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MEWSLETTER 70 July 2009
Hello there and a very warm paw of welcome is extended to all those new subscribers who have joined us since the previous Mewsletter was sent out. You are very welcome to share this Mewsletter in its entirety with all your feline loving family members and friends.
Well, here in the UK as temperatures hit 32 and above, and the thwack, thwack as ball hit racquet on the courts at Wimbledon at the end of June, beginning of July, yours truly wilted in the shade wherever and whenever I could. At the end of May, I went to Cyprus for two weeks for my first holiday in over six years and one day the temperature rose to 39. But it’s a different heat to that in the UK and although I didn’t sunbathe, it was more than enough to cope with as I lay underneath a straw sunshade looking pale and interesting reading my books! There were two beautiful cats that I saw in the grounds of the hotel; the male still with his ‘manly’ bits in evidence and the female with her bulging sides proving that the male had been busy doing what males do. Both cats had beautiful markings – unlike those I’ve seen elsewhere, and although they were lean, they did look healthy. Unlike a poor little tortoiseshell (Calico) cat that I saw lying outside a shop in Ayia Napa. She was covered in scabs and there was no fur at all under her chin and down her neck. I asked in the shop who she belonged to and suddenly English was not a language they understood. I was treated to shrugs and nonchalance. I told the assistance – very politely – that she needed to see a vet and that I’d be happy to pay for her to be taken to a vet. The assistant shrugged again and walked away, indifference proving once again to be the antidote to life’s unpleasant realities. I was amazed to see hedgehogs each evening running along from the bushes outside some of the chalets in the grounds of the hotel, along the poolside and darting on to the beach. They ran so fast it was as though they picked up their skirts and ran hell for leather from an unknown assailant. They were so cute but I was unable to catch one or take a photo of any as they didn’t stay still long enough.
Sam, my only non-ginger cat, was in the wars recently. He went to see Kevin our vet for a routine dental check up. He hadn’t been eating very well before I went on holiday and he spent most of his working day in his night time bed - which is very unlike him. Normally, he’s out in the garden on patrol, overseeing the flowers coming into bud and giving them a good mewing at if they’re behind schedule; or he’ll be in my office hanging out with Ollie and Billy while I type my fingers to the bone trying to finish my book or get my homework assignments completed for the creative writing class I attend weekly. So I knew something was amiss with him. Whilst he did have tartar and plaque on his teeth Kevin didn’t feel it was enough to cause him not to eat, so he gave him a thorough medical. We were horrified to find a golf-ball sized tumour in his groin area. And when Kevin weighed him, he’d lost over a kilo since December. A kilo doesn’t sound much in the great scheme of things and jokingly I said to Kevin I wished I could lose a kilo (as I’m struggling with my weight.) Kevin’s response was to try the ‘Catkins’ diet! Ho ho! Anyway, Sam went in two days later to have his teeth descaled and to have the tumour removed. It was sent for analysis and thankfully, it is not malignant. It had a very long name though – which sounded pretty scary – and I was told that if it hadn’t been discovered when it had, it could have burst which would have caused all manner of problems for Sam – with infection and possibly even death. So thank goodness I was alert and on the ball. He’s making good progress and is eating a bit better now, but in this heat most cats go off their food. If your cats don’t eat very much, don’t worry unless they seem depressed, and uninterested in things going on around them. It could just be the heat; I know I don’t want to eat very much this weather but I do drink a lot of water and your cats should still be drinking. But it could be that their teeth have got a build up of tartar or plaque which is making their gums sore enough that it hurts to try and eat. There could always be underlying factors as well so it’s always worth getting your cat checked out just to be on the safe side. Kevin, our vet, is running a half-marathon of the London Parks in October for the moon bears’ charity. Billy, Sam and Ollie are all donating some of their Pawket money to this worthy cause. If you would like to donate and help the moon bears, please log on to Kevin’s page here: www.justgiving.com/kevincastle If you want to know more about the plight of the moon bears, please visit www.animalsasia.org. I had an email from Aleksandra Jozwik who is a volunteer for 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com, which is North America's largest non-profit pet adoption website, and she’s trying to get the word out about homeless pet adoption: 