As ever, we are grateful to all our sister groups, and to Rhodes Minnis in particular, for their continuing support in the re-homing stakes. In the year to date, Rhodes Minnis have taken from us 28 cats and kittens for re-homing. Given the difficulties we face in finding both foster homes and permanent homes in London, this makes a huge difference to our ability to operate at our existing levels.

This issue we are going into competition with the Sunday supplements to see how many enclosures we can include. Rumour has it we have a side bet on the maximum Cathie can stuff before she loses the plot completely. We'll let you know next issue.

Living With Ferals - Benita Dyal

As we adjoin the field covering the former Gondar Gardens reservoir, it was considered an idyllic habitat for them. They were supposed to provide their own meals by hunting in the field. Well, when you know an animal is hungry, it's difficult to ignore it. A kind neighbour and I couldn't. She gives them their breakfasts and I their dinners. Friends supplement my stock every so often.

Two of them keep to themselves, never make any attempt to come indoors but the third, a small female, comes into my home. At first it was just to sleep and she never went further than my bedroom, (that's where the means of access is). However, bit by bit, she's been getting bolder. At this moment, she is helping herself to food from my dog's bowl. He's old and sleeps a lot so she is not worried by him. She carefully skirts round him and has a look around the place. I know she goes down to the kitchen when everybody is sleeping to empty all the feeding bowls.

I have never been allowed to touch her - even though she sometimes slept on my bed - when I was in it, would you believe?

We have now been joined by another stray. This is just too much for my own cat. She is most displeased. Will they all eventually peacefully co-exist? I don't know, but I hope so.

AA&A were able to help Benita find a home for her latest stray but, sadly, feral Emily has since died and Benita's beloved Conan has also hung up his leash after more than his fair share of doggy years. Sadly, also, the old reservoir land is currently under threat from developers. The good news is that Benita's own cat is now much more contented since she regained full possession of her home!

C4 Update - Fraser Wright

Animal Aid & Advice managed a very quick neutering application - a form was given out from their stand at Ridgeway Park, Chingford on 8 August and on 13 August the neutering voucher was sent off! Finally, I am enclosing the new application form. Could you distribute any? Could you help in any way, however small? If you can, please write to me c/o Doreen Rolph. Please remember that C4 operate within the M25 area only.

Trappers' Tales

We had a call from one of our fieldworkers: "You'll never guess what ... the Chinese shop around the corner has a notice up saying kittens need homes" and she had been shown a box of kittens that were just barely four weeks old.

She was quite horrified by this but kept very calm and enquired about the mother. She was told the mother was at home with another cat with three more kittens that were the same age and the shop owner was giving them away as well. Our worker said that the kittens were too young to leave the mother, and that they should be with her for another two weeks at least, but the shop keeper was adamant that the kittens must go and said that, if she did not want any, he would give them to anyone else who asked.

Our worker by this time had decided that at least we could look after the kittens and make sure they went to good homes when they were old enough, and said she would take them all. She took three immediately and went back the next day for the other three.

When she got to the house where the cats and kittens were, she could see that, as well as the three other kittens, he also had in total five adult female cats and a further three small white kittens(!): one long-haired tabby and one black cat he said were already spayed; one white cat which he called the grandmother cat that you could see had been recently spayed ; one tabby and white which was the mother of some of the kittens; one adult white cat which was the mother of the three white kittens at barely four weeks old and one odd white kitten at ten weeks old.

She told the shopkeeper that she could get all the other cats spayed for him. He was very reluctant in the beginning as he did not trust our worker but, after much persuasion, he agreed that she could take the two mum cats for spaying and the odd white kitten for treatment for fleas and worms, but he wanted to keep the three small, white kittens.

As she took the two mum cats, three kittens and the odd white kitten, our worker said that the "grandmother" and three kittens he wanted to keep should be checked over by the vets as they were running alive with fleas, but she would call him the next day to discuss this.

The next day our worker went back and he finally agreed to let her take all four for a check up. They were infested with fleas and worms and were all treated, the kittens being given worming crystals for their food. The vet said that the kittens were almost anaemic and, if they were to go back, the home must be sprayed otherwise she would not want to release the kittens back to the owner. Our worker explained that it was only on condition that the kittens were returned immediately that we were able to bring them at all but the vet advised that their lives would be at risk if returned to such conditions.

We decided we would try to speak to the owners and took back a household flea spray for them. We left the cat and kittens in the car and explained to them what the vet had said. It was difficult to explain to the owners, due to the language problem, that what we were doing was for the cats' and their own good. They kept saying "we love our cats" but they didn't quite understand that cats need more than food being put down once a day and being left to breed over and over again , let alone the unkindness of giving kittens away at such a young age. We told them that we are a charity and it costs us a lot of money to help cats in this situation. We explained that we are only interested in helping the cats.

