Tag Archives | Animals

Financial Assistance for Pet Owners

By on February 17, 2012 in Home and Family

A Cat

Many pet owners can find the cost of veterinary treatment prohibitive.  The current financial climate has meant significant changes for many households and families who may have had no trouble at all paying for their animals’ care a few years ago but are now struggling.

Many veterinary practices have healthcare schemes into which one can pay regular amounts which cover fees in the event of illness, but even this can be a struggle for some owners.

Listed below are some organizations that can provide assistance for sick animals.

CATS PROTECTION

Cats Protection is involved in numerous neutering programmes, working with partner charities, local authorities and individuals to spread the word.  If you need to neuter your cat and cannot afford the cost, they can help. Visit their website  http://www.cats.org.uk to get further information and find links to a number of larger regional schemes – which you can access directly by approaching the listed vets. In other parts of the UK the assistance is provided through local branches and centres, or through their national neutering team.

Alternatively you can telephone their national helpline on 03000 12 12 12 for more information or assistance in locating your local source of help with cat neutering. You can also email for information or assistance, to neutering@cats.org.uk  and you will need to provide your full name, full address including postcode, telephone number, and details of the number and sexes of the cats you would like neutered. You will also need to give them information about any state benefits you receive and details of your total household income per month.

PDSA

The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) was opened in London in 1917 to provide free veterinary care for sick animals.  This year PDSA will provide more than 2.2 million free treatments to sick and injured pets and more than 360,000 preventive treatments.  It is funded entirely by charity support and continues to provide veterinary support for people in need.  http://www.pdsa.org.uk

To qualify, pet owners need to live within the defined catchment area of a PDSA PetAid hospital or practice service and be receiving either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.  They provide services to dogs, cats and small ‘furries’.

 

A Dog

RSPCA

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has been looking after animals since 1824.  Their work includes rescuing and treating wild animals and pets, providing mobile veterinary clinics and working with government and people to prevent animal cruelty.They do provide low cost veterinary care in their RSPCA Centres around the country and their services are means tested.  Visit their website http://www.rspca.org.uk for more information and to find out whether you would qualify for financial assistance.

THE BLUE CROSS

The Blue Cross is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of sick and unwanted pets.  They take in animals of all shapes and sizes, from hamsters to horses and find them loving new homes. They also help thousands more get the veterinary treatment they need when their owners cannot afford to pay.  Their veterinary services are available to pets whose owners are on certain means-tested benefits or low incomes.  To find out more visit the website at http://www.bluecross.org.uk or telephone them on 0300 777 1897.

DOGS TRUST

Founded in 1891, Dogs Trust (formerly the National Canine Defence League) is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. Their mission is to bring about the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.  They care for around 16,000 dogs at their nationwide network of 17 Re-homing Centres and they run subsidized neutering campaigns.  Visit their site www.dogstrust.org.uk or telephone them 01926 484398 for more information.

IN THE USA

The Humane Society of The United States is the largest animal protection organization  http://www.humanesociety.org and they should be able to put you in touch with resources in your state.

 

Guinnea Pigs

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Local meat producers and Waterloo Cottage Farm

By on October 18, 2011 in Food, Slider, The Great Outdoors

British Saddleback

Before the Shire Book of the Month, currently Pigs, changes, I want to tell you about a local meat producer called Waterloo Cottage Farm and the important role that small producers have in selling good meat from happy animals.

Meat is expensive and so it should be.  To produce good meat takes time, through slow fattening on the right kind of food, fresh air and exercise for the animals, slaughter in the least stressful way possible followed by a decent period of hanging before it finally arrives in your kitchen.

With this in mind, I visited local producer Waterloo Cottage Farm in Great Oxenden, Northamptonshire and was given a tour of the farm by owner, Kirsty Clarke.  We met in the light, cool shop, where a mouth-watering array of meat and produce was displayed.  After a brief chat about what I wanted to see, I was taken out through the back door to the business end of the enterprise.

