The body of a dead woman was “eaten by her own cats” as she lay undiscovered in her home for several weeks.

The body of 56-year-old Janet Veal was found “gnawed and eaten” by her pet cats that had been left without food for up to three months.

At an inquest held at the Coroner’s Court, in Southampton, England, police officers explained how they gained access to Ms. Veal’s house after neighbors noted a build-up of mail at the address.

On entry to the premises, police found a number of dead dogs and cats in the ground floor of the building. Ms. Veal’s partially eaten body was discovered in the kitchen. Coroner Keith Wiseman said at the inquest:

“These animals had been, the officer thought, confined in these two rooms downstairs for what may well have been a period of many weeks, stretching quite possibly into several months

“This too was a distressing experience because it was clear that certain parts of Mrs Veal’s body were missing and had, the officer formed the view, effectively been gnawed and eaten away by the animals.

“One can only imagine the difficulty with the scene the officer was having to deal with.

—snip—

“There is no indication otherwise and no suggestion, if I can go to the complete extreme, any suggestion that she had been in any way attacked by the animals while she was alive.

He went on to say: “Given the background history and findings I am prepared to find on the balance of probabilities this was sadly a natural death that led to really very untoward consequences because of the inability of Mrs Veal to get any assistance for herself and to be confined in the way that she was in this property with a number of animals that had not been fed for quite a long period of time.”

Due to decomposition of Ms. Veal’s body, the autopsy was unable to determine cause of death, though her medical records stated a history of chest problems.

Ms. Veal had lived alone since her husband moved out of their family home the previous year. Neighbors described her as “reclusive,” and an animal lover.
 

 
Via The Independent

 
I’m assuming this news telecast of a mysterious pigeon sportin’—with what looks like—a stylish tiny hard hat is from Russia. I don’t know. I can only hope he or she—the pigeon, that is—makes an appearance in America. Because, well, you can never have enough of pigeons wearing tiny hard hats.
 

 
Via Arbroath

 
Apparently, cats are far more complex and subtle in their behavior than dogs or even humans. Yet most cat owners fail to recognize what their feline friends are trying to communicate.

For example, as Nicky Trevorrow from Cat Protection explains, why does a cat claw and bite when you rub its tummy?

“When a cat throws itself on its side and shows its belly, most people misinterpret this behaviour and think that it wants its belly rubbed but will get grabbed by their hand and the cat will bite them.

“What the cat is actually doing is showing a greeting behaviour and showing trust. It is actually an abuse of that trust to stroke its belly. What the cat would rather you do is to give it a slight head rub.

“When a cat comes towards you with their tail upwards, it is a sign of their greeting. The best thing to do is to acknowledge their greeting and give their head a rub.”

After a survey of 1,100 cat owners, Cat Protection discovered that 75% of respondents did not know what a cat’s upright tail meant; 33% didn’t know what their cat was showing contentment by slow-blinking; while 50% thought cats show stress by licking their lips; and 65% thought purring was a sign of contentment (while it can actually be a sign of pain).

To help cat owners understand what their cat is saying, the Cat Protection charity has produced the following short film, which helps explain:

• The greeting – when the cat walks towards you with its tail up, it means it is saying hello
• The sign of trust – when the cat rolls on its back exposing its stomach it is showing it trusts you rather than wanting its belly rubbed.
• The leg rub – when the cats rubs its head and body against your legs it is saying you smell strange and is trying to mark you with its scent
• Flattened ears – when the cat flattens its ears it is frightened and needs somewhere to hide
• Licking of lips – while after eating this can just be it is cleaning itself, at other times it can be a sign of nausea or stress
• The slow blink – the cat will slowly close and open its eyes, turning its head to one side, meaning it is relaxed and is not feeling threatened

Now you know what little Chairman Miaow is saying. Though personally, I prefer dogs, because they’re fun, enthusiastically happy about life, and easy to beat at cards.
 

 
Via the Daily Telegraph

 
If you own a cat, you already know how this one is going to play out!
 

 
Here’s a vintage photo of Dick Dale feeding his pet lioness, Elsa. Some warm milk perhaps?

 
Plucky Telegraph journalist, Danielle Demetriou, was the first person in Tokyo to have a live snail facial.

Danielle had four, specially imported from Switzerland, “organic” snails (are there non-organic ones?) placed on her face.

The slime oozed by these terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks is said to be the “elixir for youthful and beautiful skin.” Snail mucus contains proteins, anti-oxidants, and hyaluronic acid, which removes dead skin and helps retain moisture. Over the past two years, sales of snail face creams, snail serum and masks have become very popular in Japan and South Korea. According to Yoko Minami, the sales manager of Clinical Salon:

“Snail slime can help the recovery of skin cells on the face, so we expect the snail facial to help heal damaged skin.”

It may all sound like a plot device from a Guy N. Smith or Shaun Hutson novel, but this is not the first time snails have been used for medicinal purposes. In 400BC, crushed snails were commonly used to treat wounds and skin inflammation.

Today, the Celebrity Escargot Course costs around $300 (Y24,150) and lasts for around 60-minutes. The face is washed, before the beautifying mollusks are placed on the client’s face, and allowed to move about at will. According to Ms. Demetriou:

The snails feel slow, heavy and cool and slightly ticklish. The assistant attentively lifts the snails with a little tug whenever they go anywhere too near the mouth, nostrils or eyes. Many people would probably choose to undergo the snail facial with their eyes closed. There is little in life more unsettling than spying the rearing tentacles of an approaching snail on your cheek out of the corner of your eye. However afterwards, the face definitely feels cooler and plumper.

Now, you know what to do with those garden pests
 

 
Via the Daily Telegraph

 
Julie Tremmel, a local TV reporter in Cranston, R.I., is all kinds of awesome and apparently she goes on air high on bath salts.

I can’t wait for her next report on “What to do during a Sharknado attack.” It should be epic.
 

 
Via BuzzFeed

 
Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward ain’t messin’ around when he demonstrates just how HOT it can get in parked car in over 30 minutes even with the windows slightly rolled down. Guess what? It gets deadly hot!

This demonstration isn’t just for folks with pets, either. It also applies to the assholes who leave their kids in cars.

This reminds of me of the time I saw two miniature schnauzers left to bake in a BMW parked in an IKEA parking lot. It must have been at least 95 degrees that day. The dogs were pawing at the windows and barking furiously. People were just standing around the car, looking confused, but not doing a damned thing. I alerted the IKEA staff to the situation immediately and they paged the owner of the car, but no one showed up to rescue the pups. The police were then called.

 
Via BuzzFeed

 
Meet Kiwi. A pug who looks befuddled and humiliated beyond belief that her human would subject her to recreating the chocolate scene from I Love Lucy.

Kiwi totally has the classic canine “Why the fuck am I here?” expression going on.

PS: Don’t try this at home! Chocolate (like grapes, cannabis and onions) is toxic for dogs.

 
Via HYST

 
Opulence at its most disgustingly finest seen here in a 1970s mail-order ad for hand-carved ivory coke accessories. Apparently this ad was featured in High Times and Playboy.

Each of our exotic spoons, straws, and vials is delicately carved by skilled artisans from the finest center cuts of imported African ivory…the ideal coke surface. Ideal, because moisture does not condense on it, no particles will stick to its surface. The unique quality, coupled with the exquisite beauty of each hand carved design, makes each piece worth its weight in snow.

Kill an elephant, do some blow. Yuck.

Click here to read larger image.

Via reddit