Birmingham animal rescue pushed to breaking point as vet bills soar
Sanctuary owner says treatment costs have risen by around 80% as government promises pricing reforms
A South Birmingham animal rescue says rising veterinary costs are forcing charities to take in fewer animals, as new government reforms aim to make the industry more transparent.
Lisa, who runs Fur and Feathers Animal Sanctuary in Kings Norton, says treatment bills have surged — with some routine care rising by around 80 per cent in under a year.
“We’ve just been through the mill with vets,” she said. “Since COVID times, vet prices have just risen and risen and risen.”
The sanctuary, which has been running for around 16 years, now operates from a cattery at Lisa’s home and a network of foster carers across South Birmingham. She says nearly every cat they take in now needs full medical work before it can be rehomed.
“You can guarantee probably 99% of the cats we take need full vet work doing before we can rehome them because their owners haven’t been able to afford to do it themselves,” she said.
Lisa says the scale of price increases has had a direct impact on how many animals the rescue can help.
“A best start kitten package… had gone up from £55 a cat to £95 in the space of 11 months,” she explained. “Our neutering’s probably quadrupled in price in the last two years. So it just means we can do less.”
She added that complex cases can leave huge financial gaps.
“For example, we’ve just spent probably just over £7,000 on one cat. And his adoption fee is £130. So yeah… you’re never going to make up a shortfall of like six and a half thousand pound, are you?”
The rescue currently cares for around 40 cats between Lisa’s home and foster placements, including animals with ongoing medical needs.
Her comments come as the Government proposes major reforms to veterinary services, which would require practices to publish price lists, be clearer about ownership, and improve how complaints are handled. The changes are aimed at helping pet owners better understand costs.
But Lisa says more needs to be done.
“It needs governing properly and you need more vets that are willing to work with rescues to try and help the situation, not make it worse,” she said.
She stressed that frontline veterinary staff are not to blame.
“I know vets’ lives are hard… and it’s not the vets themselves. We’ve worked with some amazing vets. It is the corporates that run them that are doing this, not the vets themselves.”
Lisa says despite the pressure, the rescue remains her life.
“The rescue’s basically become my life,” she said. “My life does revolve around cats nowadays.”