PAT Cat of the Year
The photograph, on the front page, of this month’s PAT cat nominee had to be a rather small one, to fit the page! So here is ‘Barnum’s’ photo again.
Look out for the next four nominees, featured in OUR CATS, in the next four issues. When all six have been featured, you will be able to vote for your favourite!
Competitions
The TOP BREEDER and TOP EXHIBIT competitions have begun; the points gained during March’s shows may be claimed on the enclosed form, see page 41. If you have not yet entered, you may do so immediately. Every entrant receives a 2kg bag of food!
Please may I encourage all breeders to enter? It would be nice to see every breed section well represented. You do not need more than one cat of your own breeding to enter - ‘small is beautiful’!
Extra forms may be photocopied or downloaded from the competitions page on the OUR CATS website www.ourcats.co.uk.
Some readers have suggested that a different system of counting points might work, in the future. Please forward these to us, for possible consideration.
In the meantime - please show your appreciation of Royal Canin’s support of our cat fancy, by joining in! Good luck to all!
PKD
A lady recently wrote to OUR CATS about her two and a half year old BSH, which had been diagnosed with PKD. It appears there were some Persians in the pedigree and she asked if breeders of BSH are now testing for PKD. Do you breed BSH? Please write to us at OUR CATS and tell us about your experience.
For the latest on the new gene testing, being done in America, please see www.fabcats.org.uk
MRSA
MRSA has been prominently discussed in the media recently. The advice from the Pet Health Council is, as follows:
“While MRSA infection in humans is not a new problem - strains first appeared in the 1960’s - a small Toronto study (2002) showed for the first time that MRSA diagnosis in animals can be made.
As yet there is no evidence to suggest that pets may be involved in the spread of the new strain of MRSA discovered in the US. Investigations are underway to ascertain if the infection can be passed from pets to humans (i.e. as a zoonotic disease). In the same way that cases of MRSA in healthy people are isolated, it is likely that cases affecting healthy animals would be rare.
As with humans, the focus should remain on prevention and control. Stringent hand hygiene practice is the single most important infection control measure. Pet owners should always wear gloves when handling body fluids. Extra care should be taken when pet or owner has a weak immune system, is recovering from an illness or has an open wound.
If a human patient has recurrent MRSA infections, contact with pets or other animals should be reviewed, particularly if the pet or animal is ill, wounded or in a post operative recovery phase.
The risk of MRSA infection in humans and pets remains only slight and does not usually affect those who are in good health. Pet owners who are concerned about the risk of disease in their pet should consult their veterinary surgeon.”
Telephone: 020 7255 5408, Email: phc@uk.grayling.com, www.pethealthcouncil.co.uk
Cats Protection - another success!
Last October, 29 cats were rescued by Cats Protection from just one house in West Yorkshire and brought to the charity’s National Cat Centre (NCC), near Haywards Heath in Sussex, where they received the intensive veterinary care that they desperately needed.
Suffering from anaemia, severe eye disease and severely undernourished, it took almost two months of constant TLC before the cats were well enough to find caring, new homes.
When the plea for homes went out, it didn’t take long for the sad plight of the brave and highly character-ful felines to win the nation’s heart. Happily, Wolfgang, Whitefang and friends soon became the cats that got the cream, thanks to people like Paul Wadey and Carrie Lane from Burgess Hill in West Sussex.
“Wolfgang and Whitefang, now called Trampus and Alfie, were the first cats we saw when we visited the National Cat Centre. We saw straight away that they were the biggest personalities – they were so affectionate that we fell in love with them immediately,” explained Carrie. “It hasn’t taken long for them to settle into their new home. They just love curling up by the fire and falling asleep on the sofa!”
Betty Boud, Manager of the NCC’s adoption centre, said, “I’m delighted so many of these lovely cats have found homes but with their lovely characters it wasn’t a surprise that it hasn’t taken too long.”
There are currently more than 150 gorgeous cats in the care of the NCC’s adoption centre, including several of the West Yorkshire cats, that are in need of loving homes. For more information, please contact the adoption centre on 08707 708 750.
Ready for a Challenge?
Veterinary Surgeon, Steve Leonard, is asking people with a passion for travel and adventure to help his favourite veterinary charity, PDSA, by taking part in one of five PDSA challenges in 2005.
Steve Leonard is well known for his adventures in the television programmes ‘Vets in the Wild’ and ‘Extreme Animals’
. He also spends time as a locum vet with leading veterinary charity, PDSA, providing free veterinary treatment to the sick and injured pets of people in need.
Steve says, “With the television programmes I’m involved in, I’m lucky enough to visit many countries and experience the differences in cultures, scenery and wildlife and now there is an ideal opportunity for other animal lovers to do so as well.” PDSA is recruiting for participants in the 2005 challenges now, these include:
• China - A ten day trek along the Great Wall of China
• Peru - A ten day trek along the Peru Inca
• South Africa - An eleven day trip
“If you are looking for the ultimate holiday destination and the knowledge you are helping the work of a charity that is a lifeline to many people and their pets, why not take up a PDSA challenge?”
PDSA provides participants with all the support they need including an A-Z list of fundraising ideas to help raise the sponsorship money required.
For further information about any of the 2005 PDSA Challenges, please call freephone number 0800 917 2509 or visit the PDSA website on www.pdsachallenge.org.uk
