Five Cat Flew

Hello, Friends!

5-Cat Style has gone on a holiday and will be back today. Thus I had to play butler to Bombay and Callas, to see that they are properly fed and promptly medicated. Bombay has fully recovered and is up to no good once again. At this moment he has decided that it will be death to all Christmas cards this year! Callas is just as naughty, following in his brother's footsteps. At least Bombay tries emotional blackmail to win back your favour when he realizes that he's pushed his luck too far, Callas seems to be unapologetically mischievous!

Sadly I've also noticed a most regrettable phenomenon. I fear I'm becoming allergic to cat fur, saliva or something feline. Since 16, allergies have started to surface and in a way, I guess I'm not surprised. As it is, I have developed an allergic reaction to my much loved condiment of vinegar... so why not to darling 'ol cats? Sigh. But pray anyway, won't you, that these reactions are but momentary and will disappear soon enough never to manifest again? *wheeze* *sneeze* *cough*

In other news, I was watching a program on Animal Planet about cats earlier. They showed a cat which was bred to have extremely short legs while maintaining all other features and size of a normal cat. Apparently it was bred to combat the 'problems that cats posed to furniture'. So that breed of cats cannot jump or hunt. It has sinced been taken off the list of accepted cat breeds. Also, they featured a cat circus from Bolshoi, Russia. I'm still amazed at how they managed to get the cats to do their bidding! Hahaha! Contrary to most circuses, this one seemed rather humane. All the tricks that the cats were made to do are behaviour that they normally engage in on a daily basis, eg. climbing up a pole and sitting on the top before jumping on top of an unsuspecting clown. *grin* It was rather amusing and the cats looked really pretty! Just to let you know, I'm generally against the use of animals in circuses and other performing acts, plainly because of the methods of instruction used. I have been told that hunger grafting is a method used in most zoos when training their animals for the animal shows. Its effective and results come fast, unlike the use of positive reinforcement. Some zoos in the US, for example, have penned out very strict and specific guidelines, based on well-documented research, for the use of hunger grafting so as to ensure the well-being of the animal while achieving their goals. They carefully maintain a detailed measurement of food given and withheld, as specified by these guidelines; amounts which are measured to the ounce. However, zoos elsewhere (Singapore included) do not keep to these guidelines. The unlucky ones end up dying from hunger or malnutrition, after prolonged periods of starvation. Either ways, is it really worth it? Its still starvation anyway, just a difference in extent. We need an animal police!

Well, I hope you all have had a weekend as great as the one that 5-Cat and I have had. Its back to work again for most of us tomorrow and I wish you all a great week ahead! Til the next time then, Mon Amis!

~The Flyer