Woodgreen Pets Charity faces an alarming surge in people struggling to care for their pets amid cost of living crisis

The charity’s latest figures reveal a 130% increase in requests to hand pets into Woodgreen’s care, with a staggering increase of 253% for financial reasons. These worrying trends highlight the urgent need for support and resources to help struggling pets and pet owners.

As a charity dedicated to helping pets and their people, Woodgreen aims to ensure every pet has a loving and caring home. Last year, Woodgreen opened its doors to more than 2,200 pets, including 300 strays with nowhere else to turn. Its centre in Cambridgeshire is now full to capacity, with hundreds of pets on waiting lists. Requests to hand pets into Woodgreen’s care have more than doubled, with people struggling with the cost of pet care, changing lifestyle circumstances and their pets’ behaviour.

One of these enquiries came from Bella’s owner, a cat who had recently given birth but was experiencing complications. The owners were quoted £1,200 for investigative veterinary treatment, but sadly they couldn’t afford the cost. With heavy hearts, they signed Bella and her kittens over to the veterinarian providing care. Recognising the urgency of the situation, the vet then contacted Woodgreen.

Bella was swiftly brought to the charity’s Cambridgeshire centre, where results revealed that she had a retained placenta requiring immediate surgery. To support her recovery, Bella was placed in the dedicated care of one of Woodgreen’s maternity fosterers. She’s currently being monitored but will soon be ready for rehoming. Her kittens, named Storm, Gale, Gusty, Blizzard, and Flurry, will also be matched with loving new owners when they’re old enough.

Another heart-wrenching case involves four beautiful ginger cats called Mia, Karn, Ronnie, and Reggie, who found themselves in the care of Woodgreen due to their owner’s severe illness. Faced with the challenging circumstances of an upcoming hospitalisation and unable to arrange suitable care for their beloved feline companions, their owner made the difficult decision to entrust Mia, Karn, Ronnie, and Reggie to Woodgreen for rehoming.

Following their arrival at Woodgreen, the team discovered that Mia, Ronnie and Reggie tested positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), meaning they require homes with a cat-proof garden or rural setting to minimise the risk of them passing FIV onto the local cat population. Since cats with FIV typically stay in Woodgreen’s care for many months, they will be placed with dedicated foster carers, whilst Karn has already found a new home to call his own.

These represent just two cases that Woodgreen has helped with in recent weeks and, despite the surge in demand for help, the charity remains committed to helping pets and their people, whatever issues or challenges they may be faced with. In many cases, Woodgreen is able to provide help in the home – such as free behavioural advice, subsidized veterinary care and hands-on support – to resolve any issues and keep pets in loving homes wherever possible.

Community Support Manager at Woodgreen, Chris Bennett said: “Making the decision to give up a pet is an incredibly emotional and often a distressing choice for an owner to make, even when it is the best option considering their circumstances. If anyone is starting to notice a problem, we encourage them to get in touch as soon as possible as things are often easier to fix when help is sought earlier. Woodgreen aren’t just here to help when you need to rehome a pet – we’re here to help you keep pets too. But, if giving up a pet is the right decision, we’re here for that too.”

During these challenging times, Woodgreen needs support more than ever to continue its vital work. To find out more about volunteering, fostering or donating, please visit www.woodgreen.org.uk