MUFFIN’S PET CONNECTION: Week of December 29

EMERGENCY — FOUND CAT: ‘A young gray seven or eight-month-oldkitten with a leash, found on 76th Street between 11th and 12thAvenues. If you know the owner or want to adopt, please let meknow; we cannot keep her due to allergies. She is very cute, likesto be held and spoken to, will give you her belly to pet. She needsa loving home.’ Email:

rob.lanfranchi@gmail.com

BUNDLES OF JOYFUL KITTENS: See photo at:muffins.org/T’SKITS1205.jpg. ‘These beauties were rescued at sevendays old. They were found huddled together under a child’s car seatin a storage shed. The landlord would not allow them to stay, andtheir mother had vanished.

‘MAMA T came to the rescue. They were saved and hand-raised forweeks. Monty is a male orange tabby; Minnie, a female black andwhite tuxedo; and the ‘twins,’ Dee-Dee and Ditto, female greytabbies. The babies are extremely gentle, sweet and intelligent,and are very bonded to humans. They are approximately six weeksold. They want tons of love. Please contact MAMA T at347-587-2378.’

THE TABBY IN THE MANGER…A wonderful legend about the origin ofthe ‘M’ tells about Mary and the tabby cat in the manger. It seemsbaby Jesus was cold and fussing; Mary asked the manger animals tomove in closer to warm him. The manger was too small to accomplishthat, but a little tabby cat came in, nestled next to the baby, andsnuggled Him with purring and warmth. Mary was so grateful; shebestowed her own initial, ‘M’ on the cat’s forehead.

ALERTS: FOOD RECALLS…The Procter and Gamble Company hasvoluntarily retrieved a single production lot of dry dog food dueto aflatoxin levels that were detected. Aflatoxin, a naturallyoccurring by-product from the growth of Aspergillus flavus, isharmful to pets if consumed in significant quantities.

Pets which have ingested this product may exhibit symptoms ofillness, including sluggishness, lethargy, a reluctance to eat,vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums or diarrhea, andshould be seen by a veterinarian. The product, Iams ProActiveHealth Smart Puppy dry dog food, has Use By or Expiration Date ofFebruary 5 or 6, 2013. Contact: 866-908-1569.