Meet George and Harry

My very good friend Jane has just adopted two siamese cats - brothers. They're 3 years old, and practically identical. Their original mom died, and they went to a foster home, and through the Siamese Rescue, the lucky boys have a lovely new home. They have settled in well. Of course I couldn't wait to meet them, and I took my camera along:

The sock monkey was a gift for Jane, but I though it would look cute with George and Harry. And next time I visit the boys, I will take them a catnip toy- - promise!

If the hens only knew...................................

10,000 battery hens are soon to be rescued and re-homed.
The fabulous Little Hen Rescue in Norwich UK have negotiated handing them
over from a battery farm that is soon closing down.
Battery hens live in appalling conditions, cramped cages, unable to move properly, sometimes unable to stand, with wire flooring, never seeing daylight or smelling fresh air. Many pluck their feathers out from boredom, frustration, pain, or through fighting.
It is not surprising that when these beautiful creatures
are rescued they can be in a terrible state,
having twisted joints, or lameness,
or having had their beaks cut down, or suffering from malnutrition.

So along with the rescue comes a host of health and medical problems. One problem that can easily be helped by anyone prepared to give a little time and effort is to make 'hen jackets' - yes, that's right 'hen jackets'. These simple tabard style 'jackets' will help keep the bald hens warm, and help them climatise while settling in to their new found freedom. it can be a bit of a shock to their system after being cooped up for so long. I have made an assortment of hen jackets to donate to Little Hen Rescue.
I'll be sending them off to the rescue this weekend (there are 17 jackets in all).
This looks like a scene from 'Washing Day at the Hen House'

These are a few jackets close up. It appealed to my sense of humour to make one with a hen on it :) yeah, corny I know!










Also the 'high visibility' ones made me smile.

I used a variety of fabrics, basically anything that was going spare. The hens need fleece for warmth, but I also used brushed cotton, and jersey. I made a template from the one provided on Little Hen Rescue site. Attaching Velcro for fastening. it occurred to me after I'd finished them (yeah, yeah, hindsight is a wonderful thing!) that maybe the edges of the fabric did not need overlocking, as the jackets will be discard once the hens have gotten used to their new homes and their feathers have, hopefully, grown back. So there may have been an even quicker way to make them, not sure................................. added note' I have been informed that they ask the jackets to be returned, so that they may be reused, so maybe my overlocking was needed after all'
I'm glad to have helped in my small way. If anyone wishes to help Little Hen Rescue, by making hen jackets, or donations, or indeed, giving a home to rescued hens, you can contact them, or check out their web page.

Hens need re-homing

Notice on Vegan Village noticeboard:

Hens need rescuing10,000 hens need rehoming from battery farm in Norfolk, UK, which is closing-down. If you would like a hen or two or know someone who would please contact littlehenrescue@googlemail.com. Any not rehomed by 28 June will be slaughtered.
Annette of Dragon House of Yuen has done a wonderful write up:
http://dragonhouseofyuen.blogspot.com/2009/05/11000-british-ex-battery-hens-needing.html

Priceless Moments - I love mine!

Winning a prize is always a surprise. I enter contests sporadically, and tend to forget about them, so if I get notification that I've won something, I'm genuinely surprised and thrilled.

Recently Dragon House of Yuen had a contest, which raised funds for rescued rabbits at Buckeye House Rabbit Society

The first prize was an amazing Arabella Bag which is absolutely adorable. There were 5 runner up prizes of gift vouchers for Dragon House of Yuen's Etsy shop

I was lucky enough to win a runner up prize, and had the delightful task of choosing something from this wonderful shop.

After pondering the many delightful items, I chose this wonderful ACEO which is one of a collection of Priceless Moments ACEO's. Each piece of artwork comes with a little story. My Priceless Moment was 'Let the Journey Begin', which said to me 'embrace all things new, have an adventure, welcome change'. And I love it.

