FUNDRAISING FUN !!

Helpers and supporters at

Knaresborough Pets Day

Since the last edition of Whispurrs, we have had stalls at two further events where we were able to raise some funds to help the cats/kittens in our care. Our stall raised £200 at Knaresborough Pets Day on Monday 4^th May. A further £120 was raised by our stall at Calcutt Gala on Sunday 12^th July. We are holding a REFRESHMENTS DAY on SATURDAY 15^TH AUGUST at St Peter’s Church in Harrogate – 10am – 4pm. Hannah Beck has very kindly organised this for us and there will be an opportunity to buy some new gifts, books and whatever is donated for this event. We have also booked WETHERBY TOWN HALL for a gifts sale/refreshments morning on Saturday 12^th September from 10am to 1pm.

All welcome! Please tell your friends/neighbours and all interested parties who love cats about this as they may be able to support these to help raise much-needed funds for our branch to help our feline friends in need. Many thanks to all those who have donated items for and helped on the stalls we have had this year, as well as all those who have kindly supported us.

Cat of the Edition

‘SUKI’

Suki is one of four lovely black cats owned by branch member, Gary. Read more on page 7/8.

In this Issue Summer ‘09 Page 1 Fundraising Fun/ Cat of the Edition - Suki Page 2 Message from Missy Turner of Thirsk P Page 3/4 Tippex’s Diary (Hannah Beck) Page 4/5 The Savage Beast of Clapham Pages 6 Events/Miscellaneous Page 7/8 Black Cats – from Gary Corner Page 8 Useful Contacts

MESSAGE FROM MISSY TURNER OF THIRSK

‘Missy instructs one of her owners in a little ‘mouse-training’

Hello everybody! Do you remember me? I told my story in the magazine, followed by a sequel and then I recounted a dismal story about my owners decorating the house.

Well, just before Christmas I heard the words ‘paper’ and ‘decorating’, and thought – not again, surely! SHE did not seem to like the paper on the wall. I don’t know what because it looked fine to me – so John was commandeered yet again. Now, I like John and wish he would come to see us minus his paintbrush and paper table. However, along he came and actually it was not too bad because my bed was put right for the evening. Next, however, I heard the word ‘suite’ and the question, ‘what colour?’ and anticipated more upheaval. Time passed and men came INTO MY HOME and left new pieces of furniture. I thought it was time to put my paws and whiskers down yet again, yet THEY had the audacity to move me from one end of the settee to the other. At the same time – guess what? SHE washed my other bed in the porch. That is always traumatic for me as my smell seems to disappear. After a couple of days I thought I would just have to accept defeat.

Another thing which most of you will not like is that I saw just the toy for me, duly caught it and took it to HIM. What an exclamation, and my new toy was taken from me and away into the distance it flew. Why do humans do this? THEY were once reminded by a nice lady that that was all I had to eat at one time before I found this special home. Can anybody explain this to me, please?

After all the upset, I thought I must try to do something different, and as you can see from the photograph, I have taken up computing with a bit of help from HIM. You will also see that tea is at hand too.

All for now, with love to you all from a reasonably happy Missy. xxx

WHISPURRS IS NOW ON LINE - VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT

www.whispurrs.org.uk

RON ALWAYS APPRECIATES NEW MATERIAL FOR THE BRANCH CP WEBSITE – IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING PLEASE E-MAIL HIM ON gallery@whispurrs.org.uk

INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER CATS IN OUR CARE CAN BE FOUND IN THE HOMING SECTION ON THE WHISPURRS WEBSITE

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TIPPEX’S DIARY - Hannah Beck

May-July 2009

It’s been so slow recently. No cats, no kittens – just Roxy to play with. I tried playing with the fish in the pond next door, but when I pounced in to play with them, they just swam away, so I had to find my way out. It wasn’t easy, and I felt very wet. It’s hard work trying to shake your legs dry. You have to shake them in rotation as fast as you can - one back leg, one front leg, other front leg and then the other back leg - and it nearly makes you fall over! Hannah wasn’t very sympathetic, she just laughed, but then she got a nice big towel, and gave me a cuddle – that seemed to do the job much faster.

