Common [kitty] sense

Did you know that the classic, and somewhat sentimental, image of the fireman being called to rescue the kitten from the tree is a complete farce. Cats are far more acrobatic and daring than some of us give them credit for. A cat’s agility, in fact, is one of its most important survival mechanisms. There are not many other mammals that can climb trees with such aplomb as your average housecat. This ability allows them to escape predators who might be chasing them on the ground. And, perhaps just as importantly, it can be a tool of attack that helps a cat disguise itself when stalking prey. The fact of the matter is that if a cat can climb up the tree, it doesn’t need a fireman with a really long ladder to rescue it. The cat can just as easily jump down on its own – literally “running down” until it hits the ground. It’s part of the way cats are designed.

Is it true that a cat will always manage to land on its feet?

Is it true that a cat will always manage to land on its feet? In 1894, Etienne-Jules Marey, a French physiologist, held a cat upside down by its legs and dropped it. The film he took, which captured sixty images per second, showed how a cat lands on its feet. As the cat falls, there is an automatic twisting action. The cat maneuvers its head, back, legs and tail to lessen the impact of its fall. Studies show that up to ninety percent of cats that fall from skyscrapers survive, albeit with broken bones. Obviously, if dropped from too high a height, a cat, like any mortal species, will be dead on impact. According to legend, Baldwin III, Count of Ypres, threw some cats from a tower in AD 962. It became something of a tradition to throw cats from a seventy metre tower until 1817. Today, the tradition continues, though toy cats are used. But in 1817, when the last real cats were thrown, the keeper of the town noted that, “in spite of the height of the fall, the animal ran off quickly so that it might never be caught again in a similar ceremony.”

Report Back on the Wiggle Waggle Walkathon

Yesterday, the 2nd of November, saw hundreds upon hundreds of dogs and animal lovers gathering for the annual SPCA Cape Talk Wiggle Waggle Walkathon. The walkathon, which is hosted by the SPCA, is aimed at bringing together animals and animal owners alike for a safe and fun day in the sun! Not only does the day offer a great outing for families and their animals but also gives all those attending an opportunity to show that they care about their own pets, as well as giving support to the SPCA and every single pet that may not be living with a caring and loving family.

The SPCA woks very hard to ensure that animals are looked after and cared for in the necessary and appropriate ways and days such as yesterday’s Wiggle Waggle Walkathon go a long way in showing that the SPCA has the support of others too! If you missed yesterday’s animal walkathon you can still be involved in helping out animals – by taking good care of your own, volunteering or getting involved at a local animal shelter, or you can start today in getting those legs moving and ready for next yea’s Wiggle Waggle Walkathon!

DARG Protest: Making the News!

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Frozen Yoghurt for Dogs

Does your dog need a change in their eating habits? Want to be able to offer your pooch a wider variety of dog foods that will keep them happier and healthier in an all round sense? If you answered yes to these questions then you will be glad to know that Jody Rogers has started a new dog food feeding frenzy that is fast becoming a big hit with dogs and their owners! Called ‘Yoghund’ Jody found a healthy and simple way to add taste and variety to your dog’s diet. Yoghund is a frozen yoghurt meal that is made from natural products that offer the same benefits to dogs as good healthy yoghurt affords humans. New dog foods such as this frozen yogurt mean that now your dog can eat something tasty – and slightly more interesting than a regular bag of dog food – all while maintaining great health with a distinguished doggy pallet.

With flavours like banana peanut butter and blueberry vanilla your dog is sure to enjoy the coolness in the coming summer months, they will definitely benefit from the good health aspects of the frozen yoghurts and with a change in flavours and dog food this may be just the pick me up your dog has been waiting for.

Interesting pet news: Ban on dogs and Cats

Here's an interesting news article published at MSNBC, be sure to check out the rest of the article and send us your comments!

CATS AND DOGS BANNED BY SAUDI RELIGIOUS POLICE

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia’s religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs.

The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets, seen as a sign of Western influence.
The prohibition on dogs may be less of a surprise, since conservative Muslims despise dogs as unclean. But the cat ban befuddled many, since Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats — and even let a cat drink from his ablutions water before washing himself for prayers.

The religious police, known as the Muttawa, have the role of enforcing Saudi Arabia’s strict Islamic code. Its members prowl streets and malls, ensuring unmarried men and women do not mix, confronting women they feel are not properly covered or urging men to go to prayers.
But the government also gives the Muttawa wide leeway to enforce any rules they deem necessary to uphold the social order.

The decree — which applies to the Red Sea port city of Jiddah and the holy city of Mecca — bans the sale of cats and dogs because “some youths have been buying them and parading them in public,” according to a memo from the Municipal Affairs Ministry to Jiddah’s city government.
The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, urges city authorities to help enforce the ban.
Pet owning is not common in the Arab world, though dogs are kept for hunting and guarding. In large cities around the Middle East, stray dogs often wander the streets and are considered pests. Street cats are also plentiful, and people will often feed them or play with them — but it isn’t a widespread custom to keep one in the home, and many cannot afford it.

The rest of the article explores these concerns, and can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14738358/. Due to copyright restrictions we cannot reproduce the article in full, but please visit the MSNBC website to read more and send us your opinions and comments!

