Low-cost clinic helps pet owners with vet bills

Christine Gardner, looking into the camera. She is outside of a single storey building with bunting up and a big sign that reads "open".

Image caption,

Christine Gardner described support from the clinic as "amazing"

ByChrissie Reidy, Reporting fromin Chatham and Craig Buchan, South East

Published48 minutes ago

A reduced-cost veterinary clinic has treated 160 pets in its first 11 days, according to the RSPCA.

The animal charity's Medway West branch has launched to offer cut-price care for the pets of people on low incomes or receiving benefits.

"Your pet would come first. You'd have a bit of toast yourself and pay out for your pet," said Chatham cat owner Christine Gardner. "Having somewhere like this is amazing."

She told the BBC it was "just really good to have something nearby that I can get to" with her six cats.

Angela Adams said her pets were her "babies", adding: "I would rather starve than they starve."

She said she had eight cats, two rabbits, four guinea pigs, two African land snails and a tortoise, and that she did not know what she would do without the animals, as she was unable to work for health reasons.

"It's very expensive. Seven of my cats were due for vaccine this month and you can imagine the cost of that," she told the BBC. "That's a lot of money."

"I've had friends messaging me struggling, so this place is brilliant for people."

Imara Ó Niocail, smiling for the camera in a small courtyard decorated with party decorations. She is wearing an RSPCA lanyard with the outlines of animals on it.

Image caption,

The RSPCA's Imara Ó Niocail says some people can longer afford to care for their much-loved pets

RSPCA branch account manager Imara Ó Niocail said that "a lot of people who were more than capable of affording to have these animals" were no longer able to care for them due to the cost of living or a change in circumstances.

"We would like to keep the animals at home with the owners and treat them there," Ó Niocail told the BBC.

The low cost clinic meant that pet owners in Medway could "seek the treatment that they need and then take the animals home", without having to pay the full vet costs, she added.

Medway West branch manager Kevin Morton said the charity's centres were "full-to-bursting" with animals and some people "give their animals up because they can't afford to look after them".

"Some people might think that if you can't afford to feed it, then don't have it, but if it's your only companion you have, they can keep people going," he said.

The branch has supplied 18,909 food items, 1,294 treats and 919kg of biscuits so far in 2026 through its pet food bank.

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