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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / January 2007RPCA Kiss-A-Mouse Project
Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and hope it spreads. I propose that next winter's Holiday Season, we each pick a project and work on it. It could be through an organized group, if you wish, or just the family down the road that seems to need more than they have. It can be a material project or an emotional one. Just something to help someone or something out. I'm thinking of doing an animal toy drive for the pet shelters here in the area. I'm also open to other suggestions. Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club > Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club Hey Pammy--I think that's a wonderful idea. Let's try to remember this. I think you've got a good project idea, too. Most folks donate food, or money, to shelters. And for most shelters, toys are on the bottom of the buying list. Too many essentials, never enough money. They don't get a lot of toys. Sherry >> Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the >> season [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Sherry At first I was shocked when I called our local shelter/mission to find out what was needed for Christmas. It hadn't even occurred to me that women and children would be there over Christmas in addition to the usual men that always go there for a warm meal and some help. After that I made a point of taking the kids shopping for a gift that they would like themselves. We wrapped those and put the appropriate sex and age of a giftee on the tags. The only rule was it had to be something a child could carry around with them. I explained to my children that these were children that really didn't have much of anywhere to store their belonging. Certainly not their own rooms and closets etc. That kind of brought home to them that not everyone was able to live the way we can. And now for something practical. My oven died Christmas Eve. We went out and bought an electric roaster, then while we were still out found another one we liked better and bought that too. Planning to return the first one. It wasn't expensive, I'm guessing the mission could make use of it, and it is just as easy to take the extra one there as it is to return it. Thank you all for getting me thinking along those lines. Jo Great idea Pam. This Christmas I made a donation to a cat rescue organisation. It would be nice to do something more hands on next year as well. The local RSPCA always requires volunteers, so I'll contact them to see what jobs they need doing. Dewi. > Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club > Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club Hi Pam. I think it's very commendable of you to make this suggestion, and I am with you wholeheartedly in spirit. I hope you do not mind if I don't tell what my project is, I know it seems silly, but part of my philosophy about charitable works is that there is more value in it for my own personal growth and self-improvement if I do *not* tell anyone...the reason is that then I do not have to worry about the hidden agenda of doing it to get praise from someone else, or feeling especially noble because others think highly of what I did. Charity done in secret is the most noble kind of charity of all, in my philosophy anyway. But I'm telling you this much so that you'll know I'm part of your club....for life. May you reap all the rewards in life due to someone who improves the lot of the world in even the smallest way. --tension > Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the > season has become. So I would like to start something here, with [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club Local Humane Association does a Holiday Food Drive, where there a *huge* boxes at most of the grocery stores around town, some vets and other pet supply stores as well, even a couple of the more affluent apartment complexes have a donation site in their "clubhouse" area. This year I helped deliver some of the boxes (some where decorated by local school children, others just had animal themed Christmas wrap on them) and am also collecting at a few of the locations and delivering the donations to the shelter. Not only are they accepting food, but treats, toys, towels, blankets/comforters, bleach (for washing the towels!), cat litter, paper towels - any kind of supplies are accepted. What they can't use, they put in their "please take one" area. To quote the info from the web site: "On average, the City of Bloomington Animal Shelter uses 50 pounds of dog food and 30 pounds of cat food each day. Additionally, 100 pounds of cat litter is used every day." The stores on my route are spread out all over, and don't get much, unless you wait a week between pickups. Last Saturday I collected 1,000 lbs of dry pet food (Land Rover was almost dragging the gourd as I drove) + assorted bags/boxes of treats, 2 food dishes and 2 leashes. And on Wednesday I tallied up what was donated at one of the local grade schools, I don't remember the