1 HR AGO - Michelin star in Manchester | Flour power | Puddings | Female pre-Raphaelite artists | The F-word | Tripping over petsThat’s an interesting remark from your north of England correspondent in “Mana from heaven: The chef who finally brought a Michelin star to Manchester” (12 October): “At the moment he’s focused on opening for lunches mid-week. Charged at £65 per head, as opposed to the £105 evening tasting menu, it’s Mana’s bid to remain accessible to locals.” £65? Accessible? Are we to gather from this that it’s no longer grim oop north?Ian AndersonBristol • Wendell Steavenson’s “Flour power” (The long read, 10 October) continues the widespread fashion of the fetishisation of food in the guise of promoting healthy eating. £4 loaves of sourdough made with scarce heritage grains, wind milled by corporate refugees, is more about bragging rights with your friends than proper food. To get cheap proper bread, all you need is a breadmaker, a bag of organic wholewheat bread flour and a Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Royal Veterinary College researchers point to misconceptions about how ‘minimal care and handling’ pet rabbits need They are often thought of as the perfect pets for children: cute, fluffy and low-maintenance. But many of the UK’s 1.5 million domestic rabbits lead miserable, disease-ridden lives, research has shown.Overgrown nails and teeth, gut stasis and dirty backsides – which can result from poor diets and lead to myiasis – were some of the most common conditions found in a study of over 6,000 rabbits taken to vets. Related: Pet rabbits are cruelly neglected and mistreated in Britain, survey finds Continue reading... Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Those recovering from heart attacks and strokes apparently do better if they have a dog in the house. And dogs help depression, too. It’s a shame I can’t bear them looking at me. Those recovering from heart attacks and strokes apparently do better if they have a dog in the house, according to a study of 300,000 people in Sweden, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The companionship’s good for the soul, and the incentive to exercise is a help. It’s well known, too, that dogs are good for depression, but I must say that they don’t work for me. I love dogs, but have never owned one; I prefer to borrow them. My friends’ cockapoo is one I’m very close to. He’s called Hugo, which was the breeder’s choice, not theirs. The problem with walking a dog called Hugo in any park near where I live, is that when you call him, half the boys within earshot come running towards you. Apart from that, Hugo gives great value at times when Collapse

7 DAYS AGO - Loving a pet makes us hope their bad behaviour is an aberration, so take an approach that doesn’t feel like jabbing a finger, advises Eleanor Gordon-SmithThere are three massive dogs in a yard in my neighbourhood that keep murdering local cats. I wonder whether I should letterbox the neighbourhood to let them know this is going on so cat owners let their cats out at their own risk. I am related to one of the murdered cats (I was his devoted cat-auntie). My family does not want me to do this. They have a small child, so it is important they have as smooth a relationship with the dog-owning neighbour as possible. Am I potentially antagonising the dog-owning neighbour with a letterbox drop?Let’s do the easy part first: you are absolutely right that someone should alert local cat owners. In fact, I think it would be unkind to know about the threat and not say anything. If it happened again you’d always wonder whether you could have stopped it, and you know how you’d feel if someone could Collapse

01/10/2019 - The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsAre humans the only species to keep other species as pets, purely for the owner’s pleasure, rather than out of any necessity?Clare Dunkley, Finchley, London Continue reading... Collapse

25/09/2019 - Like a canine First Dates, this masterful matchmaker show that pairs pups with new owners is the perfect televisual tonic. Hankies at the ready …As acclaimed, must-see dramas stack up on my streaming services, looming bleak and unwatched, I have found myself instead looking forward to every single episode of The Dog House on Channel 4, which might just be the most charming show on television (step aside, The Repair Shop). Every Thursday, it’s a balm; an hour-long mood enhancer that gently delights in the goodness of people and the wonder of love.The Wood Green animal charity rehouses cats and dogs, but even though recent reports suggest that cats actually do have affection for their owners, rather than abject contempt, this is the canine roadshow. Each week, dogs that have come through the doors of Wood Green are matched with potential new homes. We are told the stories of the people who want a dog, and the people who have been forced to give their dogs away, and even the stories of Collapse

23/09/2019 - Dog owners – and some other scientists – are not so convinced by US study’s conclusionsCats may sometimes seem aloof, contrary and utterly nonplussed by humans, but it turns out that might not be the full story.Researchers say they have found that, like children and dogs, cats form emotional attachments to their caregivers including something known as “secure attachment” – a situation in which the presence of a caregiver helps them to feel secure, calm, safe and comfortable enough to explore their environment. Related: How do you know your cat loves you? Let me count 25 ways | Fay Schopen Continue reading... Collapse

14/09/2019 - From cat spas to dogs Fitbits, pets are more fussed over than ever. What’s behind the mini-me phenomenon?Jane Lawlor is giving me a tour of her Essex hotel. ‘Most of our suites come with views of the pool or the rolling fields of the Brentwood countryside, and our evening turn-down service includes lighting flameless candles and leaving luxury pillow treats,’ she says, handing me a glass of champagne in the hotel bar, where velvet sofas face a wood-burning stove. “We’re all about relaxation and privacy here, so most guests like to eat in peace via room service, choosing anything from pan-crusted cod to lobster tail with caviar. And wait till you see the spa – we offer the latest treatments using award-winning products.”I can see that she gets treated exactly the way she would at home: like royalty. She always comes back perfectly groomedIn a 2018 study, 51% of consumers said they would sooner take a hit on their own spending than on their pets'It's no longer seen as acceptable to Collapse