Showing posts with label Cat. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Meet Sharul Nizam Abdul Rahim, An Upcoming Local Animal Activist With AAT

Sharul and me, friends for the animals' cause

MEET SHARUL NIZAM ABDUL RAHIM: Here's a picture of him and I taken in Menara MBPJ last week after our Canine Advisory Team meeting. This is the second time that this gentleman has attended our meetings.

He is a fiery animal activist who is president of the recently formed Animal Action Team or AAT society which is registered by the Registrar of Society.

I find him most refreshing as a Malay animal activist who effectively debunks misconceptions that some people have about certain animals such as dogs and pigs in particular. Sharul Nizam reminds everyone that they are equally created by God and have a specific and distinguished role in our world today.

Those who really need to be "terrified" of this man are those who are cruel to animals of which Sharul shows no mercy but will go all the way with the right and relevant authorities to take them to task.

Sharul has been a breath of fresh air in opinions and ideas in our CAT meetings and I look forward to

Welcome aboard Sharul. Needless to say, you will help keep out CAT team - and the local councils who attend our meeting - constantly on our toes when it comes to animal welfare and rights. Guys, this activist is definitely a very interesting character to watch if you love and care for animals.

Members of CAT captivated by Sharul's comments

interacting with this marvelous NGO more in future.
PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then are now 250,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in PET+BLOGSPOT are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.org You can also find us in Facebook under PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support for our work. Thank you!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Cat Replaces Iron In Monopoly Board Game

BBC ONLINE 6 February 2013 Last updated at 14:27 GMT

Monopoly: Cat replaces iron in board game overhaul

The cat joins seven existing Monopoly tokens

Fans of Monopoly have voted to replace the iron with a cat-shaped playing piece in the popular board game.
Following a month-long online poll, toy maker Hasbro said the feline design had beaten competition from a robot, helicopter, diamond ring and a guitar.

"I think there were a lot of cat lovers in the world that reached out," said Hasbro's Jonathan Berkowitz.

It is the first time fans have had a say on which of the eight tokens to keep and which to lose.
"Tokens are always a key part of the Monopoly game... and our fans are very passionate about their tokens, about which token they use while they play," Mr Berkowitz added.
Scottie dog
The Scottie dog was the clear favourite with fans from more than 120 countries who took part in the contest to decide which token should be saved, eventually securing 29% of the vote.
While the shoe, wheelbarrow and iron were neck and neck in the final hours of voting, the iron ended up with just 8% of the vote and will now be retired from the game.

The cat token received 31% of the total vote

"While we're a bit sad to see the iron go, the cat token is a fantastic choice by the fans and we have no doubt it will become just as iconic as the original tokens," said Eric Nyman from Hasbro.
The iron was one of the original game tokens introduced by the Parker Brothers in 1935, when the appliance was an important part of domestic life. The Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.

Previous tokens retired in the 1950s included a lantern, a purse and a rocking horse.
The new cat design received 31% of the total vote and will be added to the existing tokens which include a race car, thimble, top hat, and battleship.
Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.

PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then are now 150,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in PET+BLOGSPOT are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook under PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support for our work. Thank you!

Friday, February 05, 2010

A New Pound In Selangor Soon - the star

Wednesday February 3, 2010

Selangor to build modern pound

By CHRISTINA LOW
christinalow@thestar.com.my

THE Selangor government will build a modern pound to house stray animals caught by local councils.
The pound, which will have proper facilities for animal care, would alleviate the problem of overcrowding in some of the pounds managed by the local authorities in Selangor.

Selangor health, estate workers affairs, poverty eradication and caring government committee chairman Dr Xavier Jeyakumar said the state government had sought the assistance of the land office to provide a suitable area for the pound.

The modern pound would be utilised mainly by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and Klang Municipal Council (MPK) as well as their neighbouring councils.
“When ready, the pound would not only be a home to all the stray cats and dogs but also provide care for the animals requiring rehabilitation,” Dr Jeyakumar said.

He added that the new pound could also be opened to students to enable them to see how animals were taken care of.

Dr Jeyakumar said the number of stray cats and dogs in the pounds increased during every festive holiday period as owners neglected their pets when they left for holidays or headed back to their hometowns.
“The stray animals caught by the local governments in Selangor number in the thousands each month.
“If you are not prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for your pet, you should think twice before taking them home,” he said.

Many pets were also not micro-chipped, hence making it difficult for the authorities to inform their owners of their lost pets.

He added that the long-term plan was to work on some sort of licensing for cats and to make micro-chipping compulsory for all pets.

Dr Jeyakumar was speaking at a press conference attended by animal welfare NGOs to inform the public of the ways they could care for their pets during the upcoming festive break.
Save A Stray founder Jacqueline Tsang said firecrackers could pose a danger to pets, especially dogs, as the noise they emitted was about 110 to 115 decibels, which was several times louder than the normal noise levels that the animals could withstand.

During such times, Tsang said the animals would bark endlessly, run and dig holes in the grass, putting all their effort into trying to get away from the noise.