Hannah and I went to give a talk to some blind people. They were lovely, giving me really big cuddles, even if they seemed to have trouble working out which way I liked being stroked. The talk got a bit boring though, so I went to sleep inside Hannah’s fleece. When I woke up, she was still talking, but I discovered that I could make funny crackling noises, by tapping a little black thing with wire attached, that she had clipped onto her fleece. That was more fun.

At last Alan came round with a lovely cat called Lucy, with four small black kittens. She started off being quite friendly, and we licked faces through the cage bars, but then she decided that she didn’t really want to be bothered with me and made faces at me. It was very confusing. Anyway, she is purring a lot, so she should be all right soon. I keep going to talk to her and she is getting better. Hannah seemed to understand, though, that it was a bit confusing so she let me come inside her fleece while we were working on the computer together. I have decided that Hannah is not really very good at typing because she likes to use two hands, instead of stroking me with one, and typing with the other. She’ll have to keep practising. We cats have our needs too!

Then Petra came with another black kitten and a tabby one - five black kittens! It looked as though I was going to have my work cut out looking after them all, but Petra wasn’t too keen on me either. She kept crying so Roxy and I went over to talk to her, but this seemed to freak her out, and she just wanted Hannah to keep stroking her. I was only going over to offer to babysit, if she wanted a break anytime.

Soon the kittens were out playing and we had a lot of fun – charging up and down the hall, seeing who was last to get to the kitchen, hiding behind boxes and pouncing out. Now I know why they like to be black – it’s harder to see them, and tell them apart. Hannah soon worked out which one was Mars, however, because he was the naughtiest – always climbing up her back to get on her shoulder, climbing up the curtains and then snuggling up under her chin purring loudly.

Poor little Rocky was having a bit of bother getting eating, and she was too weak even to drink from her Mum, so Hannah started feeding her with some delicious liver straight into her mouth. I had to help, because she got into such a mess. So while Hannah was squirting it in, I was licking her clean. It was delicious. Then Rocky came to live in the kitchen on her own, and I looked after her even more carefully. She was fed by herself, and I checked up on her, and showed her how to eat. After she had gone back to eat and sleep with the others, I tried getting into her cage in the kitchen, to see if Hannah would feed me as frequently as she had fed Rocky. It didn’t seem to work.

Then the homing procedure started again and the kittens began to go. Lucy went too, to a wonderful man who seemed to understand her perfectly. I reckon she’s going to be fine. People kept coming for Petra, but then she would get frightened and they changed their mind later. Still, it meant that I could go on playing with her as well as the kittens. They didn’t seem to understand that all she wanted was cuddles and lots of attention. Oh well – they all go in the end and then hopefully we’ll have some more - and I’ll let you know all about them.

Love, Tippex x x x

The Tale of the Litter Kwitter as tested by Tippex

There was a Litter Kwitter for sale at the Knaresborough Pet Day and as it said it was as easy as 1, 2, 3 – I thought it was worth trying for Tippex, as she is prepared to try anything.

Stage 1 - put the red dish on the floor beside the toilet, with litter in it

• yes that worked, Tippex will use any litter anywhere, even if it is still in the bag.

Stage 2 - put the red dish onto the toilet – actually this is still part of stage 1

• not so keen, but worth a try

Stage 3 – put the orange dish with a hole in the middle on to the toilet

• well this was definitely a no-go. What was the point, when there was perfectly good litter in a nice tray with a door and a lid.

Anyway, the toilet door is almost always shut so Tippex could not get to it, even if she wanted to use it.

Stage 4 – put the greed dish with a large hole on the toilet.

• No way!

• Give up and put the whole lot back in the box

Tippex jumps on to the toilet seat, and uses the toilet – and judging by the scratches on the seat it’s not the first time – but it doesn’t work unless we keep the toilet door open, and I can think of better things to do than that. - Hannah

I thought I would include the following story in Whispurrs because it amused me so much. It was reported in various newspapers in June…….!

THE SAVAGE BEAST OF CLAPHAM

BEWARE OF THE, ER……..KITTEN!!!

TERRIFIED POSTMEN THREATEN TO BOYCOTT HOUSE AFTER ATTACK BY BABY CAT

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:53 AM on 20th June 2009

Swiping playfully at the camera, it's hard to imagine she could be a danger to anything - except, perhaps, her favourite toy mouse. To postmen, however, Illy the kitten might as well be a snarling rottweiler.

