People are ‘choosing between feeding themselves and their pets’, a charity chief has warned.
As the cost of living crisis continues to put pressure on people’s finances, food banks dedicated to cats, dogs and other animals are on the rise.
Volunteers say desperate owners are turning to them for help – with many fearing they will have to give up their animals because they can no longer care for them.
Around 70 per cent of pet owners worry about the cost of looking after their animal, new research by the RSPCA suggests, while up to 20 per cent worry about how they will be fed.
At the Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal Green, north west London, volunteers provide ‘pet care packages’ which include anything from food, to toys, to medicine.
CEO Elvira Meucci-Lyons says demand for these packages has quadrupled in 2023 compared to 2022 – with things picking up again this year.
‘It’s getting worse,’ he said.
‘The demand for our support is beyond what we can service at the moment, but we are doing our best.
‘The people who come in usually love their animals so much that they will do anything to help them.
‘So we see people choosing between feeding themselves and feeding their pets.
‘That is a fact.’
Ms Meucci-Lyons added that some owners are becoming so desperate that they are taking their animals to the charity to give them up.
But Mayhew does everything to keep pets and owners together.
‘I think a lot of people think things are going to be better now, but they are still incredibly poor and so they start to panic,’ explained Ms Meucci-Lyons.
‘So some people say they have to give up their pets because they can’t take care of them – but we try to offer support first so that doesn’t happen.
‘Last week a very mean woman called us and said she had to give up her cat because she didn’t have the money to feed it.
‘But we offered her help and gave her our care packages, and she was able to keep her cat.
‘It’s really touching, seeing the lengths to which the owners go.
‘Even the fact that they are considering giving up their pets shows that they love them very much.’
The Brent Foodbank, also in north west London, has seen similar issues.
The organization has long offered food bank services to people through The Trussell Trust, but recently began offering help for pets as well.
Matthew Linden, a volunteer, explained: ‘People needing food banks has increased since the pandemic, but I’d say we’ve seen an increase in requests for help with pets over the last two years – when the cost of living crisis really started.
‘The thing is, pets are often as important to people as family members.
‘And especially for food bank users, who often suffer from social isolation, a pet can be your lifeline – your other contact.
‘But when people are also struggling to feed themselves, pay their rent, keep their lights on and heating on, it becomes very difficult.
‘Our mission is trying to make life easier for people – and if that includes helping their pets, we will.’
Mr Linden said many of the people who needed help caring for their pets ‘didn’t think they were in this position’.
‘When I first started volunteering here about five years ago, the people who came in were, and I mean this sensitively, probably the people you might expect to be here,’ she said.
‘But now, people are coming in who never dreamed they would end up in this position.
‘There’s a lot of feeling around that. There is wonder, shame, sadness.
‘But people are struggling to meet their needs. That’s the truth.’
While the charity wants to help as much as it can, Mr Linden admits funds only go so far.
‘We’ve definitely had more requests for cat and dog food recently, especially cats, so we’ve started buying more.
‘But there is nothing we can do because we rely on donations.’
Ms Meucci-Lyons echoed that, adding: ‘The cost of everything has gone up for us too – food, vet bills, cat litter.
‘So we do what we can, but we have huge waiting lists that we can’t meet.
‘So I really want people to understand that as a charity, we need people’s help.
‘I understand if you can’t donate – people are really suffering right now. But spreading the word about what we do is just as important.’
But while pet owners worry about how they will feed their beloved animals, fat cat vets are making big profits at the expense of worried caretakers.
An investigation earlier this month revealed that veterinary fat cats pocket more than £500,000 a year and live in sprawling mansions.
Some of Britain’s most successful vets are turning over hundreds of millions of pounds a year and a watchdog has announced an investigation into whether consumers are being overcharged for animal care.
Pets at Home chief executive Lyssa McGowan has overseen a successful few years for the company’s 448 Vets4Pets practices.
Pet and Home’s veterinary practices earned an average of £1.1 million a year in revenue, according to recent company accounts.
Mrs McGowan joins the company in 2022 on a £580,000 salary and a maximum annual bonus worth 170 per cent of her salary, which would amount to almost £1million.
