Kitty goes travelling

One of my lovely customers sent me an email with a link to a fabulous story of a young French couple who travelled from Miami to the southernmost point in South America, with little Kitty the cat along for the ride too.

She seems to have loved her journey, and the pictures are amazing!

I wanted to share this with you, so here is a link to their website, with the story of their journey, and best of all, some fab pictures. The picture at the top is from their portfolio, and hopefully will encourage you to have a look at the others.

On Facebook? Then become a Whiskers Pet Care Fan

Much of the world is now on Facebook, and it's a great way to keep up to date with people you don't see often (and even those you do), as well as friends and family in other parts of the world. Recently it's become very popular for businesses to have a fan page - less formal than some of the business networking sites, with the focus very much on fun, and light-hearted matters - although it's an opportunity too to raise awareness of some more difficult issues.

Whiskers Pet Care now has its own fan page, and I'd love for as many people to join. I've set it up so that fans can all post their own stories, thoughts, words of wisdom and pictures, so that we can all share and know how amazing all of our animals are. I'd love it to be a celebration of the animal world.

Please join in!! I'd love to have you all along....... Just click here to take you through to the page. If that doesn't work, then just pop Whiskers Pet Care in the search box at the top, and you should see the little purple cat face - click on that, and it will magically transport you to the world of Whiskers Pet Care.

What shall we call her?

Names are tricky aren't they? Whether it's a new baby or a new animal coming into the family, there's a huge burden of responsibility to get it right. After all, they'll have the name for the rest of their life. Names do matter. If they didn't, why would we spend so long thinking about them?

So why do they matter so much? Well, whether you realise it or not, a name gives a whole sense of identity. It's more than just something to call out when you want Buster to come in, or it's food time. There's meaning behind names, and we want to make sure we've got the right meanings. It's often something to live up - or down - to.

The name has to suit the animal, say the right thing about it. I've just mentioned Buster. When you hear that name, what sort of animal does it conjure up in your mind? How do you see their character? Or say you decided to call your cat Fleur....... try that one on for size. See what I mean? Perhaps the way that you see Buster is different to the way I see him - and clearly Buster is a name for a boy, so already there's some meaning there.

The thing is, once you have a sense of what this name means to you, every time you use it, you'll bring that meaning in. Meanings carry emotions, feelings, vibrations - and animals pick this all up. This will have an effect on their character, and also the relationship you have with each other.

At Animals in Distress, there's a continual struggle to find names for the animals who come to stay. Some come in with their own names, but mostly the staff there have no idea what an animal might have been called before. Ideally the names should be new, not used before - in practical terms that causes less confusion, but it's also because each animal deserves a name that's right for it.

A little while ago, when it became clear they were starting to find it difficult, I decided I'd do some thinking. And came up with a list of over 200 names!! Some were more suited to dogs, others to cats, and some more to rabbits or guinea pigs. Again, there's a sense of meaning that comes through here. I thought about all the animals I'd known, those I care for now, and even found myself scouring names on the credits of TV programmes! Trouble is, once I started I couldn't stop, and even now in unguarded moments I find myself thinking about names for animals. Drives me mad!!!

The reason I knew that Animals in Distress were having difficulties was when I discovered they'd called a cat Grubbi. Admittedly she'd come in looking rather dirty around her face, and at first wasn't wonderful at keeping herself clean. But if you looked through that you could see she was really rather beautiful. The name Anna jumped out at me, so to me, that's who she became. They're used to me renaming cats to something I think is more appropriate!! The problem with carrying a name like Grubbi is that whenever one of the staff go to talk to her, they're just reinforcing this sense of being dirty, and that's how she'll feel. Giving her a name that carries feelings of femininity and beauty means that she might just feel that way about herself - and start to take more pride in her appearance. All makes sense, doesn't it?

