Missy the cat gets world's first feline knee replacement

The Daily Mail have a wonderful article about Missy who is the first cat in the world to have her knee replaced.

The eight-year-old family pet was stuck injured in a bush for two days with one hind leg broken in eight places and the other with a completely dislocated knee.

It was only because of her owners' relentless efforts that they found her. Ah bless Missy!

Charlie gets star treatment with professional photographer Victoria Tetley

As you many have read on my blog, last week I had my own professional photography session with Liverpool and Cheshire photographer Victoria Tetley.

I was so excited to have my pictures taken, I love posing for the camera.

Anyway, we had a wild time - Victoria came to my house and brought me a special treat - a catnip mouse!

Victoria has been taking pictures for about ten years and worked at our sister paper the Chester Chronicle for eight years.

Now, after covering more than 9,000 stories, Victoria, 34, is focusing on her own business and has set up as a freelance snapper specialising in pets and portraits.

Working at the Chronicle, Victoria has met many well-known figures from Nigella Lawson to Prince Charles, although a few stand out over the years.

Victoria said: "Richard Madeley, who was doing a book signing at Cheshire Oaks, was such a genuinely nice guy. He spent a good five minutes talking to me about my job and what I hoped to do with my career, while I was quite conscious a huge queue were waiting to meet him.

"Another character was Boris Johnson, who was visiting Chester a few years ago, and I went to photograph him being given a guided tour through the city centre, and, unlike many celebrities, he shook my hand, asked my name and had a bit of a laugh. A very amiable man."

Although Victoria loved her job working for the newspaper, she realised taking pictures of people with their cats and dogs were her favourite subjects.

"It might take that bit longer to get the shot but it is definitely worth the wait."

Victoria's thankful for the years of experience she has gained and is looking forward to using her skills in her new business venture taking pictures of pets and people in picturesque locations.

And of course I was her best subject! Check out Victoria's website - click here!

Miaow for Now!

Charlie

Woman convicted after selling 'gothic kittens'

This poor cat was being marketed online as a 'gothic kitten' by by Holly Crawford who live in Pennsylvania in America.

Crawford marketed 'gothic kittens' with ear and neck piercings over the Internet - she has now been convicted of animal cruelty.

The 35-year-old dog groomer will be sentenced on March 31. Crawford was charged in December 2008 after animal welfare officers took several kittens and a cat from her home.

Deputy district attorney David Pedri told jurors that Crawford inflicted pain upon three black kittens because, he alleged, "she thought it was neat" to sell gothic kittens on the Internet.

Defence attorneys argued that parents allow children to get pierced ears at young ages, and it would be wrong to hold cat owners to a higher standard. (A/P)

Is Oscar the cat the furry grim reeper?

Can a cat really predict someone's death? Well five-year-old Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny ability to predict when people are about to die.

The nursing home cat, seen here at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, in America has even had a book written about him.

"Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat" has been written by Dr David Dosa, who says that Oscar has correctly predicted 50 deaths in a five year period.

Oscar previously made it into the New England Journal of Medicine after the cat curled up next to 25 patients right before they died. The hospital even gave him a plaque for providing compassionate hospice care.

Dr Dosa said in an interview: "I wanted to write a book that would go beyond Oscar's peculiarities, to tell why he is important to family members and care givers who have been with him at the end of a life."

Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter to be raised as a therapy cat at the nursing and rehabilitation centre, that cares for people with severe dementia and in the final stages of various illnesses.

When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die.

Oscar the cat

Dosa recounts one instance when staff were convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway.

Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise. Well, I love cats but Oscar can stay put for now!