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Origin of C

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The January, 2012 Issue of the

Cat-alogue Issue 21

Contents:

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, From Whence Do You Come?

2

Cat Poem 2

True Cat Story 3

This Month’s Cat 4

Enough to Make a Cat Laugh! 5

Cat Sayings and Phrases 5

Feline Phrases 5

What the Cat Drug In 6

Feline Stars 7

The Canterbury Tails: Fight or Flight 1 + 8

Calendar Print-Out

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a Happy Christmas and enjoyed your holidays.

The January issue is filled with all the usual

highlights as well as some other novelties. You will notice that I have added a “Calendar Print-

Out” page at the end of the issue. I will make this a regular addition, for this year at least. I have also changed the Yum-Yum and Tofu comic strip (which wasn’t very regular anyway) to a

brief history of a Feline Phrase. If you have any suggestions or comments, please don’t hesitate to

contact me. Happy Reading!

Stephanie McNeill editor

visit my website at:

www.FelineFrenzies.com

The Canterbury Tails: Fight or Flight

The next evening, as Fanny, Fluffy and Sophia, another Tails member, sat on Fluffy’s

Wall and watched the sunset, Fanny spotted a movement of leaves in the big oak tree in

her yard. A golden buff bird with a white, heart-shaped face emerged and looked around

in the gathering twilight. Fanny recognized it as one of her friends, a barn owl named

Connie. Connie spotted the cats and swooped over and landed on the fence close to

Fanny. “Hello, girls,” Connie said.

“Hello, Con,” Fanny said. Fluffy and Sophia echoed a ‘hello’. They didn’t know the

bird as well as Fanny did. “Have you seen anything of bird smugglers lately?” Fanny

asked.

“Well,” said Connie. “I did see one person with a trap this time yesterday, but as he

didn’t hold a big sign saying ‘I’m a bird smuggler’, I don’t know if he was.”

“What sort of trap?” Fanny asked. “Where was it?”

“Well,” said the owl, “it was just a large cage in a tree in Tasker Park. I was circling

closer to see what was in it, when I observed a skylark going into the cage to eat the

corn and seeds in there. As he was going in, a thrush joined it in the cage. When they

were both in, the door slammed shut. A man came near, holding a string attached to the

door. He may be a smuggler, or he may just want to fill his aviary.”

continued on page 8

The Rainbow Bridge

Author Unknown

copied from the book “CatSpeak” by Bash Dibra and Elizabeth Randolph

Just this side of heaven is a place called the Rainbow Bridge. When an animal that has been especially close to someone here dies, that pet goes over the Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill or old are restored to health and vigour; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: They each miss someone very spe-cial to them who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers. Sudden-ly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling to each other in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head; and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together…

It is common belief that the do-

mestic cat originated from resi-

dent cats in Egypt, but this theory

is being questioned. Researchers

recently carried out a genetic as-

sessment of 979 domestic cats and

their wild ancestors, and they’ve

come to the conclusion that the

ancestors of Cleopatra’s cat

were, in fact, NOT residents of

Egypt. Based on their analysis of

feline DNA, the researchers now

say that all domestic cats are de-

scended from a small family of

cats ‘living on the banks of the

Tigris and Euphrates’, and that

all domestic cats’ ancestors come

from an area within Iraq. This is

hardly surprising when you con-

sider that this area between the

Tigris and Euphrates rivers is

generally accepted as the ‘plain of

Shinar’ in Genesis where the

Tower of Babel was constructed.

When God confused the people’s

language, they began to disperse

from the area… and they took

their cats with them! Not only

their cats, for many of crop

plants can be traced back to the

‘Fertile Crescent’ - the same

Plain of Shinar! So no wonder

the area is known as the ‘cradle

of civilization’, for from it origi-

nated not only the people of civi-

lization, but also its plants and, it

now seems, its cats too. I wonder

if anyone will refer to it as the

‘cat’s cradle’ now!

Information from Creation.com

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?

I’ve been up to London to visit the queen.

Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?

She wasn’t around so I sat in her chair.