The prize arrived, very carefully packaged, and very beautifully wrapped inside. To my delight, had some extras with it. A gorgeous Arabella Card, and a very special ACEO, which had been made with my own cats in mind this is the ACOE, and the story read:

Priceless had rustled up some delicious vegan snacks. (It had taken him all morning and the kitchen was still a complete mess). There’s always time for a bite he thought. He called in Pinkie, Ruby and Billy and Molly and… The soup smelled just so delicious and he could see that everyone was drooling. In fact, as he served the soup up, he realized that he had made enough for twenty-four hours worth of meals! Good grief! he thought. Never-the-less we shall share the moment.

How adorable is that! and so very unique! I am truly delighted with my gifts from

Dragon House of Yuen and the store owner is a remarkably talented and generous lady. You can read more about Dragon House of Yuen by visiting http://dragonhouseofyuen.etsy.com/ or http://dragonhouseofyuen.blogspot.com/

Here are some photos of the delightful items you will find in this magical shop:

Small Acts of Animals Kindness.

Everyone interested in helping animals really should check out this link:
http://smallrandomactsofanimalkindness.blogspot.com/

It's a fabulous idea, and well worth joining in. Take a look!

And as for that beautiful little chihauhau Grace, she's absolutely adorable. i wish her ever luck in finding her forever home, only wish she could come to live with me.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12780614

SASHA Farm Silent Auction

SASHA is a farmed animal sanctuary in Manchester, Michigan. We have more than 200 rescued animals living on 65 beautiful acres, each one of them receiving all of the love and care our volunteers have to give. Our residents have come from a variety of rotten circumstances,but now each one has a safe place to call home for the rest of their lives. In order to raise the money needed to house, feed, and provide medical care for our animals, SASHA holds fundraisers like the SilentAuction. Donated items are put up for bid and our guests come armed with their wallets to support the farm! If you'd like to donate an item for the auction, we'd be grateful for the help! The value of your donation is tax deductible, and if you'd like to send along some business cards I'll display them with your item. Your etsy store address or website will also be listed on the bid sheet, so our attendees know where to find you. The deadline for donations (vegan items only, please!) is April 4. For more info about the farm, check out the website at www.sashafarm.org and the blog at www.sashafarm.org/blog/. My email is JasperKat2@yahoo, please contact me with any questions! And check out the album named "SASHA Farm Sanctuary if you'd like to see pics of some of our animals, they're pretty darn cute.

CATCH Cardiff Cat Rescue Christmas Fair

A little late in posting, but I've only just got around to sorting out photos.

On 29th November, I help a local cat rescue group (CATCH- feral cat rescue), with their Christmas fair. It was a long, cold day, with an early start. We collected donated otems at a central point (the leader of the rescue group's house), and took them to the school hall for the fair. A lot of carrying later, we were in the hall setting up. Luckily, the organiser, Heather, had made a plan of the hall, so we knew where to put everything. My contribution to the stalls, were handmade catnip toys, and vegan cupcakes. I was very impressed with my cupcakes, as this is the first time I've made them. I used a recipe from the marvelous book 'Vegan Cupcakes Take over the world', which is delightful to read, and had the most scrumptious recipes ever. I made the basic cupcakes, with lemon oil in the frosting, and the chocolate cupcakes. Both were delicious. Of course I made enough to have some myself :)

The day was very busy. Lots of bric-a-brac was sold, along with many , many homemade cakes and raffle tickets. I helped out on the haberdashery stall, which was not too busy, but it was fun, chatting with other helpers and visitors. The fair was from 12pm-4pm. We were all glad when it ended, it seemed like a long and cold day, and it was tiring being on our feet all day. Everyone was cheerful, and the rescue group made enough money to fay for quite a few neutering and medical bills for the coming year.

Here are some picture of the day, oh and, all the helpers wore christmas hats and outfits!!!!

a welcome break for some happy helpers!

Christmas Room to Help Animals

The wonderful organisation 'It'sMeowOrNever' have set up a virtual Christmas Room to raise funds for their animal shelter. It's a fabulous idea to raise funds and very festive. This is my understanding of how it works:
Shops have donated 'virtual gifts', which have been listed in the Christmas Room, with a donation amount under it. Anyone can buy a donation, and the virtual gift will appear in the Christmas Room, to help decorate it. It's such a fun, novelty idea. The room has already started to be decorated, check it out at: http://www.itsmeowornever.org/xmas/xmas_room.asp