Sasha Sandenskog

Hi!

Because of the recent discussion about pets, I thought I would ask a similar
question about my 5 year olds obsession with cats!



We had a cat when living in England, but decided to give it to my brother
because of traveling/quarantine, etc, when moving to the US, thinking we
could always visit him (the cat!) on our visits/return. Sadly after 4 months
of us leaving, the cat was run over and died.



At the time my son was 3 years old, yet still walks around with his soft toy
cat (of same colour and name as our previous real cat!) pretty much
permanently, and spends a great deal of time making 'cat homes', 'cat play
spaces', etc, etc. We have decided not to get another cat, as are thinking
of returning to Europe in the near future, and do not want to put any of the
family, particularly our son, through any similar emotional turmoil (plus
the cat!).



So - I was wondering - does anyone please have any great ideas on how we can
'stretch' his cat interest?!!! We have played vets, made cat sticker books
and pictures, drawn houses and counted cats inside them, visited pet shops,
and even looked after a friend's cats when they were on holiday. He loved
all these activities, but I have to admit - I am running out of ideas!!!!!



Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter books) we can
read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about
anything?!!!!!



Looking forward to the replies! Thank you!



Sasha



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Schuyler

There is now a PETS passport system that eliminates much of the quarantine
period to the UK or the rest of the EU when coming from the U.S. You may
want to look into it. It requires having a rabies jab for your pet and then
having a blood titer drawn and sent to a lab in Kansas where they test for
rabies antibodies in the blood. If those are present than the quarantine
period counts down from the day of the titre being drawn to 6 months, so 3
months after the titre is drawn, quarantine is 3 months, and at 6 months I
think it is only a brief stay in kennels on arriving.

Just something to widen your options.

Schuyler
www.waynforth.blogspot.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sasha Sandenskog" <sasha@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 9:33 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re. cats!


> Hi!
>
> Because of the recent discussion about pets, I thought I would ask a
> similar
> question about my 5 year olds obsession with cats!
>
>
>
> We had a cat when living in England, but decided to give it to my brother
> because of traveling/quarantine, etc, when moving to the US, thinking we
> could always visit him (the cat!) on our visits/return. Sadly after 4
> months
> of us leaving, the cat was run over and died.
>
>
>
> At the time my son was 3 years old, yet still walks around with his soft
> toy
> cat (of same colour and name as our previous real cat!) pretty much
> permanently, and spends a great deal of time making 'cat homes', 'cat play
> spaces', etc, etc. We have decided not to get another cat, as are thinking
> of returning to Europe in the near future, and do not want to put any of
> the
> family, particularly our son, through any similar emotional turmoil (plus
> the cat!).
>
>
>
> So - I was wondering - does anyone please have any great ideas on how we
> can
> 'stretch' his cat interest?!!! We have played vets, made cat sticker books
> and pictures, drawn houses and counted cats inside them, visited pet
> shops,
> and even looked after a friend's cats when they were on holiday. He loved
> all these activities, but I have to admit - I am running out of ideas!!!!!
>
>
>
> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter books) we
> can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about
> anything?!!!!!
>
>
>
> Looking forward to the replies! Thank you!
>
>
>
> Sasha
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Katharine Wise

Can't think of any cat books off-hand, but you might look at Dick King-Smith's books (author of "Babe" which the movie of the same name was based on). He's written lots, and there may be some cat books among them (plenty of mice:-). They could be great read-alouds for your son, though that, of course, depends on his interest and listening. There's also an easy chapter book series (or two or three) that have pet animal themes -- sure to be cat books there. I've never read any, but I've seen them on the shelves. Ask your librarian.

Katharine


Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter books) we can

read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about

anything?!!! !!












____________________________________________________________________________________
The fish are biting.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Brian & Alexandra Polikowsky

Would not recomend "Babe" for cat lovers.
The cat is not a friendly animal in the movie\
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: Katharine Wise
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:10 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Re. cats!


Can't think of any cat books off-hand, but you might look at Dick King-Smith's books (author of "Babe" which the movie of the same name was based on). He's written lots, and there may be some cat books among them (plenty of mice:-). They could be great read-alouds for your son, though that, of course, depends on his interest and listening. There's also an easy chapter book series (or two or three) that have pet animal themes -- sure to be cat books there. I've never read any, but I've seen them on the shelves. Ask your librarian.

Katharine

Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter books) we can

read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about

anything?!!! !!

__________________________________________________________
The fish are biting.
Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing.
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

riasplace3

> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter
books) we can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just
about anything?!!! !!

I believe some James Herriot books have been written/re-written as
children's books and there's a cat book among them. My girls enjoy
those books with lots of photos of different breeds.
Ria

Margie

> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter
books) we can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about
> anything?!!!!!

My cat-crazy daughters love the Catwings books by Ursula Le Guin and
"Sophie's Tom" by Dick King-Smith.

