Mother's Day Sunday Selfie and Blog4Peace For Ukraine

Today in the UK and in some other parts of the world it is Mother's Day. 

Happy Mother's Day to all mums everywhere! 

💕

Hosted by The Cat On My Head

BLOG4PEACE

We are also joining the Blog4PeaceUkraine event, hosted by Blog4Peace founder Mimi Lenox. 

We purr for peace and love to the people and animals of Ukraine.

We wish there was peace everywhere.

🌍

☮

"All we are saying is give peace a chance."

-John Lennon

"All you need is love."

- The Beatles

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

-Jimi  Hendrix

https://mimiwrites.blogspot.com/

HOW YOU CAN HELP WAR-TORN UKRAINE'S TRAUMATIZED ANIMALS 

Viva!, the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, is helping to rescue and care for the animals who are caught up in the horrors of the Ukraine-Russia war. Viva! UK will accept donations and quickly transfer it to their sister organisation Viva! Poland. 

“The scale of the problem for both people and their animals is vast,” says Juliet Gellatley, founder and director of Viva!. “We needed to organise rapidly to meet the enormous demand – and we have. At the heart of our humanitarian effort is our 52-acre sanctuary at Korabiewicach near Warsaw, where we have taken in 100 cats and dogs from Ukrainian shelters who were at risk of starving or being bombed – as well as some from refugees who could not care for them any longer, but with 450 existing animals in the shelter it is rapidly filling up. An urgent email appeal to Viva! UK supporters produced £30,000, which was immediately transferred to Poland, where it’s needed. We anticipate doubling or trebling this figure shortly with our postal appeal.

“To ensure we can accept more animals into our Polish sanctuary, we have launched a rehoming scheme in the UK, where we have appealed to British people to home some of our existing Polish dogs, whose characters we know and who don’t require quarantine. They have responded magnificently, creating more space for us to receive new refugee dogs.”

Eurogroup For Animals also has a list of animal welfare and rescue organisations helping Ukrainian animals. Here are a few. Please visit their site for others.

•  Deutscher Tierschutzbund - Shelter Tierschutzzentrum Odessa 
•  Four Paws 
• Humanny Pokrok is donating 100% of their e-shop income to support Ukraine
•  Open Cages 
• LAVSpolečnost pro zvířata
• GATO 
• LithuaniaWorld Horse Welfare 
•  British Equestrians for Ukraine Fund

✌

Pet Photo Fails

We are also joining Melissa and Mudpie for the Pet Photo Fails hop.

Soaking up sundpuddles on the landing but the image is definitely a fail as it's way too bright. My pose is good though!

Animals Need a Voice in Politics Too #AnimalDay

Here in the UK, we're having a General Election on 12 December 2019.

Whilst Mum and I hate to post about politics here - this is very important.

ANIMALS NEED YOUR VOTE!

So if you love animals be certain that the party you are voting for makes clear its policies on Animal Welfare and Rights. Read up on their manifesto and see where animals stand.


ALL LIVES MATTER!

#VOTES4ANIMALS

This Animal Day for the UK General Election 2019 we are calling on all political parties to tell voters what they will do to improve animal welfare.

Mum supports the Animal Welfare Party and so we want to give them a shout out on my blog. They do so much for animals and deserve to be heard - for the animals, and for people and the environment.

We're pleased to hear that the Animal Welfare Party has recently announced the 6 candidates contesting the 2019 General Election.

Unfortunately, there is no candidate standing in our constituency in the Essex town where we now live. When we lived in London, Mum could vote for them. Now she can't. 

However, we will continue to support the party - for the animals!







Follow Mum's Pinterest Board VOICE FOR ANIMALS for more animal welfare and rights news and updates.  

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Athena Cat Goddess is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Speak Up For Animals #BtC4A

Help the Animal Welfare Party be a VOICE FOR ANIMALS!

If you are a true animal lover then you will want what's best for all animals. Not just your pet.

Mum is a member of The Animal Welfare Party, a UK political party for people, animals and the environment. We both want to help spread the word for all the animals in the world because we cannot speak up for ourselves (well, we can, but humans don't really communicate in the way that we do and many, to be honest, are ingnorant and selfish and care only for their own needs.

But we know there are true animal angels out there that really want to do what's best for their furry (and not so furry) friends. Without them, what chance do we have?

From the AWP website:

The AWP believes in a better future for people, animals and the environment. Our policies are aimed at creating a fairer, more equitable and sustainable society in which the interests of the environment, people and animals are taken into account. 

Our key policies include: 

• Redirecting subsidies from livestock and fisheries farming to plant-based agriculture 

• Promoting healthy plant-based lifestyle initiatives in schools, GP practices and the workplace 

• Phasing out animal experimentation with binding targets for reduction and funding and support for alternatives 

• Phasing out farming practices with poor welfare consequences for animals 

• Increasing penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty

If you live in the UK and want to speak up for animals please visit the AWP website

***

It's also National Pet Month in the UK so we would like to share this great infographic about Keeping Your Pets Safe. 

