Cat café in Windsor closes for 10 days after a cat biting incident
The owner, Chantelle Gaudette, confirmed on social media that the closure was a result of multiple warnings to not allow cats in the café area and a cat biting incident involving a child.
The café is closed until Aug. 18. During this time, the animals will undergo quarantine for potential rabies transmission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
UBC researcher suggests multiple sclerosis may develop earlier than people think
A new study is challenging what is known about multiple sclerosis (MS) and when it develops in the body. Helen Tremlett, senior author of the University of British Columbia study, says the research findings indicate that MS may start earlier than previously thought. MS is a neurological disease of the central nervous system that can impact the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Fatigue, numbness, vision problems, and difficulty with balance are common symptoms, and there is no known cause or cure. Treatments include disease-modifying therapies that target the immune system to reduce inflammation and prevent nerve damage, as well as lifestyle changes and medications to manage symptoms. The study published in JAMA Network Open analyzed 12,000 people's health records in B.C., and found that those with MS began using health-care services at higher rates 15 years before patients experienced their first MS symptoms. "We were able to find that up to 15 years before MS symptom onset, people were more likely to have visited a doctor than you'd expect compared to individuals who did not develop MS," Tremlett told CBC's The Early Edition. Common symptoms in that 15-year window before an MS diagnosis included fatigue, dizziness, pain, anxiety and depression. She says that psychiatric visits increased at the 12-year mark before MS onset, and overall visits, including to eye specialists and neurologists, increased the closer people got to their diagnosis. Tremlett says future MS research needs to go further back in time to study what causes it. "We need as researchers to go back much further in time before MS symptom onset, so we don't think that something causes MS when in fact the disease has already started." She says that in the future, there is the potential to diagnose and treat people with MS sooner, but "we're not there yet." Tremlett says the majority of people who experience the symptoms mentioned and who visit the hospital will not develop MS, so the findings are not a cause for general concern. Mental health issues first to arise When discussing MS symptoms, Tremlett says that "mental health-related issues seem to kick up first." "Maybe you feel depressed because you have all these other signs and symptoms, and no one seems to know what's going on because they're too general to be picked up as MS." She says that the study uncovered that MS can have a prodromal phase — when subtle symptoms appear before hallmark signs — something that wasn't thought to be true before. Living with MS Allison Markin was diagnosed with MS in 2003. The Penticton, B.C., resident says that at that time, there weren't many studies on the disease that went beyond testing the effectiveness of medication on patients. "Studies like this are important because they paint a bigger picture of MS," Markin told CBC News. Markin says she had all the right symptoms, but awareness about the disease was lacking back then. She was diagnosed with MS when she was 31. She says that through more research and studies, people who live with MS can better manage their symptoms, and that the general public can become better educated about disabilities that aren't visible. Markin says if she had been properly diagnosed sooner, "I probably would have had a better course of treating myself." 'Implications bigger than the paper,' says Ottawa doctor Mark Freedman, professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, and director of the MS research unit at the Ottawa Hospital, says that the UBC research paper has larger implications. "Someone who complains of fatigue or brain slowing, depression, these are common symptoms that anybody would have, but it seems to be more prevalent amongst the MS patients," Freedman told CBC News. "If you started screening everybody with those symptoms for an abnormal MRI, we would probably find that there's a number of folks who in fact have MS, and we can make that diagnosis at that stage." He says that Tremlett has had several "very strong" research papers that describe the MS prodrome phase, and that in her recent paper, the symptoms reported aren't traditionally correlated with MS — opening the door for more diagnoses so that people can better support their health. "It's a very important and timely paper," he said. Rural health Rheanna Robinson, an Indigenous woman who was diagnosed with MS when she was 19, says the symptoms were hard to determine at that age, and with the main one being fatigue, she summed up being tired to living a busy adolescent life with friends and school. "Even though I was very young ... it did equip me in different ways to think about opportunities and challenges that I may be encountering," the Prince George resident told CBC News. Robinson, who is board director with MS Canada, an organization that helped fund the UBC study, says that patients in rural areas don't always have access to doctors, but it's important they receive a diagnosis and are reflected in the data. She says data about Indigenous health, especially in northern communities, is an important gap to address in future MS research.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Regina couple's app teaches mindfulness to break the cycle of addiction