They say that the six-month-old moggie once jumped up at the letterbox and delivered a painful scratch to a postwoman's hand.

So fearful are they of a repeat performance that they have sent a strongly worded letter to Illy's owners - warning them to discipline her or face a delivery ban.

Kenneth Ridge, 65, and his son Bradley, 30, yesterday spoke of their shock at receiving the note describing Illy's 'attack'.

'Reading this letter you'd think I had a rottweiler at home, it really was ridiculous', Mr Ridge Snr said.

'Illy is a kitten, she's very small and friendly and was just playing.

'We weren't here, but it seems some mail was put through the letterbox and the postwoman's hand was scratched.

ILLY – the ‘killer kitten’

'I would say Illy stands up for herself, but she's never bitten me, and if she did, really could not do much damage.

'I can't believe I could have my post suspended for this. If that happens I will be making a very strong complaint.'

Illy, who weighs in at a mere 7lb, spends most of her time playing with balls of wool, chasing her tail or exploring the neighbourhood.

Mr Ridge, who runs a greengrocer's in Clapham, South-West London, first heard about her snappy side when he received the warning letter from an office manager at Royal Mail.

It read: 'I am writing to let you know that, on the 6th of June, our postman was attacked by your animal in your premises while delivering mail to your address. Animal attacks are a major cause of injury to Royal Mail staff and so I am writing to seek your co-operation in preventing a repeat of this unfortunate incident.’

'I must advise you that, if any further incidents of this nature are allowed to take place, I shall have no alternative other than to consider suspending the delivery of mail to your home.'

Mr Ridge, who receives many important letters and packages related to his business, urged Royal Mail not to over-react.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1194164/Beware-er--kitten-Terrified-postmen-threaten-boycott-house-vicious-attack-month-old-kitten.html;jsessionid=4C9E4BB3A584F4D0C83FB75A4ECA9EF9#ixzz0MNeMxCPe

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FOSTERERS STILL NEEDED

If you are interested in helping out in this area, please contact Lyn on

01423 528272

** EVENTS**

REFRESHMENTS DAY IN HARROGATE ON SAT AUG 15^TH at St Peter’s Church from 10am to 4pm

WETHERBY EVENT – SATURDAY 12^TH SEPTEMBER 2009

From 10am to 1pm at Wetherby Town Hall – late summer bazaar with various stalls and refreshments – if you can help, please let our committee know (see Contacts Page on page 8)

Xmas Bazaar - 14^th Nov 2009 – at St. Paul’s Church Hall, Harrogate – 11am-3pm

Xmas Sale – 28^th Nov 2009 – at Allhallowgate Methodist Church in Ripon

Further details to follow re: events nearer the

time and, also, if other small events take place

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COULD YOU SPARE AN HOUR OR TWO PER WEEK TO HELP OUR BRANCH?

Our branch committee is looking for someone to take over the role of Publicity Officer. We need someone who can promote the branch and events. You can work from home! For more details, please telephone Bette on 889598 or e-mail her at bette@whispurrs.co.uk

TREASURER’S THANKS

A VERY BIG THANK YOU

to all of you who have given us donations since the last edition of Whispurrs. (Treasurer)

Thanks to all those branch members who have sent me such lovely contributions for this edition of Whispurrs. If you wish to send photographs (for Cat of the Edition) or illustrations, stories, poetry, text or, indeed, anything of interest, please e-mail me at: jenn.hunter@ntlworld.com or ring 01423 546565.

All contributions welcome!!

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Are you a bookworm?

Why not buy some second hand books from our CATalogue? We have over 1000 books, now logged into a database, in various conditions, including some ‘as new’. We have a wide selection of hardbacks and paperbacks, authors and genres. If you order 10 books or more we can arrange for delivery in the Harrogate area. Prices start from 50p for a fair condition paperback through to £2.50 for an ‘as new’ hardback.

All proceeds go to Cats Protection.

If you are interested, we can post or e-mail you our CATalogue.