Glorious Pig

I was confronted by lots of open pens, with several different types of pigs enjoying the sunshine.  I was wearing a long skirt and strappy sandals, so I tucked my skirt into my knickers and prepared to meet the pigs and what a gorgeous crew they were.  I have a big soft spot for pigs at the best of times, but being able to climb into the pens and actually scratch them and talk to them was a treat indeed.

Happy Pig

Saddleback Piglets

And Kirsty did indeed talk to her pigs and her care and enthusiasm for the creatures came across loud and clear.  The farm has a herd of British Saddlebacks which are allowed to mature fully in the fields and woods which surround Waterloo Farm, as well as Petrans and Ginger Durocs.  I became extremely soppy when she introduced me to the piglets who were running and rolling with their mother in the straw.

The Clarkes also have lamb and hogget, chickens, ducks and geese and they select beef and veal from local farms who also use traditional breeds.  All the animals have something in common.  They are all reared using traditional, sustainable farming methods which work with nature, not against it.  The animals are free to lead full, natural lives on healthy soil and fed on natural, local feed and the pigs are slow grown until they are 9-10 months which is a significantly longer life than an intensively bred animal. The barley comes from the farmer next door and the slaughterhouse is only nine miles away, the animals being accompanied there in a quiet and unstressed way which is better for the animal and better for the resulting meat.

Looking at the meat in the shop is a very different experience to browsing the chiller aisles in the supermarket.  The meat is darker in colour and more wholesome-looking than perhaps we’re used to and the bacon and sausages sit in great piles, pleading with you to take them home.  The bacon and hams are cured on the premises and their master butcher produces fresh piles of traditional and artisan varieties of sausages every day.

I bought some bacon and something I haven’t eaten for over thirty years – veal.  I have deliberately avoided veal because of the unspeakable practice of veal crating, but with the sure knowledge that the animal that provided this had been happy, healthy and natural, I took a chop home and had it for my supper.

My veal in the shop

I can honestly say that I’ve never tasted meat like it; it was tender, sweet and juicy and so flavourful I could have wept.  I also had some of their dry cured bacon for my breakfast the following morning and, apart from the taste, the most obvious difference was visual.  No white scum stickily coating the bottom of your frying pan here, and two rashers and a couple of fried eggs was distinctly more filling that the abominable mid-range stuff you buy at the supermarket.

Local producers do an incredible job of farming.  Not only do they help to preserve the rare breeds but they also help to preserve the very land on which they’re reared because of the sustainable ways in which they farm.  The meat hasn’t travelled huge distances and is therefore beneficial to the environment in a wider sense.  They are also firm protagonists of old skills such as proper butchery and artisan methods of preparation and, because of the renewed interest in this kind of food, many farms  are taking on apprentices.  Waterloo Cottage Farm also runs meat craft courses to encourage you to get the best out of their meat.

We must support these local producers in their endeavours by shopping with them whenever we can.  I have said it before and I will keep saying it until you do as you’re told; eat less, eat better.  Learn how to use to meat to get the best out of it and, I am convinced that properly reared, slow grown meat actually fills you up more so you don’t need as much of it.  Eat less, eat better.  It’s better for all of us.

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More maggots

By on September 21, 2011 in Home and Family

A tiny sample

Last night it rained heavily and, yet again, thousands of maggots descended onto my front door step, about a hundred of which crept under the door and onto my hall carpet.  I am now convinced that there is a nest full of dead birds in my guttering and the landlord has been contacted.  However, I spent a fair chunk of last night trying to get every last one of the disgusting, wriggling little bastards off my carpet and out of my vacuum cleaner, where they had not died.  I poured boiling water on the ones outdoors and sprayed them with fly killer and yet they live.  I am frail with revulsion, so no post.

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Winter care for hedgehogs

By on September 6, 2011 in Home and Family, Slider, The Great Outdoors

Erinaceus Eurpaeus

Back in June last year, I wrote an article about hedgehogs because we found one in the lane.  I talked about their habitat, breeding cycle, what they like to read, how they starch their little pocket hankins without tearing them on their prickles etc etc and how to encourage them into the garden.

