The Minkey

Welcome Mike! Nunhead is the place you should be looking: Much more bang for your buck and within easy distance for the bars etc of ED ;-)

Marie81 - does your dog have eczema? I just wondered as you mention she has to be grain free and you have to use a special shampoo. My mum's dog suffered terribly until she changed his food by chance one day and it simply cleared up, no further intervention required. That experience alone has made me more careful about what I feed my animals. This is what Bozita have to say about their dog food in case you are interested: Meat in appetising clear jelly Ready-to-serve, complete diet for dogs Contains all vitamins and minerals your dog needs All raw ingredients declared No meat meal, sugar, colourings, soya or grains With omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin and a glossy coat Suitable for every age Bozita quality means: Ingredients exclusively of the highest quality Made only with ingredients from humane animal rearing Made from meat under human-grade consumption controls All ingredients free from growth hormones No artificial flavour enhancers No added preservatives No use of antibiotics No use of carcass meal in feeding and food products Constantly monitored production processes (ISO 9001) Highly advanced environmental managing systems (ISO 14001) PS: I'm not a Bozita rep, honest! It just looks like decent stuff.

I would like to move my two to raw, Rememberwhen, but I've had them less than a month so first swapping them over to wetfood. I used to give my old cat, Thomas, a bit of raw meat whenever I had some in the house and he'd go wild with excitement but he'd been an avid hunter/consumer of rodents in his youth so he was well acquainted with food in its most natural state. I never had the confidence to be able to prepare balanced raw meals for him, as the article mentions, it shouldn't be all muscle meat. I guess the ratio of mouse muscle to bone and organs would be about right, whatever that is ;-) It makes so much sense to feed them something as close to a natural diet as possible, going raw is a step towards that as the raw food contains enzymes that are destroyed by cooking. He was on a strict diet the last couple of years of his life as he'd become inactive and was piling on the pounds. I was feeding him a renal diet, not much of it due to the need to lose weight, yet he never really did lose weight although he certainly lost muscle mass and one vet said he was wasting. In hindsight, I think it may have been the carby food he was getting and I so wish I'd stumbled across more appropriate food for him earlier. On the subject of grains, the most grain a cat would eat in its natural state would be whatever was in the bellies of the prey it was consuming at the time i.e. a minimal amount. So why feed them something their bodies aren't designed to be able to utilise? That simply doesn't make sense and it doesn't take a genius to work out these foods can cause health issues further down the line, in the same way our bodies suffer from poor dietary choices.

http://www.catinfo.org/#Cats_Need_Animal-Based_Protein_

Have you been stalking me!

Resurrecting this oldie as I found a great site with a variety of good quality foods for anyone interested in feeding their cats a high meat content wet food - several good options, e.g. the Bozita looks good and is competitively priced: http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/bozita (there's also an 80% meat content dry food)

Thanks so much for the offer, Sue, but I bought a product online called Woolskin which is supposed to do the job :-)

Um no - I don't think shampoo and washing machines make good partners. Off to have a google.

Bike racks might work if it got the handlebars etc up out of the way. Convincing downstairs that this is a good solution would be a different matter as he thinks any request with regard to his behaviour to be unreasonable in itself.

Shall go take a look ;-)

Any tips on what product to use to wash a sheepskin in the washing machine? I know it has to be done on a low temp and it shoud be a non-bio product but I don't know which to use for the best result.

All through the night is most likely to be a Robin. It's a very sweet sounding song - I used to get quite excited when I heard one thinking it must be a nightingale. Check out the sound recording labelled Robin 1 on this page: http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/information/tutorials/tutorial03.htm

Ah so, lots of food for thought here. I like your thinking, folks ;-) DJQ, thanks for that link. These points are particularly apt, and may put my friend in a stronger position than he realised: 32.4 Escape routes: must be free from obstruction at all times, and regular checks should be made to guarantee this; there should be no free storage on the escape routes; there should be no trip hazards such as trailing electrical leads or worn carpets; (which might apply to bicycle wheels and pedals particularly as the bikes are just propped against the wall) Burbage: Thanks for your points, however, in this case the issue isn't with my friend's landlord who owns the upstairs flat, it's with the owner-occupier of the downstairs flat. He really seems to resent having anyone living above him and has at times made life there quite unpleasant. My friend's landlord is OK, but a bit hands-off, so if it can be resolved this without getting him involved, it might be easier all round.

