Caring for Wildlife in Autumn and Winter

As the summer fades away and autumn returns, it's a nice idea to think about how the wildlife in your gardens will cope. Food can become scarce as the weather cools so by taking just a few minutes to care for the birds and other creatures it will not only help them to survive but it can be a great way for little ones to learn about caring for animals too! 

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You can make fatballs of your own as a source of food or purchase bird feeders for just a few pounds. Try to ensure that they are in a location where birds can access them with ease, without the risk of attack from cats and don't place them too close to windows. Keep them topped up all season and clean or replace them when necessary as a damaged feeder can cause injury. 

Family Fun at The Welsh Mountain Zoo

Voted one of the top ten attractions in North Wales, the Welsh Mountain Zoo is a lovely place for a day trip, especially as it reasonably low cost too. For just £38.10 a family of four like ours can spend the day interacting with animals, watching creatures big and small being fed and having lots of outdoor play at the Jungle Adventureland. We have just returned from a holiday at Conwy over Easter and this attraction really appealed to the Mini Mes.

After paying from your vehicle at the entrance you drive around to the car park which is in the centre of the zoo. It's a really picturesque location with some stunning views across the Snowdonia Mountain range, Isle of Anglesey and the coastline. If you don't want to take your car you can always pop on the free mini bus between May and September from the railway station nearby instead however.

Discovering the Best Super Foods for Your Pet and You

Many people have favourite pet food brands and they will argue that their choice is the best. The discussion about which pet foods are healthiest can be as detailed as what the best fence for dogs is and whether the pet stop invisible fence is at the top of the list. It sounds silly to non-pet people, but those of us who believe our pets are family members are passionate about finding the safest, healthiest products for them.

While the proper containment for your pet is definitely important, even more so is what you feed them. Even buying pet food that is labelled organic or natural may not be the best choice, as government regulations are not that strict about what can be in pet foods that are labelled organic. The only way to be sure your pet is getting the safe, healthy food they deserve is to make it yourself. With the following list of super foods, it will be a snap for you!

WIN Tickets to the London Pet Show (and more) with Zoflora

Zoflora are pleased to be sponsoring the Super Theatre and World of Cats at the London Pet Show this year and to celebrate I have an amazing bundle of goodies to giveaway to one lucky reader!

The London Pet Show takes place at Earls Court One on 17th & 18th May and promises to be even bigger and better than ever before! There is the SuperDogs Live competition hosted by Ben Fogle, rabbit show jumping and even racing micro-pigs to keep you and your family entertained. 

There are hundreds of animals to see including dogs, cats, reptiles, fish and ponies too!

WOW toys and RSPCA My Pocket Pets *Review and giveaway*

The Mini Mes love animals, with Minxy longing to be a vet when she is older, so the new My Pocket Pet figures from WOW Toys and the RSPCA are the perfect pocket money pals!

The cute and collectable RSPCA Animal Figure packs are suitable for children over the age of 18 months and created by WOW Toys. There are 6 animals to collect in this series: Pippi the pooch, Socks the cat, Clarissa the cow, Patch the pig, Wiggles the Dalmatian and Jenny the horse. 

 

Every pack contains an animal figure and an activity sheet. The sheet includes activities like colouring in and dot-to-dot which is great for building fine motor skills. There is a cartoon and information on animal welfare teaching the importance of taking care of animals.

The Mini Mes thought these were really sweet, although they are aimed at a slightly younger age group, and they liked the idea of each foil wrapped toy being a surprise until it was opened. They have had fun with the figures in the bath and combined with their other animal and character play sets too.

The RSPCA’s trading manager Cathy Snow said: “Pocket Pets perfectly brings together charming and fun toys that children will love with an easy to understand and appealingly presented message about animal welfare. It will not only encourage awareness but will also help to raise valuable funds that will allow the RSPCA to continue helping to care for animals. We are delighted to be working with WOW Toys in what we are sure will be a long and productive partnership.”

