If you’re having trouble affording dog food and cat food, you may have a variety of solutions to check out before re-homing your companion animal. Animal shelters increasingly recognize they can avoid contributing to shelter overpopulation by thinking outside the box. Food programs are popping up in many different venues to help you keep your cat or dog right at home.

Why Keeping a Pet Matters

When personal finances tank, putting food on the table is challenging enough without adding a few furry faces to feed. But it’s when things are at their lowest point that when the true value and worth of animals become crystal clear.

Writing for Webmd.com, Dr. Ian Cook, psychiatrist and director of the Depression Research and Clinic Program at UCLA, says:

Where to Find Free Pet Food

If you’re in search of sources of free pet food, you’re not alone. In fact, many organizations are aware of the issue and have created resources to help. For example:

  • Some animal shelters maintain a pet food bank. When a distraught companion animal guardians visit the shelter with the intent to surrender their animal, instead of signing a surrender form they are given an application for food subsistence.
  • Meals on Wheels found that pets are the only family that some seniors have and that some of their clients were sharing their meals with their pets when they couldn’t afford pet food. In 2006, Meals on Wheels started the We All Love Our Pets (WALOP) initiative. Not all local Meals on Wheels programs offer pet food, so check with your local program.
  • The Humane Society of the United States maintains a list of national and local organizations that offer free pet food, low-cost spay/neuter services, and temporary foster care if you need help.
  • Feeding Pets of the Homeless offers resources for finding both food and veterinary care. You can use their website to search for help in your area.

How to Request Or Provide Help with Finding Pet Food

If you’re not sure where to start looking for or providing free pet food, you may find these suggestions help to break the ice.

Why This Matters to Treehugger

At Treehugger, we are advocates of animal welfare, including our pets and other domestic animals. We hope our readers will adopt rescue pets instead of shopping from breeders or pet stores, and will also consider supporting local animal shelters.