Lifesaver Vet Care Fund

Aim

Our "lifesaver fund" aims to provide help for animals in need of immediate veterinary treatment outside the working hours of our clinic.

RSPCA Cambridge branch runs a low-cost animal clinic in Cambridge but we are getting more and more requests to help animals whose condition is too serious to wait for an appointment there. Our "Lifesaver Fund" will support assistance with the cost of first aid treatment via private vets for unowned animals and animals whose owners are on very low income.

It is extremely costly for animals to receive emergency treatment outside normal working hours and there can be a wait of as much as three days before we can arrange an appointment at our over-stretched clinic. It's simply not acceptable for any animal to be left in pain for such a long time so it's essential that we have a way to provide first aid and pain relief via the local private vets whose services are available throughout the whole week. Owners and vets have a duty to care but they may be put in an impossible position if the owner simply does not have the necessary funds to pay for an out of hours consultation.

Oscar would have been put to sleep if we had not been able to take him in and fund his treatment

What your donations could fund

• £11.33 Methadone pain relief injection
• £16.20 Blood sampling fee
• £37.43 12 hours normal hospitalisation for a cat
• £67.42 12 hours high dependency hospitalisation
• £120 Out of hours consultation at a private vet
• £211.75 Emergency fluids via an iv drip

Sweetie was brought in as a stray with possible neurological issues

Over-breeding of pet rabbits is a huge problem and we offer help with spaying and neutering

Kylie needed first aid and then surgery for her broken leg

The variety of calls to our branch helpline is illustrated by this pie chart: many are for registered animals and can be passed to our clinical service provider but there are a very large number where initial help via private vets is the only viable option. The crisis in the cost of living has meant that more and more people are finding themselves unable to pay for emergency first aid and we need to step up to meet the need. However we cannot do this to the detriment of the animal clinic so it's essential that we raise new money.

This project successfully funded on 30th April 2024