Meet 'Radu the cat'

The booklet’s cover art featured a tiny orange cat held by a young woman. It had me at “orange cat” because Harry, our first cat, once was tiny and orange (and now is big and orange!).

It’s the story of Radu, a stray cat the book’s heroine found in her native Romania and took with her in her travels, leading finally to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where they both live.

Radu needed help beyond being a stray cat. He had a cleft palate, for which he had multiple surgeries, and he was also found to be a Down Syndrome cat.

More important than anything else, though, was that Radu was Dellia Holodenschi’s baby. That meant she would take care of him, just as she has done for countless other feral cats. (www.RaduVI.com)The “cat café” program on St. Thomas is Dellia’s brainchild. She started it with seed money bequeathed to the island’s Humane Society, and since then, pretty much finances it herself, she says.

Every day, she and volunteers who feel as she does drive all over the island to assure food and fresh water for the countless cats there. These basics are left at decorative cat cafes, colorful wooden feeding huts like the two shown in an earlier post.

Next: more about Dellia and TNR – which she says must be the first step – on St. Thomas.
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Two "news"

Two organizations that advocate for animals have come up with something new: a book and a name.

Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), published her new book earlier this summer. In many ways, it’s a winner. “The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights” is just that, a guide.

For some animal activists, the book will serve as a reminder and reference on a wide variety of issues. For others, it should be a great eye-opener and motivator – from “How Animals End Up as Dinner” to “Those Incredibly Amusing Animals” and “What’s Really Going on in Laboratories.”

Part 1 of the book is called “The Issues,” and very readably, Newkirk spells them out. Part 2, about a third of the volume, is “Resources” – from health charities that do not and do fund animal experiments through recommended books and videos to contacting the media and the government.

Overall, “The PETA Practical Guide” is a keeper (and excerpts from the book will occasionally appear here).

Second news: the New Jersey organization known for about a quarter century as the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance (NJARA) has changed its name to Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ -- http://www.aplnj.org).

In her statement giving the reasons for the change, Angi Metler, executive director, says, “The new name still reflects the type of work we do but will be a help, not a hindrance, in garnering support. Our goals, policies, and charter will remain the same and our numerous programs aimed at ending animal abuse and exploitation will continue, unchanged.”
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