As ever, we would ask you to spread the word that cats are seasonal breeders and that summer is the very best time to ensure that you can take your pick. At other times of the year kittens may be available but, as the high pet shop prices indicate, they are not so plentiful. (Which is no bad thing, since it gives a chance to some of the older cats to find loving homes when the competition is not so strong!)

We do hope you like our new logo - above. We are particularly pleased since it will be a permanent reminder of Carole Hugill, who edited our newsletter for so long and whose talents are sorely missed. We hope she would approve!

We hope to see some of you at the summer fundraising events - for a full list of scheduled event at the time of going to press, please see the forthcomming events section at the bottom.

AGM 2004 - Doreen Rolph

Following the resignations of Karen Heath and Pat Tuson, Marilyn Dyson has become Deputy Chairman and Cathie O'Neill Honorary Secretary. Nick Hugill did not stand for re-election and Maja Hasan, Evelyn and Alan Johnson and Anne Payne were elected as committee members. We would like to thank the outgoing trustees for their past hard work and commitment to the charity and look forward to their continuing support.

The Annual Review for 2003 was presented and adopted. If any member would like a copy of this please ring 0207 607 1723.

Following the business matters, we were given an illustrated talk, which proved both touching and informative, about rescuing hedgehogs and other wildlife by Gill Newbery, a veterinary nurse and founder of Hog Heaven Wildlife Refuge in West Hendon. We are grateful to Gill and her daughter Samantha, for giving their time to talk to us.

The winners and runners up of our logo competition were displayed. Kolla Rosie won the prize and was present to collect the bottle of champagne.

Finally, we were able to partake of some very welcome and tasty refreshments provided by Abi Myles.

AGM Report - Annette Freeman

Hog Heaven is a wildlife sanctuary run from her home and cares for sick, injured and orphaned wild birds and small wild animals.

Her house soon became full of various animals in every room and so she decided to have a purpose-built hospital and treatment facility in her large back garden. The hospital now houses some of the sick animals, and in addition the garden contains an aviary in which the birds can exercise and a hedgehog enclosure.

We heard about many of Gill's successes, and sadly too about some of her failures. Looking after baby animals is very time consuming and it can be extremely sad to see an animal thrive and then for it to suddenly die for no apparent reason. This often happens with baby squirrels and nobody is sure of the cause.

Gill firmly believes every creature brought to her should be given a chance, but she is also aware that they are wild creatures. The animals must not be allowed to become too attached to people, a process known as 'imprinting' as, if this happens, they will not be able to care for themselves in the wild. This happened with one magpie chick she reared, who once grown would not fly away and also went visiting her neighbours, which made her rather unpopular! Happily the magpie went to live with another in an aviary at Trent Park.

Although Gill will try and help any animal she thinks she is able to, her main love remains hedgehogs. She reminded us how to make our gardens hedgehog-friendly which includes having a ramp in the pond so they can climb out, keeping pea and bean netting above hedgehog height and definitely no slug pellets. All wild animals prefer gardens that are not kept too tidy and even a corner left 'wild' or some large shrubs will benefit wildlife, especially our dwindling song-bird population.

Gill is lucky to have several helpers (including her son and daughter), but her work is still very expensive and so she always welcomes any donations. If she cannot help with a wildlife casualty she usually knows someone who can. She is also always looking for secure, preferably walled, gardens to release hedgehogs in who might not fare so well left entirely to their own devices. Such a hedgehog will repay you by helping to control the slug population.

Hog Heaven Wildlife Refuge
Registered Charity No 1103255
c/o 19 Woolmead Avenue
West Hendon, London NW9 7BA
Tel. 020 8202 5098 and 07973 509952

www.hogheaven.org.uk

C4 Update 1 - Fraser Wright

We have a new application leaflet, which is A4 size, but folded twice to form six sections. The leaflet has pictures of cats, the logos of the participating charities, GLA support statement, as well as details of how to get your cat neutered. This leaflet was sponsored by the Petplan Charitable Trust.

Our campaign south of the Thames is beginning to show an increase in applications for neutering. We have recently advertised in a number of South London papers and we advertise daily in "Loot". We are also beginning to interest local authorities and Greenwich Council is going to send out 28,000 leaflets to their council house tenants.

