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MEWSLETTER 74 FEBRUARY 27 2010
Hi there and a rambunctious head-butting, belly-rubbing, paw-padding welcome to all the New Subscribers who hurtled through the Cat Flap to land in the kitchen of the Daily Mews Mansion. You are all welcome to sit down, take a load off your feet, and invite one of the Daily Mewsers to sit on your laps and feel loved and special.
First and foremost, a MEGA huge thank you to everyone who read my story, ‘Celebrating Scar’s and voted for it. The competition, which was run by the BBC, closed on 6th January but it will be some months before I will know if I have been long-shortlisted or not. If I have been, then there is another process to go through to be short-shortlisted and even more to go through to a kind of semi-final thing. The results will be sometime in May. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be good to be just long-shortlisted. If you missed the link last time and would like to read it, please click on this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mystory/stories/survival/163488/ I think it’s still possible to vote for it; just click on the little thumbs up sign which says ‘I like this’. The vote doesn’t register straight away so don’t panic. Secondly, in the last issue I gave the addresses of a few of my favourite websites but for some reason the link of Hearts and Humour didn’t show up. I do apologise so for those of you who like inspirational messages, here’s the link to Mike Smith’s wonderful website: http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml and be sure to sign up for his free newsletters. This Mewsletter and the website update were attacked by Gremlins once again and I’m sorry that it wasn’t out in time for Valentine’s Day. There are some Valentine articles which I’ll give you the details of further in the Mewsletter. Here in the UK at this precise time of writing we have torrential rain. A subscriber friend who lives in Greece told me that their weather has begun to hot up – she had 20 degrees the other day – while I had 3 degrees (and no, I don’t mean Diana Ross’s backing group!) The snow we had just before Christmas and again in January virtually paralysed the country. We had a lengthy and gutsy blizzard last Wednesday which settled for a few hours but then by the morning it had gone again. Everything seems to crawl to a halt when we get adverse weather conditions: the trains don’t run, the mail isn’t delivered, and food supplies run out. We were even running out of grit to put on the roads and I read that ASDA (my supermarket where I stock up with cat food and my stuff) had an increase of 56% in the sale of cat litter – I suppose people were using it to grit their drives and walk ways! Poor cats making do with old newspapers or whatever! Whatever you say or think about us Brits, we can always find something to say about our weather. We might be useless in the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, and any other international sporting events, but we are good at talking at great length about the weather! CAT NEWS There were a few items of interest in various newspapers I picked up recently. This happened in New Orleans. http://www.pawnation.com/2009/12/10/kittens-saved-from-oncoming-traffic-after-being-thrown-from-car/ One that was deeply disturbing was about an Italian chef, 76 year old Beppe Bigazzi who stars in Italy’s version of Ready, Steady, Cook. He said that he had eaten cat and then gave his method of preparation and cooking a cat. Here’s a link to a video from The Times where he’s discussing this idea with his co-host/presenter. Fortunately, she looks horrified at the thought. It is in Italian but it does have English sub-titles. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article7029058.ece Claws are out in Australia when 11 categories selected by the magazine, New Scientist, dogs won six compared with five for cats. When championing cats, it was said that cats had more powerful brains, more acute senses and left a smaller carbon footprint. Their miaowing and purring was also deemed to be less intrusive than when dogs bark and whine. However, dogs apparently showed a greater ability to understand commands, problem solve and were generally more helpful (do they vacuum the house do you suppose?). Despite the study, though, the study did show that cats remain the most popular domestic animals in the world! YAYYYYYY! Let’s hear it for the felines of the world! Speaking of cats and dogs there are many of you who seem to cohabit with both species together at the same time in the same house. How does this work out??? I’m doing some research so those of you who do have cats and dogs, contact me and I’ll ask you some questions? Bless you, and thanks. It would seem that The Litter Kwitter, which is a three-step training process designed to train cats to use a toilet instead of a litter tray, is becoming one of the top selling products on the Pet Supermarket website. I checked their website and they don’t have the product listed so I Googled The Litter Kwitter and got the website itself. There is a video of various cats using a toilet. See: http://www.litterkwitter.com/en/index.php?gclid=CPC6-IDE_J8CFZAA4wodgkdNkQ What is your opinion of this? First of all, my view is that if your circumstances change – having trained your cat to use the toilet – and it has to go into temporary accommodation (for whatever reason) or a cattery, it won’t be able to use a toilet; it will have to use a litter tray. So seeing your cat standing outside the bathroom with a copy of the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune or the Daily Mail rolled up under its paw is going to be somewhat disconcerting to the temporary minders. Or perhaps ASDA having sold out of kitty litter has prompted cats to take matters into their own paws and they are occupying the bathroom (much like teenagers do when getting ready for a date) to punish us! I also think that we are humanising our domestic animals; we’re expecting them to behave like us. Next we’ll be serving their meals up on a plate at the table or getting them to do light chores around the house to earn their keep. I do find this deeply disturbing but I’d be interesting in your views so write to me at the usual address: p.dewberry@ntlworld.com
The PDSA which carried out the survey has a ‘Healthy Shape’ leaflet which you can download free at www.pdsa.org.uk and you’ll also be able to watch healthy shape petcasts. If you haven’t read it already, read my article on Portly Puss: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/obesity.htm Perhaps if you need incentive to lose weight yourself, you could embark upon a dual exercise/sensible eating plan for you AND your cat (or dog). It’s vital that you don’t just cut down your cat’s food because it will start foraging outside or elsewhere for titbits to eat. See your veterinary surgeon first to get an overall picture of your cat’s health to ensure there isn’t an underlying medical reason why it is overweight. If you can own up, honestly, to feeding more table titbits then it’s best to stop doing this and increase (through play) your cat’s exercise. ‘When your pets need to diet’ is a brief overview of what to look for to see if your pets are overweight: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/when_pets_need_diet.htm And for those of you who intend to get out with your dog – or even your cat if it is on a harness – and burn up some calories, here’s a great site to inspire you: http://www.21topdogwalks.co.uk True or False? Putting butter on your cat’s paws will stop him running away when you move house? http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/butter_on_paws.htm And for those who are perhaps intending to move house this year, read this article to make the way smooth for your feline family: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/movinghouse.htm I used to promote on an occasional basis various pet websites within the Mewsletter but I thought it might be better to have a place on the website and just give a link in the Mewsletter – for space reasons. These will be found in the FELINE FITNESS section, under a heading called: PET SUPPLIERS: MEDICAL, DIETARY AND TOYS and within this section I will compile a list of websites which serve our pets. So here is my website of the month: www.nutrecare.co.uk where you can buy 1,000’s of products for your pets at reduced prices and they will be delivered directly to your home. Click on this link to read more: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/nutrecare.htm If you have any websites that you’d like to highlight or suggest, then please contact me in the usual way. Several people sent me this lovely link to a cute little kitten being tickled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9w4lhVJUuo And most of you know that I absolutely ADORE orang-utans so I was beside myself when this link was sent to me: http://5thworld.com/Paradigm/Postings/%21Wisdom/OrangutanAndHound.html THREE WISHES Well, quite a number of your cats told me what their wishes would be if they were granted three. Whilst a few of them were as we thought they’d be (for themselves) most felines are unselfish and want life to be good for other people. I asked Billy, Sam and Ollie what they would like if they were granted three wishes and you can read their answers, and those who – between naps – the Feline Faery granted here, on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/three_wishes.htm Ruffian, whose own cat, AshAvAri of Atlantis wrote her three wishes, has asked if I’d mention her own website which is on cats, dogs and horses. http://community.webtv.net/RUFFIAN333 Be sure to tell her that you’re a Daily Mews subscriber popping by to say ‘Meow’. We have a great competition for you this month. NUTRECARE have kindly agreed to donate 4 prizes to the winning entrants. Here’s what you need to do. Just answer the following three questions, the answers of which can be found on the Nutrecare website: www.nutrecare.co.uk and when you’ve found your answers send them to me p.dewberry@ntlworld.com by 21st March. 