Local doggy heroes

So many people take for granted the help and assistance that our beloved pets give us, which is why it's time to celebrate all of the local kitty and doggy heroes in your life! Send us your stories of pet bravery and we'll publish them on this site for every one to see! Give your pet the attention they deserve and put them on this digital pedestal. This week's story is about
Elle, an eight year old trained police dog who was only too pleased to help police out a little earlier this year as published on News24:

Johannesburg - A wanted criminal, who was shot and wounded by police on Saturday but managed to run away, was sniffed out by a police dog and later arrested, Eastern Cape police said. Captain Jackson Manatha said eight-year-old Elle followed the 29-year-old man into the Mdekweni forest near Mdanstane, East London and alerted police to his presence.
Manatha said police had been searching for the man for a number of weeks in connection with housebreaking, theft at schools and robbery, however the man had always evaded being arrested.

He was traced to Mdantsane around 03:00 on Saturday, but when police tried to arrest him, he ran towards them with a dagger. "Police fired some warning shots but he continued to attack and was shot," he said. However the man still managed to run away to the nearby forest.
"Elle found him and brought us to him," he said. The man was taken to Cecilia Makiwane hospital and was placed under police guard.

To clone or not to clone?

Dear Readers,
With sci-fi fiction and fantasy books making an all-time high in popular culture nowadays, we thought you might be interested to hear about the latest scientific research that could affect your pets. The following article represents a breakthrough in modern technology, and is from the News24 website if you wish to pursue the topic further. Enjoy!

Seoul - A South Korean biotech company is offering dog owners the chance to
clone their pet through a service that can cost up to $148 000 (R1.1m) for
a puppy.
RNL Bio, affiliated with the South Korean lab that produced the
world's first cloned canine, expects to deliver its first cloned dog in about a
year to a US woman in her 50s who saved biological material from her beloved pit
bull that recently died.
"These days, dogs are treated like family members.
There are many owners who would rather clone a favourite pet than adopt a new
one after it dies," said RNL Bio President Ra Jeong-chan.
RNL Bio is
affiliated with the team at Seoul National University (SNU) that produced the
world's first cloned dog, which has been verified through independent testing.
The same SNU lab has been implicated in a scandal for deliberately
fabricating data in separate studies on human embryonic stem cells.
RNL
expects it can clone about 30 pet dogs a year at present and increase that
number to about 200 by 2010, with costs going down as the cloning technology
increases in efficiency, Ra said.
Costs will drop
Lee Byeong-chun, the
Seoul National University professor who has led previous canine cloning
projects, said of the partnership: "Within one or two years, we will see costs
drop to a reasonable level."
Dogs are considered one of the most difficult
mammals to clone because of their unpredictable reproductive cycle as well as
difficulties in inducing ovulation and fertilising eggs in the lab.
RNL and
the university lab have also teamed up to clone drug-sniffing dogs, seeing-eye
dogs and other types of dogs used by governments and charities at a much cheaper
rate than for pet owners, they said.
The Korea Customs Service said it has
signed a memorandum of understanding with the team for cloning drug-sniffing
dogs.
The SNU lab was once led by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who is
now standing trial on charges of fraud, embezzlement and violating the country's
bioethics laws.

You can find related stories when you follow the thread from this story's original location at http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2270675,00.html

Pet sterilization-only clinic

Dear Readers,

The following article is from the News24 website and may give you cause for thought as you consider this week's poll about cat sterilization. Please vote and share your opinions with everyone else!

The South African Mass Animal Sterilisation Trust (SAMAST) recently
announced the establishment of the first ever permanent “sterilisations only”
animal clinic in South Africa.
A 12m-long shipping container at Mdzananda
Animal Clinic is being converted into an operational sterilisation clinic where
all SAMAST funded sterilisations will take place.

"We are so excited to be a hairs breath away from reaching this goal and
with just a little more help, a fully operational, permanent sterilisation
clinic will be up and running in Khayelitsha, the largest informal settlement in
the Western Cape,” say Tamsin Nel, director and fundraiser of SAMAST.

SAMAST is appealing for product and any financial support in support of
this project. “No donation is too big or small,” says Nel.

Clinic about hope and compassion“Mass sterilisation is a pro-active
solution to eliminate the cause of a lot of misery. This is why this unique
clinic is about hope and compassion.”
SAMAST has been campaigning for free
mass sterilisations to become a daily occurrence in underprivileged areas since
September 2006 and has so far funded 735 sterilisations at the cost of R110-250.

SAMAST believes that the only way to address animal over-population is
to be consistent and focused. They are able to pay for eighty-five
sterilisations every month and are working towards a funding target of 365 spays
and neuters per month in Khayelitsha before turning their attentions to other
areas in need.

Managing your pet’s health“Each time a community member has their cat
or dog sterilised they are empowered because they now have a far more manageable
task of care-giving. They no longer have to deal with the hopelessness of litter
after litter of unwanted dead and dying kittens and puppies. I have seen how
this (sterilisation) impacts very positively on the level of care their animals
receive, and the fewer diseased and sick animals with mange and ringworm for
example, the healthier the human population is too because they are less at risk
in contracting scabies or being covered in ringworm,” says Nel.

Contact SAMAST at 021 794 3761 or emailed on samast@webafrica.org.za
for more information on pet sterilisation, or donations.
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