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India to spend $13.15M to protect tigers (X-posted)

feiruz_al-bnefsagia — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:34:16 GMT

From Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080301/ap_on_sc/india_disappearing_tigers

The Indian government plans to spend more than $13 million establishing a special ranger force to protect the country's endangered tigers, following pressure from international conservationists to save the wild cats.

The funding proposed Friday by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram follows the announcement just weeks ago of a $153 million program to create new tiger reserves, underscoring renewed efforts by India's government to protect the big cats.

New estimates suggest India's wild tiger population has dropped from nearly 3,600 five years ago to about 1,411, the government-run Tiger Project said last month.

"The number 1,411 should ring the alarm bells ... The tiger is under grave threat," Chidambaram told Parliament during his budget presentation for 2008-2009.

Chidambaram said the National Tiger Conservation Authority would be granted about $13.15 million to "raise, arm and deploy" a Tiger Protection Force. While the budget is just a proposal at this stage, Parliament is widely expected to pass it without opposition later this month.

Conservationists welcomed the government's proposal, saying a new force would need to be specially trained and armed to protect tigers from poachers.

"They are finally addressing a very important problem — poaching," Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said Saturday. "I would imagine that much of the existing system would be improved by the injection of the funds."

The Tiger Project plans to create eight new reserves to protect the tigers, covering an area of more than 11,900 square miles at a cost about $153 million. Private groups will contribute extra funding.

Some 250 villages, or an estimated 200,000 people, will be relocated under the plan. The government has promised each relocated family about $25,600.

The population of tigers in Asia is estimated at around 3,500 today compared to nearly 5,000 in 1997, according to Wright.

Unless the government drastically improves enforcement steps against poachers and illegal wildlife traders, the number of tigers will continue to dwindle, Wright said.

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funny cat video

heather69 — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:55:25 GMT

I stumbled across this on yahoo and couldn't stop laughing. Anyone who has ever been around cats will surely appreciate the story of a cat waking up its person.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1323099&fr=yvmtf

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Dogs Get Found, Cats Stay Lost (X-posted)

feiruz_al-bnefsagia — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:13:04 GMT

From www.livescience.com/animals/070114_lost_pets.html

A lost Fido is more likely to be found than a missing Tabby.

Why? Because man’s best friend is more likely to have identification tags and dog owners are more prompt in searching for their missing pets, according to a new study.

The findings, published in the Jan. 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, found that while 71 percent of lost dogs in the Dayton, Ohio, area were reunited with their owners, only 53 percent of lost cats ended up back at home.

“Dogs seem to be easier to get home to their owners,” study author Linda Lord of Ohio State University told LiveScience.

Dogs vs. cats

In her survey of people who ran lost pet ads in local newspapers, Lord found that dog owners contact and visit shelters much sooner than cat owners after the pet goes missing. More than one-third of the recovered dogs were found after a call or visit to a local animal shelter.

Dogs are also more likely to sport tags or carry an ID chip implant, Lord said.

Cat owners may not put identification on their cats because the cat shirks the collar or they keep the cat indoors.

“Just because you keep your cat indoors doesn’t mean you don’t have to identify them,” Lord said. Cats still can slip out of the house.

When people find cats without identification, they might assume they are strays and feed and adopt them, whereas people who see a dog wandering alone are more likely to assume it has an owner, Lord said.

Many cat owners also wait several days before calling or visiting shelters. They run the chance of missing their cat, which could be euthanized or adopted by someone else.

Of the study cats that did make it back to their owners, Lord said, two-thirds came back on their own.

Pet-finding tips

The key to finding a lost pet is visible identification, Lord said. If someone finds your pet, they can call the number on the ID tag without having to involve the shelter system. While microchips are a great backup, they are not visible to the naked eye and require shelters or veterinarians to scan them, she said.

Lord also emphasized that it is important to act quickly when looking for a missing pet by calling local shelters after one day, visiting every three days, putting up posters and even taking out newspaper ads.

The pet owners Lord interviewed were often surprised to hear about methods they hadn’t tried.

“There was definitely a lack of awareness,” she said.

Though different methods may be more or less effective in different places, Lord said, “people really need to think about having a plan.”