Finally, the average cost to neuter a cat, taking into account all our costs, is £25.91.

We understand that the London Marathon run was a great success and Fraser will be reporting on this in the next issue.

C4 will have a presence at the Lambeth Country Show during the summer - see forthcoming events below.

C4 Update 2

Living with Diabetes - Janet Ambers

The first sign we had that Badcat was sick was a huge thirst, followed by rapid trips to the litter tray. In retrospect his coat got more greasy and he was even hungrier than usually, although with Badcat that's not easy to spot. His back legs slowly became weaker, but again the change was so gradual it was some time before we realized he was really ill, rather than just getting older. Once he was diagnosed and put on insulin he recovered rapidly.

Bad needs twice daily insulin injections. This is not nearly as scary as it sounds. As you rapidly discover, the needles are very fine and very sharp and enter your fingers with great ease and virtually no pain. Badcat shows no sign of feeling them at all. In fact he now comes running when he sees me getting a injection ready, as he knows this equals food soon. He does need to be fed at fairly regular times, but we have a couple of hours leeway and if I'm late with his breakfast he can always be relied on to point this out. He needs a high protein, low fat, diet and for some time lived very happily mostly on cooked sliced chicken. Much to his disappointment a tinned prescription diet is now available.

One thing that diabetes does emphasise is that pet insurance can be a good idea. A diabetic cat is not cheap. Badcat has regular check-ups and blood tests, and his insulin needs to be replaced every few months, as it loses its effectiveness with time. Add to this the cost of diet food and syringes and the monthly insurance premium seems a tremendous bargain.

Unbelievable, we understand that Badcat was thrown out by his previous owners and lived rough for two years before he found Janet and Gillian. We're not sure who was the luckier - Badcat for finding wonderful owners or Janet and Gillian for finding such a beautiful cat!

PS Janet and Gillian make a habit of picking up medical problems - they have already homed and loved an FIV cat and a cat undergoing chemotherapy for cancer - perhaps Badcat is the overall winner!

Minx, Dapper and Nero - Jennifer Taylor

Later that year I was made redundant and was at home all the time, Minx's personality changed completely and it was at that time I realized I could not go back to work and leave her alone. By now I knew that I should not buy a rabbit from a pet store, so I started contacting rescue organizations. I was put in touch with Anne Payne who was very helpful and happened to have a family of black rabbits that she was happy to re-home with new companions. I went over to meet the two boys, as I knew that a boy would be the best companion for Minx. They were so lovely and I decided to take one of them. I was a little concerned how Minx would take to another bunny as she still showed signs of being territorial - like attacking the dustpan and brush and even the hoover on the odd occasion!

A couple of weeks later Anne brought the boys over (she had found a new home with another mini lop for the other). Anne sat on the upstairs landing with one of the boys and I let Minx go upstairs to meet him on neutral territory. She took one look at him and fled! For 3 days she ran away from him, while he desperately followed her trying to make friends. Finally she was too tired to run any more so she just lay down and he started to groom her - that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Dapper was the most beautiful black rabbit with an incredibly shiny coat and bright eyes. He was so sweet natured and such a gentleman. A very timid little boy who was often led into mischief by Minx who left him to take the blame (but I knew!). For two years and five months they lived very happily together never being apart. Then one day I noticed that Dapper had stopped eating, so the next day I took him to the vets for a check-up as I was going away for a long weekend. My vet was very good and gave him a thorough check-up and decided it was probably his teeth, so they took him in and the next day put him under to check out his teeth. When I called that afternoon they said that he was doing fine, but was still not eating so they would keep him in another night; they knew I was going away and wanted to make sure everything was fine.

So I arranged for my bunny sitter to pick him up the next day. However, he still was not eating so in the end they kept him in until I got back on the Sunday. I went to collect him and he was as bright as a button and so excited to be home with Minx and to be able to go out in the garden. By the Wednesday he was still not eating properly, so when I took him back to the vet for his check up they decided to keep him in again to do a further exploratory operation. I sat and cuddled him and said that it would be OK, we were just trying to make him better.