total, but it was about 4X what I collected! Plus 10 rolls paper towels, 20 towels (some old, but the dogs don't care), 4 food bowls and 10 bags/boxes of treats, and a whole slew of kongs and rawhide chews! >> Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the >> season has become. So I would like to start something here, with [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > old, but the dogs don't care), 4 food bowls and 10 bags/boxes of > treats, and a whole slew of kongs and rawhide chews! PS - I forgot to add that last year, one of the local hotels bought all new bedding for their rooms, and gave all the old to the shelter!!!! And it was a 200+ room hotel!!! >Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season >has become. I think the reason it is so commercial is because most people like it that way, including, I am afraid to say, those who say otherwise. No, I am not saying this applies to you specifically, but it applies to many who give lip service to this 'too commercial' idea. One thing I hear a lot is people complaining "Every year Xmas is in the shops earlier". Ok, so let me ask you, when did you buy your *first* Xmas present this year? When I ask people IRL the answer is sometimes early October! People think Xmas means buying. if people did not want to buy, and buy early the shops would not push Xmas as a buying fest so early.  SignatureDavid Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm Liverpool, England, UK <cat2@blakjak.com> Emails welcome Nanki Poo: SI O+W B 12 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P+ B+ PA+ PL SC Minke: SI W+Cp B 3 Y L W+ C++ I T A- E H++ V++ F- Q- P B PA+ PL+ SC- Substitute .org for .com else URLs/eddresses will fail after 2007 > >Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > >has become. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > the shops earlier". Ok, so let me ask you, when did you buy your > *first* Xmas present this year? I think I started about Dec. 16. It was very hard to get in the mood with no snow. > One thing I hear a lot is people complaining "Every year Xmas is in > the shops earlier". Ok, so let me ask you, when did you buy your > *first* Xmas present this year? december the 23rd, only cos I happened to be in a supermarket at the time and there was some turkish delights on the shelves (for my dad), I hate shopping and shops. for the last 2 xmases i have been on very limited funds so buying lots of gifts for people has been completely out of the question. anyway i see xmas as a time for relaxation and putting your feet up, chilling out after a crappy and stressful first term back at school. if one is going to buy a load of disinfectant to donate to a shelter is there any particular type which one should buy? i do nto want to give anythign which turns out to be toxic to the poor kitties. Bookie >> One thing I hear a lot is people complaining "Every year Xmas is in >> the shops earlier". Ok, so let me ask you, when did you buy your [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Bookie Our shelter uses bleach. > if one is going to buy a load of disinfectant to donate to a shelter is > there any particular type which one should buy? i do nto want to give > anythign which turns out to be toxic to the poor kitties. > > Bookie Bleach is the most commonly used one at the shelters here. It is a great all purpose disinfectant, and is reasonably cheap. I usually buy a brand name, just because I like Clorox, but have also bought the store brands when desperate. Pam S. >> if one is going to buy a load of disinfectant to donate to a shelter is >> there any particular type which one should buy? i do nto want to give [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Pam S. I use store brand bleach, and recently had a ringworm outbreak. Bleach knocked it on the head!! And it's less toxic to cats than most other disinfectants (though of course you wouldn't let them drink/swim in it!!) > >> if one is going to buy a load of disinfectant to donate to a shelter is > >> there any particular type which one should buy? i do nto want to give [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > knocked it on the head!! And it's less toxic to cats than most other > disinfectants (though of course you wouldn't let them drink/swim in it!!) Dollar-for-dollar, bleach is about the best and most economical disinfectant. It also airs out pretty quickly with enough ventilation. There are a few things that bleach doesn't kill, but most you don't have to worry about in the home, as I understand it. The shelter buys some disinfectant strictly for cats from the vets to use in unusual circumstances. It is *way* expensive stuff. Sherry > >Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > >has become. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > -- > David Stevenson Oh, come on Dave. You're not that naive :-) The consumer doesn't have a chance. The constant bombardment and not-even-subliminal "buy buy buy" messages start earlier every year. *That's* what prompts the buying. It's been snowballing for at least the last 50 years. I bought my first gift a few days before Thanksgiving. Didn't buy anything else until about Dec. 10. I think a more accurate assessment would be, if shops didn't pushing Xmas as a buying fest so early, people wouldn't feel pressured to start shopping. And they do buy early. The trap works. Sherry wrote >> >Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season >> >has become. