MEWSLETTER 23:  March 31, 2004

by Pauline Dewberry

Happy Easter everyone, and I'd like to welcome all my new subscribers.

There is something quite relaxing about spending time writing with a cat or two curled up on the desk along side the computer. At the moment, Timmy and Ollie are like a pair of commas ready to be used should I require additional punctuation! Timmy often lies with his head on the keyboard slightly, which means occasionally, I'll be typing in CAPITAL LETTERS because I'd rather do that and go back and amend my work later, than move him and risk his huffy hurt little expression as he slopes off in a sulk.

Here in the UK the weather has perked up a little bit; there are patches of sunny interludes during the day, when Garfield likes to lay on my sun lounger out in the garden for a couple of hours, or until rain stops play! The bulbs planted in the autumn have weathered the cold winter months and are now showing off their spring wardrobes. The glorious golden daffodils, that so moved Wordsworth to write a poem about them, nod their heads as if they're all in agreement while they gossip about lesser-dressed garden residents. The tulips in their little pink and white jackets look like miniature Renee Zellwegers in `Down With Love'. The rosemary bush has been in flower for some time now and every now and then, I pick a sprig and lay it on a piece of lamb to cook – the smell pervading through the kitchen is wonderful.

Garfield news:
At the time of writing, Garfield suffered quite a large stroke yesterday, (Tuesday, 30th), and the vet said the next 24 hours would be critical. It goes without saying that life will just not be the same without him here, his quiet dignity and solemnity, that all the while suppresses his amazing sense of humour.

But amazingly, he has perked up and he is eating and drinking reasonably well. The next few days will be touch and go and he has to go back to see our vet next week for a check up – or sooner if I am concerned about him. Thanks go out to those of you who were kind enough to offer support and prayers. Thank you very much.

We have a little routine that we go through at certain times of the day and he managed to do it last night before I went to bed; he exfoliates my forehead and reshapes my eyebrows!! When he's done it to his satisfaction, he stops and admires his paw-work!

This was in addition to a setback he had earlier in the month when he refused to eat or drink for a few days. He lay in my arms one Friday morning hardly breathing and I really thought that this was 'it'. His eyes were closed, he wasn't even purring, and I just held him and told him how much I loved him, what a good, kind, dear cat companion he has been to me all these years, and if he wanted to go now, it would be alright as Biggles, Joey, Ellie and Max would be there
waiting for him. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and decided he wanted some dinner! (Anything to shut me up perhaps!!)

But as he seemed no better the next morning, I took him to the vet, fearing the worst. The vet checked him over thoroughly, as they always do and noticed he had a very sore mouth. He was given a pain injection, an antibiotic injection and a course of antibiotics to take after a couple of days.

He did pick up a little bit, but I had to take him back to the vet twice more before I was fully satisfied with his progress. Mollie in California (www.molliesbigheart) sent some pill pockets (more about these later) and Garfield took his medication without a struggle. He did get much better and, if necessary, the second course of antibiotics can be taken long term with no side effects as he seems to get a sore mouth quite frequently. In just a few days he had lost a lot of weight and was going down hill rapidly. So it was with a huge sigh of relief that Saturday 27th of March came and he celebrated his 18th birthday. For those who remember his birthday hat
from last year (see Ollie's diaries here: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/kittendiaries2.htm) you'll know that he's not in favour of having a fuss made and would prefer a low- key affair!

Ollie reports on the festivities here but he's also been in the doghouse this month. You can read all about his tales of angst and Garfield's birthday celebrations here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/kittendiaries14.htm

Last month's quiz:
The answer to the question: 'What do you call it when a cat has more toes than he's supposed to? is POLYDACTYL. Congratulations to the following people who got it right. Well done!
1. Leonora in North Dakota, USA
2. Pam Petty, from Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
3. Amiee Amaral, Taunton, Massachusetts, USA

Polydactylism is an interesting phenomenon that appears mainly in the USA but I have seen two little grey tabby kittens that had more than their fair share of toes and it is quite common here in the UK.

Because Garfield has had two major blips this month, I apologise in advance for not writing up the article on POLYDACTYL cats or the BREED PROFILE. Hopefully, they will appear next time.

