Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Purr, sir?
Contentment is not the only signal for purring, however. Purring can indicate a friendly, social mood and can be used by an injured cat to show the need for friendship. Cats in great pain after an injury can purr very loudly and can’t really be considered to be contented.
Small domestic cats purr with both inward and outward breaths (with their mouths firmly shut), while their large relatives - the lions and tigers - can only produce a friendly 'one-way purr' when greeting friends. Nevertheless, big cats have a feature that compensates for their inability to purr—the almighty roar! (Though there are probably times when domestic cats wish to send a few shivers down the spine of a rival cat or two with this characteristic!)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Oldies..but goodies!
There are lots of middle-aged cats, often just beyond the flush of excitable kittenhood, which are being overlooked at rescue centres. I certainly got to see this for myself at first hand when I visited the Old Windsor Branch of the Battersea Cats and Dogs Home last week, where I saw lots of lovable cats ten years and above and older.
If you are honest about what you have to offer in terms of a home, then a good charity will do their best to match the right cat to you.
So why take on a older cat? Well, for starters they make good, longterm pets — advances in veterinary care and medicine mean many older cats now live to their late teens and early-20s in remarkably good health.
There are other reasons too:
1) They have calmer, more settled natures so are likely to be lower maintenance than young cats or kittens.
2) Older cats tend to seek love and attention much more than young cats, making them ideal ‘lap pets.’
3) Owing to their age and habits, older cats are less likely to go out and explore, reducing the possibility of them getting lost, going missing or having road traffic accidents.
4) Older cats that are currently being looked after by Cats Protection and organisations like Battersea tend to have had one or more previous owners, so they are usually domesticated and familiar with routines such as using a litter tray, scratch posts and so on.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Charlie recovers
Web Editor of Your Cat, James Buzzel came home on Sunday September 28th to find a note attached to our front door. “Urgent, please go to number 15…”
James takes up the story:
"Charlie, our one-year-old rescue cat, had been hit by a car. He was bleeding from the mouth and unable to move the bottom half of his body. The driver hadn’t stopped, but Charlie had a habit of sleeping under cars and therefore he/she might not have known what had happened. He had been found at 5.15pm and the emergency vet had already been called. My neighbour had been told to wait an hour and see if we’d be home by then… thankfully we were back by 5.40pm and saw the note.
Charlie was taken to the local veterinary centre, Burghley Vets and placed in an oxygen tank pending his x-rays. We left him at the surgery and had a phone call later that evening from the vet. Charlie had a broken jaw and a broken pelvis but nothing could be done until he came out of shock… we would have to wait for the morning to see if he pulled through.The next day Charlie was more settled and could be put under general anaesthetic for a more detailed analysis of the damage. Initially the jaw had been of prime concern, but this was wired back together without complication. It was his pelvis that was more damaged than first thought – it was broken in three places and his back legs were basically detached from his spine. The vet also mentioned ‘tail pull’, where she believed the tail might have got caught under the tyre and Charlie had pulled away, yanking his entire body and doing severe damage to his nervous system. The tail had no feeling and Charlie had yet to urinate or pass bowel movements by himself.
I asked right then whether Charlie would make it and whether it was worth going through any major surgery if his nervous system was damaged. He was insured under Virgin for up to £3000 per condition and therefore any operation would have been covered. She advised that we waited 24 hours to give Charlie some time to pass urine by himself.
We actually gave Charlie 48 hours and in that time hope was raised and dashed. He was such an unusual case because he looked so bright and alert, plus was eating well. If he looked in pain or sickly, the choice would have been much easier – even the vets and nurses were puzzled. However, Charlie’s charm won them all over and their policy to give him time paid off… he began urinating in a litter area by himself, even if he was shuffling along the pen to get there!
The x-rays didn’t look good. A pelvis broken in three different places was going to be a hard injury to overcome. Burghley sent the scans to The Grove, a special animal orthopaedic and spinal referral centre in Norfolk. They believed Charlie was operable and therefore I drove him on October 2 to meet orthopaedic surgeon Gordon Brown. He explained that Charlie’s tail would need to be amputated as he had no feeling or movement in it.
Gordon operated on Charlie, inserting a screw into one of the pelvis cracks and leaving the other two to heal naturally. Charlie was monitored for several days and again the issue was whether he could pass bowel movements unaided. Thankfully he did (with laxative) and he would be able to come home the following Wednesday.
When I first saw him, it was a little shocking to see the fur on his back removed and stained blue! Gordon explained it was the antiseptic solution pre-operation and would disappear within a few weeks. Charlie was now hobbling, but shuffling one of his legs along the floor. He had feeling in this leg, but it was not functioning right… only time will tell if this leg heals correctly, but given that Charlie has responded so well to his treatment so far, I have every hope it will!
Charlie's recuperation continues live on site and you can see his recovery on the home page of Yourcat.co.uk. There have been lots of visitors and well-wishers dropping by, so don't be surprised if you see a hand or three stretching across on camera to give the little fellow a gentle stroke.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The cat in the middle - pets and divorce
The difficulties of fighting over a cat can be traumatic indeed. Legal experst such as Peter Morris, a lawyer at law firm Irwin Mitchell advises that a firm agreement should be written up beforehand to plan what will happen if the worst scenario occurs.
If the worst happens and a case does go to court, he recommends staying rational and coming to a compromise. "Pets can be a source of comfort to children whose parenst are splitting, so it's important not to seperate them.
Lawyer Peter Morris says people can behave irrationally when upset and this can lead to bad decisions. He recommends the following five tips for couples to keep in mind when it comes to avoiding and resolving pet squabbles:
1When buying your pet try to agree who will keep it should the relationship break
down. Speak with a solicitor about drawing up a prenuptial or other written agreement.
2If separation becomes inevitable and there are no written agreements, try to stay rational. If possible come to a
sensible agreement in relation to ownership of property and belongings, including pets, without resorting to
the courts.
3 Look back and remember who the pets were originally for and whether one of you was their main carer. This can help determine who the pets belong to in the case of a break up.
4 Paws for thought — taking a pet custody battle to court would be very costly. Resorting to law can also be time-consuming and could increase bad feeling and emotional turmoil at an already difficult time.
5 Where there is more than one pet involved, splitting them up can affect the animals adversely. So, if you cannot
agree about one of you having ownership rights over all the creatures, consider joint custody or arrangements for contact in the future.
Have you had experience of deciding who should take your pet? Let us know on our forum .