admission includes a tea and dessert that is definitely a big favourite with their regular supporters. Donations of crafts or baked goods are solicited and will be most welcome. These can be dropped off at the shelter or given to their members. Come out for an enjoyable evening and support the SPCA at the same time. To learn more about the Exploits Valley SPCA or to donate, please click on the link below. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/evspca.htm If you would like to nominate a charity or pet rescue centre, please contact me in the usual way. Not only is my brother Tony great because he donated his stem cells to me, and some lymphocytes which I’m waiting to have once my liver problem has been sorted out, but he’s also a great writer and an amazing photographer. I thought I’d share his work with you and if you’d like to see it and even buy some of his work, please click on the link below. If you do leave a message for him be sure to mention that you’re a Daily Mews subscriber. http://www.redbubble.com/people/anthonyhedger Now on with the Mews! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A’mews’ment Arcade Articles Book Review Cat Charities Cat Chat Feline Fitness Kitty Bits: 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: The answers to last month’s book quiz are as follows: 1. Malcolm and Me by William J Thomas 2. Paws in the Proceedings by Deric Longden 3. Do Cats Think? By Paul Corey And the winners are (drum roll and fanfare!) 1. Wendy Paterson – UK 2. Judy Goldin – Israel 3. Jared Kline – Belgium 4. Nancy Breedlove – USA This month I thought we would have a cat fact quiz. The questions were on a birthday card I received in August. The first one to get all the answers correct will win a small prize so hurry up and don’t miss out. If you don’t know the answers for sure, just guess! 1. How many teeth do cats have? 2. Which part of a cat’s body has the most bones? 3. What is a cat better at than any other animal? 4. How well can cats hear? 5. What term is use for a cat’s white paws? 6. What do cats spend about 1/3 of their lives doing? Send your answers to p.dewberry@ntlworld.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A’MEWS’MENT ARCADE Mary Light, in the UK sent me the following funny story about what happened when God created the cat. http://www.thedailymews.com/amewsments/creation.htm ARTICLES Lynn Schiffhorst from the US has written the second instalment in her series about a little blind Jewish girl, Malkah and her beautiful kitten, Honey. Click on the link below to read more: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/honeylicksholyword.htm BOOK AND PRODUCT REVIEWS: Artistic Cats by Heather Hacking http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/artisticcats.htm Paws in the Proceedings by Deric Longden http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/pawsintheproceedings.htm Stuff On My Cat by Mario Garza http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/stuffonmycat.htm We Love Cats by Vernon Coleman http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/welovecats.htm CAT CHARITIES Cats Protection put out a media release that a cat called Tizer – or now, as he is known, PC Tizer, has become the station cat to keep the mouse population down. Having a cat on the premises is a good morale booster for the staff as well. Check out the picture – not only is PC Tizer a very handsome cat but Inspector Sloane is a bit of all right as well – he can take down my particulars any day!!!! < getting a bit hot under the collar and decides to open a window!!! > http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/tizer.htm CAT CHAT: Jimmy, the Daily Mews Resident Feline Correspondent sends his Humans to various places in Greece so that they can reflect and he can practise his remote viewing. Click on the link below for more musings from the Enlightened One: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/catmos.htm The Promise of a Rainbow Annette’s story about the Rainbow and Crystal her beloved Siamese cat can be found on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/promiseofrainbow.htm The Reunion Jim Colasanti’s story about Joseph calling in to see him can be found here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/reunion.htm FELINE FITNESS Jack Stewart whose cat, Jimmy, is a regular Mews Reporter for this website, has written an article in his own right this month on the subject of Theta (Animal) Healing. I know this type of healing works because Jack’s wife, Anne, carried out Theta healing on Ricky (before we knew he had lymphoma) and myself. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/thetahealing.htm KITTY BITS Marjorie Dorfman in the US has written another piece about the wonders of cats. This time, it’s what their meows really mean. Click on the link below: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/catsmeow.htm NAPPING ON A SUNBEAM Ages ago Jim Willis told me that the story of Rainbow Bridge is often either credited by ‘anon’ or wrongly by someone called Paul Dahm, when it fact it was written by William N Britton in 1994. I have been given permission by Likeminded Press to reproduce the story and you can find it nestling in the NAPPING ON A SUNBEAM section or click on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/NAPPINGONASUNBEAM/LegendofRainbowBridge.htm There is a new hardback full colour version of the book, the Legend of Rainbow Bridge by William N Britton which you can purchase from their website: http://www.likemindspress.com/rainbow.htm PURRFECT POETRY You’ll love ‘The Dream’ by P S Gifford – read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/thedream.htm Paul’s book ‘The Curious Accounts of the Imaginary Friend’ will be out in a couple of weeks’ time and will be available on Amazon.com etc. October 16th was National Feral Cat day and both Ed Kostro and Stacy Mantle have written pieces on their Author’s Den sites. You can read Ed’s here: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?id=204179&AuthorID=14300 And Stacy’s here: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewshortstory.asp?id=30350&AuthorID=6069 I’m sorry this issue of the Mewsletter is so long and I do hope you’ll read on this far. But for now, I’ll leave you with the wish that you’ll all keep safe and well. Until the next time, take care. Your friend Pauline Billy – Still Mr Cuddle King Timmy – Still on Sofa Duty Sam – Still Twittering On About Life and the Price of Fish Ollie – Still Crying at the Front Door at 7.00 am wanting to be Let In |
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