Phone Tim on 01423 546565 or e-mail him on

tim.hunter@ntlworld.com

CERTAIN FUNDRAISING AREAS NEED EXTRA HANDS

We are looking for more people to assume responsibility for certain fundraising areas. I am happy to do hall bookings/admin work, but the branch needs volunteers to take responsibility for organising stalls such as bric-a-brac and books. It is also much easier and cheaper to contact people by e-mail rather than trying to telephone people and writing to them if we need more support for stalls/events. Also – if you wish to receive Whispurrs on-line, please let me know as this saves money for the branch.

E-mail: jenn.hunter@ntlworld.com

The Committee has made the decision to cut down on newsletters from 6 to 4 a year due to increasing postal/stationery costs. As this is the summer edition, there will be one just more edition - one for autumn this year. (Ed)

Books – if you have any good quality paperbacks which you no longer want, please could you consider letting our branch have them for our book stalls? Our old stock of books is unattractive and many ‘older’ texts have been offloaded. Many thanks.

FOUR BLACK CATS

Gary’s 4 black cats feeding

Suki, one of Gary’s four black cats is pictured on the front as ‘Cat of the Edition’. This picture shows Suki with fellow black felines, Sassy, Sid and Blacky feeding together. Gary writes: - “Feeding times are kept to the same daily times so my cats can see they all get similar food and there is no preferential treatment or favouritism. This creates regular habits and is a generalised form of togetherness. They do get small tasty treats occasionally, such as a piece of ham or beef if I'm making a sandwich. If I go into my kitchen they always come for a ‘nosey’ to check and see if there’s anything on offer.

They can also hear a tin being opened from anywhere in the house and it’s quite funny if it’s only a can of baked beans! I, of course, smile and have to tell them. “Sorry, not this time pals - hard luck!” but that keeps them all
on their toes and on the look out for suitable food. If I ever need to make sure they are all in at night, one rattle of a
cat biscuit box does the trick quite nicely.

Sid – Gary’s oldest cat in the garden

Suki (pictured on the front), is one of two cats which Gary adopted from Cats Protection early last year. She has turned out to be a very intelligent, good-looking cat now.

Gary describes Suki as follows, “She is not so daft, but fortunately still has her moments, such as if a fly comes into the house – it’s absolutely hilarious watching her jump up as far as 6 feet to try and catch it. I had left my window open onr night in summer and, even though it was pitch black, I was awoken by loud crashes and the noise of Suki jumping all over. When I turned the light on, I saw a dragonfly had come through the open window and Suki thought, "Great – Playtime!" and that was a bit of night time fun for the bright spark that misses nothing.”

“Sid is now a very old cat and doesn't ask but automatically
gets shown top respect from the other cats in the house. These include aspects such as grooming, patience and position and mainly from the girls, Suki and Sassi. He has pride of place watching the others’ daily antics and tricks from the comfort of the bed. They keep him endlessly amused as ‘Cat TV Channel 1’. Like most cats, but especially now at his age, Sid hates rain. When it rains, if the doors are open and the weather is bad, he can
manage to move a lot faster - formula one style – and do a U-turn back into the house. He's even wiser than I previously imagined. Ha! Nice one Sid!

If the weather is nice and warm in summer the cats are often fed outside for a change. Itt makes a difference to the normal routine and they seem to like it and often eat up their food a lot faster. This is probably because they know that if there are any other cats in the area, and they get
the scent of a tasty meal, they'll soon come along.

If any cats do follow their noses, there are no pots of gold at the end of their rainbow! - Only four black cats licking their lips and smiling as if to say, “Hello and good morning, but sorry as you’re too late for breakfast at this house!”

It’s been great fun having all four cats and they all seem like more than just pets. They are really just gorgeous creatures who get on with their lives quite happily coming and going as they please. Being able to get Sassi and Suki through Whispurrs as company for Sid and Blacky has
worked brilliantly. They are, indeed, a family who enjoy the pride and security of their own home comforts now.

Thank you very much to Whispurrs (The Harrogate Branch of Cats Protection) and all the dedicated people involved
who put so much time and effort to help animals and make this a successful protection society for cats.”

From Gary Corner (branch member)

I would like to thank Gary for sending me the photographs and stories about his cats. He recently moved with his four black cats to a rural location near Ripon so that he can be near his elderly father and care for him. His cats are now enjoying a country home with a bigger garden! As Sassi and Suki were in the care of our branch, this is another example of a successful homing story. Editor