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| NEWS » SUMMER / AUTUMN 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hi everyone. We have come into the kitten season again and the problems have already started. Calls from members of the public with kittens being born in their gardens, sheds and outhouses etc. Most of these poor mum cats are young, friendly tame cats having their first litters, either lost or abandoned when their last years "kitten looks" faded as they grew up. Had these cats been neutered while they were still at their original homes, they would at the very least not have to be worrying about keeping their unfortunate and unnecessary kittens safe and fed as well as themselves.
What? - No Kittens?Back in the spring there were a lot of people wanting kittens, but not a big enough "supply" to usually satisfy demand. This does not mean there was a dearth, it was still too early for there to be great numbers. Kittens are a seasonal commodity, available in great numbers from early summer through till autumn. If you know anyone wanting a kitten, please persuade them to wait till June onwards, when animal welfare groups find it difficult to cope with the furry flood. There will then be a wide choice and potential owners will have the additional advantage of expert back-up from welfare groups.Please discourage people from buying animals from pet shops or newspaper advertisements.
A.G.M. - 23.3.02Once again the Animal Aid & Advice A.G.M. proved to be a most sociable and interesting occasion, the business part being accomplished agreeably quickly. Two long-serving Trustees, Gill and Derek Harris, stood down this year, and Alan and Evelyn Johnson were elected in their stead. We should like to thank Gill and Derek for their many years of service and hard work and are pleased that they are continuing to help at our Finchley Charity Shop.Karen Heath is now Deputy Chairman in place of Derek Harris. Pat Tuson is taking up the remaining vacant post of Trustee. Our Treasurer informed the meeting that next year the format the accounts would be presented in would be different, to comply with newly implemented changes in accounting requirements. We are pleased to report that in 2001 our income was slightly in excess of expenditure, all thanks to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and the support of our membership and the public. We then heard a most interesting talk on The Battersea Dogs' Home by Anne O'Brien, Head of Rehabilitation there, supported by Alison Taylor. It was particularly interesting to hear that Battersea has limited facilities for feral cats, as well as domestic moggies. We thank Anne and Alison for their time and trouble. For copies of the Annual Report for 2001 and/or the Profit/Loss sheet, please call 020 7607 1723.
AAA Second-Hand Bookshop174 Blackstock Road, London N5 1HA(near junction with Gillespie Rd) Tel: 020 7359 0294 In October 2000 the late Margaret Baker arranged for AAA to take over one of her shop premises as a bookshop at a peppercorn rent. As most of you will know, Margaret died in November of that year and there followed a year of uncertainty regarding the future of the shop, although AAA were using it as a bookshop during that period. The premises were eventually sold and AAA entered into negotiations with the new owner with regard to a new lease. This was successfully concluded in April of this year and we now have a 5-year lease, albeit at a commercial rent. It falls on us now to make a real success of the enterprise to justify this outlay. It is a small, but really attractive shop with "old-fashioned" appeal. We sell an excellent selection of second-hand books - fact and fiction, with a particularly wide range of modern classics, contemporary fiction and children's literatures, history, crafts, travel, nature, cookery and gardening books, all at reasonable prices. Please do call in and take a look, there is no obligation to buy, and browsers are welcome. Also tell your friends and colleagues. We are open 10.00am - 5.00pm, and sometimes later, 7 days a week. All the proceeds go towards our animal work, there is no paid staff. We receive many compliments about our stock, but we need to make ourselves better and more widely known. If anyone can suggest ways of achieving this, or can offer help to this effect, please call: Doreen Rolph on 020 7607 1723 Likewise, if you have books to donate, please take them to the shop or ring the above number.
