Record numbers of people parting with pets as costs rise

Sparky, a fluffy, friendly black cat, hobbles across his pen on three legs. He greets us with enthusiasm, despite his disability. 

The 16-year-old lost his leg in a road accident. Now he's lost his owner. 

She reluctantly gave him up for adoption as the vet bills started to mount. Sparky is now living at Cats Protection charity centre in London. It's a place to stay, but it's not exactly home. 

Sparky is one of a record number of much-loved pets which were abandoned during the cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom. The prices of pet food, supplies and medical treatment have all climbed, putting pressure on household budgets.  All of that is adding up to some heart-breaking dilemmas for pet owners. 

Cats Protection says around 3,000 cats were on its UK waiting lists this winter. "We have 20 pens. And in September our waiting list reached over 100 cats just in our local area," says Nicola Murray, deputy manager at Cats Protection's Harrow Homing Centre. "That's really where we're seeing the pressure and the impact of cost of living."

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A recent survey by Cats Protection showed around a third of owners struggle with the rising cost of caring for cats. More than three percent of owners now rely on food banks and around 13 percent gave up their cat because they couldn't afford to keep it. 

The charity has set up a support system for those most in need, saying it wants to help owners keep their cats. "Cats Protection actually has a programme called Community Kitty," says Murray. "That's where we take in donations of food, litter and other cat care items and distribute them across food banks in the UK."

‌It's a similar picture for dogs, with the cost of dog supplies rising faster than inflation. The Dogs Trust charity says the spike in prices forced 45,000 owners to give up their four-legged friends last year. 

One of the biggest concerns for pet owners is vets' fees. Those costs have sparked an official review, but the British Veterinary Association (BVA) says the prices are often justified. "Rising prices are a concern for everyone, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis," says BVA President Anna Judson. "But it's vital to recognize there is no state health service for pets. The highly skilled medical care that vet teams are working tirelessly to provide is costly to deliver, but vet fees are a fair reflection of investment.”

Exotic but expensive

Owners of exotic pets face some of the biggest expenses. Energy bills increased four-fold for two rare giant tortoises living at the National Centre for Reptile Welfare. Their former owner had always dreamed of keeping tortoises, but was forced to give them up as costs soared. 

They're now under the watchful eye of Director Chris Newman and his team. "What we're seeing in the last two years is a massive increase in terms of people surrendering their animals because of the cost-of-living crisis. So that's a huge issue for us. It's about 200 percent up on what it was in 2021," says Newman. "They don't actually want to surrender their pets. And it's very difficult on the staff here because there's tears every day. These are people who absolutely love the animal, they do not want to part with it. They physically just can't afford to keep it.”

The reptile center is taking in new arrivals on a daily basis - everything from rare frogs to bearded dragons. The team is trying to raise funds to expand its specialist accommodation so it can take in thousands more animals. But it's hard to find new homes for pets at a time when few can afford them. 

Newman's staff are looking after a young green iguana named Sebastian. "He comes from a tropical country, so he needs high temperatures," says Newman. "He also needs very specialist lighting, which provides ultraviolet light. So that's quite expensive to run. We've seen this massive increase in utility costs and people are really struggling to pay the bills.”

The number of animals like Sebastian and Sparky keeps climbing. The challenge now is making sure they don't feel like just another statistic. 

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