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com. Save-A-Pet is a totally free service where 5,000 animal shelters have 80,000 pets listed who need homes today. I will put the link in the Links section of the website but if you’re able to help, please click on the link: http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/cgi-bin/public/shelter-homepages.cgi/list?list_type=cats In the Christmas issue I told you about my brother Tony’s website on photography and then gave you the link with an error in it. Some of you overcame that but some of you wrote and told me the link didn’t work so for all those who love GOOD photography, please check out his site: www.anthonyhedgerphotography.com and be sure to tell him that you’re a subscriber/reader of the Daily Mews website and that you know his sister – Pauline. He took some great pictures of all the cats when he visited here a couple of months ago and he’s put a couple of really nice ones of Ollie on his site. Tony, by the way, was my stem cell donor and it’s thanks to him that I’m in remission with the leukaemia. I gave a link last time to Laura Dumm’s video about her cats but was disappointed to learn that the link didn’t work. Laura has kindly put her video on YouTube and you can now view it here on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvbLFNsRZqY I’m very excited to tell you of a new competition the Daily Mews is running. Many of you write to me about your cats; well, now you can enter a short story or poem competition. Click on the link for more details: http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/short_story_comp.htm Entries must be in by August 21st 2009 and the winners – of one short story and one poem – will be announced in a future issue of the Mewsletter and the winning entries will be published on the website. Oh, yes, a prize will be given for the winning entries so that should galvanise you to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard! More and more press coverage is being given over to our portly pets with the blame placed fairly or unfairly on the portly owners. It’s a myth that animals will only eat as much as they need. Dogs are pack hunters and they will kill large prey and binge eat. To stop your dog binge eating, space his meals out throughout the day or put food in the toys which have to be ‘negotiated’ before it is released. Cats, however, are solitary hunters who cat small prey and eat lots of little meals throughout the day. But for some cats – possibly the majority – they are fed only once or twice a day. Make feeding time more challenging for both cats and dogs by hiding dry food in different areas or containers like the cardboard inner tube from kitchen rolls or toilet paper for them to seek out. And if you have a dog – take it for a couple of walks each day. If you’re overweight as well, the extra exercise will be beneficial to you both. Play games with your pets to get them running around chasing after a ball or toy catnip mice. In only a few weeks you will notice a difference – not only to your pet’s waistline but your own! Go for it and let me know how you fare! Visit www.petbehaviour.co.uk for more details and information. Diana who writes the new pet first aid section sent me this note which may be of interest to those of you living in NYC. , ‘By the way, if you have any contacts in NYC, the ASPCA is having a "Bottle Baby" seminar. They will teach the attendees how to take care of baby kitties. It's on July 21, from 6-9pm at the ASPCA on the Upper East Side (very posh) in NYC. I plan to go and I'll send you some notes! If anybody is interested, they can check the website. The seminar is free, but they have to make a reservation. If you want any more details...or if somebody from Jersey wants to ride with me, let me know.’ You can contact Diana here: Sandy Harris who has the most exquisite quilting website www.sundropdesigns.com has some new cat motifs. Click on the link and scroll down the page and for those of you who are gifted in that way, get busy and start making your Christmas presents early! http://www.sundropdesigns.com/bom/bom09.html *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* CAPTION COMPETITION: Last month’s caption competition didn’t seem to fire your imagination quite as much as previous caption competitions have which was a shame. Rob Falconer from Wales, (UK) is the winner and you can see his winning caption here: http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/caption_competition6.htm For this month’s caption competition, please click on the link and let me have your entries by 21st August. As always, you have to be in it, to win it so send your entries to p.dewberry@ntlworld.com http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/caption_competition7.htm If you have a CLEAR picture of your cat that you’d like to submit for the caption competition, please send it to me at the usual address. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A hilarious and addictive game for you to play!!!! http://upchucky.com/games/hairball-bowling.html *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* BOOK QUIZ: The Answers to the last Book Quiz are as follows: 1. Dewey by Vicki Myron 2. What if my cat … ? by Claire Arrowsmith and Francesca Riccomini 3. My Second Hand Cats by Audrey Nash Congratulations to the intrepid sleuths: 1. Kevin Wilson, UK 2. Jared Kline , Belgium 3. Nina Johannsen, South Africa Well done everyone, and thank you for your entries. The Book Quiz is taking a break and will be back again in the autumn. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ANIMAL WELFARE: Mike Kolonel in Canada sent me the following, which is a harrowing indictment on our disposable society today. People surrender their pets for many reasons; some of them are justified but none of them realise just what happens to their pet when their time is up and they haven’t found a new family to love them. Letter from a shelter worker will open your eyes – and you may just weep for the poor lost souls who sit and wait for their families to come back to collect them, wondering what they did wrong to be sent away from all their loving comforts and all that they knew and trusted. http://www.thedailymews.com/AnimalWelfare/letter_from_shelter_worker.htm ARTICLES: Lynn Schiffhorst has written a new series called ‘Sergeant Pinky on Patrol’ and the first episode: ‘The Cats of Manhattan Story’ introduces the reader to Sergeant Pinky, her daughter, Rocky, and Matilda – another pretty little female. You can read Lynn’s latest story here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/sergeant_pinky_on_patrol.htm Whenever you consider rehoming kittens or older cats please think about taking them in pairs. Cats who live together are good company for one another. It usually works well with siblings from the same litter but often unrelated older cats will find themselves living out their days in a rescue centre because their owner has died or had to move into warden-assisted property which doesn’t allow pets. (In the UK we have fewer centres which have a time limit placed on rehoming the surrendered pets.) It’s always kinder to take on the older cats that’ve been together for a number of years rather than leave one behind. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/getting_kitten_or_two.htm BOOK REVIEWS: Some time ago Stuart MacFarlane (author of ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Cat’ and ‘Utterly Adorable Cats’) did an interview with me and I lost it! How bad am I? I’m pleased to say that Stuart graciously gave me another interview, the result of which you can read here: http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/stuart_macfarlane.htm PRODUCT REVIEWS: Billy, Sam and Ollie reviewed the Mikki Moult Master and you can read their comments here: http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/moult_master.htm MEWSERS MEWSINGS Jimmy, our wonderful, feline reporter, (unknown to his people) has been on vacation while they were doing Theta-Healing in Limassol in Cyprus. Jimmy’s thought-provoking pieces never cease to amaze me. If the world was governed by cats, I’m sure it would be a more loving and friendly place. What do you think? Jimmy has perfected the art of bi-location (being in two places at once) and he transported himself into his alter-ego Dimitri and has written yet another piece of wisdom in that insightful way he has. Read his latest piece here: http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/all_greek_to_me.htm Muffin is a lucky cat. She lives with a great friend of mine called Sue and 9 other cats. Each cat will be writing about their experiences over the next few months, but first, here’s Muffin’s story: http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/muffin.htm Muffin will be 16 years young this month, so best wishes for a very happy birthday Muffin – and may you have many more to come (love from the Mewsers). Viktor is a little black and white cat who lives in Bauffe, Germany. He recently had a horrendous experience of being caught in a trap which was probably set to catch foxes or other wildlife. After a couple of days he was found and released and managed to limp back home to the farm he shares with his mother, Little Del, and a wise old colonel in the American army and his beautiful artist wife. He survived his ordeal and Viktor bravely decided to tell his story so that other kittens and cats – and dogs – would be on the alert when going out for their daily constitutions. http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/viktors_story.htm PET FIRST AID: Diana’s first article on dental hygiene for kitty has written her second piece about how to keep your cats cool in the summer. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/keeping_kitty_safe_in_summer.htm Well, that just about wraps things up for another month. Please have a go at the short story/poetry competition and the caption competition. If you don’t enter you can’t win! Enjoy the rest of your summer and stay safe. Till the next time, Pauline, Billy, Sam and Ollie |
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