See your point, but it's the only exit from the upstairs flat. Be ironic if the guy's friend turned up to do the inspection, lol. Still, worth checking with the Fire Service, thanks for the tip :-)

I have a friend who rents the upstairs flat in a converted Victorian terrace. The downstairs flat is occupied by its owner. The upstairs flat is owned by friend's landlord. One day the downstairs person decided to bring his two bikes out from the cold and keep them in the communal hallway. Problem being it's not the widest of hallways so you have to squeeze past if you have any shopping to carry and frequently end up with ripped bags, caught clothing, bruises etc. When my friend asked the guy if he could store the bikes in his garden instead, being so much in the way, he refused, and with regard to being a safety hazard in the event of a fire, he said his fire service mate had said they posed no risk. Can this be right? Is he bluffing? Anyone got any experience dealing with this kind of thing?

How annoying. They do like playing with things we'd rather they didn't, and you can expect more of the same once those cubs start exploring the world. Moving forward, outdoors shoe storage might be a good use for a redundant recycling box. Good luck finding the missing shoes.

I seem to recall enjoying the book but second Edcam's 'terribly dull' so far.

Thanks for the update, Renata. "We were told that the works are nowhere near completion and that we are jumping the gun with our concerns." Conversely, we were told that the works were due for completion by the end of Jan 2012, that's just 7 working days away. If the works are nowhere near completed, does this mean the road closure and consequent bus diversions are expected to stay in place into February (and beyond..)? Also, when the snagging takes place, will we be facing additional disruptions to the buses?

Last year when I had a gripe about the poor frequency of the 484, it was blamed on the roadworks in Camberwell. The 484 has managed to consistently maintain its erratic status since then, roadworks or not. I can't see the current diversion up Kelvington and along Brenchley causing any delay, certainly haven't noticed any delay to the 343. Can't ever recall being decanted off a 484 early, though it's an occasional hazard of the 343 especially at Elephant. An additional observation: The 484 route could do with additional buses (perhaps at key times) as it's frequently full to capacity by the time it gets to the stop opp. Kings when heading towards Lewisham, and at the stop by Peacocks in Lewisham heading back towards Camberwell. Both these stops are virtually start of route.

Exactly the same thing happened when they reopened Rye Lane after the recent works. Half the drivers followed the regular route, while the others carried on following the diversion. Does make you wonder..

"Crown House NHO, 41-43 East Dulwich Road, SE22 9BY, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Dulwich Library, 368 Lordship Lane, SE22 8NB, Monday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 8pm; Tuesday 10am to 8pm; Saturday 9am to 5pm; Sunday 12pm to 4pm (toilets are usually locked but ask for the key at the desk) Kingswood Library, Kingswood House, Seeley Drive, SE21 8QR, Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm Dulwich Park Rangers Officer, Dulwich Park, College Gate Road, SE21 7BQ, Every day, dawn to dusk Rear of pavillion cafe, Dulwich Park, College Gate Road, SE21 7BQ, Every day, dawn to dusk Cycle hire block, Dulwich Park, College Gate Road, SE21 7BQ, Every day, dawn to dusk" God forbid you need a pee outside those hours.

"Lack of notices was very disappointing!" But oh so predictable, unfortunately. Communication hasn't been their strong point throughout these works.

I'd put it in the regular recycling.

Several years ago, I ducked a punch to the face from a random stranger in Brixton. I was just walking home minding my own business. Totally bizarre experience. Only thought to report it the next day as the expression on his face kept flashing back. The Brixton police seemed rather bemused, even to the point of wondering out loud what crime it would come under. I said how about 'attempted assault'. I only reported it to try save anyone else from coming to grief. It was only once I got home that I realised they hadn't recorded the incident as I hadn't been given a crime number. By comparison, the ED police seem much more on the ball.

It sounds like Battersea used the word 'killed' themselves to highlight the reality of what happens when they can't rehome.