It began with moments of personal reflection. Adam Geiger had been battling a gambling addiction since he was a teenager. "I think it started innocently enough, with things like video games and whatnot," Geiger said. "Looking back, I remember myself being very anxious, always really trapped in my mind thinking of what other people thought of me." After decades of struggle, mindfulness and meditation helped him shift gears, allowing him to explore not just his behaviour, but the thoughts beneath it. "Looking at the nature of thought and what was going on, sort of beneath the surface level stuff," he said. In 2024, he and his partner Chelsea Galloway two decided to build a digital tool to support others facing similar struggles. "I think Adam and I both had this opportunity at the time to really be able to put ourselves into something that mattered to us personally," Galloway said. A year and a half later, their vision became reality with the launch of AlchemistOne, a mindfulness-focused recovery app designed to support people dealing with addictions. A shared mission born from experience Geiger's journey to AlchemistOne began decades ago, when an innocent love of video games and sports grew to compulsive gambling. "I made my first sports bet when I was 13 or 14," he said. "All those thoughts went away and it was very easy for me to escape into gambling." Temporary relief came with long-term consequences. Geiger said he spent more 20 years locked in a cycle of gambling addiction. Once he finally broke that cycle, the app seemed like a perfect opportunity to help others do the same. Galloway, the company's COO, brought both personal insight and business expertise to the project. "Addiction was just something that was really present in our lives," she said. "Adam had a really strong tech background. I had a pretty strong business background. So we came together to build the company." The pair spent months designing what would become AlchemistOne. What started as a two-person initiative now includes six full-time team members and a growing community of close to 6,000 downloads worldwide. A 3-pillar approach Geiger said that at its core, AlchemistOne is built around three key pillars of recovery: Mindfulness and meditation. Active reflection. Physical movement. Users can access a library of audio content, including guided meditations, podcast-style interviews and personal stories from people around the world who are in recovery. Geiger acknowledged an irony in people using the same phone or tablet that accessed gambling sites, social media or other addictive content as a tool for recovery. Instead of turning to a casino app or a harmful distraction, users can open AlchemistOne and engage in a quick mindfulness session. "I think often our phones and our computers are the things that we use to escape into and keeps us a lot of trouble," he said. "We definitely wanted to build that daily companion that lived in that same space that you maybe had some trouble before." Since the launch in April 2025, the response has been swift and steady the pair says. "It's really exciting that we see new members every five or 10 minutes jumping into the app and signing up," Galloway said. For both founders, the real win isn't downloads, it's impact. "We're getting that feedback from people who are saying, you know, this is resonating with me," Galloway said. "It's complicated, it's complex. And if we can just bring something to the table that helps people get through their day and potentially helps long lasting recovery, that's really the end goal."
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
What's the best way to treat a poison ivy rash?
Poison ivy, along with poison oak and poison sumac, has an oily coating called urushiol, which often causes redness, swelling, and severe itching within four to 48 hours after contact with your skin. Eventually, a rash, often with fluid-filled blisters, can emerge in a line or in streaks. If you think you've touched a poisonous plant, scrub your skin with soap and water—ideally within 20 minutes of contact—to help remove the oil and help prevent a rash. (Not everyone develops a rash, but don't wait to find out.) Be sure to wash the clothes you were wearing, too. Residual plant oils can linger on many surfaces until they're washed, and they could cause a reaction if you touch them. If a rash appears, try an oatmeal bath, cool compresses, calamine lotion, or an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to relieve the itch. Scratching the affected skin won't spread the rash, but try not to; it can lead to further irritation or infection. The rash typically lasts two to three weeks. If home treatments aren't helping, ask your doctor about the possibility of a prescription-strength topical steroid cream. To help avoid a brush with urushiol in the future, learn what these plants look like. Poison ivy and poison oak are vines or bushes with leaves grouped in threes. They may have yellow or green flowers and white, yellowish-green, or amber berries. Poison sumac is a woody shrub with leaves grouped in sets of seven to 13 and arranged in pairs. It may have pale-yellow or cream-coloured berries. Urushiol can also hitchhike on gardening tools and gloves, clothing, shoes—even your pet's fur—and then be transmitted to you by touch. So regularly wash these with soapy water or wipe nonwashable items with rubbing alcohol.