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for writing this post. Full disclosure here

Speak Up For Cats! #CatManifesto

Check out this great video by the Cats Protection. It's about the Cat Manifesto they launched earlier this month as part of a campaign to call on the UK Government 'to put in place measures to protect cats form abandonment, harm and neglect.'

Visit the Cats Protection website to find out more, and furry friends from the UK, get your humans to email your local MP to speak up for cats! Mum has already done so.

Charity Tuesday: Blog the Change for Animals #BtC4A

I have been a very lucky cat because I found the best forever home and human mum ever. Some cats aren't so lucky, and that's really sad.

So as it's Charity Tuesday, I've decided to blog about it to help other cats find forever homes too.

And my mum just told me that it is Blog the Change for Animals day too, so how fitting that I decided to post this today!

As an animal advocate, my mum already posts a lot about animal adoption on her blog, but I told her we should do it on mine too because I am a rescue cat, and have my own book out, A Forever Home For Athena, telling the world about my own rescue story, and which I wrote with my mum to help raise money for three of our favourite cat charities.

If you don't know much about me and haven't read my book yet, here is the very short version:

I was a little abandoned kitten who thought my life was truly over until I got rescued by Wood Green the Animal Charity. I then got taken to their London centre, and though I was very scared in there, it wasn't long before I found a forever home. You see, that's where my mum came to adopt me (after she had seen me on the Wood Green website.)

It was love at first sight for the both of us.

As I was rescued by the London shelter, I wanted to help other cats that are currently there waiting for their forever home too. I hope they are as lucky as I was and get adopted quickly into loving homes.

I know most of you are from US, but for any UK readers, if you live nearby and are looking for a new cat why not check out the Wood Green website for more information? Maybe, just like my mum and me, you will find the purrfect match for you!

Wood Green has cats available for rehoming at three of their shelters - Godmanchester, Heydon and London.

LIONESS

Description

Lioness was brought into the London shelter as her owner could no longer look after her. She is still getting used to shelter life, so is understandably a little shy and nervous. However she loves to be made a fuss off and enjoys the company of people. Lioness is looking for a home with previous cat experience who can help her blossom into a loving member of the family.

To find out more about LIONESS, please CLICK HERE

Help Raise Money For Animals In Need With These Amazing Books!

I'm sharing this from my mum's blog because it's very important.

Help raise money for animals in need with these amazing titles.

September Sale!

All titles just $0.99 each!

From bestselling and award winning author, Sibel Hodge, comes an inspirational coming of age novel...

"A percentage of the royalties from the sale of this book will be contributed to Panthera, a leading international conservation organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the world's big cats, plus other wildlife conservation groups." -- Sibel Hodge, Author

Buy it here: Amazon Amazon UK

 or here: Smashwords

Linda Deane is a South African author and actively involved in the rescue and rehome network. She takes in abused and abandoned cats and kittens, fostering them until their forever homes are found. Her writing goes towards the sterilization and feeding of the animals in her care. 

Ice Angel is a fictitious tribute to one of her very special rescued kitties – an imagined account of one of her nine lives.

Buy it here: Amazon  Amazon UK

or here: Smashwords

Have you ever wished your cat could talk or wondered where he/she goes when you are not around?

Kiwi in Cat City is the first book in a series, of which there are six fun adventures so far. Furry fun for ages 9-99.

Vickie Johnstone supports Hillside Animal Sanctuary, UK, where unwanted and abused animals are given a much needed sanctuary. 

Buy it here: Amazon Amazon UK

or here: Smashwords

“A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to three of my favourite animal charities.” – Marie Symeou, Author  

This is the story of a cute tabby kitten (my Athena) as she awaits her fate at an animal rescue shelter. Will she find her forever home? A heartwarming story for both children and adults alike. 

Note from the author: "For this month only I will be donating ALL ROYALTIES to my chosen charities."

 Buy it here: Amazon Amazon UK

or here: Smashwords

Wordless Wednesday

 Get off that computer now, Mum. I want my dinner!

Thanks for popping in to see me this Wordless Wednesday. Hope you are having a good one!

Have you downloaded a copy of my book yet?

Special Sale Price throughout September 

ONLY 99c (77p) 

ALL ROYALTIES THIS MONTH WILL BE DONATED TO 

MY MUM'S 3 FAVOURITE CHARITIES

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS




Excerpt from A FOREVER HOME FOR ATHENA

Here's an excerpt from my new book A FOREVER HOME FOR ATHENA, currently available as an ebook on Kindle and through Smashwords. There will be a paperback edition released soon. Remember, a portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated by my mum to her 3 favourite animal charities. 