Amiee Amaral once had a polydactyl cat called Pinto. You can read about this many toed clever and beautiful boy here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/Pinto.htm
Also in the CAT CHAT section is the short tale of Jasper who proved that not all cats are graceful. Read about his tale of woe here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/gracefuljasper.htm

New Talent
I am so excited to bring you the amazing talented artist, Laura Dumm and her monthly cartoon series based on life with her cats. This is the introduction to her new section, CUDELL STREET CATS:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/Introcudellcats.htm
You can read her bio here at:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/Laurasbio.htm
And see her first two cartoons here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/flukesbubble.htm and
http://www.thedailymews.com/lunachat.htm

Laura also designed Garfield's 18th birthday poster on the Home page and a smaller version appears in Ollie's Diaries see above, and the picture of Biggles which illustrates The Secret Life of Cats http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/secretlifeofcats.htm
Laura has a talent that I'm sure will be recognised one day by the 'powers to be' and in the meantime, I hope she doesn't mind working for a lowly website like TheDailyMews.com!!!

Recycling Mobiles and ink cartridges
What do you do with your old mobile phones when you upgrade to a better model? An amazing 15 million unwanted mobiles are thrown away each year, in the UK, more in the USA. The RSPCA (Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) can receive up to £60 for each one recycled. The money goes towards training Guide Dogs for the Blind – a very worthy cause.

What do you do with your spent ink and toner cartridges? The RSPCA here in the UK has a recycling scheme and for every cartridge returned, they will receive £1.00. Cartridges that can be remanufactured are any Hewlett Packard or Lexmark cartridges, Canon BC01/02/05/06/20/BX2/BX3/BX20. For more information, go to www.jettec.com or www.rspca.org.uk. Plastic FREEPOST recycling envelopes should be available from your local vet and can be reordered from the jettec website. Send your spent cartridges to:
Inkjet Recycling Centre, Freepost Ang3654, Boston, PE21 7BR.
Alternatively, just take your unwanted mobiles and cartridges to any RSPCA charity shop.

For those outside the UK, it's worth checking with your local authorities if they have a used inkjet recycling scheme. Perhaps you could persuade a local stationer's to donate money to local animal rescue centres for each returned spent cartridge. It's worth asking.

Ask your vet's for more information and if they aren't already part of the scheme, they may wish to become involved. I took my old mobile phone to the vets during the week when Garfield had to go up there.

Top 20 names for cats
An interesting fact that has emerged in a survey conducted by the pet insurance company, Norwich Union, is that of the top 20 most popular names for cats, 15 of those names are also the top 15 names for babies. Now we're not suggesting people are calling their sons Simba,
or Tigger, or their daughters Jess for example, but Chloe, Alfie, Oliver and Thomas are all top of the list for baby names.

Apparently, the survey also showed that we are naming ourselves 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' to our pets. I've always called myself 'Mummy' to my cats, as I thought 'Pauline' was a bit of a mouthful for a feline tongue to grasp!

A good many of us will leave the light on for our pets so that they can see their way around the house while we're not around, and leave a radio or television on to keep them company. Isabel Baumber, of Norwich Union, said, "While the UK's birth rate has been falling over the past decade, nearly half the population owns a pet – and the cat population has significantly risen since 1994 overtaking dogs as the number one choice of companion."

Please write in and let me know (before the next MEWSLETTER is due – end of April) what names you've given to your cats and we'll conduct our own poll of favourite names and see if it matches the current top 20.

Other Items
You may remember George, the white deaf cat, who needed a new home – well, happily he has been rehomed to a couple who 18year old cat had passed away the week previously. While George’s previous owners were sad to have to let him go, it will be for his benefit that he’ll be the much loved single pet of his new owners.