The next day they did the operation and when they telephoned me they said that they had found large lumps around his intestine and it was not looking good, but he was recovering well from the anaesthetic. Unfortunately I could not get home in time to visit him that night. The next morning when I arrived at work I had a call from the vet who said that he had taken a turn for the worse, so I went straight to see him. He was in a bad way when I got there and I sat with him for a couple of hours. Then he had a seizure and although the vets tried to get him back they could not. I sat holding him for about an hour and then had to say goodbye.

I was absolutely heartbroken and spent many days grieving for the loss of my sweet little boy, I tried to explain it to Minx, but I am not sure she understood, she was just very lonely and needed every bit of attention I could give her. I spoke with Anne during this time and she was a great comfort, I knew that I would have to get another companion for Minx fairly soon but was not ready for it yet. I knew that I would want a boy about the same age as Minx, Anne said that she had a little boy in mind and I should give her a call when I was ready.

A few weeks later I went to meet Nero - what a chap he was, although he was a bit subdued due to strange people, I could see the twinkle in his eye! I knew that he would keep Minx on her toes. We had to wait a couple of weeks due to a slightly embarrassing personal problem that Nero had, but once that was cleared it was all systems go - Minx was getting a bit depressed being on her own, so I had to take action.

Nero arrived on a Wednesday, it was hilarious! Poor little thing, first of all he had to have a bath the night before in anti-dandruff shampoo and was separated from his "buddies". Then Anne's car had broken down in the morning so she had to come to London Bridge on the tube where I met her and we went home together on the train - he was not amused!

Finally we reached my house, where he was plonked in the middle of a monster bunny's territory and left to defend himself! Minx was so sweet, she very gently went up to him and kept trying to sniff him, but as she is at least twice his size and he was in her home, he assumed that she would attack him so went on the defence.

We tried to introduce them in the garden, but after some scuffles we took them inside. He found the litter tray and took that over as his kingdom - poor Minx had to cross her legs as he would not let her in (for three days!!), I had to put down some carpet next to the tray for her to pee on! Every time she peeked over the edge he would hit the side of the tray with his paws and nip her - very rude little boy. Anyway, this went on for a while and he would just stay in the litter tray, occasionally venturing out to eat, but when he did, Minx would get all excited and bound over to him, so he would shoot off back to the litter tray and Minx would bound after him - you can imagine the mess.

In the evenings I would sit with him on the sofa while Minx was running around the garden so they got a bit of quiet time from each other. On Saturday I took him out in the garden too, which he loved. They were getting quite a lot less tense around each other, but every now and then he would still nip her on the face. Then in the afternoon they were inside each sitting on a separate piece of carpet and I was loading the dishwasher which scared him a bit, so he sidled over to Minx and lay down next to her. She stayed there for a minute, then got up and turned her back on him. Well a girl has her pride you know? She just thought that she would play it cool for a while now the tables were turned.

Finally on Sunday I saw them sitting together and grooming each other - it was so sweet, my heart wanted to burst! Since then they have been fine and now he even sleeps in the under stairs cupboard with Minx!

He is very cute, he already takes biscuits from my hand. He gets so excited that he nearly wobbles over, then he snatches whatever I am offering as quickly as he can - I tell him that this is very rude, but so far he has taken no notice - men hey!

Minx & Nero are doing fine, although, sometimes he gets a bit "amorous", Minx being the lady she is, is having none of it and just tries to find a place that he cannot reach for some sanctuary. More often than not, they are cuddled up together or have their heads in a food bowl trying to eat more than the other!

We buried Dapper the Sunday before Nero arrived, which was very moving. He was cremated and the little box that he was in was so beautiful with a little brass plaque with his name engraved on it. He is buried under a little weeping willow in a large pot near to my back door - a pot that he couldn't get into when alive as it was too high, now he sits in there and watches Minx and Nero play. He touched our lives in a very special way and he will never be forgotten and will always be loved.

N.B. Although Nero continues to be "amorous", it is mainly in his head - he was neutered when he came in for re-homing - but that's bunnies for you! (Or perhaps he's just one of life's romantics?) Seriously, owners should not be concerned if their bunnies continue to circle and mount each other, even after neutering. In the wild their mortality rate is high and they are predominantly little breeding machines, so a lot of their behaviour stems from this. As long as the attentions do not become unwelcome, or cause aggression, they are just being bunnies!

