CAT FEEDING FURORE
Cats within a suburb in Christchurch are getting fed by a neighbour or neighbours and within some of the food given are poisonous substances enough to kill some of them and make others seriously ill requiring vet attention.
This is bad and sad.
People should never feed a cat unless they know for sure that the cat is an absolute stray who is extremely and obviously hungry. I know it is difficult for some people to resist.
Less than dogs, but nonetheless, cats can suffer from food allergies and so these allergies can be from any one of the proteins (meats) or in fact all protein as well as many other types of food. So a person who feeds a wandering cat may be harming the cat seriously simply through lack of knowledge in not being the owner of the cat. Same thing here in giving a cat "treats".
Of course, giving a cat food often means that the cat will use your property as a second home.
The other thing is double dipping on food ie - the owner and a neighbour, can create unwanted obesity in a cat.
One of my son's experienced a Siamese cat coming into his stand-alone flat and he said that he didn't have any food to give the cat. Thank goodness for that. It is 100% unlikely that an expensive Siamese cat in any case is a stray.
There is a cat problem where everyone lives in NZ (there are a million cats here) apart from any new housing areas where cats are banned. There is a cat problem growing in the Wallaceville Estate in Wallaceville. More than twice a week, someone is missing their cat is one issue. Just recently on three occasions I noticed an almost pure white coated cat coming through my fenced property late at night - well into the time a cat should be kept indoors in their own owner's property.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.6% 1st December
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17.4% A week before Christmas
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33.2% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.