animals' friends

IT may be the holiday season but for animal welfare workers like Chris Butterworth, rest and relaxation is the last thing on their mind.

Absent-minded cat owners are making the Petline organiser's life a misery by not putting identity tags on the pets they've left at home.

Chris says locals leaving their moggies to be fed by neighbours overlook the fact they are sociable creatures who are likely to go searching for company once they've been fed.

The creatures are turning up on doorsteps and in gardens to be met by householders who then contact her, assuming they are lost.

'If they don't get the company nearby they go further afield and get run over', she adds.

Some locals aren't as accommodating, seeing the wandering felines as uninvited guests and threatening to carry out acts of violence against them.

Chris says the problem could be solved overnight if every cat wore a collar with a disc on it or had a micro chip carrying its details inserted under its fur.

Alternatively, leave Felix or Tiddles in the house where they can come to no harm.

Lost

* SOX: 14 year old, black and white female cat with short legs and distinctive white feet. Went missing in the Little Ees Lane area of Ashton on Mersey on August 4. New to the area and could be trying to get home to Brooklands. Call 969 7166.

* LODGER: slim, white neutered male cat with black markings on his head, paws and tail. Went missing in the Bradfield Road area of Stretford on July 13. Call 865 9647.

* CHESTER: three year old, tan, bull terrier type male dog with a white chest. Went missing in the Ayres Road area of Old Trafford on August 7. Call 226 2105.

* SUKI: large, 12 year old, ginger, neutered male cat with a cyst on his ear. Wearing a blue collar when he went missing in the Barkers Lane area of Sale on August 5. Call 969 7419.

* BUFFY: 18 month old, black female cat with a gold colllar. Went missing in Stretford on August 12. Call 718 8067.

* JASPER: three year old, long haired, one eyed, neutered male ginger cat wearing a green collar. Went missing in the Sevenways area of Stretford on August 12. Call 865 2617.

* REEVE: three year old, black and white neutered male cat. Went missing in the Northenden area on August 5. Call 902 9829.

* ALICE: small, fat, dark tabby female cat who is short haired and fluffy. Went missing in the Bold Street area of Hale on August 20. Call 929 5983.

Found

* YOUNG tabby cat with a collar found in Hale on August 17. Call 902 0483.

Using Petline

If you would like to put a pet on the register or have any news about animals but do not want to speak directly to the owners, call Chris Butterworth on 902 0483, between 9am and 9pm.

If she is not around, keep trying.

If you would like a picture of a lost pet to accompany a written appeal, send it to Rick Bowen, SAM, 25 Ashton Lane, Sale, M33 6TP - but speak to Chris at Petline first.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.