h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My son, Alex was on pc last night, doing course work. He was very irritable and bad-tempered. Cursing, kicking the pc desk, screwing up and ripping the work sheet, I shouted at him, told him to calm down and what was the problem. He said he was having problems with spelling, I reminded him (knowing I didn't need to) that 'word' has a spell checker.

While tidying up I've just read what it was he was doing. It's titled

Cats Tortured to find cure for backache
(With the subtitle)

Pets die in lab hell

The course work is 'The Language of Tabloids, Analysis of emotive language in the article "Horror Experiments"

I don't know whether it's a real article or fiction, either way it's a horrific tale of the suffering of the cats. I normally avoid reading anything like that, as I find it too upsetting, I know it happens, but there is nothing I can do to stop it, so I avoid the issue. This article had me in tears after the first few paragraphs, I didn't finish reading it.

Alex is a sensitive, caring young lad, with a cat of his own. The article must've been very hard for him to work on. Parts of it were highlighted, he probably had to read it several times.

It's likely he didn't tell me what he was working on, knowing it would upset me. I wish he had of told me, I would've understood why he was 'acting up' the way he was.

I wonder how many other youngsters are effected by that particular course work., and was it really necessary to use something so horrific and emotive.

Did you ask if it was work for school or like you said fiction

If it is school work i would be asking why they are premoteing cruelty to animals.Useing children at a vounrable age who might just get the inpresion that it is acceptable to do it

They tend to get kids to argue on topics such as fox-hunting, so this is where cruelty to animals comes in. You'd need to find out exactly what assignment they were asked to do, was it specifically on the cats or was it 'pick an animal and write about how it is treated cruelly'.

i know wot u mean about cruelty 2 cats as we have got 3 & i tried 2 give on a bath a while ago but he resisted quite a lot so i think a previous owner has tried 2 drown him. the school should ask the parent as well if the course work is acceptable as they have probably got kids so how would they feel if it was their son/daughter who had 2 write about cruelty 2 animals? i'd take it up with the school and see wot happens incase something similar arises. i was on the way 2 work last week and saw a squirrel lying dead in the road after it had been hit by a car and i felt disgusted that we destroy there homes 2 build houses or motorways and class wild animals as pests.

I know he did the fox hunting discussion at junior school, that was ok, as it was good to listen to different sides of that.

Until I talk to him when he gets in from school today, I don't know much, other than when I've said, it's not that the school's trying to promote cruelty. It's an English 'exercise' with questions about the presentation techniques, the use of sentences and paragraphs etc. I still think those that set the course work, could've asked the same questions with an article of a different subject matter.

november rain, why were you bathing a cat, cats generally don't like water, they usually make an excellent job of cleaning themselves. Having said that, I think 'show cats' are bathed.

Emmily

A cat once tryed to sit on my car
you know

hoose pipe was out i didn`t try to splash it scare it more

When you pay nine grand for a car
you dont want cats scratching it or holding a mothers meeting on it

Water is an acceptable way of discouraging cats, even cat charities recomend it. I've used it on my own cats, when they were digging in next doors garden, but I used one of Alex's pump action water guns, rather than a hose pipe.

Emmily

waite while the bend down
to do there buisness and let em have it

Glad i was not being cruel to them tho

Dont think i would like it so i will guess they wouldn`t

ooh eck!

hi emmily..

tell the truth, you just wanted to play with alex's water gun

we dont have cats anymore, they stay for a few months and then go wondering, but we do have foxes in the area.
the last cat we had tried to get into the fish tank and play with the fishes.. i suppose thats one way of washing

h

Ok I'll own up, yep I enjoyed playing with the water gun, as I did target practice on the house wall afterwards.

The article was from a real paper. American, I knew that, but a cat's a cat no matter what part of the world, but it was from 1987, and the experimemts it mentioned are no longer taking place.

to all who replied.

Emmily

That's a relief!

Now, how are you Emmily, you've been very quiet.

Ooh, and hi INTERN!

Hello

Pinwheel pearl

how are you

I'm fine, wonder where Emmily is?

Hello thats good to hear

Em get`s very buisey lady spell checking.Ace&Guru as well

Might catch up later on when the work load calms down A bit

he had been under the hedge outside and got himself quite dirty so i thought that he could do with a bath and he's a show-off as he sleeps on the window-sill sometimes so u could say he would like 2 be a show cat lol . wot have u been up2 & have u got any plans 4 the summer weather permitting of course lol

I'm trying to become a guru. Mina was supposed to add me a couple of days ago but nothing doing...