After much discussion, they agreed that they did have a flea problem and we said we would spray the area where the cats sleep in the back and that they could then spray the house later. The best result out of this is that they also agreed that we could keep the three white kittens to treat them for worms and find homes for them.

In total we have removed ten kittens: nine under an age that they should leave their mother but we decided that we could treat them, care for them and re-home them in a responsible way.

On going to print, all kittens are still alive. But this does not guarantee that all will survive as they still have health problems.

Could you help?

Alternatively, we always need fosterers, long and short term, for both adults and kittens. If you have even a week or two to spare you may be able to help. That could be all it takes to tame down a "hissy, spitty" kitten and, working as part of a team, even short term input is valuable.

If you would like to give it a try, please get in touch. You may help to give a kitten a second chance.

The cruelty of ignorance ... again

By the time it came into our hands, its tiny digestive system was not working properly and, after a week during which it fought bravely to stay alive, it died a painful and unhappy death without ever having had a life. Baby rabbits should stay with their mothers for at least eight, preferably ten weeks or more to ensure that they can survive on their own. Hand-rearing a baby rabbit is notoriously difficult and separating it from its mother before weaning is tantamount to issuing a death sentence. Sorry, Bruce (after Bruce Lee for his fighting spirit), that our resources weren't enough to match your determination to stay with us.

The second was a slightly older rabbit, found abandoned in a pub toilet and, again, its digestive system appeared to have been severely compromised by poor or inadequate diet.

This bunny had a slightly better chance, being older and a little more resilient and, to date, he appears to be on the road to recovery but he will owe his survival to a chance encounter with the right person who sought veterinary care before it was too late.

The third was a pair of rabbits abandoned in a public park, spotted by a passer by from their car and caught by an energetic park keeper. Their story has a happy ending in that the veterinary nurse who looked after them, and brought them back to health, has decided to give them a permanent home.

There are two main points we would like to make. A rabbit's digestive system is very delicately balanced. They need to eat constantly and they need the right food to stay healthy. If a rabbit's guts stop working ("GI stasis") it can be impossible to get them moving again so the best solution is to make sure they keep going in the first place. The best way to do this is by providing suitable food at all times and being alert to any indication that their appetite is suppressed for any reason.

The second point is that there is no excuse for abandoning animals. There are numerous rescue groups who will take animals in, just for the asking. Domestic rabbits do not survive in the wild. We take a poster with us on our summer fundraising that says "Setting your pet rabbit loose doesn't make her free, it makes her lunch". Perhaps we need a new one, somewhat harder hitting, to get the message across.

On a happier note

"I just thought you'd like to see a photo (of Iaz and Zeugma, formerly Sandy and Barney) from day 1 in their new home - hope they don't look too worried! They certainly seem to be settling in well, and coping with their new names...

Zeugma (Barney) is very full of himself and doing lots of newspaper-shredding and throwing cardboard boxes about; Iaz (Sandy) is a bit less destructive but has managed more interaction with the cats, including getting a few friendly licks from Poppy!

Hope you like the photo. Best wishes, Janet"

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Rabbits are the third most popular pet after cats and dogs but their increasing popularity does not seem to be matched with improvements in their conditions.

The most common breeds in Britain are the Dwarf Lop/Mini Lop, the Dutch, the Lion-Head and the Netherland Dwarf. Most of these breeds have in-bred health problems to a greater or lesser degree.

Rabbits have a life-span of seven to twelve years, but most die after three.

The average litter size is seven kittens. The gestation period is a matter of weeks.

Adults generally weigh between 1kg and 8kg, depending on the breed. The average English rabbit weighs 2-3kg.

The perfect diet is grass and hay with plenty of water. Long blades of grass are better than mown clippings, since the latter can ferment in the stomach and cause the animal to bloat.

Rabbits need to graze constantly to keep their system working properly but concentrated pellet foods should be fed for only part of the time if the rabbit has a tendency to get fat.

Vegetables are a welcome addition - carrots and greens being favourites - but lettuce should be avoided since it can cause an upset stomach.

Sudden changes of diet should be avoided and new foods introduced gradually.

Fat rabbits do not have the usual problems associated with obesity in humans but it can prevent them cleaning themselves properly or eating their night droppings which in turn can lead to fly strike.

Rabbits and cats can get on famously and it is usually the rabbit who has the upper hand.

Hog Heaven Closure

A great loss to wildlife in the future but our thanks to Gill for all her efforts to date, on behalf of all the animals she has rescued.

Fundraising - we do need you, even if we don't always say so!

