A Sheffield cat café has launched an appeal for donations after being straddled with over £4,000 worth of vet fees.
Tabby Teas, located in Highfield, has eight in-house rescue cats including Ziggy and Nyx, in need of various medical treatments.
Café co-owner, Charlotte Pickering, 37, said: “We were paying around £300 beforehand and now we are paying, judging by the last vet bill we had, £620, so vet bills have gone up dramatically.
“It is always a worry and we don’t really have a safety net because the cats aren’t really insured here, so every vet bill is a hit.”
One cat was cured of Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a common but often fatal virus for cats if mutated, after receiving public donations.
British Veterinary Association president, Malcolm Morley, said in a 2023 Times report “soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis is impacting both pet owners and business, including vet practices”.
The GoFundMe appeal has raised over £2,000 towards the medical procedures for the cats from the community so far, much to the co-owner’s surprise as Ms Pickering claims that this is the largest appeal they have launched.
“Although I know people like the café I never realised how much it really means to certain people, so it’s lovely,” she said.
“But it shows when stuff like this happens and we ask for a bit of help that people are willing.”
Cat rescue charity ‘Cat-CHING’ founder and CEO, Lauren James-Thompson, explained that the rise of veterinary bills is an impacting factor on the increasing financial pressure put on rescues from the demand.
Figures from the charity show that nearly 60% of their spending in 2023 went towards vet treatment.
The rescue has seen an increase in the numbers of cats through their door going from 1,325 in 2022 to 1,515 in 2023.
Ms James-Thompson said: “People as individuals are also struggling more than ever due to the cost-of-living crisis and although willing, people are unable to donate as much to charity as they’d like.
“Our costs have been high from the outset, however prices continue to go up and up and we often find ourselves struggling. The cost of caring for so many cats is immense but it is worth every penny.”
To donate visit ‘Tabby Teas’ GoFundMe or Cat-CHING.