“If the owners are not around during the period, these animals would run out of the house and would not be found by their owners when they returned home,” said Tsang, who advised owners to either check their pets into a boarding centre or keep them in their house to avoid the problem.

PAWS shelter manager Edward Lim said that the last festive period, the shelter received more than 200 cats as the owners could no longer cope with caring for them.

“It’s not fair to them (cats and dogs) that when we are happily celebrating an occasion, these poor animals have to suffer and get surrendered,” Lim said.

Lim suggested that pet owners look into neutering their pets to prevent overpopulation as the procedure only cost between RM90 and RM200.

The meeting was also attended by MBPJ councillor Anthony Thanasayan, who also chairs the Canine Advisory Team (Cat) in the council, Petpositive assistant secretary Shenaaz Khan, resident Pat Lim and Klang Municipal Council (MPK) acting health director Zulkifli Abbas.

Thanasayan said the MBPJ had formed the Cat team and the concept was now being introduced to the MPK. The council hopes that with the team, it can prevent animal mistreatment and be able to educate pet owners on ways of caring for their pets as the team works closely with NGOs.

PET+BLOGSPOT is the official online blog of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive).

Our blog which was first established in October 2007 currently has more than 35,000 hits. PET+BLOGSPOT is updated frequently.

Kindly take note that views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Petpositive.

You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my

Saturday, August 02, 2008

WEEKEND VIEW: Cat And Dog Heroes Save Lady From Killer Cobra

By Petpositive volunteer Captain Abdul Karim Stuart Russell:

DATELINE SEREMBAN:

An alert cat raised the initial alarm and a brave pet dog came to the rescue and saved the housemaid from a cobra attack in a residential house in Seremban.

At about 6 am the house maid was lying on the floor in the hall, after going to the bathroom, when she noticed the cat acting strangely, before it ran quickly away.

She then noticed a snake, a few feet away from her, it was quickly slithering towards her from a small round wooden table, where it was coiled up, moving to a bench and was on alert and staring at the frightened lady.

‘Whisky’ (top right) who is a nine year old brown and black mongrel, who is part German Shepherd, then came in to the room and was barking at the snake, the maid used a stick to knock the snake to the floor, then Whisky immediately pounced upon the snake and wrestled with it for a while before biting and killing the five feet (1.52 metres) long creamy white albino cobra but only after being first bitten by the snake under the front leg (arm pit).

It is indeed fortunate that the snake delivered only a ‘dry bite’ with no venom being injected into the dog, but the animal’s skin was torn and his flesh became black.

The maid and the dog’s owner, a lady named Connie, (below) did not realise initially that Whisky has been bitten by the cobra, but were alerted to this fact only 10 hours later when Whisky began whimpering, and limping

They immediately took Whisky to the local veterinary clinic, where the brave Whisky was treated (operated on the snake bite area to remove the damaged skin and flesh, clean up and stitch up the wound, etc.) by the veterinary surgeon.

So the hero dog Whisky survived to serve and protect his owner and all those living in the house.

Petpositive’s Secretary, Fasidah Sabeh, visited Connie, whom she knows, a few days after the incident and presented Whisky and the other two canine family members (who had taken no part in the snake incident) with a big juicy bone each.

The cat was nowhere to be seen, she was still hiding up on the roof!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

CAT OWNERS HAVE HEALTHY HEARTS - bbc online

QUICK COMMENT: Here's a great article from BBC Online 19, March 2008!

'Healthier hearts' for cat owners

He may help reduce your stress levels

Cat owners appear to have a much lower risk of dying from a heart attack than their feline-spurning counterparts, a study suggests.
Researchers looked at nearly 4,500 adults and found that cat ownership was related to a 40% lower risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.
The team speculated that having a cat may reduce stress and anxiety, and so protect against cardiovascular disease.
The findings of the study were unveiled at the International Stroke Conference.
The study, led by Professor Adnan Qureshi at the University of Minnesota, suggested that even those who no longer owned a cat benefited from these protective effects.
But specifically, some 3.4% of those who owned a cat during the duration of the study died from a heart attack, compared with 5.8% of those who did not.
The benefits held true even after the researchers adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol.
However the authors warned against impulsive cat purchases.
They said while cats may indeed have a calming effect, it was unclear whether the kind of people who opted for a cat in the first place may have a lower risk of heart attack.
This study did not examine the advantages of having a dog, although previous research has suggested this too may have health benefits above and beyond taking them for walks.
The Pet Health Council notes "there is an increasing amount of research proving that contact with animals can bring real physiological and psychological benefits including reducing stress, helping to prevent illness and allergies, lowering blood pressure, aiding recovery and boosting fitness levels.
"Research has also shown that pet owners make fewer annual visits to the doctors than non pet owners proving the saying, 'a pet all day keeps the doctor away'."

PETPOSITIVE:

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Meet Sharul Nizam Abdul Rahim, An Upcoming Local Animal Activist With AAT