My cat's called Bella. I decided that was going to be her name before I even found her. My maternal grandmother was my favourite person when I was a child, and despite the fact that she really didn't like animals at all, she had a lovely sweet face, just like a little cat. So, I wanted to name my new companion after someone who was so lovely herself. Bella found me, so must have decided that this was to be her name, and she would live with me. And of course, in Italian, Bella means beautiful.

I'd love to know how your animals got their names, so please all join in and share your stories!

A difficult topic to think about......

Even though we don't like to think about it, we all know that our animals aren't going to be with us forever. Sad as it is for us, one day we're going to need to say goodbye. But what happens if it's the other way around?

This is something I've thought about from time to time, then put out of my mind. If anything happens to me, what happens to Bella? And I don't just mean my passing on, but I could have an accident, and no-one might know that she's here needing taking care of.

I was watching a re-run of the Dog Whisperer recently, and that really brought it home - all those animals that got left behind in New Orleans with no-one to care for them. Until a humanitarian team went back into the city searching for them - breaking down doors, windows, anything to be sure that the animals were rescued. Amazingly, some of them were re-united with their families who'd since moved miles away. But if something happens to us, they can't tell people where they are, and that they need taking care of.

I was talking to a friend the other day - she had two elderly cats, and one passed away last year. The other is now about 20 and very weak, and is approaching the end of his life. She says she won't be ready for another cat straight away, but then wonders if she'll ever have another cat at all. You get to a certain point in your life where there's a chance your animal might outlive you. She didn't want to think that any new animals in her life might have to fend for themselves.

I remembered about an article I'd read in Your Cat magazine a few months ago. It's a difficult subject, and one we'd all rather not spend too much time dwelling on. But neverthless, it's important to be practical, and with some planning ahead, this situation can be avoided.

The RSPCA, PDSA and Cats Protection all have schemes that all help in one way or another. If you ask them, the PDSA and Cats Protection will send you emergency care cards for you to complete and carry around with you. The RSPCA has a scheme called "Home for Life", which is a free service where they will take an animal in after you've gone, and ensure they are re-homed.

Ideally, it's best to talk to family and friends, and make definite arrangements for them to take your animal in if something happens to you. Perhaps you can do the same for them? And useful too to note any arrangements in your will. The key though is thinking about it and then putting plans in place. That way you've got peace of mind, and don't need to think about it again.

If you'd like to read the article in more detail, go to http://www.yourcat.co.uk/ - it was in the January 2010 edition. And also check out the websites of the RSPCA, PDSA and Cats Protection for more information on their schemes.

Intuitive Animal Communication Playshop

Just a reminder about the Intuitive Animal Communication training weekend that I'm going to be co-facilitating with Julie Lines of Voice of the Animals. Plans are well under way, and we're currently finalising a great venue - if possible with animal teachers on site!

Also, good news - we appreciate that things are still rather tight financially for many people, so because this is something we feel is so important to share, we've reduced the investment for the weekend to just £150 per person. That's just £75 per day, and you get two expert trainers for that, and perhaps even some real animal teachers too! Just need to book before May 7th to qualify for this great price (after that it's £200 per person), or book in as a group of 4 people or more.

Location: Manchester area

Dates: 22/23 May 2010

To book, contact either Julie or me:

julie@voiceoftheanimals.org.uk

jean@whiskerspetcare.co.uk

Details of what you will learn to do can be found here.

See you on 22nd May!

A Memorial

My good friend Janet lost her beloved cat companion of nearly 20 years the other day. His name was Mungo and he'd been with her since he was a tiny kitten. Like so many of us, although she knew that he wouldn't be with her forever, she somehow hoped he would be. He was already 8 when her daughter was born - and she'd never seen him as a kitten or a young cat. Thought he was so cute when Janet showed her pictures of him yesterday.

20 is a good age for a cat, and many more are getting close to that these days. If we take good care of our animal friends, feed them with good quality food, ensure they get vet treatment whenever it's needed, and most of all, give them love, love and more love, they have every opportunity to live on to this age.