Pussy cat, pussy cat, did you look fine?

I’ve been a grand king for one life out of nine.

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where did you look?

I went to the kitchen to beg from the cook.

Pussy cat, pussy cat, d’you go outside?

I saw a white horse and I went for a ride.

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where went your horse?

I rode home to answer your questions, of course!

by Stephanie

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, From Whence Do

You Come?

THE TRUE STORY OF TOWSER

Barley stored in a distillery, ready for whisky-making, is a big attraction for mice, so for many years the Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire, Scotland, kept a cat on the premises. From 1963 till her death in 1987, Towser, a long-haired tortoiseshell female, held the position of resident mouser for almost 24 years. She had a remarkable mouse-catching career that has earned her a place at Guinness World Records as the world’s best mouser. The adjudicators for the record claim went to observe the cat’s prowess for a period of some days, and, using a statistical technique, extrapolated, from their observations, the total of mice that Towser had caught in her life-time: 28,899! Towser finally died on March 30, 1987, at the ripe old age of 24. Her successor was named Amber, and although Amber was very friendly and sociable, as far as is known she never caught a single mouse! She, too, eventually died of old age, and the search began for another cat. With the aid of a cat psychologist, nine finalists were chosen from various rescue centres. All were special, but two out-shone the rest. After tossing up between Dylan, a ginger tom, and Brooke, a black-and-white female, the staff decided to adopt both of the cats. So Dylan and Brooke now live comfortably at the Glenturret Distillery, and the seven cats not selected all found good homes either with the staff or as a result of the publicity from the search.

For more information about Towser, go to purr-n-fur.org.uk or www.moggyblog.com .

This Month’s Cat:

Pixie-Bob

HISTORY: In 1985, Carol Ann Brewer, in the USA, rescued a large, bob-tailed male cat who was reported to have been sired by a bobcat. Although starving, the cat weighed 17 pounds (7.7 kg) and was as tall as Brewer’s knee. Soon after being rescued, he mated with a brown spotted female cat next door and the kittens were born later that year. Brewer kept one of the kittens, whom she named Pixie, and after a year she started a breeding program with Pixie as the foundation cat. Over the next few years she introduced 23 other cats into her program who were believed to be born from naturally-occurring matings between bobcats and domestic cats. The Pixie-Bob was accepted by TICA in 1993 in the “Exhibition” category and eventually reached Championship status in 1998. Pixie-Bobs have since been introduced in Europe and Australia.

PERSONALITY: Looks can deceive. Although the Pixie-Bob looks like a wild bobcat, they have one of the sweetest personalities. They are friendly, relaxed and intelligent. They are active without being hyper-active and they enjoy being with people and other animals. They are known for their “chirps”, chatters and growls, but most don’t meow often—in fact, some don’t meow at all! Most Pixie-Bobs are highly sociable and are devoted to their owner, preferring to be in the same room with them and following them around the house. They are also known for friendly head-butting, playing fetch, leash walking, and understanding some human words and phrases.

BODY AND COAT: Pixie-Bobs can be large but weigh an average of around 11 pounds (5 kg). Pixie-Bobs continue to grow for 4 years, with the males being larger. Most Pixie-Bobs have black skin and their whiskers sometimes change from black to white. They have a bobcat-like fur pattern, though often with reddish tones mixed in. Most are short-haired, though some are long-haired. The tail can be non-existent (rumpy), 2-4 inches (desired) or long tails (Pixie was a long-tail), though long tails are docked by some breeders to keep the bobcat look. As with all kittens, the eyes are blue at birth then change to green and finally, at several months old, their eyes are gold with a green tint.

MAINTENANCE: Pixie-Bobs are a very easy-to-look-after breed, with very few health problems due to frequent cross-breeding. Some rare genetic diseases include cryptorchidism (the absence of one or both testes from the scrotum), dystocia and cystic endometrial hyperplasia (delivery problems) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (heart disease)

information from hasturcattery.info and pixieroo-pixiebob.com.

