MEWSLETTER 18: December 1, 2003

by Pauline Dewberry

Hi everyone, and a very warm welcome to our new subscribers.

You know, there is something really heart-warming and `lump in the throat' inducing to watch a cat that's had an unhappy start in life at play. Take Ricky for example. He is a beautiful fluffy ginger cat aged about 10. His people had kept him in a rabbit hutch for a year for some inexplicable reason. The Cats' Protection League rescued him but they had him for well over six months because visitors thought he was ugly – purely because he had no teeth! Hardly his fault when his life had been one of neglect and abuse.

It took Ricky (a new name, by the way, to give him a fresh start) a couple of years to trust me. He eats food like there is going to be a 10-year famine and then goes out in the garden to deposit that intake, before coming back in again for another fresh intake. Then he finds a quiet spot somewhere in the house and snoozes until his stomach decides that a snack would be quite nice.

In the summer, he often wedged himself in a plant trough in the garden, which seemed tailor made for him, and another of his favourite spots is under the Mexican orange tree.

And now he has had me blubbing like a baby. Why? Because I chanced upon him and he was PLAYING! He is a rotund feline, resembling an overfull vacuum cleaner but to see his graceful moves as he dived upon the catnip mouse and watch him as he flicked it up in the air and race to catch it as it fell, was pure magic for me. I didn't know he had it in him. Bless him, he didn't realise I was watching him, and once he noticed me, he became all self-conscious and pretended to be doing something else.

In the past, I often tried to play with him by throwing various catnip objects a few feet away from him and he would look at me with a look that said: `What do you expect ME to do?' It occurred to me that he had never been played with before and therefore, he probably
wouldn't know what to do.

So here I am now, tears streaming down my face because after 5 years, we have reached another milestone in his slow but worthwhile journey of love and repatriation.

Taking on a rescue cat is very rewarding. Some cats will always be timid cats – yet others will always be extrovert. But rescue cats have a handicap – their past. Animals do remember their past, and it takes patience and perseverance to build them up so that their confidence grows. In time, and sometimes it can take years, you will be blessed to have a wonderful companion. He won't be grateful to  you – cats don't do gratitude! But the journey is one you'll have made together and on the path, you will have learnt a lot.

Although I've mentioned this in a previous MEWSLETTER, for new subscribers, you can read Ricky's story here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/introricky.htm

Quite a number of you have submitted articles for the CAT CHAT section, and I've posted four to be going on with. Bailey, who has written before, has written another chapter in his little story which you can read here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/bailey2.htm

Aly-Bubba is a cute tale of a little feral which you will love: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/alybubba.htm

After September 11, life was never the same for many people – and for this little guy – his life was just beginning. Read how Storm overcame being abandoned to embark upon a new life:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/storm.htm

Finally, Black Jack was a very special cat – (aren't they all!) Read about him here: http://www.thedailymews.com/blackjack.htm

Storm's owner, Richard, also sent me something for the A'MEWS'MENT ARCADE that had me laughing while I copied it up. Read it for yourselves here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/clevercats.htm

Ollie has been quite busy again and you can catch up on his news here: http://www.thedailymews.com/kittendiaries10.htm

In the FELINE FITNESS section, I have begun a new series on CARING FOR ELDERLY CATS -
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/caringforelderlycat.htm
Each month I will add more articles on the various ways we can help the autumn years of our cats' lives be just as enjoyable as their kitten years. To begin, I have written about GARFIELD'S TABLE. Ollie mentioned it briefly in last month's diaries and I have written up
how to make it.
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/garfieldstable.htm

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been practised for hundreds of years and is available for our pets too. My veterinary practice very kindly gave me an information sheet that I have added to the FELINE FITNESS section.
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/acupuncture.htm

I hope these articles give you food for thought and I welcome your comments and feedback on them, or on the website in general. Those of you with AOL will need to copy and paste the links in to your browsers.

Our weather here in the UK is back to what we know best: persistently raining. The kitchen floor reverberates to 24 little paws coming and going and I've given up trying to keep it clean! Despite bringing the litter tray out of its summer sojourn from the cupboard under the stairs (where Ollie had his Traumatic Experience last month), and placing it under the dining room table for felines `caught short' who'd rather not get wet outside, none of the cats have used it. They ALL go outside, Garfield included, and they come back inside ABSOLUTELY soaking wet!! It's obviously a MALE thing – pride and all that!!!

And on that note – before I alienate my lovely male subscribers – I'll bid you all a happy and healthy month. Hopefully I'll get a little FESTIVE MEWSLETTER out in time for Christmas.

Take care, and till then, have a purrfect week!

Pauline and some `soggy moggies'
Garfield, Billy, Timmy, Sam, Ricky, and Ollie

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