Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home issues urgent appeal for pet food donations warning stock is 'dangerously low'

Seafield-based charity appeals to Edinburgh residents
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home has issued an urgent appeal for donations of pet food, as the Seafield-based charity warned that the situation is “becoming critical”.

The home provides vital supplies for foodbanks across east and central Scotland, supplying them not only with pet food, but also beds, bedding, leads, collars, toys and everything pet owners need to keep their pets in warm and caring homes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The home has been supporting foodbanks since 2019, after it realised that people attending foodbanks were sharing their food with their pets. Since then, the home has delivered more than 60 tonnes of food to the foodbanks, and the need continues to increase daily.

It costs around £2 million a year to run Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and the charity receives no government funding, relying almost entirely on the generosity of donations from the public.It costs around £2 million a year to run Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and the charity receives no government funding, relying almost entirely on the generosity of donations from the public.
It costs around £2 million a year to run Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and the charity receives no government funding, relying almost entirely on the generosity of donations from the public.

“We are running dangerously low,” said Jamie Simpson, director of operations at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home. "We desperately require dry pet food, both for adult cats and dogs, and wet cat food. And with increasing numbers attending foodbanks and the huge number of foodbanks we provide for, it’s becoming critical.”

The home provides pet food for 84 foodbanks, covering a wide area across east central Scotland, the Lothians and into the Borders. Donation stations in shops, supermarkets and businesses allow the public and pet lovers to provide supplies, and the home has a network of pet food suppliers and outlets to help in the fight against pet poverty.

Every month the home is providing meals to more than 3,500 pets through the foodbank network. While the cost of living crisis continues to impact on people, the pressure to provide for pets is increasing daily.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jamie added: “We are fortunate in the support we get from individuals and business to fulfill the needs of the foodbanks that we serve, but we are dangerously low on supplies right now and we are appealing for more to meet the ever increasing need for support. Donors can drop-off dry dog and cat food and wet cat food at one of several donation stations across east and central Scotland, details of which are on the home’s website, or directly at the home itself at 26 Seafield Road East.”