Margie

Mara

Aristocats and 'Milo and Otis' are great movies he
would enjoy if he has not already. Is there a shelter
nearby where maybe he could come and help out
sometimes? or maybe make a flyer if some older person
with cat would like someone come by sometimes to play
and possibly brush/help take care of her?
Good luck,
Mara

--- Schuyler <s.waynforth@...> wrote:

> There is now a PETS passport system that eliminates
> much of the quarantine
> period to the UK or the rest of the EU when coming
> from the U.S. You may
> want to look into it. It requires having a rabies
> jab for your pet and then
> having a blood titer drawn and sent to a lab in
> Kansas where they test for
> rabies antibodies in the blood. If those are present
> than the quarantine
> period counts down from the day of the titre being
> drawn to 6 months, so 3
> months after the titre is drawn, quarantine is 3
> months, and at 6 months I
> think it is only a brief stay in kennels on
> arriving.
>
> Just something to widen your options.
>
> Schuyler
> www.waynforth.blogspot.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sasha Sandenskog" <sasha@...>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 9:33 PM
> Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re. cats!
>
>
> > Hi!
> >
> > Because of the recent discussion about pets, I
> thought I would ask a
> > similar
> > question about my 5 year olds obsession with cats!
> >
> >
> >
> > We had a cat when living in England, but decided
> to give it to my brother
> > because of traveling/quarantine, etc, when moving
> to the US, thinking we
> > could always visit him (the cat!) on our
> visits/return. Sadly after 4
> > months
> > of us leaving, the cat was run over and died.
> >
> >
> >
> > At the time my son was 3 years old, yet still
> walks around with his soft
> > toy
> > cat (of same colour and name as our previous real
> cat!) pretty much
> > permanently, and spends a great deal of time
> making 'cat homes', 'cat play
> > spaces', etc, etc. We have decided not to get
> another cat, as are thinking
> > of returning to Europe in the near future, and do
> not want to put any of
> > the
> > family, particularly our son, through any similar
> emotional turmoil (plus
> > the cat!).
> >
> >
> >
> > So - I was wondering - does anyone please have any
> great ideas on how we
> > can
> > 'stretch' his cat interest?!!! We have played
> vets, made cat sticker books
> > and pictures, drawn houses and counted cats inside
> them, visited pet
> > shops,
> > and even looked after a friend's cats when they
> were on holiday. He loved
> > all these activities, but I have to admit - I am
> running out of ideas!!!!!
> >
> >
> >
> > Does anyone know of any great books (particularly
> easy chapter books) we
> > can
> > read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving
> cats, or just about
> > anything?!!!!!
> >
> >
> >
> > Looking forward to the replies! Thank you!
> >
> >
> >
> > Sasha
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>




____________________________________________________________________________________
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Joyce Fetteroll

On Feb 13, 2007, at 4:33 PM, Sasha Sandenskog wrote:

> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter
> books) we can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about
> anything?!!!!!

I'd suggest a shelter too. My daughter and I volunteer to do cleaning
and feeding and there often isn't enough time to do as much playing
and grooming as the cats needs. So it's great to have people who just
come in to do the fun stuff :-)

Joyce

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Laura Beaudin

WHy not study different cat breeds starting by the breed of his
beloved cat. If he doesn't have a specific breed, call him a house cat
and start with those. Even at his age, he would probalby happy to
learn abotu all the different kinds.

Make a cake that looks like a cat. (bake cake in 9 x 13 pan, cout out
circle as big as you can and usign the scraps, make teh cat ears. Ice
and decorate.

Maybe you can take him to an animal shelter a few times a week to help
out or play with some of the better behaved cats.

Make a lapbook on cats together.

Laura
http://homeschooling.co.nr

= = = Original message = = =

Hi!

Because of the recent discussion about pets, I thought I would ask a similar
question about my 5 year olds obsession with cats!



We had a cat when living in England, but decided to give it to my brother
because of traveling/quarantine, etc, when moving to the US, thinking we
could always visit him (the cat!) on our visits/return. Sadly after 4 months
of us leaving, the cat was run over and died.



At the time my son was 3 years old, yet still walks around with his soft toy
cat (of same colour and name as our previous real cat!) pretty much
permanently, and spends a great deal of time making 'cat homes', 'cat play
spaces', etc, etc. We have decided not to get another cat, as are thinking
of returning to Europe in the near future, and do not want to put any of the
family, particularly our son, through any similar emotional turmoil (plus
the cat!).



So - I was wondering - does anyone please have any great ideas on how we can
'stretch' his cat interest?!!! We have played vets, made cat sticker books
and pictures, drawn houses and counted cats inside them, visited pet shops,
and even looked after a friend's cats when they were on holiday. He loved
all these activities, but I have to admit - I am running out of ideas!!!!!



Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter books) we can
read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just about
anything?!!!!!



Looking forward to the replies! Thank you!



Sasha



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




Yahoo! Groups Links



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plaidpanties666

--- In [email protected], "Sasha Sandenskog"
<sasha@...> wrote:
>> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter
books) we can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just
about
> anything?!!!!!

What about paper masks? Or ear-and-tail combos, either out of paper
or fabric?