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Oh, come on Dave. You're not that naive :-) I am certainly that naive: while this world allows itself to be led by the nose by media it will get what it deserves. >The consumer doesn't have a chance. The constant bombardment and >not-even-subliminal "buy buy buy" messages start earlier every year. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Xmas as a buying fest so early, people wouldn't feel pressured to start >shopping. And they do buy early. The trap works. It's circular: if the consumer was not so silly "the trap" would not work. SignatureDavid Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm Liverpool, England, UK <cat2@blakjak.com> Emails welcome Nanki Poo: SI O+W B 12 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P+ B+ PA+ PL SC Minke: SI W+Cp B 3 Y L W+ C++ I T A- E H++ V++ F- Q- P B PA+ PL+ SC- Substitute .org for .com else URLs/eddresses will fail after 2007 > wrote > > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > I am certainly that naive: while this world allows itself to be led by > the nose by media it will get what it deserves. You are absolutely right. And there are many, many people who *do* allow themselves to be influenced by the media to that degree. Especially younger people, and it isn't altogether their fault. Sherry > > wrote > > > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Sherry does that mean I an officially an oldie? great! having piss-all cash generally prevents one from getting caught in any of this commercialism cos then you just can't afford it, simple. It is amusing though watching other people get wound up by it all, going to supermarkets inthe days before xmas and buying up enough food to be able to feed a small army which is going to be under siege for several months. You can see inthe week leading up to xmas strssed out middle aged people pushing trolleys round tescos (supermarket chain in UK for all you yanks) which are groaning under the weight of several boxes of mince pies, jars of pickled onions (who eats these?) bags of nuts, boxes of dates (who eats these also?) after 8 mints, biscuit selection boxes, nets of sprouts (again who eats these?), a ton of potatoes, huge great containers of Quality Street chocolates (why do they still have the toffee penny in there or the other hard toffee one which is shaped like a stick and wrapped in gold foil, noone eats those, they are always left behind, what a waste), and all the rest fo the unnecessary food people are conned into buying onthe offchance someone will 'pop round'. Why? noone will ever just 'pop round' cos christmas is for 'family' and everyone is imprisoned in a house surrounded by their awful family, who they probably all hate anyway, for 48 hours, and just like willy wonka's factory; noone ever goes in and noone ever goes out. Even if like me you don't give in to this annual festive family house arrest crap you can't go round to visit people cos they 'have the family staying' and you would probably be imposing or something so you stay away. Why do people do this to themselves? I find xmas relaxing cos i don't do all this commercial present buying stuff (no money for that got better things to spend it on) and it means a break from the world for a couple of days, but by boxing day evening I am bored and want the world to open again and things to get back to normal ie I want the pubs to open and people I want to talk to to be released from their tedious self-imposed family prison hell (which they all complain bitterly about, how dull grandma was, how much grandad farted etc etc but they all give in to it, sad bastards). tomorrow things will eb back to normal, fingers crossed sorry for that off-topic rant, but people who complain about christmas being too commercial usually bring it on themselves > does that mean I an officially an oldie? great! having piss-all cash > generally prevents one from getting caught in any of this commercialism [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > staying' and you would probably be imposing or something so you stay > away. Why do people do this to themselves? There are many cultures, including various European ones, and all of whom have sizable immigrant populations going back many generations in Britain, US, and Canada, who have a tradition of visiting around friends, not just relatives, on Christmas Eve, drinking punch, making merry, and eating anything they can get their hands on including pickled onions. This is especially true for non-Catholic families, for example, who did not go to Midnight Mass, but still made Christmas Day the family day. It is even more especially true for couples without children, and single folks. Christmas Day was for family, Christmas Eve