18/10/2026
🐾❤️ IMPORTANT NOTICE – OUR ANIMAL FOOD BANK POLICY ❤️🐾
Helping Dogs and Cats CIC
We would like to take a moment to remind everyone of the purpose of our Animal Food Bank, how it operates and the policies we have in place.
Our Animal Food Bank is a service we are incredibly proud of. Over the years, we have supported many local families who have found themselves facing financial difficulties, helping them continue to care for their much-loved pets.
We understand that circumstances can change through no fault of your own. Losing a job, becoming unwell, relationship breakdowns or simply struggling with the rising cost of living can leave people needing a little extra support.
❤️ That is exactly why our Animal Food Bank exists — to help people keep the pets they already love during difficult times.
However, we are seeing an increasing number of requests that fall outside the purpose of our Food Bank, and we feel it is important to clarify our policies.
🐾 1. OUR FOOD BANK IS FOR EXISTING PET OWNERS
Our Food Bank is primarily intended to support people who already owned their dogs or cats before experiencing financial hardship.
It is not intended to support people who have knowingly taken on a new pet when they are already unable to afford its basic care.
We appreciate that everyone deserves the companionship of an animal, but pet ownership comes with responsibilities, including the financial commitment.
If you are already struggling to afford pet food, please carefully consider whether taking on another animal is the right decision.
🐶🐱 2. WE DO NOT SUPPLY PUPPY OR KITTEN FOOD
We would like to make this particularly clear.
Our Animal Food Bank does NOT provide puppy or kitten food.
We have recently received requests from people who have just purchased, adopted or taken on a puppy or kitten and immediately require Food Bank assistance.
Puppies and kittens have specific nutritional needs, and their care involves much more than simply providing food.
Vaccinations, microchipping, flea and worm treatments, neutering and unexpected veterinary bills are all costs that must be considered before bringing a young animal home.
We understand how exciting it is to welcome a puppy or kitten into your family, but we must encourage responsible decisions.
❤️ If you cannot currently afford to feed a puppy or kitten without relying on a Food Bank, we respectfully ask you to reconsider taking one on until your financial circumstances improve.
This is not about judging anyone. It is about putting animal welfare first.
🐾 3. TAKING ON ADDITIONAL PETS WHILE RECEIVING SUPPORT
If you are already registered with our Animal Food Bank and decide to purchase, adopt, rescue or take on another dog or cat, that additional animal will not be covered by your existing Food Bank support.
Our Food Bank is intended to help you care for the animals already registered within your household.
Being registered with our Food Bank does not mean that additional animals can be added whenever you choose to take on another pet.
We must ensure our limited resources remain available to support those facing genuine and unexpected hardship.
🐾 4. OUR REGISTRATION AND COLLECTION POLICY
We already operate a structured registration system to ensure our Food Bank is managed fairly.
✅ All households must be registered and approved before receiving support.
✅ We record the animals living within each registered household.
✅ Food Bank collections are limited to once per calendar month per registered household.
✅ We maintain records of collections to ensure our resources are distributed fairly.
✅ Only animals approved and recorded under the household’s registration are eligible for support.
✅ Adding another animal to your household does not automatically entitle you to additional food.
These procedures are already in place, and we kindly ask everyone to respect them.
🐾 5. “BUT I’VE RESCUED A PUPPY OR KITTEN…”
We understand that genuine emergencies happen.
Sometimes people unexpectedly find themselves helping an abandoned animal or taking responsibility for a pet in desperate circumstances.
We will always consider genuine exceptional situations individually, where our resources allow.
However, we are increasingly being approached by people who tell us they have “rescued” a puppy or kitten and therefore need immediate Food Bank assistance.
Unfortunately, we are also aware that some animals described as rescued have actually been purchased or obtained through social media.
We would gently remind everyone that purchasing or taking on an animal does not automatically make it eligible for Food Bank support simply because it is described as a rescue.
We ask everyone to be open and honest with us.
Our volunteers should never be placed in a position where they feel pressured or misled into providing assistance outside our policies.
❤️ 6. PLEASE RESPECT OUR VOLUNTEERS
Our Animal Food Bank relies on the kindness of our supporters, donors and dedicated volunteers.
Our volunteers do not make these policies, and they do not have the authority to override them.
If your circumstances are exceptional, these must be referred to rescue management for consideration.
Please do not argue with, pressure or become upset with our volunteers when they explain our rules.
They are simply doing their best to ensure the Food Bank operates fairly for everyone.
🐾 7. WHY THESE POLICIES MATTER
Every bag, tin and pouch of food we provide has either been generously donated or purchased using funds that are desperately needed across our rescue.
Our resources are limited, and demand for assistance continues to grow.
We want to be able to help:
❤️ The elderly person who has owned their beloved cat for 15 years but is now struggling financially.
❤️ The family whose circumstances have suddenly changed and who are worried about feeding their dog.
❤️ The person who has lost their job and needs temporary support to keep their much-loved companion.
❤️ The responsible pet owner who has always provided for their animals but has unexpectedly fallen on difficult times.
These are the situations our Animal Food Bank was created to support.
We cannot allow our Food Bank to become a reason for people to take on more animals than they can realistically afford.
Doing so would not be fair to the animals, the families genuinely needing assistance or the generous people who donate to keep this service running.
❤️🐾 OUR FINAL MESSAGE
Please understand that we are not here to judge anyone who is struggling financially.
There is absolutely no shame in asking for help when life becomes difficult.
In fact, we would much rather someone reach out for support than see a much-loved pet go hungry or be surrendered unnecessarily.
But there is an important difference between unexpectedly needing help to care for an existing pet and choosing to take on a new animal knowing you cannot afford its basic needs.
Our Food Bank exists for the first situation, not to encourage the second.
We will always consider genuine emergencies, but exceptions are at the discretion of rescue management and are not guaranteed.
We ask everyone to respect our policies, be honest about their circumstances and treat our volunteers with kindness.
❤️ Our mission is to help keep much-loved pets in their homes, not to make taking on additional pets financially possible.
Thank you to everyone who donates, supports and helps us continue providing this valuable community service.
Without you, our Animal Food Bank simply wouldn’t exist.
🐾❤️ Helping Dogs and Cats CIC
Helping animals. Supporting families. Encouraging responsible pet ownership.
