See more of Shironeko and his sleepy friends on his YouTube Channel and his blog

1. Food: Unfortunately, our holiday favourites are among the foods most dangerous for pets. Turkey is especially hazardous – the pointy bones can cause choking or a punctured digestive tract, while the fatty skin will give them an upset stomach. Avoid feeding them turkey meat that has come into contact with anything onion-y – onions are toxic to cats and dogs.

Chocolate is probably the biggest food risk for pets at Christmas. Depending on the type of chocolate, the size of the animal and the amount of sweets consumed, it could result in hyperactivity, seizures or even death in dogs. It will not take them long to sniff out a wrapped box of chocolates under the tree or to gobble every single edible hanging decoration.

Other festive ingredients that must never be given to pets include raisins, apricots, cherries, nutmeg, macadamia nuts, coffee, salt, garlic, and of course, alcohol.

2. Plants: As with festive foods, the plants we bring into our homes around Christmas are annoyingly the ones that put our pets at risk the most. Holly, mistletoe and poinsettias can be extremely poisonous if eaten. If you feel your home just wouldn’t have the same Christmas feeling without this seasonal greenery, please do make sure that your pet can’t get their paws on it.

3. Tree: Your Christmas tree is actually one plant that is not toxic to pets if ingested. However, it does pose a threat in a number of other ways. First of all, it must be anchored very securely so that a climbing cat won’t knock it over. Place shatterable or sharp baubles high up on the tree or reconsider using them all together. Similarly, keep hot fairy lights out of reach of inquisitive kittens to avoid burns. Tape down or conceal the electrical cords of the lights – it could prove very dangerous if nibbled upon.

4. Decorations: Besides the tree, there will be other decorations around the house that are a risk for your pet. Tinsel, ribbons, wrapping paper and string are all favourite playthings of cats but could cause serious intestinal damage or choking if ingested. From artificial snow to candles to plastic cracker toys, Christmas accoutrements should be positioned around the home with care.

5. Guests: Although having much more people over than usual will probably not directly harm your pet, it could cause them undue stress and annoyance. Loud family gatherings can leave your pet overwhelmed and irritated by the fact that their territory has been taken over.

During particularly busy visiting times, you might want to set aside a secure room in the house to give your pet some peace and quiet. This will also ensure that they cannot slip out the front door, unnoticed amongst all the comings and goings. It is very important throughout the year, but at Christmas please do make sure that your pet has proper identification, just in case it gets lost outside.

1. A macaque monkey got his hands on a wildlife photographer’s camera in an Indonesian forest and snapped these pictures of himself.

2. Keepers dressed in panda costumes transfer a panda cub to a new environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Centre in Wolong, Sichuan province, China.

3. A black rhino is carried by helicopter to a less populated area in South Africa as part of a relocation plan for the highly endangered species.

4. Two year old chimp, Do Do, bottle feeds Aorn, a 60 day old tiger cub in Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand

5. Heidi, the world famous cross-eyed opossum, is seen here at the newly built tropical environment in Leipzig Zoo shortly before her death in September.

6. A Kamchatka brown bear mother shares a moment with her three month old cub in Hamburg, Germany.

7. Photographer, Mrs. Wai Chun says of her picture: ”Taken in June this year during a game drive at Nakuru National Park in Kenya. Rounding a bend on the track I came upon not one but seven of these magnificent young lions draped across the branches of an acacia tree. Some are dozing and some are looking disdainfully at me. I was transfixed by these superb, regal creatures. What a privilege for me to have witnessed this amazing moment.”

8. A little girl rescues a lamb from a farm in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland after the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano. Daylight was shut out by the ash and buildings were smothered.

9. Pitbull puppy, Harper, was found in a bin bag in Florida with a rigor mortis-like condition which meant she could barely move. She has since been adopted and is well on the way to recovery. “The whole world was against her, but she’s such a fighter,” said Erica Daniel, Harper’s fosterer. “She’s a blessing. She’s awesome.”

10. This little redhead was snubbed by other seals for being different. He was found under a log on the Russian island of Tyuleniy. Thankfully, the nearly blind cub now has a loving home in the country’s leading aquarium. He has been named Nafanya.

11. A vet and animal sanctuary owner embraces Ariel, a paralysed lion in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

12. Loukanikos, a successor of Kanellos the Greek Protest Dog, faces riot police during a demonstration in Athens.

13. A lost baby dolphin, with umbilical cord still attached, before it was taken in by a rescue organisation in Montevideo, Uraguay.

14. Laxmi, a 7 year old elephant mother, reaches out to her 13 month old female calf in India.

15. Twelve giant panda cubs napping in their cot at the Chengdu Research Base in China.

16. Photographer Klaus Echle captured this intimate shot of a vixen in Germany’s Black Forest.

17. A dog is rescued after 3 weeks at sea following the Japanese earthquake this year.

18. Frank and Louie, the world’s oldest surviving Janus cat.

19. Ciuchcia, a four month old German Shepherd chases a cat at a Polish animal sanctuary. Although he is now paralysed, he has incredibly survived being run over by a number of trains after being abandoned on the tracks.

20. Contestants in this year’s Surf Dog Competition in California.

The town of

A passer-by heard meowing from inside the container and fearing that it was a missing cat she had heard of named Puss Puss, she rang the local fire brigade and the RSPCA. Fire fighters were unable to prise open the lock of the bin, so it was carried to an engineering firm 28km away.

Once several workers had carefully sliced through the bin and tirelessly searched through the plastic bags inside, they came across a battery operated stuffed toy cat (pictured right).

Kelvin Owen, the owner of the engineering company who were enlisted to help with the rescue said, “Once we got into the bin we heard the meow again. It sounded just like a cat and we all started to carefully search the bags. Then I found a bag of toys and picked out a toy cat. I said, ‘It couldn’t be this could it?’ It wasn’t making any noise and I asked if I could cut it open to investigate. As I held it, it went off meow, meow – mystery solved. The lads were in stitches, it was such a laugh.”

Local woman Jasmine Hazelhurst, who initiated the rescue, said of the debacle: “I did feel embarrassed when they pulled out the stuffed cat. But I am also proud at the way everyone rallied round to try to save the cat. Local people did so much to save the cat and it shows what community spirit there is. We feared finding a dead cat in the clothes bank, so to find a stuffed toy was a relief.”