An animal rescue group in Havering has said it is taking care of more roaming cats and dogs than ever in the past.
Linzi Fallows, 48, a member of Pippa’s Army, informed the Recorder that Covid, the cost of living crisis and holiday were all elements.
Pippa’s Army, which likewise runs in Thurrock, is a network of animal fans and volunteers who work round the clock to take care of cats and dogs that are discovered on the streets or left by their owners.
They perform a series of tasks – assisting discover lost family pets, trapping roaming cats and dogs, neutering and feeding them, taking them to veterinarians, offering them with shelter, making them ideal for adoption and discovering them long-term houses.
They tend to about 65 cats in a month, Linzi declared, however this number can differ depending upon the season.
Linzi said: “There is absolutely nothing we do refrain from doing truly, and it is all run by volunteers who have their own jobs, lives and households to take care of.”
She declared that they typically get cats that are ridden with lots of illness. Their job, she said, is to provide another lease of life and support them with care.
She included: “Majority of our cats come in a state that no animal need to remain in.
“When they come in they are not in a place where you would like to pick them up and pet, but they turn into such beautiful cats. Just because they are strays doesn’t mean they don’t deserve another chance”.
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Their group has actually dealt with lots of obstacles consisting of increasing expenses, financing, and insufficient fosterers.
But in the last couple of years considering that Covid, Linzi said that more individuals have actually been leaving their family pets behind.
“All these cats at some time had actually been owned. But we don’t know where their owners are. It is heartbreaking to see.
“Every single dog rescue is full to the broom currently. I don’t understand why people think that they can just get a dog or a cat and then dump it like it’s a piece of rubbish.”
During Covid, she claimed many people let their animals mate with some selling the puppies for cash, flooding the market.
She said: “People just can’t bother to neuter their cats anymore. Whereas before you would fight for your pet, now people give up easily.
“There is a throw away culture and I do believe Covid had a big role to play in it.”
Michelle Giddons, 60, is a long-time foster carer with Pippa’s Army. She echoed Linzi’s views on the difficult trends in recent years.
She told the Recorder that at the time of Covid many vets were shut and animals were not being neutered leading to more pups being born.
Michelle Giddons from Pippa’s Army (Image: Michelle Giddons)
She said: “Covid has done so much damage. The problem is people were home all day so they decided to get a pet but they didn’t make provision for when they went back to work.”
People, she said, started breeding cats and dogs as “money making schemes” but then found it hard to sell them.
She added: “It was ridiculous that people tried making money off these innocent beings and now we are left to pick up the pieces.
“The problem also is that once the pets are not cute anymore, people do not always take them.”
Michelle has devoted a spare bedroom in her Thurrock home and her garage space for the cats under her care, but she is concerned that they are now running out of capacity.
Rescue cats housed in Michelle’s bedroom (Image: Michelle Giddons)
She said: “We do not want to be in a position where we have to say no to people, because that abandoned pet will come back more injured on the street in the future and we then have to pay the vet.”
The cost of living crisis has meant some simply cannot afford to keep their pets, according to Linzi.
She said: “People struggle to spend money on food and energy bills, they don’t have money to spend on a cat.”
The adoption rates, she claimed, especially in the summer months have slowed down as families go on holidays.
In these circumstances, Michelle added, any assistance would be crucial.
She said: “We need more financial help, we need more foster carers and fundraising events. We need more individuals to come forward and adopt our cats.”
To contact the charity, email [email protected].
