chegerty

Can anyone recommend a cattery near Limoux (or Mirepoix)? Thanks Catherine  

If you would like to subscribe to an Enlgish language magazine The Kitchen Garden is brilliant. It covers everything for absolute beginners and has loads of advice and guidance for growing fruit and veg. Any books by Geoff Hamilton are also great. Best of luck! Catherine

Has anyone had any experience of an SPA rescue centre? A mother cat with 4 kittens has taken up residence in our garden. This is the second cat in this situation in the past six months to appear from the same house in the village. My parents adopted the last mother cat after the kittens were collected by the owner in the village. This new mother is from the same household but the family don't want any more cats/kittens. We already have 3 rather old cats which we brought with us from the UK and they are a bit miffed by this new-comer. I'm also concerned that the poor mother cat will be pregnant again in a very short time if she is not neutered and the whole thing will start again with the kittens. Reluctantly, I'm thinking of taking the cat and kittens to the local SPA and wondered if anyone else had had to do this or had any experience? Thanks Catherine

Just out of interest, would you be able to let me know which architect you are using in Pamiers? Catherine                      

Hello I gave birth to our first baby two and half weeks ago in Languedoc, so some of this may be of use to you. Ask your GP to recommend a ob/gyn at the hospital or clinic where you will give birth. We had to make the initial appointment and then everything else (scans, ante-natal classes, 'reservation' at the clinic) flowed from there. Basically, our specialist guided us through the process and made sure we had appointments for scans and blood tests at the right time. I had routine monthly blood/urine tests as well as more comprehensive blood tests at the beginning of the pregnancy and in month 7. There were loads of notices in the ob/gyn waiting room about when, where and how to make an appointment to register at the maternity unit and for preparation classes for the birth. Here in Languedoc, there wasn't any problem with reserving a place at the clinic for the birth - we did the initial registration in month 7, along with a tour of the facilities. Pain relief options were very limited! In some limited circumstances, pethidine may be offered, but basically it was epidural or nothing at the clinic where I gave birth! I ended up being induced and opted for an epidural - highly recommended! I think all related medical costs are reimbursed at 100% after month 4 until about 4 weeks after the birth. There is a one-off payment in month 8 of about 700 euros (I think), but this is means tested and we didn't qualify. I believe that family allowance is only payable after the second child (but I maybe wrong on this!). You should automatically receive forms from the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales (CAF) asking for details of your income etc. I hope some of this helps, even if it's not exactly the same as the Dordogne. Feel free to send me a message with any other questions etc. Catherine x        

Could someone answer a question for me? I'm 18 weeks pregnant and have been seeing a consultant at a clinic since about week 11. Today I received a letter from the local PMI inviting me to contact a midwife for an appointment. Is this instead of the consultant or as well as? I didn't even realise there was a local PMI or I wuld have contacted them much sooner. Any help gratefully received as the whole pregnancy/ health care bit is proving rather stressful! Thanks Catherine