My daughter changed jobs during at the height of the pandemic and inevitably the process was far from straightforward.

The new job was based more than 150 miles from where my daughter and her family were living so that entailed selling their home and buying a house in their new town.

Needless to say, this didn’t go quite as smoothly as everyone would have hoped with the upshot that they had to move into rented accommodation for several months.

Which is where I came in. They couldn’t take their two cats with them so my wife and I volunteered to become feline foster carers until the house move was finally sorted.

I love cats and to be honest, it was really good to have something to think about during lockdown when a lot of us were confined to our homes.

I truly believe that looking after the cats was good for our psychological wellbeing during what was a pretty dark time.

As the pandemic eased and the property market started to pick up, my family finally found a new home and once they had settled in, the cats went back home.

In that respect, I think we were lucky. We had the distraction of the cats to help us through the Covid crisis but we didn’t have the long-term commitment that being a pet owner brings.

But that’s not the case for many families who thought it was a good idea to get a lockdown puppy or kitten when mum, dad and the kids were all at home only to find the demands of looking after a pet when everyone is back at work or school is somewhat different.

Those walks with the dog might have been a joy during lockdown but become a chore after a day at work.

It was fine when travel was banned, international and otherwise, but now pandemic pet owners wanting to get away for a couple of weeks in the sun have to factor in the costs of petcare and believe me, a fortnight of kennel or cattery fees will set you back a considerable amount.

Back in 2021, a huge number of those lockdown pets suddenly became ‘Freedom Day’ nuisances.

Adam Clowes, the Dogs Trust operations director, told The Guardian in December last year: “We think about one and a half million extra dogs were acquired in the last 18 months.

“These people got dogs in a very strange time. They weren’t able to introduce their dogs to other dogs in the park, they weren’t able to access good-quality training classes, veterinary care was limited. So we’ve got a whole cohort of dogs that started life in not the real world, and as life starts to return to normal those dogs and their owners are struggling to cope.”

The result, of course, was a steep increase in the number of cats and dogs being handed over to animal charities or simply abandoned.

But now the situation is getting worse and worse by the day as the cost of living surges and the price of energy reaches eye-watering levels.

When people are faced with a choice of feeding their kids or feeding their dog, it looks very much like it’s the dog that’s losing out.

As The Guardian reported: “More than 1,000 animals have been abandoned in Cheshire in the past 19 months – a rate of almost two a day. In 2021, the RSPCA received 758 reports of abandoned pets in the county, followed by 341 reports between January and July this year.”

Dogs and cats were the animals most likely to be abandoned but now animal charities are warning that more exotic pets are becoming increasing likely to be dumped.

The cost of living crisis is forcing exotic pet owners to abandon their animals as they cannot afford to run the expensive equipment the animals need.

The RSPCA says it is bracing for an influx in the abandonment of animals such as snakes, bearded dragons, and other animals that require higher electricity bills.

The ultraviolet light and heat lamps that animals such as these require can make utility bills spike, which many now cannot afford.

I’m not being judgemental here and I understand people’s circumstances change but for goodness sake, how hard-hearted must you be to just abandon a pet?

If you’re struggling, please consider surrendering your pet to an animal charity or to a specialist exotic animals pet shop.

And to those considering taking on a pet, please think twice and get some information about the costs and responsibilities involved.