About a year and a half ago Mo and I started the *Warriors* series
by Erin Hunter. Not as easy a read as I'd hoped, but she loved the
fact that it had maps and four different cat "tribes". We ended up
making a set of cards, kind of like trading cards, with the
different cat-characters and cat-tribes. In the end, she played with
the cards and didn't want to hear the book anymore, but it was great
fun.

We've also enjoyed renting the series "Taruto" - which is an anime-
esque series with cats who look a lot like people and who can do
magic. Its a little scary in places, and also a bit cutesie, but Mo
and I both loved it.

---Meredith (Mo 5, Ray 13)

[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
--- In [email protected], "Sasha Sandenskog"
<sasha@...> wrote:
>> Does anyone know of any great books (particularly easy chapter
books) we can
> read to him, easy puzzles or board games involving cats, or just
about
> anything?!!!!!

=-=-=-=


The DVD CATS by Andrew Lloyd Webber---and the t s elliot poem from
which it sprung.

~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org

________________________________________________________________________
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Schuyler

Oh, we just watched that. Its really good. Sailor Moon also has a talking
cat in it. One of Simon's favorite books for a while was Desmond Morris' Cat
World: A Feline Encyclopedia. He also wrote a book called Catwatching, which
I haven't read, but it might be fun. Oh, and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas wrote
a book called The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture which is a follow
up to her The Hidden Life of Dogs, and is pretty good as well.

National Geograpic did a movie called Cats: Caressing the Tiger which looks
quite good: http://shopngvideos.com/products/CatsCaressingtheTiger

Schuyler
www.waynforth.blogspot.com

> There's the anime movie _The Cat Returns_--not Miyazaki, but similar.
>
> --
> ~~Danielle
> Emily (9), Julia (8), Sam (6)
> http://www.organiclearning.blogspot.com
>
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
>
> Connections: ezine of unschooling and mindful parenting
> http://connections.organiclearning.org
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Kristen Hendricks

What if you took your son maybe once a week or so to a local animal shelter. You can call ahead to let them know youd like to volunteer. He can help feed and brush the cats and hold them as well.

As you can also let him know that he is helping these cats get ready for a new home. It works out good for everyone :)


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

jlh44music

Kristen Hendricks <kristenhendricks55@...> wrote:
>
> What if you took your son maybe once a week or so to a local animal
shelter. You can call ahead to let them know youd like to volunteer. He
can help feed and brush the cats and hold them as well.
>
> As you can also let him know that he is helping these cats get
ready for a new home. It works out good for everyone :)

They won't let kids volunteer until they're 16 in MA! My dd would so
love to do this!
Jann (sorry, just needed to vent!)

Joyce Fetteroll

On Feb 14, 2007, at 2:54 PM, jlh44music wrote:

> They won't let kids volunteer until they're 16 in MA! My dd would so
> love to do this!

Either our shelter has their own outside-the-law policies ;-) or the
law is that under 16 needs accompanied by an adult.

Joyce

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sasha Sandenskog

Just wanted to say thank you so much for all your wonderful and positive
ideas re. cats!!!

This is a great group! Thank you all!

Sasha



_____

From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jlh44music
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 11:54 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re:Re. cats!



Kristen Hendricks <kristenhendricks55@...> wrote:
>
> What if you took your son maybe once a week or so to a local animal
shelter. You can call ahead to let them know youd like to volunteer. He
can help feed and brush the cats and hold them as well.
>
> As you can also let him know that he is helping these cats get
ready for a new home. It works out good for everyone :)

They won't let kids volunteer until they're 16 in MA! My dd would so
love to do this!
Jann (sorry, just needed to vent!)





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

kristenhendricks55

Most places will IF a parent is with them at all times... I'd check
into it further. :)


--- In [email protected], "jlh44music"
<jlh44music@...> wrote:
>
> Kristen Hendricks <kristenhendricks55@> wrote:
> >
> > What if you took your son maybe once a week or so to a local
animal
> shelter. You can call ahead to let them know youd like to
volunteer. He
> can help feed and brush the cats and hold them as well.
> >
> > As you can also let him know that he is helping these cats get
> ready for a new home. It works out good for everyone :)
>
> They won't let kids volunteer until they're 16 in MA! My dd
would so
> love to do this!
> Jann (sorry, just needed to vent!)
>

Deborah Greenspan

There may be a 4H you can start or a cat rescue you can go to with your ds.
My dd becamw a "cat cuddler" at a cat rescue. Older and supervised, too. One
or two hours a week was good cat time.

"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible
before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis

Best of health,

Deborah

http://ultimatehealthstore.com/
http://www.workfrompc.com/herbalife/
http://herbalife.sitestream.com/TheStrengthOfHerbalife.vsml?package=1837822&
vsus=&vsps=&media=1905625




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

jlh44music

"kristenhendricks55" <kristenhendricks55@...> wrote:
>
> Most places will IF a parent is with them at all times... I'd check
> into it further. :)

Thinking back, I remember now that she wanted to do this on her own
(without me), hence the age restriction. I'll check into it again and
perhaps she'll reconsider if it's the only way right now for her to
spend time with the animals!
Thanks!
Jann