Sydney’s shelters dogged by influx of sick and injured animals

The cost of living crisis is having a terrible effect on our city’s pet population with owners abandoning injured cats and dogs at unprecedented rates and animal shelters bursting at the seams.

Injured and sick cats and dogs are among hundreds of pets being abandoned on NSW streets, leaving already packed animal shelters bursting at the seams.

Sydney Dogs and Cats Home primarily takes in stray animals and has experienced a dramatic increase in pets being abandoned and dumped right on the doorstep, with only 25 per cent of the shelter’s yearly intake of 1500 lost pets reclaimed by their owners.

SDCH managing director Melissa Penn said more stray animals were being dropped off by council rangers than ever before, with many coming in so sick they need immediate surgery.

“It has gone up year on year, and the number of animals coming through our doors has increased a lot... it’s put the shelter under considerable strain,” Ms Penn said.

“We’re seeing a lot of them with pretty dire medical needs that we need to treat when they come to us... people just don’t have the money available to provide the treatment to their animals.”

Campsie pet lover Lucy Hay with her rescued ragdoll cat Penny Lane, who was abandoned with severe injuries. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Ms Penn said the majority of animals arriving at the shelter went unclaimed or were rejected by their owners when contacted by the shelter to collect them.

She said the cost of living crisis was creating slower adoption rates, and SDCH was now receiving more than 150 calls per week from people wanting to surrender their pets.

“Dogs now average 68 days with us (before adoption), after Covid it was 48... the cost of housing, feeding and loving them for that period is high, and we just don’t have the capacity to take on many surrenders on top of that,” Ms Penn said.

“At the moment, we have to say no and turn them away, which is heartbreaking”.

The shelter is working out of two temporary facilities but is now trying to fundraise $8 million to finish its new shelter in Kurnell, which can house double the number of pets.

Ragdoll cat Penny Lane was one of the animals dumped on the shelter’s doorstep last year, left trapped in a cat backpack with a broken leg and a bad parasitic infection.

The feline needed four surgeries to save her leg and round-the-clock care, with the shelter’s resources so stretched their vet nurse Lucy Hay offered to take her home to save on costs.

But Penny Lane’s stay ended up being permanent, with Ms Hay adopting the fur baby and even including her as the ring bearer at her wedding last year.

Ragdoll cat Penny Lane needed four surgeries to save her leg. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Despite everything she’s been through, she’s incredibly affectionate,” Ms Hay said.

“We feel so lucky to have her with us.”

RSPCA figures show the surrender waitlist for families who wish to give up their pets numbered 500 in March but more than doubled in four months to nearly 1300 in July.

Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst said the cost of living and rental crises had combined to create a perform storm for animal shelters.

““The number of people that have the inability to find rental accommodation has been a real contributor – it’s even tougher for people trying to rent with pets,’ she said.

“A large portion of the problem is also caused by puppy farms that have bred puppies with medical problems or behavioural disorders and then the families abandon them.”