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kittens

missbug — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:32:26 GMT

Hi
I am new to this tribe and I thought someone may be able to help me. My mama cat had kittens 2.5 weeks ago and I was wondering how long before they can leave their mama? I have heard from 6- 8 weeks but was wondering if anyone had experience with this?
thanks!
Nora

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Wonderful Bay Area Cat needs home for JUST 6 WEEKS, Please Help!

tobinp — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 21:53:30 GMT

Hello Friends,

I'm in a bit of a crisis, and I'm hoping one of you
might be able to help...

I'm heading to the Pacific Northwest for six weeks
(like, today) and up until last night, my wonderful
kitty cat was going to be staying with my sister on a
large, rustic property in nevada county, however I
just got a message from her saying that she is no
longer able to accommodate him.

If you like cats and have a situation where it would
work for you to take him on for six weeks, it would be
a huge help for me. He is a kind, short-haired,
handsome, adult male cat who is fixed and has all his
vaccinations. He's been an indoor only cat, so has no
flees, and has been steadily on Advantage flee
medicine for his whole life. If you decide to help, of
course, you will be provided with food and litter
money, and you would earn a special place in my little
guy's heart. His name is Popper. Attached is a photo.

Also, I am a gifted photographer, and I would be honored
to do a photo shoot of you and your pet, or some other kind
of shoot for you, if you should decide to help me out.
You can check out my work on my web sites by clicking the links below.

Here's a photo of him: http://picasaweb.google.com/joiephoto/Popper?authkey=66UxXHc0PSk

Thanks for considering.

Gratitude, Love, and Meow,

-Tobin and Popper

Tobin Poppenberg
Founder and Sr. Photographer
Joie de Vivre Photography
ph.415.672.6240
San Francisco, CA
http://joiedevivrephoto.com Weddings, Maternity, Portraiture
http://tobinphotography.com Concerts, Musician Promotional, Fine Art

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atypical cat toys

heather69 — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 01:23:09 GMT

How many of you spend a small fortune on all the latest cat toys? And how many of your feline friends actually enjoy them? I've been thinking that they are a bit like children... go out and buy the fancy-schmancy expensive gadget only to turn around to find the kid happily engaged in banging on your kitchen pots with a wooden spoon.

Just this week, I discovered that I had dropped a little peppermint patty. I keep finding it all over the house. Apparently, my boy, Casey, thinks its the greatest thing since canned tuna! Heehee! My other cat, Bandito, just gets ecstatic when he's attacking my pens - especially when I'm actually trying to write with it. And. of course, all of them think the most perfect spot for a nap is right on top of my text books!

What other things do you cats like that aren't officially made for cats? Or are my cats just weird?

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weird cat people

heather69 — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 03:46:46 GMT

Okay, I love my cats. I have had feline friends since before I can remember and I have the scars to prove it. My mother is on the road to becoming one of those cat collectors. I'm fairly certain that someday I will be known as the crazy cat lady in my neighborhood. When my ex had asked me to move in with him sans kitty, I flat out refused. He eventually relented and didn't even bitch when my boy took his first steps in his new home and went on to spray the ex's leather jacket and saddlebags. Since then, I now have three cats who have chosen to live with me. My boys are like my children and I love them dearly, but they are not the be-all, end-all of my existence.

That being said, why are some cat lovers so weird? I was at the grocery store today and trying to find the canned food that my boys love. I made a friendly comment to a woman who was next to me. Fifteen minutes later, I was desperately trying to get away from her and even the stockboy was laughing at me. I had my cart at the end of the aisle and was turning the corner and she was still talking. She didn't seem to be the lonely, little old lady one might expect. She mentioned a husband and children, although who knows if they have any kind of decent relationship. Maybe that's why she was so desperate for conversation. It was just so bizarre.

So, my question to you... Are you a freaky cat fanatic or just a happy cat lover? And how do we become one or the other? I'm more than a little worried that it could happen to me one day.

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come aboard...

Isis — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:22:28 GMT

@
http://tribes.tribe.net/flickring
and show your recipes when they look at their best =)

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Officials: Pet Food Poison May Have Been Intentional (x-posted)

feiruz_al-bnefsagia — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:07:26 GMT

From http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3058844&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

FDA Investigators Say Chinese Companies May Have Added Melamine to Appear to Boost Protein Content
By DAVID KERLEY and BRIAN HARTMAN

April 19, 2007 — - For the first time, investigators are saying the chemical that has sickened and killed pets in the United States may have been intentionally added to pet food ingredients by Chinese producers.

