A Cat Addicted to MCDonald's

Cat Lives Off McDonald's for a Year

A cat addicted to fast food has been rescued by the SPCA and put on a health plan to help him kick his McDonald's addiction, according to New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz.

The black-and-white tomcat, dubbed Frankie by McDonald's staff and customers, was only a kitten when he was abandoned by his owners. So the cat made his home in the parking lot of a local McDonald's where he would beg for chicken nuggets or fries from cars as they exited the drive-through lane.

But just as the human body can't properly function  from a junk food diet, Frankie's couldn't either and the McDonald's staff became concerned for his health.

One day, Jessica Watson, a field officer with the Waikato SPCA and regular McDonald's customer, spotted Frankie. After noting his swollen face, eyelids that wouldn't properly close, and matted coat, she brought him into her care and launched a search for his permanent owners.

"I estimate he has lived in the McDonald's carpark for 12 to 18 months," Watson told Stuff.co.nz. "Everyone knew to keep an eye out for him. You would go through the drive-through and ask for a burger for you and an extra patty for Frankie. He would watch you and trot after the car, wait until you stopped the car and then you would toss him the meat. It was his little routine."

Thankfully, after a few weeks of living inside and eating nutritious food, Frankie's eyes are clear and his coat is shiny. "He wasn't overweight," said Watson, "but McDonald's wouldn't meet the nutritional requirements for a cat. They need very high levels of protein and I wouldn't think takeaways would provide that."

But weaning Frankie off burgers and fries wasn't easy.  "When I first took him home he refused to eat anything because it wasn't McDonald's," said Watson. "I seriously considered going back there to get him a burger. I would put pet food down and he would give me a look like, 'What is that?'"

Surprisingly, there are some human foods that cats can eat. According to Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, President of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), while cats should never consume onion, garlic, kelp, grapes, raisins, sugary treats, chocolate, and alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, items such as cheese, meat, vegetables, fish, and eggs can provide protein and other nutrients.

It took a few days but Frankie has quit his fast food habit and consumes water and cat biscuits. And he always asks for seconds. "He's a big, and healthy, eater," said Watson. The silver lining to Frankie's bad habit? Watson suspects that his love of fast food made him less prone to stalk endangered native bird species. "I'd say he loved cheeseburgers far too much to worry about any birds."

Since Frankie's rescue, he's become somewhat of a celebrity. The SPCA is fielding so many requests to adopt him that applicants are being asked to report in person to the offices, where they can complete an "expression of interest" form as part of the selection process.

Keep up the healthy eating, Frankie!

New Zealand Pornographic

Kapiti logo 'mildly pornographic'

UNDER REVIEW: How Kapiti's new tourism logo might be used in branding.

A rebrand of Kapiti's tourism image may be tweaked to include the word "coast" amid suggestions its logo looks pornographic or like the Loch Ness monster.

The logo, part of a $30,000 Kapiti Coast District Council contract, polarised opinion when unveiled at last week's meeting.

It includes a 'k', shaped, and coloured green and blue, to look like a mountain and the sea. Underneath is the single word: "Kapiti".

Councillor Tony Lester backed the logo, which he said was "absolutely excellent".

"We've positioned ourselves for the future, it captures the hills, and the coast, and it captures our future as more of a city."

Others did not agree. Councillor Hilary Wooding said she did not like the 'k', which looked "cut in half".

Councillor Ross Church said the logo was not consistent with council branding and the 'k' would spark all sorts of comments about exactly what it depicts.

"I showed it to a Scots person who said 'it looks like the Loch Ness monster on legs'."

In the public speaking session, Otaki Community Board member Jackie Elliott raised the possibility the logo could be perceived as lewd.

"I have had feedback from the public that this 'k' image with its bent leg, at the knee, is more than mildly pornographic. Perhaps the caption underneath could be 'come to Kapiti and let the earth move for you'."

However most debate at the meeting centred on whether the word "coast", and its associations, should be included in the logo.

Strategic projects manager Philippa Richardson said the decision was based on the idea that Kapiti is much more than just a coast.

Kapiti's Eden Design won the bid to produce the marketing brand that will be owned by the council, but available to all tourism operators.

Councillors voted to delay a decision to approve the logo till a demonstration image including "coast" is presented.

Mr Lester voted against the decision, keen to approve the logo as it stands.

On the question of whether the logo is lewd, Mr Lester said as far as he was concerned "pornography is in the eye of the beholder".

Nude Wedding Trends

Nude Wedding: New Zealand Couple Gets Married In The Buff

For most brides and grooms, deciding what to wear on the Big Day is one of the most important parts of wedding planning. But one New Zealand couple didn't have to shop for wedding outfits -- because they got married in the nude.

Nick and Wendy Lowe were married at the Wellington Naturist Club on Saturday in a "clothing optional" wedding, reported local newspaper The Dominion Post. About half of the 120 guests were nude. Both clothed and naked photos were taken, and though guests were asked to dress for dinner, the dancing portion of the event was clothing optional.

Nick encouraged Wendy to embrace the "naturism," or nudist, lifestyle six years ago.

"It was one of the first things he said to me: ‘I'm a naturist, how do you feel about it?' I knew at some point I'd have to at least try it," Wendy said.

The Reasons Why You Should Never Use Air New Zealand

Unsettled toddler, mother taken off flight

Elena Volkova with Andrey and Dmitry Zhavoronkov.
An Auckland woman says she was left humiliated and out of pocket after Air New Zealand asked her to leave a flight when her toddler refused to settle before takeoff.

Elena Volkova was supposed to be travelling from Auckland to Christchurch aboard flight NZ527 on February 9, with her two young sons, Andrey and Dmitry Zhavoronkov, aged two and five respectively.

Instead, she found herself being asked to leave her flight because she was unable to get her child settled within a few minutes.

"My youngest was over-tired, and he was crying but he was likely to settle as soon as we got going," she said.

"The air hostesses were trying to give him biscuits for a couple of minutes but when that didn't work, one came back and said the pilot could not take off with unsettled passengers and we had to get off the plane again."

Volkova said it was humiliating because "people were looking at me like I was a criminal".

"Children cry, and I understand that it's not nice for other passengers, but I was hardly given a chance to settle him, and I had never heard of anyone else actually being removed from a plane because of it," she said.

They were going to be placed on another flight an hour later, but by the time their luggage had been removed from the first plane, they were too late to get on the next one.

In the end, her youngest son was unable to fly at all and Volkova's husband had to abandon his own weekend plans with friends, to drive to the airport from Hamilton to pick up the youngest son.

Volkova and her oldest son eventually made it to Christchurch that day, but only one way of her youngest's return ticket was refunded.

However, Air New Zealand spokeswoman Marie Hosking said the issue was not that the child was crying, it was that the youngster was not restrained in his seat.

"It is a Civil Aviation requirement that all passengers use seatbelt restraints during takeoff and landing," Hosking said.

"In this case the child was unfortunately refusing to be either seated or restrained. Despite everyone's best efforts, the child could not be convinced to be seated with the seat belt fastened and the flight's departure was at risk of being delayed, inconveniencing other passengers.

"The pilot in charge had no choice but to make the call for the family to disembark and be re-accommodated on a later flight once the child had calmed down."

Volkova said that argument made "perfect sense", she just wished it was explained to her on the flight.

"Nobody explained it to me neither in the plane nor after that," she said.

"I thought the main concern was his crying and I focused on calming him down rather than getting him seated and buckled up.

"I think the staff lacked professionalism in dealing with children and parents in this situation."