was for doing the rounds with friends. For years, I did the rounds with friends, going to the homes of family friends for about half-an-hour to an hour, and then moving on, in one big group, to the next friend's house, and so one. So there is one large population that does, in fact, eat that food. This was a great way to descend on the homes of single folks, by the way, who would be terribly lonely without the Great Descend on Christmas Eve. Okay, I made that name up, but it was certainly something that everyone looked forward to and it made Christmas Eve hellatiously fun! --tension > > does that mean I an officially an oldie? great! having piss-all cash > > generally prevents one from getting caught in any of this commercialism [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > --tension I don't think that really happens anymore, most young people go out to the pub on christmas eve night whilst anyone over the age of 40 stays in and gets miserable by themselves or with their equally saggy spouses, hence any eating and drinking done by that crowd on christmas eve is done away from the home andnone of that gargantuan pile of food that older people buy gets touched on christmas eve. i actually do not know ANYONE who goes round to anyone's house on christmas eve, except to drag them out to the pub of course, what would be the point of staying indoors with a bottle of sherry waiting for people to turn up? sounds rather sad, you are not going to pull anyone waiting at home are you? so you are best off getting out there and looking for drunk strangers in the pub who you can accost with the mistletoe. Christ, certainly when I was on the more popular side of 30 I woudl not have been caught dead stopping indoors christmas eve night, that is when serious partying in town is done. even now i woudl feel unwelcome at most people's houses over the festive period (certainly most of my friend's family homes where their parents live, but that probably for other reasons unconnected with xmas) if I just popped round on xmas eve and hung around like a bad smell for a hour or 2. You would just feel like you were imposing or intruding, so you always arrange to meet friends in town in a pub or bar, away from the family home where there are miserable relatives all sittign about whinging about how commercial christmas has got and how it was all so much better when they were young, blah blah blah when if they were naughty they got 5 lashes of their father's belt across their backside and if they were good they only got 2 and were grateful for it blah blah blah. an englishman's home is his castle and he don't like anyone trying to storm the barricades, even if they are going to relieve him of his enormous jar of pickled eggs he has had sitting in the back of the cupboard since 2003 > > does that mean I an officially an oldie? great! having piss-all cash > > generally prevents one from getting caught in any of this commercialism [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > --tension I don't think that really happens anymore, most young people go out to the pub on christmas eve night whilst anyone over the age of 40 stays in and gets miserable by themselves or with their equally saggy spouses, hence any eating and drinking done by that crowd on christmas eve is done away from the home andnone of that gargantuan pile of food that older people buy gets touched on christmas eve. i actually do not know ANYONE who goes round to anyone's house on christmas eve, except to drag them out to the pub of course, what would be the point of staying indoors with a bottle of sherry waiting for people to turn up? sounds rather sad, you are not going to pull anyone waiting at home are you? so you are best off getting out there and looking for drunk strangers in the pub who you can accost with the mistletoe. Christ, certainly when I was on the more popular side of 30 I woudl not have been caught dead stopping indoors christmas eve night, that is when serious partying in town is done. even now i woudl feel unwelcome at most people's houses over the festive period (certainly most of my friend's family homes where their parents live, but that probably for other reasons unconnected with xmas) if I just popped round on xmas eve and hung around like a bad smell for a hour or 2. You would just feel like you were imposing or intruding, so you always arrange to meet friends in town in a pub or bar, away from the family home where there are miserable relatives all sittign about whinging about how commercial christmas has got and how it was all so much better when they were young, blah blah blah when if they were naughty they got 5 lashes of their father's belt across their backside and if they were good they only got 2 and were grateful for it blah blah blah. an englishman's home is his castle and he don't like anyone trying to storm the barricades, even if they are going to relieve him of his enormous jar of pickled eggs he has had sitting in the back of the cupboard since 2003 Lol you sound like me :) we live miles from our family, and we do miss them at Christmas time....but I have