Pam Petty, who was also one of the correct respondents to our quiz, has written a lovely article on how she first met her little kitty, whom she named REBEL. You can read about Pam's experience here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/rebel.htm

As Rebel was the runt of the litter, and was continually pushed out by her mother, she hasn't learned the social skills that kittens learn from their mothers, and in play with her littermates.
Consequently, Pam has had a hard time trying to get Rebel to accept cuddles and play time. She follows up her first article with a little endearing piece, which you can read here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/conversationswithrebel.htm

For a bit of light-hearted fun, let your felines try this quiz for cats, sent in by Mary, in the A'MEWS'MENT ARCADE; to see it click on this link: http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/quizforcats.htm
Also in the A'MEWS'MENT ARCADE, Amiee and Joe Amaral have sent in a very funny article about `Cats and Physics'. To see it, click here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/catsandphysics.htm

Grief and loss
I've had a couple of people in recent weeks contact me about the devastation they felt when their little cats have passed away and having been through it four times, I have to say, that the pain doesn't get any easier. Knowing that other people care is all the reassurance we need sometimes and for anyone who is grieving, try going to the Rainbow Bridge website www.therainbowbridge.com and you will find comfort there.

Mollie (www.molliesbigheart.com) submitted a lovely poem written from the pet's point of view called Message From Rainbow Bridge and you can read it here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/poems/messagefromrainbowbridge.htm
If any one wants to talk about their feelings of grief and how they or their family are affected, please contact me at the `contact us' link.

Forum
Some subscribers have asked me where they can chat to other members of the group and I am thinking about putting in a forum. If you would like to see this new addition, please let me have your thoughts before the next MEWSLETTER is due (end April). If we do decide to go ahead with it, it will be for a trial period only.

Revised section CAT STUFF
The CAT STUFF section has been revised and will now host information on pet charities and animal rescue centres. If you run or help out at a charity or rescue centre, then please contact me with all your details. The aim of this section is to promote your charity and to hopefully raise donations and maybe even sponsorship of animals in long term care that are not able to be rehomed.

To kick us off, Mike in Canada has written to tell me about an event which occurs every two years in his hometown. I've printed his letter in full, with a link to the website, in the new section, and you can read it here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/exploitsvalleyspca.htm

I've included part of his letter here:
'On February 26, 2004 the Exploits Valley SPCA's 4th Bi-Annual SPCA Telethon took place on Rogers Television Channel 9 in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland.

The final amount pledged was $10,258.00. We are still in the process of collecting all the pledges. We rarely receive them all but hope for the best.

Funds raised during our telethon will be used toward care, feeding, housing, etc for our animals and maintenance of our shelter building.

The SPCA thanks everyone who donated for their support during Telethon 2004. If anyone reading this in The MEWSLETTER would like to help the Exploit's Valley SPCA, I'll post a link to our website. All our contact information is listed there. Thanks to Pauline Dewberry for giving the Exploits Valley SPCA the opportunity to tell our story to all The MEWSLETTER subscribers.

The Exploits Valley SPCA is a registered charity and all (Canadian) donations are tax deductible. Receipts will be issued for all donations over $5.00.

Here is the URL for the Exploits Valley SPCA website.  http://www.geocities.com/evspca/

Sincerely, Mike Kolonel
Chair of Ways And Means Exploits Valley SPCA

Dan Weiss
Dan Weiss has written another great short story about Frankie and Johnnie – you can read it here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/mynewworld.htm
You can also catch up on Frankie's health news in Chapter 4 of Frankie Weiss and Her Magic here:
http://www.thedailymews.com/articles/frankieweissmagic4.htm

The pill pockets that I mentioned earlier are a Godsend for anyone whose pet has to take a course of tablets but fights you with octopus arms when you try to get the darned thing into the animal! There is a little slot in the 'pocket' where you push the pill and then you mould the 'pocket' around the pill so it isn't visible. The savoury taste is very palatable and Garfield loved them and ate them without a struggle. What can be distressing for pet and owner is when the pet struggles and pill taking becomes a battle each time. The one thing I didn't want to do was 'fight' Garfield in what I thought might be his 'last' days. You can buy pill pockets or pill tabs from www.mypetstop.com or from your vet. Why my vet has never mentioned this before, I have no idea! But thanks to Mollie's very generous donation, we now have lots hiding in the cupboard for future use.

I'm sorry this MEWSLETTER is longer than usual, but I hope you'll bear with me. I also hope to review WRITING WITH CATS by Dr. Gerald Schiffhorst next time.

Take care, and have a lovely Easter. Until the next time, have a purrfect month

Your friend,

Pauline and all the MEWSERS

Garfield, Billy, Timmy, Sam, Ricky and Ollie

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