Chapter 1 

I am sitting on my mum’s lap, purring. This is what I love most in the world. It’s a cold early start to the day and the heating has just come on. I screw up my nose as Mum picks up her cup of coffee from the table to drink. I hate the smell and can never understand how Mum loves to drink it. But never mind. I love my mum, no matter what she smells like. She saved my life.

I could never remember much of my early life as a kitten. Anything I did remember made my heart hurt a lot. I had some scary moments which I wanted to forget about because it was better not to think about those things. 

I’ve always been a great believer in living in the moment. In fact most animals think like that. Only humans, it seems, can never live by that rule. That’s why they are always worried about something or other and feeling stressed all the time. This is something my mum has a problem with. But I’ve taught her not to be like that and she really appreciates it. She is a happier, calmer person now. 

But back to my early life as a little kitten. Sometimes I do dream about how I used to live. You see, these dreams are not very nice dreams because I had once lived a very rough life on the streets. The good thing was I had not been alone because I had my sister with me. She was black all over, whereas I’m tabby. A brown/black tabby. 

When I came to live with my human mum, I did soon realise that she wasn’t my real mum. Unfortunately, I could not really remember my real mum at the time. Which makes me sad sometimes. 

But my human mum hugged me close like a real mum would right from when we first met, and I immediately loved her like she was my real mum. She can always sense when I feel sad. I too can sense her feelings and I like to snuggle extra close to her when she is feeling upset about something. 

Like she is now. But I don’t want her to be upset so this morning I am providing her with an extra long purring and healing session. Oh, I love her so much. I have such a lot to be grateful for. 

But I really should get back to my story about how I came to live here, hadn’t I? As I tell you my story, I do realise that it could have been very different. I sometimes dread to think what could have happened to me if I had not been so lucky. 

As very young kittens my sister and I had been left out in the cold and we had to fend for ourselves. We were totally lost and alone in the world and soon became so hungry and we could not stop shivering from the cold. Even though we had both been born in the month of May - springtime - the early mornings were still very frosty in London. 

Now that I am older I do remember quite a bit about what happened to me then. Before I had been abandoned with my sister, I remember I was the smallest kitten in the litter and I struggled to get fed. I had to push my way through my other siblings to get to my mum, my cat mum, my real mum, for the feed. Then sadly, my cat mum got sick and died. 

Us kittens were with her and then suddenly we weren’t.  A man with a loud voice that boomed had frightened me suddenly back then, He had been shouting at his lady and two little humans. 

'Get rid of the kittens! We can't afford to feed them!' 

Little humans were crying and hurt my ears. I heard a loud bang and I jumped. My sister did the same. Then suddenly there we were, shuffling along in someone’s garden. 

I remember an old bathtub with funny feet and lots of weeds and yellow flowers, and with long grass growing out of it and under it, and it was very wet. I liked to snuggle under this and eat the grass. I was very hungry. All around me I could hear lots of noise and horns blowing, and horrible sirens. Many people shouting, coming and going. And funny smells that made me so dizzy.  But no one seemed to notice me or my sister. I couldn’t understand it. I'm so sure now that if my human mum had walked by then she would have seen me and saved me. But it didn’t turn out like that. 

It was so wet and soggy there and very cold. Even at night there was lots of noise and I couldn't sleep. Nestled up close to my sister, I felt scared to close my eyes because of the fear of what might happen to us as we slept. A big dog or fox could eat us, or a giant human could pick us up and throw us or step on us with their big heavy feet. I was really scared by this point. Perhaps I would die just like my real mum. I just knew then that this world was very cruel and I didn't want to stay in it any longer.

It was scary searching for food without our mother to guide us. We were both so starving. We ate some worms and insects, but as I said, I took to liking grass. I noticed that it made my stomach feel better. But even though I was scared, I knew I had to go on. Scavenging for food wasn't my destiny. I could feel it. 

My sister began to follow me and then suddenly decided to put me in charge. Which was funny, considering I was once the bullied one in the litter. How times change! 

Searching for food was really hard. I taught my sister to nibble on grass too when we couldn’t find anything to eat. We really wanted our mummy’s milk, but she was no more. We had to both accept that she had gone up to heaven and abandoned us. 

My sister sensed my upset and meowed with me in agony. But then as dark night fell we snuggled up together under the bushes of an old-looking house. It was noisy here too and the roaring things on wheels sped by, terrifying us so much. 

I licked my sister’s fur and she did the same back to me. It made us feel quite good, but we could not stop shivering in fear. Was this it for us? Were we to be left here all alone and hungry? Oh, what were we going to do?

 It went on like this for ages it seemed, and though we were growing, we were both becoming weaker each day. Food continued to be hard to come by, and we were very thirsty too. When it rained we licked up some water from the ground and from the grass. 

Then one day some big hands picked us up and I was so frightened. Where were they taking us? We both squealed in fear. What was happening? Help! 

We were thrown into wired cages and locked away. Meow! Meow!

I shuffled about in there, my sister falling and tumbling all over me as we were driven away at the back of wheelie thing. What if this was it?



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