But now that autumn is approaching, we might want to give some thought to how to care for them during the winter.  Although hedgehogs don’t usually go into hibernation until the end of October or the beginning of November, hoglets that have been born later in the year, called autumn juveniles, may not have grown sufficiently to allow them to hibernate and will need extra care and it is at this time of the year that we need to keep our eyes open for these smaller animals..

Autumn Juveniles:
Autumn juveniles need to weigh at least 1lb / 450g to have enough weight to see them through the winter.  If you find one wandering around after about the end of September, it might be a good idea to put some food and water out to give it a fighting chance.  You can buy special hedgehog biscuits and a canned food called ‘Spike’s Dinner’ if you’re really dedicated, but there are some menu ideas below.

Many baby hedgehogs

Baby Hedgehogs or Hoglets:
If a hoglet is under 6oz / 160g it will need food and warmth during the winter or it will die.  It will need to be placed in a box with lots of clean straw, old towels or scrunched up newspapers.  If it’s really cold, a little hot water bottle could be placed in the box as well.  Make sure you don’t put the little bods on a concrete or mesh floor as their feet are very sensitive and they will get chilled.

Feeding:
Hoglets will need to be fed. An appropriate diet would consist of meat pet food, without gravy, chopped cooked chicken without bones, minced beef or lamb or even a bit of bran or unsweetened  muesli cereal with a bit of water to moisten it.  They also like banana, raisins, unsweetened crushed digestive biscuits and dry cat or hedgehog biscuits.  They will need a drink of fresh water but cows’ milk must not be given as it gives them diarrhoea.  If in doubt, contact your vet or the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Hibernation:
Adult hedgehogs start to hibernate around the end of October or November and their hibernacula are similar to their nesting sites but thicker and more protected. These nests are often sited under tree roots or piles of brushwood, old rabbit burrows, piles of garden waste or under sheds and outbuildings.  These nests can be up to 20” / 50cm thick.  They do occasionally wake up during hibernation but rarely leave their nests.

The main problem with their nesting sites is that often choose places that humans have earmarked for bonfires.  As November 5th approaches, take great care to check heaps of garden rubbish and if you’re preparing a bonfire in advance, check it before the night and, ideally, move it on the day of the bonfire.

They usually start to emerge from hibernation around the middle of March to early April but this will depend on the weather.

Hedgehogs are the gardener’s friends and should be encouraged.  If you go onto the BHPS website they may be able to advise you on how to obtain a hedgehog for your garden and there is useful information on how to care for hedgehogs and how to build a simple nesting box to keep them safe and warm.

By the way though, they don’t really read or wear aprons… they’re fantastic at croquet though.

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Catastrophic mistake

By on November 4, 2010 in Home and Family

This morning I took Jeremiah to the vet to be spayed.  She must be about 6 months old now as I estimated that she looked like a twelve week kitten when we found her.  I was seriously worried that she might be pregnant already as she appeared to be eating more than usual and had starting peeing on the furniture.  I instructed the vet that, if this was so, she should continue with the operation anyway.  I have no wish for another litter of kittens.

Jeremiah was popped up onto the couch while the vet examined her. 
“She’s got a very full bladder”, she said.  “Oh”  she paused  “and testicles”. 
“What?!” I spluttered. 
“Testicles” repeated the vet.  “She’s got bollocks.”
“But I looked,” I muttered feebly
“Well, in your defence, they’re very high up – easily missed” she said reassuringly. “Shall I whip them off anyway?”
“Oh yes please” I said,  “…and the weeing on the bed?”
“Marking” she said.
“10 out of 10” I said.

Thank goodness we called him Jeremiah and not Violet.
Smog is being much kinder.

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Prang!!!!!

By on October 27, 2010 in Home and Family, The Big, Wide World

Well, it never rains but it bloody pours.

Tonight, Irish Alice (I.A) and her daughter, Yippee I.A., joined us for a trip to the pictures.  Boy the Elder and Yippee have been friends since they were four and we often join forces for cinema trips.  We went to Pizza Hut for a feed and then the three children went to see ‘Despicable Me’ in 3D while I.A. and I slipped into the pub next door for a glass of something white and chilled. Everybody happy.