Passive Smoking - Anita Bowers

I have only seen a few articles relating to animal exposure to cigarette smoke that are basically word for word. Why is there no more? They breathe the same air as we do; they have a pair of lungs like us, heart and mouth so surely logic tells us that they are exposed to the same dangers from cigarette smoke as we are. Yet we never think of this when we light up. Why?

Of every cigarette that we light up only 15% is actually inhaled. The remaining is released into the air, exposing the very air we breathe to carbon monoxide and to over 4,000 toxins and chemicals that take around two hours to clear from your room.

I recall a post mortem being carried out on a cat. It revealed it had died from lung cancer. It was heart-breaking to think it had died in this manner, it was something that, in my opinion, could have been avoided. The owners chose to smoke around their pet. And how do I know the owners smoked? Because each and every time the pet came into the surgery its coat reeked of nicotine. That cat did not choose to live in that environment but it was one that was chosen for him.

Surgeons cannot be 100% certain of how an animal has died in these circumstances and from material I have read they are divided on this subject. More data and research is clearly needed. However the way to get this is if pet owners are totally honest with their veterinary surgeons. They are not there to preach to clients but to care for your pets when they are ill, to try to pinpoint the cause of an illness and to offer advice on their environment to improve good health.

All I am asking is that you think of the above logically and if there is even the smallest doubt in your mind, please do not take that risk, do not smoke in the same room as your pets.

Anita's comments are reinforced by the findings of an American study carried out between 1993 and 2000 which found that passive smoking can kill animals and that being in a smoking household dramatically increases the danger of the most common type of cat cancer - feline lymphoma - which kills three quarters of its victims within a year. The study found that cats exposed to second hand smoke had more than double the risk of acquiring the disease and, after five years' exposure, more than triple the risk. In a two-smoker household, the risk went up by a factor of four.

The researchers believed the risk for cats to be higher than for people or other pets because they spend longer periods indoors and also suffer in two ways - by breathing in the smoke and by licking particles off their coats.

On a brighter note, recent research suggests that children growing up in households with animals are stronger, healthier and less likely to suffer from allergies in later life. We never doubted it for a minute...

Roxy, a nervous cat - Meg Armstrong

The only serious problems we've had with Roxy are taking her to the vet and occasional random fouling of the furniture, especially the bed. We solved the first problem by keeping a carrying basket in our bedroom. Roxy will often sleep in it, and if we happen to shut her in it first thing in the morning, our vet will let us bring her in as soon as he has an opening, rather than trying to catch her for a specific time. She's quite psychic, and if she has an appointment for the next day, she'll hide all night. As for the second problem, this can seem impossible to solve because it can be so hard to find out what's bothering her. I suspect it may often be a territorial dispute with the other cats. We try to make sure everything is as normal as possible, but that doesn't always work. I've resorted in the past to spraying the bed with a repellent and setting up a temporary litter box nearby, which has been fairly effective. When you're doing the sheets for the third time in one day, you just have to remind yourself, it's a "cry for help". We've had this problem at different times with three of our cats, and it's like the flu: it goes away after a while.

Our only real advice for settling a nervous cat is simply to let the cat tell you what it will or will not tolerate. We've been like detectives with Roxy, trying to figure out what frightens or pleases her. Although we enjoy all our cats very much, there is a much greater sense of achievement when Roxy gives us her trust and affection. Making friends with Roxy has been a very happy, rewarding experience.

Since giving Roxy a home Meg and her husband Mike, together with their family which includes Mr Peter Cook, their male cat, have been staunch supporters. Their generosity and support has been much appreciated over the years.

Forthcoming Events

If you have any comments, opinions or articles that you would like to have included in future newsletters, or if you want to publicise your own charitable event, please write to 16 Ingham Road, London NW6 1DE or email AAandA@ic24.net.

If you would like to volunteer, for fundraising, fieldwork or fostering, or would like to offer a home to a cat or kitten, please telephone 020 7607 1723.

Badcat - Photo by Janet Ambers

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