SPCA Update

Posted On March 26, 2014

As I was delivering the previous issue of the Blackfly to Plaster Rock I stopped in at the Arthurette Animal Shelter to say hi to Linda, Shelley and the cat gang. I met some new additions to the crew.
Everyone came over to say hello and Barney and Harriet even got into a little kerfluffle over who got to sit in my lap next!
 
Downstairs, Linda introduced me to an absolutely lovely little calico cat with eyes like harvest moons. She’d been left behind with her 2 newborn kittens when her people moved out of the apartment.
 

She is pretty young and tiny herself, so it seems likely that this un-spayed girl was impregnated during her first heat. She and her babies are currently living with a foster family. After her kittens are weaned, she will be vaccinated and spayed and ready for adoption into a new, loving family…. One that won’t leave her behind.
 

Calico cats are nearly always female because the X chromosome determines the colour of the cat. Female cats, like all female mammals, including humans, have two X chromosomes while males have one X and one Y chromosome.
 

The Y chromosome does not carry colour genes, so there is no chance of a male cat having tri-coloured fur. One of the rare exceptions to this is when the male has XXY chromosomes, in which case the cat could have calico markings.
But the XXY combination also makes them genetically compromised, so these male cats are almost always sterile.
 

Calico cats are believed to bring good luck in the folklore of many cultures and are sometimes called “Money Cats” or “Lucky Cats”.
 

The Japanese Maneki Neko figurine is a lucky charm that is very popular in Japanese and Chinese culture. It is a talisman that is believed to bring good luck and fortune to its owner, and the most traditional and luckiest colouration of a Maneki Neko is calico.
 

Maneki Neko means “beckoning cat”. If the right paw is raised, it is inviting good fortune and money. If the left paw is raised, it is beckoning to attract customers.
 

After the financial crash of 2008 Maneki Neko figurines with both paws raised to invite both fortune and more customers became popular . However, to make sure that nobody interpreted the both raised paws as a gesture meaning “I give up” the manufacturers made sure to raise one paw higher than the other.
 

The colouration of the figures and the tokens that they bear all have meaning too:
Calico is traditional and considered luckiest
White attracts happiness, purity and positive things to come
Gold is to beckon to wealth and prosperity
Black wards off evil spirits
Red is for success in love
Green is for good health
 

 

A real cat of course is guaranteed to bring you love and companionship! Visit the shelter to meet the gang on Saturdays 11-3 or Sundays 11-2 or by appointment.
Victoria County Animal Shelter
2238 Route 109
Arthurette, NB E7H 4C2
506-356-1117
To report cases of animal abuse or neglect please call the SPCA hotline at 1-877-722-1522