I've lost lots of cat friends over the last year, including Kat, Daisy, Kiki, Oscar, Billy Phelps, and so many others too, as have lots of my friends. Lucy recently lost her beloved Ellie (again at 20 years of age), and Vicki lost her lovely cat a few months ago too.

With Mungo's passing I thought I'd write this blog post as a memorial to them all, to send them love, and thank them for all being angels in our lives. They enrich our lives in ways we can't begin to count, and we are better human beings for what we learn from them. Thank you all, and may you all rest in peace and love eternally. xx

My Dream - Reprise

In November I wrote about my dream of building a wonderful bright shiny new sanctuary with loads of room, to update the current Animals in Distress sanctuary.

That's still a big dream of mine, but in particular I'd like to do something for the elderly animals and those who are very hard to home.

One way or the other, most of the animals do find new homes, but some take a long, long time to get there. This is especially true of the very old ones, and those with medical conditions that might cost a new carer a fair bit if they take them into their homes. Additionally, those that come in as ferals, or who prefer to be strays generally aren't great candidates for re-homing, but still need somewhere safe to be, a regular supply of nutritional food, and access to vet care when needed.

And there are some rescue centres who choose to euthanase older and poorly animals, rather than give them a good quality of life as they approach the end. I do appreciate that finances play a big part in these sorts of decisions, but what I'm talking about here is My Dream. What I'd do if I had all the money I needed to realise it. I'd take them all in, from all rescue centres, and give them love and care for the rest of their natural lives.

The times I've drawn out my designs, how it would look, work; the people I'd have to take care of them. There would be a full time vet on site, and they'd get weekly, if not daily, health checks. Any operations could be carried out on site. There would also be a team of people whose job is solely to be with the animals, to give them love and healing. Most rescue centres struggle to find enough volunteers, and those who do are often asked to do the cleaning jobs. These are obviously very essential tasks, but so is giving love to the animals. So lots more people needed.

There would also be an army of healers of all types - either employed or coming as volunteers. Of course, this is the part I love best, so I'd be one of those people too.

They'd all have their own little "house" for want of a better word. Not just a cage with a small run. Somewhere where they could lounge on a couch or bed, and somewhere for the carer to come and sit properly with them, for as long as needed. Appropriate light and heating would be provided, along with toys, games and stimulation. Animals respond really well to music, so that would play gently into their houses during the day.

The "house" areas would all be linked to a central area in hubs where carers can prepare food, clean litter trays, store cleaning materials etc. And in the other direction, there would be access into an individual outdoor area. There will be enough land and enough money to build as many of these as needed.

For the dogs, these will have the potential to be linked with a gate, so that they can socialise with each other under supervision. And then there would be a large dog exercise area with games, trees, training facilities, assault courses, muddy puddles, streams........... Very obviously then, we'll have a dog cleaning area, before they are returned to their houses.

The cats individual outdoor areas will need to be fenced in and properly enclosed, to keep them in and safe. There will be lots of trees to climb, plenty of bushes and shrubs, so they've got somewhere to go and hide, as cats sometimes like to do. And of course, lots of places that catch the sun (where there is some!). The cats' houses and enclosures will be large enough to accommodate two, or perhaps more, cats who have been used to living together and can't be split up.

Understandably, as a home for elderly animals, it's clear that we will have to be dealing with animals passing on, perhaps fairly frequently. What's really important is that the animals know that this is somewhere they've come to spend their last days/months/years in peace and with love, so that when it's time to go, they will be happy. It won't be a sad place, as all the animals will be receiving love and healing all the time. Animals always know when it's time to go anyway, so will be able to move on happily - so we should be happy for them. I, and the other healers, will be able to help this important life process by the use of whatever our healing skills are, together with lots of intuitive communication. This helps us to know what's best for a poorly animal - ie whether to treat or not. In many cases we'll just be ensuring they are comfortable, pain-free and loved in preparation for moving on.