As we left, I decided to pop into Tesco for some petrol to save time in the morning.  I was just driving off the forecourt when, completely unbidden, a black Vauxhall Astra ploughed, with some force, into my front wing.  I jumped out to inspect the damage and speak sternly to the other driver just in time to see my front bumper crash to the ground, lightly frosted with the remains of my headlight.

The other driver was a young girl who was sobbing hysterically at the wheel and it was her boyfriend who got out and talked to me.  They both admitted it was her fault, but he explained that her hysteria was entirely justified as she had hit another car only two weeks previously. 

The staff at the Tesco garage were absolutely brilliant.  They immediately came out, cleared up, coned off the area, took the girl inside while her boyfriend parked the car, gave my children a drink and kept everyone calm while we exchanged details.  I was actually completely calm as there is no point in being anything else; these things happen and will undoubtedly happen again.  I told the girl this would make her a better driver as she would be a lot more careful in future.  I’m sure that was a great comfort.

I called the AA, confident of a rescue; after all, I had upgraded at huge expense when my car broke down in Norfolk in the Spring.  But no.  Apparently the small print in my contact says they won’t rescue me if I’m in a car accident, but if I paid another £114 there and then, they would rescue me with pleasure.  When I’d stopped shouting at him in Anglo Saxon, I told him he could shove his policy up his useless arse.  There seems to be no end to the list of reasons why the AA don’t want to rescue me.

Now this is the amazing bit.  Tesco have an arrangement with the RAC that if anyone breaks down on their premises, an RAC vehicle will come out free of charge and sort you out, including taking you home within a 10 mile radius.  A rescue vehicle arrived within 15 minutes.  He assessed my car, which was driveable, taped it up to make it safe and recommended that I should take it, slowly,  to my garage immediately.  He was confident that my insurance company (broker?  The AA – hurrah) would consider it a write off.

I love my car.  It is an X-reg Ford Escort – the last of its kind before they switched to making the Focus instead and it has a wicked sound system.  My mechanic (in whom I am well pleased) also loves my car because it’s mechanical with real machinery that whirrs and chugs and, more importantly, he can mend it with ease.  More importantly still, I have no means with which to buy another car.  Mr RAC was quite reassuring though, because he assessed that the damage was all bodywork and that my insurance company is likely to give me the money and my car back which will mean that I can afford to repair it.  Fingers crossed.

Yet again, The Father of My Children came to my rescue and brought us home from the garage.  We now have a day off as I can’t take the children to school or do any of my own activities. Boy the Elder is delighted.

I will also have to cancel taking Jeremiah to the vet to be spayed.  As it happens, I suspect that she is already pregnant, as she started the day by wee-ing on my bed at seven o’clock this morning and she appears to be eating for ten cats. 

One day at a time…..

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Evil Mother

By on September 6, 2010 in Home and Family

I have droned on in the past about the magnificent untidiness of my sons.  Despite the advice that Long Lost Cousins 1 and 2 gave me, which was to let them be as disgusting as they like, I have found that I just can’t.  I’m not a naturally tidy person myself, so I don’t expect Stepford Children, but the chaos has such a knock-on effect in being unable to find school uniform, clean clothes, PE kits, shoes etc that it is simply not sustainable.

As I have also mentioned, we are now a two-cat family.  Smog, the first to arrive, hates Jeremiah with a passion and left a large pile of protest crap behind Boy the Younger’s bed.  We were fairly quickly alerted by the smell, but the unconscionable mess in his room meant that we just couldn’t find it.  We started the clearance procedure last Monday, which almost certainly exacerbated my asthma attack, and the offending ordure was finally located. 

However, the mess in the room was at such a level that I couldn’t pull the bed out far enough to get behind to clear it up, so Boy the Younger has had to sleep with me.  We have been so busy the last week that I just closed the door until we had the time to finish tidying in one hit. 

