Welcome to Septembers edition of the Happy Cat Ezine Well summer is on the way out, not that it has been much of a great summer here in the UK. Little Mo has spent lots of it looking a bit down in the mouth as she is very much a sun lover and hates it if the temperature isn't just perfect for spending all night outside having fun. I would like to thank every one who has sent in contributions to the site this month. I have had cat rescue stories, cat gallery entries, cat names and even sadly a few submissions to our pet memorial quilt. But they all add to building a great cat site for everyone to enjoy. keep up the good work. I have had so many entries for the cat gallery pages that i have had to split the page into two galleries, so that the images load easiliy. So don't forget to click on the link for the second gallery to see more of the cats. I am looking for more cat stories and cat poems to be submitted as this area is relativily new and needs a little boost so if you know of a short story or poem that you think others would enjoy, please submit it to the cat stories page Here. I hope you enjoy this month ezine and come and visit us soon at Our-Happy-Cat.Com Until next month Best Wish es Kate ------------------------------------------ CONTENTS 1. What's new on Our Happy Cat.Com 2. Competition 3. Little Mo's Diary Update 4. Article - What To Do With A Cat Emergency 5. Special E-zine subscribers offer ----------------------------------------- 1. What's new on Our Happy Cat.Com As mentioned above submissions from you all continue to pour in and so there is always something new to see or read on the site. I am endevouring to add a new Cat breed page to the site evry week and am hoping to build this area into a nice little snapshot of lots of breeds for your information. I have enjoyed writing them as it has been fascinating learning about all the different characteristics of cats i have never come across before. it certainly is a eye opener. Don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed for our Whats New cat Blog. every time a new submission is made a new entry is added to the blog and the only sure way of keeping up to day is to be automatically notified when this happens. Plus you get to see the new daily Garfield cartoon as well, a sure way to brighten anyones day. So click on the RSS buttom on the blog page Here. ------------------------------------------- 2. Competition Number Sept08 Here is Septemberss Caption Competition. You are the first to see it as it doesn't get posted onto the site for a few days, so it gives you extra time to get your entries in first. Simply send us your caption to go with this picture. Click here to submit Caption The deadline for this competition is September 24th. The best caption will be chosen and the winners name and caption will be posted on the www.our-happy-cat.com competition page. This month the prize will be a copy of the little hardback book called "The Cat's Whiskers" a great little book full of wonderful cat pictures and famous sayings. well worth entering for. GOOD Luck ---------------------------------------- 3. Little Mo's Diary Update Happy Cat Diary Friday 8th August 2008 Busy busy busy, that's me lately. There seems to be so many things to chase in the garden at the moment that I am finding it hard to keep up. We have little green hoppy things, multi coloured flappy things and lots of buzzy things and with all this long grass (yes mum and dad are not great gardeners) it is a real adventure finding them all. A little itchy too and I always spend a good 5 minutes afterwards running around the house itching all over and driving my mum crazy. Well back to work, now where did I see that fly? Little Mo Click here to read more of Little Mo’s Diary ---------------------------------------- 4. Article - What To Do With A Cat Emergency Although it said that cats have nine lives and seem to have a remarkable ability to get out of all sorts of scrapes, it is also true that it is inevitable that they may also suffer accidents and sudden severe health issues which require immediate emergency treatment. A good piece of advice for any cat owner is to find out in advance where the nearest 24 hour emergency vet service is and to make a note of their telephone number. In some instances valuable time can be wasted trying to find services in an emergency situation. There are of course obvious emergency situations that we will recognise as requiring urgent attention from a veterinarian such as: Car road accidents - even a glancing blow from a vehicle can cause serious internal injuries. If you witness the accident, remain calm and speak softly to the cat whilst gently lifting them, supporting their head, back and rear end to prevent further injury, to a folded blanket that can be used as a stretcher. It is easier to lift a cat in a blanket and for the vet to gain access to them easily. If the accident is not witness, a cat may take itself off to a quiet place rather than return home. Often they can be dazed and confused and may not return home for a few hours or even days. If this happens check for signs of bleeding, cuts, lameness and confusion. If you suspect that something has happened to the cat, it is best to be cautious and take them to the vets immediately. Scolds - most commonly caused by tipping Kettles and kitchen pans or by jumping on hotplates. In any incidents of burns and scolds before taking the cat for medical treatment, pour slow running cold water onto the burn and then place a cold wet cloth to the wound. Electric Shock - Even though we try to make our homes as safe as possible for our pets there are some situations that cannot be foreseen. There are occasions where some cats that may try to chew electric flex. This can cause burns to the mouth, loss of consciousness and even death. Sometimes after a shock the cat may stop breathing, if this happens then artificial respiration should be performed. To perform Artificial respiration: Make sure that cat has definitely stopped breathing and that they have a heart beat. Lay the cat on a flat surface on their side and watch to see if the chest rises and falls or not and look to see if their gums are turning blue. Open the mouth and make sure that noting is obstructing the airway. Remove any objects that could be blocking the airway by using either your fingers or tweezers and by massaging the throat if the object is too far down. If all else fails then use the Heimlich manoeuvre, by forcing the chest in sharply to push air up and out through the mouth. (Be warned this manoeuvre can cause injury) If the airway is clear and the cat is still not breathing then with the cat on their side extend their head to straighten their throat and hold the muzzle closed. Place your mouth over the whole of the nose area and blow gently until you see the chest rise. Wait until the air to leave the lungs before blowing again. Continue administering 20 blows per minutes until the cat either breaths on it's own or their heart stops. If the heart stops then CPR would need to be carried out by a second person. Alternating every one breath for five CPR compressions. To carry out CPR use the flat of your hand over the heart (thumbs if kitten) and press the chest about one inch using a rhythmical motion. Recognising an emergency or serious illness with your cat is essential if your cat is to receive urgent medical care. Signs to look out for include: Bleeding - including blood in the stool or urine. Convulsions - violet all over shaking. Lack of appetite - the cat refuses to eat or drink for several days and appears to be lethargic and disinterested in its surroundings. Weight loss -dramatic sudden weight loss, especially if they are continuing to eat normally. Swelling - Any unusual bumps and swellings should be checked out as soon as possible. Breathing Trouble and excessive coughing. The best advice is that if there are any suspicions that the cat is unwell or that they are displaying unusual behaviour or have any lumps, bumps or wounds, is to take them to the Vets a soon as possible. Any illness of injury treated early will not only prevent the cat from suffering but may even save their life.

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