Food and Drug Administration investigators say the Chinese companies may have spiked products with the chemical melamine so that they would appear, in tests, to have more value as protein products.

Officials now suspect this possibility because a second ingredient from China, rice protein concentrate, has tested positive for melamine. So has corn gluten shipped to South Africa. That means there is a possibility for another round of recalls.

The FDA's top veterinarian, Stephen Sundlof, says finding melamine in so many products "would certainly lend credibility to the theory that it was maybe intentional."

Melamine, which is used to make plastics in the United States and as a fertilizer in Asia, contains nitrogen. Nitrogen can appear to boost the level of protein in products.

The revelations have led the FDA to expand the number of products it is testing as they enter the United States. So far, those inspections at the border have not turned up any melamine in wheat gluten. Tainted wheat gluten used by Menu Foods is suspected in sickening hundreds, if not thousands of pets.

Some of the tainted pet food has apparently made it into feed for hogs. Federal agencies are trying to determine if it was actually fed to animals and whether it may have reached the human food supply.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

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FDA finds new chemical in tainted pet food, sick animals (X-posted)

feiruz_al-bnefsagia — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:49:03 GMT

From CNN http://tinyurl.com/29tcjt

Government testing found a chemical used to make plastics in recalled pet food linked to the deaths of dogs and cats, officials said Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient.

Cornell University scientists also have found the chemical, also used as a fertilizer, in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating the company's wet food.

Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the Canadian company's products.

It is not clear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds if not thousands have died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints.

The new finding comes a week after scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified a rat poison and cancer drug called aminopterin as the likely culprit. They've since detected melamine as well, though it's not clear how that chemical would have poisoned pets.

Meanwhile, animal rights advocates called on federal food safety regulators and pet food companies to expand a nationwide recall of dog and cat food to include dry varieties, claiming they make pets sick.

The FDA said Thursday it had no plans to suggest a wider recall to pet food companies, and veterinarians said they have not seen a trend of animals becoming ill after eating dry pet food.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plans to make the appeal Friday in Washington after it said it received complaints from pet owners who claim their animals suffered kidney failure after eating dry pet food.

Norfolk, Virginia-based PETA wants the FDA and the companies to extend the recall to foods that have received complaints, chemically test it and perform necropsies on the animals involved. It also wants companies prosecuted if the FDA's probe turns up wrongdoing.

FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said she did not know how many of the complaints the agency has received have concerned dry pet food. Officials at Ontario, Canada-based Menu Foods, which made the recalled pet food, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Nearly 100 brands of pet food were recalled after animals suffered kidney failure. The recall involved "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The recall covered products carrying names of major brands including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba.

Veterinarians aren't seeing a trend of pets getting sick off dry food, said Paul Pion, founder of the Veterinarian Information Network. He said since so many people use dry food, you would expect to see many more ill pets if the food was tainted.

"I wouldn't put much credence in it, but it's not out of the realm of possibility," Pion said.

The Veterinary Information Network reported Tuesday that at least 471 cases of pet kidney failure have been reported since the recall, and more than 100 pets have died. (Full story) Menu Foods has confirmed 16 pet deaths.

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Cat Takes on Bear and Wins

feiruz_al-bnefsagia — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 21:00:43 GMT

X-posted... b/c its too funny!

http://tinyurl.com/o5w6r

A New Jersey woman says that a neighbor's 10-year-old clawless tomcat chased a black bear up a tree in her backyard.

Patricia Giovanetti told the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., that in the first encounter she watched between Jack the Cat and a bear, the bear was up a tree and Jack was standing his ground, giving the bear the eye. After a 15-minute standoff, the bear climbed down and quickly dashed into the underbrush with the cat in pursuit.

The bear found another tree and climbed up. Jack kept watch for a few minutes before joining Giovanetti and the cat's owner, Donna Dickey, allowing the bear to make a hasty escape, the Star-Ledger said.

Giovanetti and Dickey have decided that Jack considers their yards and the one in between his territory and is not about to let another animal in, not even the black bears that are increasingly common in Northwest Jersey. Giovanetti said there have been times when Jack, not always a friendly animal, has made her nervous.

"Sometimes, I fear him," she told the newspaper. "Now, I think I fear him more."

© YellowBrix, Inc. Copyright 1997-2006

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