RSPCA MY Pocket Pets will be on sale with an SSP of £1.99 which I think is good value. It makes a nice treat as an alternative to sweets and would go well in toddler party bags. You can purchase your figures from a variety of  high street and online outlets including Waterstones, Tesco, WH Smiths, Tesco Direct and Amazon and participating RSPCA outlets. The toys will also be listed in independent toy shops as well as a number of post offices and newsagents. 

*** WIN ***

For your chance to win 1 of 6 RSPCA My Pocket Pets you can enter via the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The giveaway closes on 15th March 2013.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*We were provided with My Pocket Pets for the purpose of this review and giveaway. The opinions given are honest and our own*

The importance of pet insurance

Pets quickly become part of the family and many of us build unbreakable bonds with cats and dogs in particular as they live in our homes for many years - even if they cover it in fur!

Our Border Collie Spartan has just turned one and despite the stuffing being pulled from cushions and little puddles being left on the floor in the early days, he is very loveable, a wonderful companion and we would not want to be without him. The Mini Mes have become very close to him and are often found sneaking him upstairs for cuddles in their rooms and they are keen to come along on walks too which is beneficial for us all.

So far we have been lucky that he has never been ill or needed treatment from the vet bar his annual boosters, but if something more sinister did occur we would like to know he would receive the care he requires without a hefty bill at the end.

Illness and accidents can be costly but paying a small monthly payment can help to ensure your pet will be looked after if or when the time comes without fear you can't make payment. A lack of funds could result in your beloved pet being put to sleep or being re-homed, as harsh at it may seem, which none of us would want.

After searching online for pet insurance I came across this cute advert of a comparison site, so I headed to the Choosi website to see what they could offer.

Choosi have a variety of pet insurance plans to select from to suit your individual financial and pet needs. Insurance helps you cover the fee for unexpected trips to the vet which can add up to hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. Even a small wound or ear infection can ring up a bill that will make you cringe to look at. They have accident and illness cover or a lower premium alternative of accidents only. If you wish to include routine care within your insurance you can opt for that too which helps with the cost of micro-chipping, de-sexing and vaccinations.

We cover our household appliances from breakdown, our vehicles and our own lives too so it's important not to forget the little balls of fluff that are so important to us aswell.

Are your pets covered?

Saturday Caption #SatCap

Check out this bunch of wild animals!

Do you have a funny or witty comment to go with it?! I would love to hear it.

We are out today but I'll pop over and comment back later on.

Head over to the wonderful Mammasaurus for more photos to caption or to link up your own.

Have a great weekend!

Silent Sunday

Woburn Safari Park

A day out is even better when it's free and we recently won a family pass to the Zoo from Tilda! We selected our date, the tickets were booked and yesterday we made our way to Woburn Safari Park for our family trip.

Despite rain on the forecast, when we arrived at opening it was dry and reasonably bright. We drove inside and decided to go through the Safari area first before the rain hit, knowing that the animals head to the shelters when it's damp out.

The Mini Mes were fascinated and really excited to be so close to the animals. I'd been before with Jamster but this was a whole new experience for Minxy. She kept saying how awesome it was and that it was 'the best day ever' so she definitely loved it!

Some pictures from the safari....

And everyone's favourite...

We parked next to the foot safari and enjoyed a picnic lunch before going to explore. The rain was now pouring down but we still enjoyed seeing some more animals, especially the cute and friendly marmosets and playful penguins!

Before heading home we popped into the gift shop, where there was LOADS to choose from at reasonable prices, and we repeated the road safari. Both of the Mini Mes settled on a soft toy and the Mr had fun trying on some shades!

*This is not a sponsored post. We won tickets to Woburn and chose to share our experience*

Project 366, 150/366 - Readathon

My daughter has a subscription to Animals and You magazine and the latest edition has some information on the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and how they try to help orphaned animals. Minxy and her love of animals, hence the animal themed subscription, had asked to sell lemonade to raise money to help the charity (too much looney tunes and ICarly maybe) which I said wasn't really possible. She then suggested a sponsored read - great idea! She loves reading so between us we thought that reading 50 books in 50 days would be the best option.

We took this picture this evening to use as her image for her just giving sponsor page ready for her readathon to begin on 1st June.

If you would like to sponsor her please visit www.justgiving.com/chloesreadathon - she and I would really appreciate your support.