That one hit was yesterday.  At 3pm I told The Boys that they had until 7pm to completely and utterly clear the room.  Every single tiny toy in its correct box, every sock, every bit of Lego, every miniscule Playmobil accessory must be picked up and put away properly.  They have labelled plastic boxes for all their different toys so this is not technically difficult.

And the punishment for failure?  For every item that I found on the floor after the 7pm deadline, one complete toy box would be sold on Ebay and I would keep the profit.  I didn’t care whether it was all their Lego, The Playmobil Pyramid that was a joint present from the whole family or the Nintendo DS.  Leading up to Christmas, I reckon I could make a tidy packet.

The room was perfect by 6.30pm and Boy the Younger is back in his own bed.

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Pollcat

By on August 28, 2010 in Home and Family

I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who voted on what we should call the kitten.

The results were as follows:

Violet              25%
Trex                 15%
Sonic               10%
Jeremiah       10%

We then had an assortment of excellent name suggestions which were:

Tiddles, Rover, Sooty, Bubbles, Raven, Pickle, Spike (because she was found in a Hawthorne tree – nice one).
And last, but not least, a big thank you to whoever suggested Nignog.  If only. 
Don’t we usually have that at Christmas?

We have called her Jeremiah.

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Three Things, No! Four Things must I tell you.

By on August 18, 2010 in Food, Home and Family

Only a short one as it’s rather late and I have Sister the Second staying with me.

A Further Note on Kedgeree:
Don’t throw the milk away in which you poached the haddock.  Put it in a jug in the fridge and use it the next day as a white sauce base for a fish pie.  I cooked it for dinner last night with a steamed broccoli accompaniment and not only was it really, really nice, but there is happily enough left for breakfast.  Yippee!  I’ve just realised that I’ve never given you a recipe for Fish Pie.  Good Lord. On its way…

A Good Film:
The Boat That Rocked.  I watched it last night for the third time and still find it just as riveting and funny.  I felt a great longing for a time of complete freedom with few negative consequences.  It’s about pirate radio in the 60s and it has a superb soundtrack.  Watch it at once.

Feline Update:
We have decided to keep the kitten.  Boy the Younger and I are unable to name it until Boy the Elder returns from camp.  All suggestions gratefully received.  Just for information, my existing cat is called Smog. *

A Chip Off the Old Block:
As I was making up the bed in Boy the Elder’s room this evening, I glanced up at his book shelf and a tear came to my eye.  He has organised his books into genres and labelled the shelves appropriately with neatly written, white labels.  My son!

*PS.  Just because I have got cats does not mean I’ve given up on relationships.  The cats found me so one could assume that it was the cats that have given up.

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History in danger of repeating itself as yet another black cat arrives on my doorstep

By on July 15, 2010 in Home and Family

As I was talking to my sister on the ‘phone this afternoon, The Boys came in very excitedly and told me I was needed outside.  I walked down the path towards the church and there, about twelve feet up a hawthorn tree, was a tiny, fluffy, black, mewing kitten, no more than twelve weeks old at a guess.  It was obviously distressed and had been up there some time.  Apparently it had been on the path the day before.  The Boys had tried to tell me but I had been in a foul temper and wasn’t listening.  “What do I look like? The Cats’ Bloody Protection League!” was my measured response.

A stepladder was brought and, standing on one tiptoe, half hanging from an upper, spiky branch, I retrieved it, swearing vilely as the thorns lacerated my sunburned arms and brought it home. It was fed and watered and put in Smog’s old blanket in Smog’s old basket.  Smog spurns her basket now, preferring Boy the Younger’s head.  I am very strict about no animals in bedrooms, but in this, as in many things, I am disregarded.

A note was hastily despatched to the village shop reading “Kitten Found.  Please contact…” and I sincerely hope that I am contacted.  And yet, and yet, I have this sneaking suspicion that no-one is going to call.  She’s a dear little thing and I’m sure someone is missing her terribly. I have forbidden the boys to name her, particularly as Boy the Younger wants to call her Marion and Boy the Elder is hovering between Shadow and Yoshi.  I will not be drawn.

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