Sheffield Cats Shelter: Cost of helping to rehome rescue cats rockets during cost of living crisis

The cost of living crisis has been an attack on all fronts for The Sheffield Cats Shelter. Their rescue van now costs hundreds of pounds in fuel and maintenance to run, the price of pet food continues to climb and, with an aging Victorian building in Broomhill to heat and dozens of moggies at a time keep warm, the charity says their electricity bills have doubled in the past year.

But because these problems are also hurting the public, it means people are abandoning or giving their pets up more than ever – which means more pressure on the shelter, more cats, and bigger bills.

All told, it means the price of the shelter looking after a single mother cat can now top more than £1,000. This is the case for cats like Nala, pictured, who arrived at the shelter heavily pregnant and soon gave birth to kittens.

Sadly, only two of her five kittens survived, and Nala herself was seriously ill and needed extensive veterinary care.

The bill for Nala alone was a four figure sum, but she has now been nursed back to full health and adopted into a loving forever home.

Other tough cases they’ve seen this year include the story of Oscar, a much loved housecat who was sadly left homeless at the age of 20 when his owner suddenly died.

That isn't the only bill facing The Sheffield Cats Shelter. In February their Hillsborough-based charity shop was broken into for the third time in as many months, with one burglary around Christmas time causing around £13,000 worth of damage.

Head of fundraising Nick Holland said: “The rising cost of living is affecting pet owners across Sheffield and beyond, and that means that there's increasing demands for the services of charities such as The Sheffield Cats Shelter.

“At the same time, we ourselves are facing steeply rising costs. Fuel and maintenance costs for our shelter van have risen, as has the cost of veterinary assessments and treatments, whilst our biggest increase of all has come from our fuel bills.

“In the last year our electricity price, per unit, has risen by 113 per cent with further rises to come. We will never cut back on the essential service we provide for cats in need, which is why fundraising has never been more important for our charity.”

As part of a fundraising drive, the charity has now launched The Sheffield Cats Shelter lottery. They are inviting supporters to play for £2 with prizes of up to £10,000 a week for matching six numbers. For more information, visit their website.

“As always,” added Nick, “the cat lovers of Sheffield have been really generous in their support. We couldn't do it without them. Winning the mobile lottery could make a big difference to a lucky supporter, but for cats like Nala the money it raises could be life saving.”