Animal abandonment cases reported to the RSPCA in Suffolk are up 15% since the start of the cost of living crisis, it has emerged.

The RSPCA has revealed that the number of reports it received in 2023 was 216 - which is up from 188 in 2021. 

This included cats Glinda and Dorothy, who were taken into the care of the RSPCA Suffolk Central branch in Martlesham as they were left in a home after their previous owners moved away. 

Glinda, the mother, who is thought to be between one and three years old, took a while to settle at first could often be found hiding in her igloo bed. 

READ MORE: RSPCA called to 534 reports of animal cruelty in Suffolk

Her daughter Dorothy, thought to be only about three to four months old, was very affectionate from day one and has since gone on to find her forever home. 

RSPCA chief inspector Ian Briggs said: “We are seeing a shocking rise in the number of calls reporting pet abandonment to our emergency line during winter with an eye-watering 51% rise in three years.

"Sadly we expect the trend will continue as more pet owners face financial hardship at this time of year more than any other. 

"Our rescuers are regularly coming across dogs in poor health, collapsed and left in isolated spots to suffer a lingering death; sick kittens discarded in cardboard boxes who are lucky to be found alive; or pet rabbits dumped in the wild with little chance of survival against predators.

“With the cost of living crisis we are also seeing people having to move out of properties due to financial pressures, and we are increasingly coming across pets who have been left locked in homes alone after their owners have moved out.

“Heartbreakingly, we are seeing many pets left in their own filth - with no food or water, no-one to care for them and no idea if anyone will come to help them."