Animal rescues are reaching capacity amidst the cost-of-living crisis. With the effects of post-pandemic and the global financial crisis, many people are left struggling to afford to look after their pets.
Henry’s Haven Cat Rescue is a foster-based rescue, with volunteers who take in cats with medical issues or disabilities. They have seen an increase in pets being surrendered to their services due to owners not being able to afford vet bills and care for the cats as they need.
Nicole Higgins organises fundraisers and events for the rescue and has been fostering cats from the Henry’s Haven since lockdown.
“We are home-based fosterers and we have full responsibility for looking after the cats while they’re in our care. We see a lot of requests every single day from people who can’t afford to keep their cats anymore. Because of the cost-of-living crisis cat food has gone up and vet bills have increased.”
This is an issue that is affecting rescues all over the UK. Yorkshire Cat Rescue in Keighley are also struggling due to more animals being given up and less people wanting to adopt an animal.
Lucie Fox, Yorkshire Cat Rescue Organisations Manager, said that “it’s a challenging environment at the moment.”
“We have been very lucky this year, adoptions have held strong, and people do still want cats, but I do worry about the future. Cats are taking longer than they have in the past to be reserved and the number of cats that need rehoming is overwhelming.”
Both rescues have encouraged people who may be struggling to reach out to services available that offer support for pet owners during this difficult time, such as pet food banks and charities that can help with vet bills.
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