The place will be so filled with gorgeous energy, light and love, and joy that it will be a very magical, special place for all the animals (and human animals) who are part of it.

So, this is my dream. It keeps changing as I keep dreaming about it, but it just keeps on getting better and better. All I need now is for the means to make it real!!!

Pets win prizes!!

They really do, and it's so easy!

You know how it is, when you have animals sharing your life with you. They do daft things, have some clever tricks, you've taken some sweet or candid photos, and you want to share this all with everyone you know. Perhaps you just love them to bits, (or you've sadly lost a very dear companion). Bit like when you have young children - you're convinced yours are the cutest, most intelligent, and are very, very special.

I've recently been writing letters and sending in photos to Your Cat magazine. They just love it when people do that, and if you pick up a copy and look at the letters page, you'll see the sorts of things people write in about. Then turn to the photos page, and try to not go "aaahhhhhh....". You don't need to be the best writer in the world, just write from your heart.

Just for writing in, or sending photos, I've won some cat treats, a scratch mat and a food bowl. And you can do the same. Tell the world (and they have readers all over the world) how wonderful your cat or dog are (there's also a Your Dog magazine), and if they print it they'll send you some lovely stuff for your gorgeous animal companion. Simple as that!!

Go on, have a go!

Oh, and they also have free stuff to give away every month too - although I've not yet been successful, but keep on trying.....

http://www.yourcat.co.uk/
http://www.yourdog.co.uk/

Big Thanks to Christine and Sky

Christine is one of my neighbours, and I take care of Sky from time to time whenever Christine goes away. But I see them much more than that, as Christine is always calling, texting or emailing to tell me she has a bunch of stuff for Animals in Distress.

There are lots of lovely people who bring me bits and pieces from time to time, but Christine is by far and away my best donor. It seems that all the people that Christine knows are aware that we'll always take their unwanted items from them. At first they would donate mostly bedding and food that their own fussy pets had turned their noses up at. But now, they'll buy little bits of food if they see it on special offer, and realise too that Animals in Distress also have charity shops that will happily take in and sell in bric-a-brac.

I'm so grateful on their behalf that the last time I was at Christine and Sky's house collecting I told Christine that next time she goes away I'll give her a free visit. And that applies to anyone else who donates lots. So, a big mention too, to Anne-Marie, Ann, Libby and Janet who are well on their way to a free visit too. And a few others, like Diane, who've also recently started donating.

Animals in Distress are a local charity that depend on donations to keep doing what they do for the animals in their care. They're not a big national charity that everyone knows, so it's much harder for them. Shortly after arrival all animals are vet-checked, and given any medication or treatment if needed. Healthy animals, and those who have a good prognosis of recovery are always cared for - never put down. And unless there's a very good reason, none of the animals are offered for re-homing until fully fit and well. They're always fed on good quality food, (and some of them have to go on diets!), and get lots of love and care from the staff and volunteers - and lots of Reiki love from me.

To prevent more unwanted and unhomed cats and dogs, they're all neutered prior to re-homing. Unfortunately there is no money for innoculations, so adopters are asked to commit to taking their animals to the vet for innoculations as soon as possible.

The premises and animal accommodation are kept clean and tidy, but have seen better days. It was wonderful last year when a team of people from a local company came as volunteers with paintbrushes, and smartened the place up!! So, donations can also be made in this way.

So, to finish, donations of time, money and "stuff" are always very, very welcome. Anything that you can think of that can be used either by the animals or for sale in the charity shops - for example bedding, food, bowls, toys, or bric-a-brac. And please ask anyone who know who's having a clear out or doing a bit of spring cleaning - there's always something.

Please either let me know, or take your donations direct to Animals in Distress, 55 Silver Street, Irlam, M44 6HT. They're open 7 days a week, 10am - 4pm, and will be extremely grateful!