Cat Sayings and Phrases

from www.moggies.co.uk

Keep no more Cats than will catch Mice: Do not

support anyone who does not or cannot do something useful for you in return.

Not enough room to swing a Cat: Very little room.

More than one way to skin a Cat: There is more

than one way to do something.

When the Cat's away, the Mice will

play: Without supervision, people misbehave.

Look like the Cat who swallowed the Canary: To

look proud of oneself.

Enough to make a cat laugh: Extremely

amusing.

Not a cat in hell's chance: No chance whatever.

continued in next issue

Enough to Make a Cat Laugh!

Why don’t they make mouse-

flavoured cat food?

When cat food is “new and im-proved tasting”, who tests it?

What do you call a boisterous

kitten? A Cat-tastrophe.

The phrase “Domestic Cat” is an oxymoron. (-George F. Will)

Best places to look for a missing

cat: behind the books in the bookshelf, any cupboard with a

gap too small for any cat to squeeze through, the top of any-thing sheer, under anything too

low for a cat to squash under and inside the piano. (-Roseanne

Ambrose-Brown)

FELINE PHRASES

Cat got your tongue?

“Cat got your tongue?” is the shortened form of the question “Has the cat got your tongue?”. It was in com-mon use until the 1960s/70s, but is less common now. It is a question addressed to someone who is inexplicably silent, or a child who was being suspiciously unobtrusive.

There’s no derivation that involves any actual cat or celebrated incident of feline theft. It also doesn’t relate to sailors becoming taciturn when punished with the cat o’ nine tails, as some have suggested. Like the blackbird that “pecked off her nose”, the phrase is just an example of the light-hearted imaginary that is, or was, directed at children. Although it sounds old, it wasn’t found in print until 1881 when it appeared in the US illustrated paper Ballou’s Monthly Magazine, Volume 53: “Has the cat got your tongue, as the children say?”. By stating that the phrase belongs to “the children” suggests that it may be older than the 1880s. Children’s language wasn’t written down until it became used by adults, which was often some years after it was common parlance in the play-ground.

information from phrases.org.uk

Red-winged Parrot

by Breanna McNeill

Identification: The Red-winged Parrot is medium-sized and stout and is usually seen in pairs or flocks. The male (photo right) is bright lime green with a black back and deep blue rump and the tail is green with a yellow tip. The legs are grey and the bill and eyes are red and the legs are grey. The female (photo left) is similar, but has a smaller wing patch and dark green back and a paler rump than her mate. This parrot flies with deep, full strokes and pauses on each stroke. The Red-winged Parrot is also known as Crimson-winged Parrot, Red-winged Lory, Red Wing or King Parrot.

Habits: They are usually found in dry, open woodlands, timber-lined watercourses and arid scrub and they spend most of the day in trees. Red-winged Parrots are considered partly nomadic in response to local conditions as they search for food and water.

Voice: The Red-winged Parrot usually calls in flight with a sharp, metallic ‘crillik, crillik’ and a harsh shrieking ‘chik-chik-chik’ in alarm.

Breeding: Red-winged Parrots breed once a year between July and January. They lay four to six eggs in the hollow trunk of a tall tree, often near the ground. The nesting tree is usually close to water and the nest site may be a long way down from the entrance high in the tree. The female incubates the eggs and only leaves the nest to feed.

Where They Live: Red-winged Parrots are common in northern and eastern Australia and they are also found in southern New Guinea and Irian Jaya.

for more information, go to birdsinbackyards.net , photo from Wikipedia.org

This page is about the small animals that cats prey on and invariably leave on your doorstep or—even worse—on a rug or (*gulp!*) bed. Some of you prefer to hold your

nose and use anything handy to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but this section is for those of you who are interested in what your cat spends most of its time hunting

(when it isn’t sleeping).

