Cost-of-living crisis: Cash-strapped families surrendering cats due to cost-of-living pressures

Animal shelters are experiencing an increase in pet surrenders as owners struggle with Australia’s cost of living crisis.

With Aussies plagued by rising costs associated with housing, food, energy and now fuel, pet owners are surrendering their pets in record numbers, putting pressure on shelters.

The Cat Protection Association of Victoria told nine.com.au this week that more than half of the 2025 intake was due to surrenders.

The Cat Protection Society of Victoria is a council-run facility that takes in strays and surrenders, including “newborn, senior, healthy or unwell” cats from two of Melbourne’s council areas and sometimes beyond.

It has the capacity to care for 1,400 cats and kittens each year, and has taken in 498 felines this year alone. Another 93 cats are currently staying with volunteer foster carers.

Last year, 55 percent of the inflow came from submissions, and this year so far this percentage is 42 percent. 

One of the missions of the Cat Protection Society of Victoria is to ensure that cats are not separated from their families due to financial difficulties. The Benevolent Fund provides life-saving surgeries and treatments to cat owners so they aren’t forced to surrender or euthanize a pet because they can’t afford an unexpected vet bill.

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But the pressure on the cost of living is also causing a spike in the number of applications. So far this year, they have received more than 66 applications for emergency assistance, which they said was a “huge jump” compared to the same period last year.

Assistance can range from $50 for one-time medication to relieve pain to $2,000 to fund emergency surgery.

Among those who have used the service is cat owner Lisa Johnson, whose cat Jasper became seriously ill after recently swallowing a foreign object.

“He stopped eating, started vomiting and became so lethargic that I feared he had swallowed one of my child’s Nerf Gun bullets,” Lisa said.

But when she took Japser to a 24-hour veterinary clinic, she was offered more than $3,000 to let him stay overnight, with no clear diagnosis or treatment plan.

“I felt completely helpless because I simply couldn’t afford that kind of care, and the thought of having to give up our beloved kitten was heartbreaking,” she said.

Desperate, she contacted the Cat Protection Society of Victoria, who admitted Jasper to the veterinary clinic the next day. He was given fluids to help his severely dehydrated body recover.

After X-rays and an overnight check-up, Jasper began eating again and passed the object naturally, negating the need for a surgical procedure, which could have cost $7,000 or more.

“I am so incredibly grateful to the association and the Benevolent Fund for helping Jasper get the care he needed,” Lisa said.

“It was such a scary time for our family and having that support meant everything – I honestly don’t know what we would have done without it.”

Jasper’s out-of-pocket care was $698.20, with the remainder covered by the fund.

The Society’s marketing and communications manager, Rachel Bitzilis, said pressure on the cost of living was leaving more and more cat owners unable to find the money for an unexpected vet bill.

“In 2025 alone, we received 209 requests for assistance through the Benevolent Fund, but we were only able to support 79 of those cases,” she said.

“That meant that 130 cats and their families had to miss the boat, simply because we did not have the resources.

“No one should have to choose between their cat’s life and what they can afford.”

It is just one of the services the center runs to help reduce pressure on the cost of living.

The organization also runs a veterinary clinic to provide more affordable care, as well as a community decontamination program for cat owners who have a concession or health card, and a ‘last litter’ program where an unwanted litter of kittens is taken in exchange for free desexing of a mother before returning her to the owner.

The association is now urgently appealing for donations to replenish the Benevolent Fund so it can continue to help families.

Visit to donate catprotection.com.au/support-us/benevolent-fund.

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