“

A2-Wednesday, February 27, 1980 - North Shore News

speckulations

by Peter Speck

At first all I could see was a white shape on the
road. Then, as my car got closer, it resolved into a
white cat standing motionless on the pavement.
And when I got even closer I saw that the cat was
after a robin that was hopping across the yellow

line.

The robin was moving
clumsily, and as I stopped
the car between it and the
cat I could see why. The
feathers on his back were

FIRE IN MASTER BEDROOM of the home of Mr. and Mrs. S. Sved at 1325 Sinclair,

torn out in little tufts and one
of his: wings was drooping.
He regarded me with one
liquid black eye and then
was gone, moving slowly and

bur Ca

painfully into the underbush
beside Garden Avenue. I
wish him well, but the
chances of him escaping
were very small, even with
my interference.

Each spring and summer
the same sad scene is played
out all over the North Shore.
Cats abound in this area.
They are furry, comfortable
house pets that feel good on

ty

in West Vancouver, was confined to the one room by firemen Monday afternoon,
although the bedroom was extensively damaged. Inspection showed the fire had
started because of a faulty electrical plug on a television set. (Constantin Starck

photo)

FREE GOLD

YES

NATIVE GOLD IS FREE

AND ABUNDANT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Hundreds of proven rivers and
creeks in B. C. have been left
virtually untouched since the
price of gold was $20.00 an ounce

Send today: Our ‘*How To"’ books will
give you the whole story, locations,
panning methods and how to file and

mark claims. Our pans are of the

highest quality.

NAME
ADDRESS

The Weckend Miner $1.95
Gold Fever $2.95

Gold Panning in BC $5.95

12°’ Steel Pan $5.95
14°° Stee! Pan $6.95
16°" Steel Pan $7.95

Please send me free information

concerning gold panning seminars

P Code

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Refunded.
BANNER HOLDINGSLTD. PENTHOUSE 305 WATER ST VANC. B.C. 688-4727

your lap and like to have
their chins scratched.

They are also very feral,
instinctive hunters of almost
anything that is small and
moves —— such as birds.
Many times in my life I've
retrieved small dead shape-
less bundles of feathers that
once were bright and full of
life andsong, from my garage
floor or drivéway.

In my opinion there are
too many cats and not
enough birds on the North
Shore at this particular time,
and I don’t think that the
birds are protected enough.

If cats were wild animals
unsupported by humans
there would probably be
about one cat for every
square mile of land, due to
the feeding pressures of the
cats on the land. But in the
city the cat population is
much higher, with many
dozens of cats per square
mile. The birds, especially in
the spring when they are
weak from the winter, are

easy prey.

The cats stalk with great
skill and most often reduce
the little singers tO 4 mass of
feathers without even eating
them.

BUY A BELL

The answer is remarkably
simple. Buy a bell for your
cat. And put it around his or
her neck on a collar that is
tight enough so that your cat
cannot slip it off over it’s
ears. It’s amazing how
skinny a cat's neck really is
once you get past all that
fluff and fur. If you can
insert a finger beneath’ the
cat's collar it is just about
tight enough.

One of the cats that [ lived
with was a great hunter and
did terrible damage to the
neighbouring bird life until I
caught him at it and forced
him to wear a bell. He sulked
after I put his first bell on,

but was soon back to his:

cheerful self. About two
months later I started to
find, once again, little

packages of blood-stained
feathers here and

FIGURE 1

there. ©

How could he catch the
birds while wearing a bell, | -
wondered? Then one day in
our own back yard I saw how
he did it. The cat had
learned to move without
making the bell tinkle. Every
step was so smooth and
flowing that the bell never
even tinkled, until the cat
was ready to spring..By the
time the bird heard the

: . ,
tunkle it was too late.

So I bought another bell
and added it to his collection
but within a short time it was
the same story again. Then I
bought a third bell, this time
a small brass Tibetan bell
that clanged at the slightest
motion, and added it to the
other two, and from that
time on we were spared the
Slaughter of song birds.

I don't think it cut into the
cat's enjoyment at all. He
still stalked the birds, he just
never caught any. -Collars
and bells are available at all
pet shops and many other
places. You may feel a bit
funny about doing it, but I
guarantee that you will feel
worse when you find the first
dead bird.

SLIMMING STUDIOS

FIGURE 1 specializes in a European method of cellulite elimination

and weight and inch loss.

Slim Down

FIGURE 1

&
Firm Up
with

I’m doing it!

So Can You with FIGURE 1

Just lie back and take off inches or just firm up. That's right! No jogging or
strenuous exercise. A highly sophisticated machine does the work - moves and
tones the muscles for you as you relax. Read a book, even sleep. Results of the
treatment can be dramatic. Three inches off thighs, four inches off waist-lines
are not unusual. Stop feeling guilty about those unsightly bulges and get into

shape now!

Figure 1
SLIMMING STUDIOS
922-8011 922-0314

Photography Terry Forbes

Hollyburn Plaza
1785 Bellevue Ave.
West Vancouver

With Figure 1. |