Hunter or Hunted? There are times when the tables are turned and the hunter becomes the hunted. Beware of animals that will attempt to harm your cat. Hawks, eagles and other raptors will sometimes catch and eat cats, and foxes are also a concern. Everyone knows that dogs chase cats, and cars are a big hazard to free-roaming felines. But the biggest killer is probably the snake. Snakes tend to live in long grass in rural areas and are more active during the warm, summer months. Most cats do not see snakes as a threat and will play with them (like our cat Yogi). This often leads to snake-bite and an expensive trip to the vet’s (like our cat Yogi). The symptoms of snake-bite often occur sometime after the actual incident, so the cat may not associate the two (we’re hoping UN-like our cat Yogi). Cats are more tolerant than dogs, so hold out for longer when bitten by a snake. If you see your cat acting suspiciously (i.e. drool-ing, lethargic, shivering, convulsing, calling), take it to the vet IMMEDIATELY. 5 minutes can be the

difference between life and death.

If you want your cat to be a FELINE STAR, simply fill in the above details to match your cat and e-mail them, along with a photo or two and a funny

incident involving your cat, if you have one, to TheCatalogue@westnet.com.au or write to PO BOX 1202, Bendigo, 3552.

COLOUR: longhaired grey tabby

AGE: about 9 years

BREED: moggy

LOCATION OF RESIDENCE: UK

LIKES/DISLIKES: LIKES sleeping, DISLIKES strange things, LIKES opening Christmas presents, LIKES climbing

PERSONALITY: Sassy was an 11-month-old kitten in a shelter. She was in a large cage of her own and she was terrified of everything. Her new owner fell in love with her and took her home, where Sassy was petrified of everything there. Eventually she began to trust her owner and explored her surroundings. She loves her scratching post and her feather-duster toy, and she also likes sleeping and climbing. One night a few days before Christmas, she found one of her Christmas gifts and opened it. She has gone from being a starving, terrified kitten to the Queen of the Castle! She is a companion to her owner and her Feline Friend, Ms Tizzy.

The Canterbury Tails: Fight or Flight

“Do you think you could investigate again tonight?” Fanny asked Connie.

“Sure,” the bird said and flew off. The sun sank below the horizon and the cats

went home. Danny was waiting on the doorstep for Fanny, but Annie was no-

where in sight. Saying good-bye to a goodnight’s sleep, Fanny went off in search

of her, after seeing Danny off to bed. At last she found Annie strolling calmly

across the lawn towards the house.

“Annie!” Fanny called to her. Annie sat down and waited for Fanny. “Where

have you been?”

“Here, there and everywhere. Just about,” was the reply.

“What have you been doing?” her mother asked.

“Nothing much,” Annie replied again and she continued her stroll towards the

house. Fanny stared after her. What had she really been doing? Why wouldn’t

she say where she had really been?

Fanny shook her head and followed her daughter. It was too late to question

her now. Annie would go to bed, then Fanny would do a little snooping. The

roads were dark and eerie as Fanny made her way along them. She started as an

owl flew low overhead, calling as it passed. It was not Connie, so Fanny contin-

ued on her way. She trotted down the well-known road all the way to Canter-

bury. She came to the Tails’ alley. All was quiet. She quickly crossed the highway

and entered Tasker Park. Connie had not said whereabouts in the park she had

seen the trap and the park was pretty big. But there were not many trees at that

end of the park, so Fanny explored each one in its turn. Pretty soon, she found

she had covered half of the park already. She continued climbing up trees and

coming down, disappointed, until finally, in one of the trees in the north end of

the park, she found the bird trap. It was, as Connie had said, a big wire cage. It

was nestled in a fork in the branches of a pine tree. The door was open and

there were no birds in it. Fanny climbed to a branch above the cage and waited.

Presently, a wood pigeon fluttered down onto a lower branch to sleep the night.

Two others joined it. An owl lighted in a tree next to them. Disturbed, a couple

of skylarks flew out of the tree and landed in Fanny’s tree. They were right next

to the cage. One of them peered into the cage. Various seeds were scattered on

the wooden floor. The lark stuck its head out longer and longer and finally

stepped towards the cage. As Fanny caught her breath, the lark

hopped inside, its mate following behind. They started eating and

BANG! the cage door shut.

continued in next issue

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