All of which places us in a very difficult position. As a charity we do not want to bombard our supporters with constant pleas for funds. We ourselves do not like to have tins rattled in our faces every time we walk into a supermarket and are sometimes driven to cease support for a charity that constantly writes asking for larger and more frequent donations, often using sad case histories to encourage giving and making us feel guilty if we are unable to oblige.

As a result, we have a very definite policy of not directly soliciting funds on a regular basis, and are opposed to aggressive marketing ploys, preferring to raise money the hard way through our shops and stalls.

However, (and you knew there would be a however!), donations form a large part of how we fund the work that we do and the more funds we can raise, the more work we can do.

In recent years the generosity of our supporters has enabled us to improve the level of protection we can offer to every cat that passes through our hands. Our plans for the future are shaped by our future financing and, as a small charity, we have to tread cautiously before we can commit to any long term plans without knowing that the funds are in place to finance them.

So just this once, and with apologies to those of you who are exhausted by the endless stream of pleas for help, we are enclosing our "Lend a Paw" leaflet with the newsletter and reminding you that we are always grateful for help, however small and however infrequent, and promising that we will always make every penny count.

We would also like to remind you that we are grateful for all support and that some of our most valuable aid comes from the time committed by the dedicated crowd who actually do the work - it isn't always money that counts and if you aren't in a position to donate, or have exhausted your charitable budget already, thank you for being our members, reading our newsletter, shopping in our shops or turning up to our events. Those of you who man the shops, provide the transport and trap or foster the cats aren't all bad either!

Prompt renewal of your membership is much appreciated and a reminder is included with this newsletter.

If you are able to help financially, don't forget that Gift Aid declarations and leaving money to charities in your will are often tax efficient ways of giving.

OK, that's it. We promise that we won't mention it again. Well, not in the near future anyway!

FIV Information Leaflets

We have come a long way since a positive result meant automatic euthanasia in some charities but there is still a way to go and we are grateful to one of our fieldworkers for producing the useful and informative leaflet, which we are enclosing with the newsletter, in her usual down-to-earth way.

We will try not to make a habit of having multiple enclosures in future newsletters but, hopefully, this is more useful, and less annoying, than those that fall out of most magazines today and go straight into the recycling.

If anyone would like further copies they can obtain them through any of the numbers in the newsletter.

If anyone feels that they could offer a home to an FIV positive cat but is worried about the potential cost if the cat should become ill, please get in touch - we would always consider underwriting exceptional vets bills arising from a condition existing at the time of homing.

The above handsome boy is one of the "halt" who stubbornly remains fit and well. Diagnosed as FIV positive in January 2002 during routine testing (and who knows how long he had been infected at that time) he continues in good health, living a normal life, and giving his owners no end of trouble (yes, we did cross our fingers, just in case we were tempting providence!)

Irresponsible Journalism

"Cats are being brought to Guernsey from the mainland to boost the island's feline population. The shortage has arisen because so many pets in the off-shore tax haven have been sterilised. 'I've never known anything like this', said a Guernsey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Spokesman. 'We asked cat owners to be responsible and they've done it too well'. The first shipment of 21 animals arrived last week, 'People were literally fighting to get hold of them', the spokesman added."

We do hope the "spokesman" was misquoted and not misguided. It is hard enough for us to get the message across to people who do not want to hear without this kind of reporting undermining the message.

For the record, we do not believe cat owners can be "too responsible", we have no fears of a cat shortage on the mainland and if the good folk of Guernsey would like to get in touch, we, and our sister groups throughout London and the rest of the country, can supply them with any number of cats, which we would transport humanely and at our own expense, if they can demonstrate the good, non-fighting, homes awaiting them!

We dream of the day when animal welfare groups focus on redistributing animals to areas with surplus homes rather than battling with a flood of animals surplus to requirements everywhere!

Careless talk costs neuterings.

A concert for C4

Christ Church is known as an excellent venue for performed music, having both good acoustics and a congenial atmosphere. It is readily accessible by public transport, Highbury and Islington being the nearest tube station and it is on bus routes 4, 19 and 236.

Apart from the music, there will be a Grand Raffle, animal charity stalls and refreshments. Ticket programmes costing £10 each are available from Doreen Rolph, 91a Carleton Road, Holloway, London, N7 0EZ, tel: 0207 607 1723. Please enclose an A5 stamped addressed envelope and make cheques payable to "RSPCA Central London (C4)" (who administer the C4 funds). The church has a seating capacity of 200, so don't delay.

We are deeply indebted to Janine, a long-term fieldworker for SNIP, and her colleagues, for such a generous gesture. The evening is certain to go down in the annals as a resounding success - so make sure you're there!

