4 Nov 2020
Jane reminisces about the days when old newspapers were commonly used to line litter trays and the small, childish feeling of satisfaction she experienced whenever certain celebrities met a sticky end.
Jane Davidson
Job Title
Image © fotowebbox / Adobe Stock
No matter how much I try to persuade him otherwise, Prof Edward Coleman is insistent that he uses an indoor litter tray. Cat litter now makes up about 50% of the contents of my bin each week.
I recall it being much the same when in practice with the added bulk of non-clumping litter and litter tray liners. Litter tray liners were usually newspapers, either brought in by staff or donated by members of the public or kind clients.
I think times may have moved on now and the hygiene implications, or ink issues, from old newspapers may mean they are not routinely use like this any more. This is a little sad, as I always found the presence of old newspapers brought several distractions from clinical work.
Many people seem to stockpile old newspapers, so there could be a historic element to the headlines or the adverts you were reading. Of a particular joy in London were old newspapers that showed house prices from the days when surrounding properties would have been realistically affordable.
Local newspapers provided an interesting insight into the location you are working in, which for me was not usually the area I lived in, and was always an enlightening read. Then national newspapers provide the opportunity for some fun with pictures.
Was there a particular celebrity or politician who wasn’t on your favourites list? A lovely big picture of them could be placed face up in a cat litter tray knowing that the cat would inevitably “make their mark” – a small, futile and perhaps childish gesture, but one that, over the years, has brought me much joy.
These moments of private joy were brought back to me recently when a comment on social media highlighted the cultural differences in using old newspapers to line kennels or litter trays.
Apparently, during a veterinary clinic inspection in a country in the Middle East, concern was expressed that the practice was using newspapers for this particular reason. Initially I thought this may have been for hygiene reasons; however, the concern was not for the patients.
No. Apparently, the great concern was that it could mean pictures of royalty ended up soiled in an inappropriate way!
This was certainly an interesting new take on how we use the resources in the veterinary clinic and the impact this can have. Maybe I need to keep my private moments of joy to myself, and certainly not encourage anyone who still uses newspapers to make political or cultural statements in this way.