a guilty pleasure in getting my kids to myself at Christmas!! Christmas should be about each other and food! I bought most of my non-kid pressies on ebay, so I could spend more on the kids. No-one minded :) Hope your Christmas was good! >> > wrote >> > > [quoted text clipped - 80 lines] > sorry for that off-topic rant, but people who complain about christmas > being too commercial usually bring it on themselves >>Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the >>season [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > shops earlier". Ok, so let me ask you, when did you buy your *first* Xmas > present this year? Lets see, I bought the toe socks on December 15th after my last final. Then the rest of the shopping was done on the 19th. However, two presents were bought for last Christmas and I'd forgotten them and found them this year and gave them as well as those I bought this year. I've also been working on some Catmas presents since September, but I still need to finish them and send them out. Pam S. >>>Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the >>>season [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >on some Catmas presents since September, but I still need to finish them and >send them out. Not bad. I went shopping on December 23rd, of course. I used to shop on the 24th but too many places shut now. I really honestly heard two women having a discussion some years back: they bemoaned the commercialisation of Xmas for a few minutes, and said it was disgraceful, especially that the shops started so early. They then asked each other whether they had done their Xmas shopping. One had done "most", the other "quite a lot". I kid you not: it was mid-October! SignatureDavid Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm Liverpool, England, UK <cat2@blakjak.com> Emails welcome Nanki Poo: SI O+W B 12 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P+ B+ PA+ PL SC Minke: SI W+Cp B 3 Y L W+ C++ I T A- E H++ V++ F- Q- P B PA+ PL+ SC- Substitute .org for .com else URLs/eddresses will fail after 2007 >Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season >has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club We kind of do this periodically with our local shelter, bringing them pet foods, bulk packs of disinfecting wipes for cleaning the cages (they LOVE that stuff! Huge canisters of the Lysol wipes make it easier to keep clean cages) and good old cash. SWMBO and I went to the TICA cat show in White Plains, NY and sat-in on a talk from a Hartz Mountain representative. She had lots of toys, cat collars and plastic double-bowls (for food & water together) as giveaways. She had lots of stuff leftover so we asked if we could take a few extras to our shelter where we adopted Cat Five. The Hartz lady said to us that if they were for a shelter we could take them all! Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask ;) So when we went to the Hi-Tor shelter last week to bring them a Christmas money donation we also gave them the bag of goodies that will be used to help start out the new adoptions. Must have been at least 20 collars of various colors & designs, some jingle ball packages and about a dozen double-bowls. the shelter had lots of kittens and a few adults ready for adoption, and a nursing mom with her kittens in an isolated room for their peace & comfort. Hopefully all will get adopted soon & take home the goodies with them. Signatureannoyed@net.spammers Craig, Kathi & "Cat Five" the tabby girl > We kind of do this periodically with our local shelter, bringing them pet > foods, bulk packs of disinfecting wipes for cleaning the cages (they LOVE [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > adopted > soon & take home the goodies with them. An excellent idea. I'll try to find out in advance when the cat shows in our area are and see if we can get donations for the three local shelters (one kill, and two no-kill) and see about other things I can do. It looks like a lot of us are already putting our donation spirit to work, now if we can keep it up or do something extra for the holidays... Pam S. determined to do something for others we talked about this very thing among the manager's group I belong to and every year in concert with our Christmas party we do one thing, first we decided that we really all have everything we need and if not we mostly have the resources to get what we need and want so the first year we all collected/brought things to the party and made gift bags up for a nursing/group home for the blind the second year we bought a big popcorn maker for a school for multiple handicapped children, this year we brought children from the school for the blind to our party and gave them presents they needed/wanted, Lee, who totally agrees with this idea!!! > Like most of you, I've been rather depressed with how commercial the season > has become. So I would like to start something here, with this group, and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Pam S. hoping not to be the only member or the RPCA Christmas Club
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