The mystery of the disappearing water

Unknown source:

"Jennifer and Jim kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continue. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems; first the water meter, then outdoor pipes, indoor pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc, all to no avail.

"One day Jim was sick and stayed home in bed, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally tore himself from his sick bed & went to investigate, and stumbled onto the cause of such high water bills.

"Apparently this was happening all day long when they were not at home. Knowing that few would believe him, he taped a segment of the 'problem' for posterity!"



Hats off: Sabine

The purr-plexing love of cats for car engines

Animal News is well aware that cats love to travel - but just why they choose to do it inside bonnets of cars, encased in their engines, is a veritable moggy mystery.

Take Beamer, who suffered horrific burns after spending three days being driven around West Sussex in a BMW. Or misfortunate Mina, who travelled for 30 miles "clinging to the inside of a car bonnet" before being discovered alongside the engine's spark plugs.


Bad luck befell Black Jack, a seven-month old cat who sustained abdominal injuries, a severed Achilles' tendon and a significant loss of muscle tissue after becoming trapped in the fan belt of her neighbour's car. Black Jack required 80 stitches, several operations and eight days in intensive care - but fortunately survived. A fan belt injury also occurred in Rutland, where Lucky

lost much of the skin from the side of his stomach and needed to have a leg amputated after it became trapped in the fan belt.

Halloumi and Mele suffered similar ordeals, as did Maisy - who was discovered when her legs were seen dangling beneath the car. It is said that Maisy

was still deeply traumatised, but was improving.

"Maisy survived a four-mile journey from Abermule to Newtown after becoming trapped in a car engine," she said.

"After the journey her back legs didn't seem to work, but they're back to normal now. She is still deeply traumatised and it's going to be a slow, long journey with lots of tender loving care.

Charlie spent three hours in a car engine journeying from Hull to Norfolk, while in Aberdeen a ginger kitten named Gingi was discovered trapped inside a bonnet after driving for several miles - when the car's owner noticed the engine sounding an unusual purr. Nacho hitched a ride in a car engine all the way from Bristol to Liverpool. But perhaps the most impressive cat-hop was stowaway stray Lucky who, in an act reminiscent of a feline Phileas Fogg, managed to travel all the way from France to England in a car engine, in a journey lasting three days.

But a close second is probably Luna, who survived 300 miles over the course of a week in Austria, trapped inside the bonnet of a Mercedes-Benz - narrowly avoiding a cat-astrophy.

The popularity of engine-dwelling is not limited to cars. Cats have also survived journies trapped inside the engines of a van (in Hampshire), a coach and even a fire service lorry.

It would seem that vehicle engines are simply the purr-fect mode of cat travel! But as this adventurous lifestyle often leaves our feline friends just a whisker from death, it certainly is fortunate that they have nine lives.

Narcoleptic goats? It's probably because they spend all day counting sheep!

The National Geographic has some shocking footage of goats with narcolepsy:

Mystic Mog

From the Washington Post:

Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," explained Dr Dosa, a geriatrician at Oscar's hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. "Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one."

No one is sure how Oscar is able to perform this remarkable feat.

One patient noted: "I've heard of a horse's head in your bed signifying impending death - but a live cat in your bed, that's a new one on me!"

Another patient reflected: "I'm old and sick. I'm expecting a visit from Oscar soon, if only I had nine lives too."

Where are our pussies?: The case of the Purr-muda Triangle

MISSING---MISSING----MISSING

Residents of Stourbridge, Worcestershire have become frantic with fear at the outbreak of disappearing pussies in the area. Forty-five felines have gone missing in the so called Purr-muda Triangle (see below for map) in the past eight years leading to a five year investigation by the RSPCA. Without any leads to go on the tail has gone cold leaving the RSPCA no choice but to refuse to house any more cats in the area. Amazing Animal News is left asking is there a cat burglar in the area?




More at the daily mail.