// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
Low-cost clinic helps pet owners with vet bills
Christine Gardner described support from the clinic as "amazing"
A reduced-cost veterinary clinic has treated 160 pets in its first 11 days, according to the RSPCA.
The animal charity's Medway West branch has launched to offer cut-price care for the pets of people on low incomes or receiving benefits.
"Your pet would come first. You'd have a bit of toast yourself and pay out for your pet," said Chatham cat owner Christine Gardner. "Having somewhere like this is amazing."
She told the BBC it was "just really good to have something nearby that I can get to" with her six cats.
Angela Adams said her pets were her "babies", adding: "I would rather starve than they starve."
She said she had eight cats, two rabbits, four guinea pigs, two African land snails and a tortoise, and that she did not know what she would do without the animals, as she was unable to work for health reasons.
"It's very expensive. Seven of my cats were due for vaccine this month and you can imagine the cost of that," she told the BBC. "That's a lot of money."
"I've had friends messaging me struggling, so this place is brilliant for people."
The RSPCA's Imara Ó Niocail says some people can longer afford to care for their much-loved pets