CATPALS NEWSLETTER 1 of 2014 Annual members’ lunch The Annual members’ lunch was held at Rietondale Lodge on Saturday, 25 January 2014. Members had an opportunity to touch base, exchange experiences and a few potential new members were introduced. Membership fees A friendly reminder, if you have not already done so, to please pay the annual membership fee. Our new fees are R100 per year for individual members, R120 for family membership, and R50 for pensioners and students. Please pay into the CatPals bank account, marking the payment clearly with your name and the word membership. Have a confirmation e-mail sent to mcwcatpals@gmail or a SMS to 083 653 4541. Banking details: Standard Bank, Brooklyn (branch code 011245), name CatPals, account number 137399642. Your support is always appreciated. Flea market table The Flea market table made over R13 000 in the past year. Not bad at all, and your ongoing and generous support in this regard is much appreciated. Once again we appeal for bric-a-brac and any household or personal items you no longer need. COLONY NEWS Weskoppies Colony Susan and Lysandra, who care for the Weskoppies cats, love visiting and feeding them. Susan has listed all the cats and given them names. She has upgraded their feeding bowls and provided them with shelters. In addition, she got a donation of Kentucky Fried Chicken and gave it to the staff, building up some public relations at the same time! Kolonnade Cats Most of the colony cats in the Kolonnade area have been sterilized and we are pleased to report that, apart from a few cats being dumped during the past year, we have only had one feral litter born. Of course, cats are always pitching up, so the Kolonnade feeders would appreciate any financial help to assist in keeping up with the sterilisations. We always need volunteers to assist with feeding as well. Greetings from Canada! Former Exco member Willena and her husband, Urbie - and their two cats - relocated to Canada last year. They seem to have settled in well and are living and working in Burlington, near Toronto. Their two cats are now indoor cats, because, Willena says, although their building is pet friendly, some of the tenants have large dogs. They are happy in Burlington and once Urbie finds a more suitable job, they intend to buy a property. Unfortunately, her daughter missed her friends in SA too much and has returned, and her mother misses her terribly. The rest of Willena’s family, her mother, brother, sister-in-law and nieces and nephews are living in the United States. She sends her love to everyone at CatPals and promises to write soon to bring us all up to date. CAT BITES - topical feline news from around the world Evidence of cat domestication 5300 years ago A study published by the Washington University in St Louis in December 2013 shows that the village of Quanhucun in China was a source of food for cats 5300 years ago, and latest archaeological evidence confirms that they lived in close proximity to farmers, and the relationship had mutual benefits. Cat remains rarely are found in ancient archaeological sites, and little is known about how they were domesticated. Cats were thought to have first been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where they were kept some 4000 years ago, but more recent research suggests close relations with humans may have occurred much earlier, including the discovery of a wild cat buried with a human nearly 10000 years ago in Cyprus. Other clues from Quanhucun suggest the relationship between cats and humans had begun to grow closer. One of the cats was aged, showing that it survived well in the village. Another ate fewer animals and more millet than expected, suggesting that it scavenged human food or was fed. From: sciencedaily (Editor’s note: I wonder if they also had feral feeders back then?) HISTORICATS – famous felines Kaspar, The London Savoy Hotel’s most illustrious resident Since the renowned hotels opening in 1889, it has housed many famous guests including Monet, Oscar Wilde, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe and Frank McCourt. In 1926 Kaspar the Cat, a 30 cm-high wood sculpture, was created to ward off misfortune for guests dining at the hotels Savoy Grill. Apparently, to dine with only thirteen guests is unlucky, and the . first to rise from the table will soon meet with tragedy. Kaspars role is to be the official fourteenth guest, and has a napkin tied around his neck and served with every course as normal. The story goes that in 1898, Woolf Joel, a South African diamond magnate was visiting London and held a banquet at the hotel before returning home. At the last minute one of his guests had to cancel, leaving thirteen to sit at table. After dinner, Joel rose to leave; and one superstitious guest declared that death would befall the first person to leave. A few weeks later Joel was shot dead in his Johannesburg office. For some years after those events, anxious to avoid a similar incident that could damage their reputation, the Savoy provided a member of the hotel staff to sit at tables of thirteen, but the idea proved unpopular with guests wanting privacy. 1926 Kaspar the Cat, a 30 cm-high wood sculpture, was created to ward off misfortune for guests dining at the hotels Savoy Grill. British architect and sculptor Basil Ionides was commissioned to design and carve a black cat, which he produced from a single piece of London plane. Winston Churchill insisted the cat should be present at every meeting of his political dining club and so Kaspar has been at all the fortnightly meetings — always held at the Savoy — since 1927. During World War 2, Kaspar was catnapped by some Royal Air Force pranksters and flown to Singapore. Churchill himself demanded Kaspar’s immediate return. Source: Kaspars, The Savoy Hotel, London “As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.” ―Cleveland Amory Do you have any feral news you would like to share with us? Or a pic of your favourite feline? If so, please send to [email protected] In the meantime, dear CatPals, wishing you the best of health, wealth and happiness for you and your loved ones – human and furred – for 2014! Website: catpals.co.za
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 14:22:35 +0000
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