With Christmas coming, CavyRescue - the UK’s first dedicated rodent rescue charity - is asking the public to help them continue their work with abandoned, abused and unwanted small furries by purchasing pet insurance via their website.

The charity – which was formed in 1999 - features pet insurance from a number of providers on their website (including exotic pet insurance for the more ‘unusual pets such as rats, ferrets and birds etc) and for every policy sold, the Rescue will get a donation.

People can also help by turning their old ’phones and used printer cartridges into much needed funds, too.

Stella Hulott, from CavyRescue says: “Pet insurance provides invaluable protection for your pet in the event of them needing veterinary treatment due to accident or illness and ensures that your pet will get the very best of care. And by purchasing your insurance via our website, not only will you be doing your pet a favour, but you will be helping the animals at the Rescue too.

“And as to mobile ‘phones..many people will be receiving or treating themselves to a new mobile phone this time of year and will throw out their old ‘phones without realising that they could be put to good use.

“At the rescue - where our annual bill is around £16,000 - we can recycle them to help raise funds for the shelter. For example, even just one person saving an old mobile ‘phone for us to recycle will pay for enough bedding to last a week!”

“It doesn’t even matter if the ‘phone no longer works, it can still be recycled. It won’t cost you a penny to do but will help us to save lives. And another bonus is that it helps the environment too”.

It couldn’t be easier to do. Simply email, text or ‘phone through your address to us and the charity will send you a Freepost bag in which you can put your old ‘phone and then send off for recycling. For companies with a larger amount, collections of used ‘phones and printer cartridges can be arranged at no cost.

If you have an old mobile ‘phone or used printer cartridges that you no longer want and would like to help the rats to recycle your rubbish then please email your address to: cavyrescue@yahoo.co.uk, call 07932 750271 or visit www.cavyrescue.co.uk.

Please also note that the charity can recycle old and defunct foreign notes and coinage.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has highlighted the importance of pet insurance. They are urging pet owners to purchase the cover in order to help them cope with any unexpected vets’ bills due to illness or accident.

A spokesperson commented that when people buy their new pet, they often don’t consider the fact that they could need veterinary treatment which could cost a small fortune.

Vets’ bills can literally run in hundreds of pounds. A cat with kidney disease, for example, could cost their owner well over a thousand pounds during the course of a year for medications and diagnostic tests etc.

Figures from the RSPCA show that just 17% of dogs and 11% of cats have pet insurance.