Nikki - The Will To LiveA few weeks ago we had a call from a concerned member of the public - her neutered tom cat had brought her a newborn kitten in a terrible condition. It had four bites on its neck and arm, all of which had festered into large abscesses. The smell was unbearable and it was very close to death. It would not feed at all so we had to drip feed it every hour until it was strong enough to start suckling itself.The vet was sure a fox had got hold of it and maybe dropped it when it was scared off and frankly he wasn't very hopeful of her recovery. It was very slow progress at first as every time the abscesses started healing we had to remove the new scab and flush it out with saline, as it kept filling with pus again. One of the bites was about an inch long and that was the one that caused the most trouble. Two weeks down the line the vet started to be a lot more hopeful, and I'm delighted to say she is four weeks old now and full of mischief. Apart from a large scar on her shoulder which will remain bald, she is healthy and full of life. The added pleasure to this story is after putting up notices around the area for the mother and any remaining kittens, a builder on a derelict site phoned to say there was a nursing mum between two walls inside the derelict house with newborn kittens. She had obviously moved them to somewhere very safe now - even from us. We managed to get them out with the aid of a gripper and mum soon gave herself up. Family safe and united.
Why Own A Cat?If you're cat owner, there's danger you know,You can't own just one - for the craving will grow, There's no doubt they're addictive, but there's always the danger, That living with lots, you'll grow poorer and stranger!!
One cat is no trouble, and two are quite funny,
So how 'bout another? Would you really dare?
The housekeeper suffers, but what do you care?
Your lawn has all died and your shrubs are all dead.
Anon Rider from Animal Aid & AdviceWe must stress, that the sentiment, expressed in the above poem, though amusing cannot be wholly condoned by Animal Aid & Advice. Welfare groups often have to deal with the consequences of multi-cat households where things have got out of hand and we would like to point out that, as with all addictions, treatment should be sought at an early stage to avoid potentially dire consequences!! Although we are very keen to home as many cats as possible, we do recommend that owners keep their feline families to a manageable size.
Fundraising StallWe would like to thank Barry Quinlan-West and Denis Riordan for their kind offer of a fundraising table at their garden opening in July where we sold books and bric-a-brac. Our stalwart supporters Evelyn and Alan Johnson manned the table for us and enjoyed the hospitality of their hosts and appreciated "the prevailing party atmosphere"!
Respect Festival: Victoria Park, Tower HamletsAlso in July we helped to publicise the C4 free cat neutering campaign with an information stall at this multi-racial festival where a considerable number of vouchers were issued on the day. This was one of a number of initiatives over the summer and further promotions are planned outside North and East London supermarkets later in the summer when all volunteers would be welcome. A desire to dress up as a cat and skills with balloon modelling will be much in demand. To date over 3,200 cats have been neutered under this very exciting scheme.
Rhodes Minnis Open DayA number of Animal Aid and Advice members and supporters travelled down to Kent for the annual open day at Rhodes Minnis Cat Sanctuary in July and, as always, a good time was had by all, including the cats. An extra treat was the sight of baby hedgehogs being hand-reared by a local wildlife group. The day was a great success, both socially and financially and a pleasing number of cats were later homed as a result.
Fieldwork Figures
Forthcoming EventsSept 1st - Angel Canal Festival, Canal Basin N1. All daySept 8th - Gillespie Festival, Gillespie Park N5. All day Sept - Household sale, Leeson Hall N7. 11am - 3pm (Details from Doreen - 020 7607 1723) Cat Post Alert!!Having bought an activity centre from a reputable high street store, I set it up for the cats to play on. It has a scratch-post and platform on top and a sleeping compartment at the bottom. After about 4-5 weeks playing with the cat post the top collapsed onto the sleeping compartment while there was a cat sleeping inside.She was very badly injured across her eye, mouth, gums and neck, needing two weeks of veterinary care, but it could have been a lot worse. We have taken up the safety aspect with the manufacturer and are awaiting the outcome. Please if you have an activity centre of this design or are thinking about buying a new one, check that it is securely screwed together and not just stapled with too few staples as they bend and eventually give way. [ TOP OF PAGE ] The views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily the views of Animal Aid & Advice or the Editor. |
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