1. What 2 designs does the Jolly Moggy Teaser come in? 2 In the Headlines section, what is the name of the Go Go hamster toy? 3. In what year did Nutrecare start? Good luck! A’MEWS’MENT ARCADE Will Perry in Canada sent me a very funny piece that a veterinary surgeon had written. See it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/amewsments/how_to_bathe_a_cat.htm ARTICLES: I did have a Valentine’s theme for the website update and this Mewsletter but events conspired against me and sadly, I couldn’t get this Mewsletter written and distributed in time. However, I had some very good articles sent to me and here’s the first from Marjorie Dorfman in the US who writes occasionally for the Daily Mews. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/love_thee.htm Marjorie has a great website: www.whatsnewemu.com where you can read more of her quirky articles. Be sure to tell her that you’re a Daily Mews subscriber/reader when you visit her site! Lynn Schiffhorst, who wrote the Sergeant Pinky stories, has written another episode, featuring Pinky’s daughter, Rocky. Lynn’s stories are wonderful, both for adults and children and if you like them, please email her on the link at the end of the story to let her know your views. I know she’d be pleased to hear from you. http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/a_day_in_the_life_of_a_feline_de.htm BOOK REVIEW AND PRODUCT REVIEWS: I can has cheezburger: http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/i_can_has_cheezburger.htm The Relax with Cats CD offer went down very well with those who requested a copy. Brian and Nancy in the US and Jackie in the UK have reviewed the CD and you can read their views here: http://www.thedailymews.com/bookproductreviews/relax_with_cats.htm If you did buy this CD and would like to write a review, please send them to me at the usual address. I took this CD into hospital when I went in for 5 weeks of aggressive, intensive chemotherapy and not only did it help me relax and keep a restful mind, but the purring reminded me of my own cats and although I missed them like crazy, it felt as if they were nearby like they usually are when I’m not well. It is a great CD and if you would like a copy, it’s not too late to order one. CAPTION COMPETITION Dana Beaton in Scotland sent me a lovely picture of her cat Garfield for this month’s caption competition. Click on the link and then send your entries by 21st March. As always, there will be a modest prize for the best caption. http://www.thedailymews.com/KittyBits/caption_competition_10.htm CAT CHARITIES AND RESCUE CENTRES Chris Janes is a young volunteer working for the Exploits Valley SPCA in Newfoundland, Canada. In this lovely article, he writes about the time he cared for a baby Merlin Falcon: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/caring_for_clarence.htm CAT CHAT: Most male cats once they’ve had their ‘wicked way’ with a female don’t give her another thought, but Gus, the hero of this next story, was a different kettle of fish entirely. Bobbie Hahn’s story: ‘Broken Heart’, appeared as a recent Petwarmers story and I found it so moving, I wrote to ask her permission to include it on the Daily Mews website. She agreed and here is her lovely story: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/broken_heart.htm NEVER TOO SOON by Sierra Boyles first appeared in Petwarmers recently and she graciously allowed me permission to put it on my website. It’s a testament that you can love a cat for many years and still open your heart to take in another one needing a home. Read it here: http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/never_too_soon.htm The Cat Who Saw God is an amazing story written by Rev. Mary Piper about an extraordinary event. I do believe that all animals have souls and that they are able to ‘see’ things that we mere mortals are unable to see. Read Mary’s wonderful story to find out more … http://www.thedailymews.com/catchat/cat_who_saw_God.htm MEWSERS’ MEWSINGS Jimmy tried to be an old romantic when I asked him to give me his views on Valentine’s Day and all that mushy love stuff. He reveals a little of his early kittenhood and maybe that explains why he has so much to say on everything now – so let’s cut him some slack! Read his latest Mewsings here: http://www.thedailymews.com/mewsersmewsings/be_my_valentine.htm And finally, Jim Colasanti who has written several stories about his wonderful dogs had such an overwhelming response by readers to an article he’d written for Cesar’s Way magazine that they have asked him to write another story for the July/August issue! Way to go, Jim! It just remains for me to wish every one a happy Spring – it’s on the way; already the clematis armandii is pregnant with big fat buds waiting to burst forth with their heavenly scent and little shoots are beginning sprout up in the garden. Keep well and warm and let me have your feedback to any of the comments in this Mewsletter or the articles on the website. All good wishes Pauline, Billy, Sam and Ollie |
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Portly
pets are in the news again. A third of Britain’s pet dogs are overweight while
one in four cats are said to be overweight. Too many fatty treats and a lack of
exercise, which can slash pets’ life-expectancy and cause them serious health
problems, have been blamed for the obesity epidemic. 