Cats Protection
Rory and Lucie have both now left us and we have heard from their new families that
they soon made themselves at home. We are delighted for these lovely gentle little cats
but do miss them.
A recent call for help underlines the problems that can occur if people do not have their
cats neutered. The caller advised Stephanie that she could not cope as she had 6 adult
cats and 21 kittens and could not afford to feed them all. Stephanie advised the owner
that, providing she handed the kittens over into our care, we would pay for the adult cats
to be neutered.
Although the owner was reluctant to part with the kittens she was sensible enough to
realize that the situation was out of control and needed to be addressed. As she did not
have any transport Lesley agreed to pick the kittens up and also take the adult cats to
the vets to be neutered. When she collected the first ten kittens they were in poor
condition and undernourished, one in particular immediately gave us cause for concern.
Although she was taken to the vets the next day she unfortunately died. As a precaution
her litter mates were also taken to the vets where they stayed overnight to make sure that
there was no underlying infection.
Some of the kittens then developed stomach upsets and our vets advised they had a form of
food poisoning.. All the kittens from the household are being treated for this for three
weeks. They are now making good progress and those already booked will leave for their new
homes once they have the all clear from the vets.
As two of the female cats were still feeding their kittens they cannot be neutered at
present. They have come into care with their kittens and will stay with us until the
kittens are weaned, when they will be neutered and returned to their owner. When Lesley
went back to collect these, plus the 4 cats due to be neutered (before they produced any
more kittens), the owner confessed to having another cat. These five cats have now been
neutered and returned to their owner.
Apart from paying for the 7 adult cats to be neutered the cost of caring for the
kittens from this household will be over £1000. As well as their vet checks, the
remaining 20 kittens will need to be fed, treated for fleas and worms, and vaccinated.
There is also the cost of treatment for the little kitten that died and her littermates
while hospitalized, the medicine to treat the food poisoning plus the cost for any other
treatment they may require while in our care.
If you are looking for a cat or kitten please call Stephanie on 01692 535858.
Alternatively you can visit www.northwalsham.cats.org.uk
for a description and photographs of the cats before giving her a call on the above
number.
Slow Food Aylsham visits local Dairy Farm
Members of the Slow Food Aylsham organisation recently paid an evening visit to Nortons
Dairy farm in Frettenham, near Aylsham, to discover more about an important local business
that has essential 'Slow Food' principles at its heart. Emily Norton was the guide
for the visit and she took her guests through the various processes of milk, butter and
cream production, while on the way introducing the cows and their calves. She explained
that the Norton family has owned Church Farm since 1946 but it was only a few years ago
that they decided to become a specialist dairy producer, having previously mixed arable,
beef and dairy. The farm can now produce up to 2000 litres of a milk a day, around half of
which is sold locally to individual and business customers. The evening rounded off with a
visit to Nortons farm shop where there was the opportunity to try a variety of produce.
Anyone interested in organising a similar visit should contact Emily Norton on
01603 736569. Over 70 'contestants' attended Slow Food Aylsham's next event, a
food-themed quiz night in the Town Hall on Saturday 25th April. The quiz was a sell-out
with the worthy winners taking away a selection of local apple juice from Ashill Fruit
Farm and cheese from Ferndale Norfolk Farmhouse Cheeses. There is more about Slow
Food Aylsham at www.slowfoodaylsham.org.uk and information will also be available on their
stands at Aylsham Carnival on Sunday 5th July and Aylsham Show on Monday 31st August. |
 YOUR CHANCE FOR A TASTE OF EVEREST
Today veteran British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has reached the summit of Mount
Everest.
If his story has inspired you, read on to find out how you could sample a taste of the
Everest adventure...
East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) are looking for brave volunteers to trek to
Everest base camp.
Sponsorship from the trek will help the charity continue their work of providing care and
support for local life-threatened children and their families in their own homes, as well
as at the charity's hospice at Quidenham.
The route to Everest base camp is a world renowned classic trek from Lukla to Kala Patthar
which takes you through the World's highest mountain range and takes in the most
breath-taking mountain scenery imaginable. The itinerary has been designed to maximise
everyone's chance of success and the trekking is taken at a measured pace with proper
acclimatisation to the altitude.
The next available date for the trek is 12th February - 1st March 2010, and there are
other dates available later in the year. Participants pay a registration fee of
£375 and insurance of £51, and can choose to either raise a minimum sponsorship
of £2895, or pay a balance of £1349 and raise additional sponsorship for EACH.
The challenge is organised by Global Adventure Challenges. More details are available from
www.globaladventurechallenges.com
, or you can contact Karen Chesney at EACH - 01223 205192; karen.chesney@each.org.uk . For video footage
of EACH supporter Mike Crawley on his trek to Everest base camp, visit www.each.org.uk
For information about other challenge events in aid of EACH, see www.each.org.uk
Photo - "This could be you! EACH supporter Mike Crawley at Everest Base Camp."
Time to shine the light on town hall, government and MPs' spending. Ivory calls
for increased openness and
accountability in spending of taxpayers' cash.
People in North Norfolk has given their strong backing to new Conservative plans to
increase openness across local government, Whitehall and Parliament - to help rebuild the
public's trust and confidence in politics, and to ensure proper accountability for the way
their money is spent.
North Norfolk's Conservative Spokesman, Trevor Ivory, has been explaining what the latest
Conservative plans will mean for local people:
"Under a national Conservative blueprint for local government, councils - including
North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council - will be required to publish
details of all expenditure over a set limit online. This has already been done by Boris
Johnson in London and by Conservative-run Windsor & Maidenhead and would bring about
one of the biggest shake-ups to town hall accountability ever."
"This greater transparency and accountability would help reduce wasteful expenditure
and save taxpayers' money. Both local residents and local newspapers could scrutinise this
new information, creating a new citizen-led financial discipline on local
government."
Mr Ivory also promised greater openness in central government, "Under new
Conservative plans for a 'People's Right to Know' every single item of central government
spending over £25,000 and all public sector salaries over £150,000 would be published
online. And as part of a package of measures to clean up MPs' expenses, all expenses
claims will have to be published online as soon as they are made."
At a time when the public finances are so tight, Mr Ivory said that every penny must count
and added that this new openness would impose a citizen-led financial discipline on North
Norfolk District Council, which is currently thinking about spending £30,000 to buy land
to house even more bureaucrats, as well as Whitehall departments and Parliament.
"The public should have a right to know exactly how their money is being spent."
Mr Ivory added.
Trevor Ivory, Parliamentary Spokesman for North Norfolk |