Poodle Cats

We found half the solution one summer when Bunny was moping in the excessive heat and my partner decided to bath her. This was not quite as radical as it might seem since she came to us with dreadful ear mites which meant weeks of treatment with sticky Canaural and a need for frequent baths at a young age. As a result, she adores being bathed, standing proud with her front paws raised, purring whist her "beauty treatment" is completed. A lot of the loose hair and knots came out this way but when we suggested to Sammy that he might like the same treatment, he gave a look to kill and left the building for the rest of day.

For my partner it was a natural progression from bathing to clipping and, although I forbad this firmly (what self-respecting cat would accept being shorn) I returned home one day to find Bunny in the process of being clipped close to her skin everywhere apart from head and neck, legs and tail. Since she was co-operating, and purring madly, I left them to it, having the small satisfaction of knowing that his beard trimmer would never be the same again.

Sammy cast a contemptuous glance at Bunny, muttered darkly to himself, and left the building.

Bunny became a "poodle cat" for the summers, her coat seeming to benefit and a case of chronic dandruff becoming a thing of the past.

The next summer Sammy developed dreadlocks and we began to fear for his skin. We thought of a professional groomer, in the hopes that he would behave better with a stranger, but all attempts to find one seemed doomed. Eventually we decided that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE and with a heavy heart went off to buy some professional clippers to trim the matted areas ourselves and seek some advice on technique. When we pointed out Sammy's size and temperament (huge and girly), someone suggested a cat blindfold would calm him down. Yes, we know now that this was the equivalent of pouring salt into a wound, but it sounded quite a logical way to keep him calm when it was suggested.

Being a naturally suspicious character, Sammy knew something was afoot immediately. Fortunately, he is a predictable old thing and we had cut off his only exits from the building. We approached, reassuringly, with the blindfold to one side and he yelled. We stroked his head and kissed his nose and he screamed. We pleaded, threatened, bribed and admonished him, all to no avail. After sufficient time for our neighbours to have alerted the RSPCA we abandoned the blindfold idea but by now it had become a battle of wills between my partner and Sammy and my partner was determined that SAMMY WOULD BE SHAVED. Since this is something like the irresistible force and the immovable object I went to find the first aid kit and thought about ringing the vet.

Resisting the urge to leave the building myself, I heard the clippers start and waited for the fall-out. Everything went deadly quiet. After a few minutes, I plucked up courage to look and Sammy sat there, like a little angel, with a beatific smile on his face.

It took two or three sessions to clip him properly and we concentrated on removing the matts, rather than making him pretty, but the relief to him was obvious. His whole attitude was much more relaxed, he seemed more comfortable, and immediately started to groom himself more often.

He did look a little moth-eaten (which Bunny found hysterically funny) and my neighbours now have absolute confirmation that we are all barking mad, but we intend to shave them both at the beginning of each summer. This gives plenty of time for the hair to grow back before the Winter.

It takes a while to become accustomed to any new hairstyle, and at first they do look a little odd, but we have come to love their new "summer cut" and it does make for a healthy and peaceful existence!

Anyone want a slightly used cat blindfold?

Guinea Pig Update

New contact numbers

Fostering enquiries	0208 883 6021
Membership enquiries	0207 419 9175
Gift Aid/Lend a Paw enquiries	0207 419 9642
Re-homing enquiries	0208 348 0045
Collection of donated goods	0207 607 5349
General enquiries	0207 607 1723

You may like to retain the list for future reference.

Forthcoming Events

Obituaries

It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of Doris Gaerty. Doris survived a horrific car crash a couple of years ago but never fully recovered.

She was one of the founder members of Animal Aid and Advice back in 1971 and was its guiding light. When she retired she and her husband, her beloved Scottie dogs and cats moved to Royston, where she founded her own North Herts charity. The field work this entailed was arduous and demanding as the area covered is largely rural, with all the concomitant problems. But Doris was indefatigable and struggled on to improve the lot of the animals she encountered.

We also have her and Joan Fitzgerald to thank for founding the Feral Cat Plan in 1986, with its motto "Ferals need friends". This charity concentrates on the neutering of feral cats and also supports people who feed ferals where there is a financial problem.

It is good to know that Doris' work will be continued by the two charities she was closely involved with. We extend our condolences to her colleagues and her family.

MARION PIKE

We also regret to announce the death in Australia of Marion Pike, again one of the earliest members of Animal Aid and Advice. She was an early Chairman of the Committee, with her husband, Frank, as Treasurer. She was also heavily involved in the fund-raising needed to support the group's activities. We extend our sympathy to her family.

Handsome Boy

HOME • NEWS • INFORMATION • VOLUNTEERS • SHOPS • PHOTOGRAPHS • MEMBERSHIP • LINKS • CONTACT

© Copyright 2004 Animal Aid & Advice
Email: AAandA@ic24.net