Resources for Financial Assistance
Abandoned Pet Project - Boerne. This group is dedicated to providing funding for abandoned, abused, and homeless pets so they may receive the medical care they need and is a non-profit supporting a network of fosters, veterinarians, community outreach projects, and spay/neuter initiatives.
Alley Cat Allies - This page lists many options for financial assistance.
Alley Cat Allies’ Feral Friends Network includes feral-friendly veterinarians with community cat experience who may be able to provide low-cost veterinary services in addition to spay and neuter and vaccinations. Visit this page from Alley Cat Allies for many approaches and resources to help fund your efforts.
Animals in Need of Donations/Funds/Pledges - A page for posting fundraisers.
ASPCA Grants: They provide links and information on numerous sources of funding.
Best Friends Animal Society - This page lists a variety of financial assistance resources for dogs and cats. Click to learn about Grants for Animal Rescue to Save More Lives: The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants.
Bissell Pet Foundation - Their Pet Foundation’s Partners for Pets program is designed to support shelters, rescue groups and spay/neuter organizations that are helping to reduce pet overpopulation across the United States.
Brown Dog Foundation: www.browndogfoundation.org — For those who have no money immediately available for the care of cats and dogs that are sick or injured and would respond to treatment.
Community Cats Podcast Grants - Click for information and to submit a request for funding assistance for spay/neuter of community cats.
Community Cats United is an international nonprofit organization comprised of at least 116 countries that provides assistance in helping individuals find low-cost TNR spay and neuter resources as well as funding assistance.
CareCredit offers a revolving line of credit for veterinary expenses.
Doris Day Animal Foundation - Grants for 501c3 public charities.
DSHS Texas Animal Friendly Program - Funds raised through animal friendly license places go to grants to fund low-cost spay/neuter services. If you would like to be notified of the next opportunity to apply for the Animal Friendly grant, contact: The.Vet@dshs.texas.gov and provide your email address and contact name.
Dylan’s Heart: — Must be requested through your attending veterinarian for a life-threatening or critical injury or illness with a favorable outcome with care and the owner must be on a form of government aid.
Facebook Community Help Page - share a need for help from your community.
Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Programs - This organization helps cats with Vaccine Associated Sarcoma (VAC).
Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program gives financial assistance to cat and kitten caregivers who are unable to afford veterinary services in life-threatening situations.
For the Love of Alex - Funds emergency veterinary care for pets of low-income individuals/families.
Friends & Vets Helping Pets: (859) 309-2043 — For applicants in financial need for their pet’s curable diseases such as tumors, broken bones, ambulatory care, expensive medication or post-surgical prosthetics. FVHP staff works with both the veterinarian and the family to provide pets with the necessary medical treatment.
Fundraising for Animals Facebook page. This is a group for fundraisers for both Animals & Rescuers in need.
GoFundMe - A crowdfunding platform.
Grantsmanship Center’s Map Tool: A search tool for finding grant resources by state.
Handicapped Pets Foundation - This nonprofit corporation is dedicated to the health and well-being of elderly, disabled, and injured pets.
Henry’s Caring Heart Foundation - This group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2019 to provide financial assistance to pets and their families in need. They provide assistance toward medical expenses, adoption fees, boarding costs, routine pet costs, and more.
HumanePro - Explore grant opportunities for municipal agencies and nonprofit organizations
Loving Texas Pet Assistance - Kerr, Uvalde County, and Maverick Counties. And check their Facebook page. They appear to focus on dogs and it is not clear if they also help with cats.
Maddie’s Fund Grants - Click the link to learn about funding opportunities for U.S. based 501c3 or government animal welfare organization focused on dogs and/or cats. Click here for current funding opportunities.
Meals on Wheels - Besides bringing meals to low-income seniors, in many areas they also provide pet food.
MuttNation Foundation - Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation and Tractor Supply Company have teamed up to provide a quarter-million dollars in grants through MuttNation’s Mutts Across America program. The Foundation has announced that the It Takes Balls campaign will focus specifically on Miranda’s home state of Texas and especially, East Texas, North Texas and the Texas Panhandle this year with plans to open the program to the rest of the Lambert’s home state in 2025. Applications are closed for 2024 but you can subscribe for notifications for 2025.
My Pet Child - Provides list of national resources for financial assistance.
Onyx and Breezy Fund: — Assistance with financial aid for medical treatment, medication, pet food, and spay and neuter surgeries with proof of low income/need.
Oxbow Animal Rescue Grant supports operating and programs for rescue organizations caring for specific species of reptiles, small animals, and wildlife, and cats.
Paws 4 a Cure: — Helps dogs and cats with injuries and illnesses, grants tend to be small and do not exceed $500.
Pet Assistance Association - Beeville. This organization helps with spay/neuter of pets for low-income people and adoption. Unsure if it is still in existence.
Pet Assistance Inc.: — Helps long-time pet owners with financial aid for urgent or life-threatening emergencies only.
PETCO Foundation offers disaster assistance and pet food bank support to municipal and private organizations.
Pets of the Homeless: — A resource center for pet food assistance, wellness clinics, and emergency veterinary care. For emergency vet care, call 775-841-7463 to see if you qualify.
PetSmart Charities, Inc. supports nonprofits, municipalities, and animal welfare organizations whose companion animal programs help enrich lives through the human-animal bond.
Pet Shotz, Inc - San Antonio. Free Spay/Neuter grants for feral cats. Call 210-735-1004 for details.
Prince Chunk Foundation: — Appears to be closed down temporarily or permanently. Emergency Care for cats and dogs (possibly other pets in the future). Low-income individuals or those experiencing financial crises are encouraged to pre-apply.
Red Rover: — Provides grants around $200 for situations where urgent care is needed for a pet
RedRover Relief provides financial and emotional support to good Samaritans, animal rescuers, and pet owners caring for animals in life-threatening situations.
Rose’s Fund for Animals: — For pets/found animal that have a life-threatening illness, injury or condition with a good prognosis to survive.
Rusk Veterinary Assistance Grants - Offers financial assistance for qualifying families in need of medical or surgical intervention for their beloved pet. These one-time grants aim to preserve the human-animal bond by funding life-saving or life-changing veterinary care to a pet that might otherwise be relinquished, euthanized, or enduring prolonged suffering.
Shadow Cats has a Community Cat Emergency Fund available to their own trappers. They also have a One Life Fund available to the public that provides assistance as funds are available for unowned community cats in a variety of critical situations. We also suggest that you visit Shadow Cats to view a comprehensive list of Financial Resources.
SpayUSA / Animal League - Click here to go directly to their Feral Cat Program page. Spay USA offers subsidy funding for stray and feral cat caretakers throughout the US. The application is open to individuals only; this is not a grant for animal shelters or other rescue organizations. Applications are accepted to subsidize a percentage of the cost of spay/neuter based on the number of cats and the available low cost options in the area.
Summerlee Foundation - Funding emphasis is on sterilization and vaccination primarily in rural or underserved communities in the United States and Canada.
The Binky Foundation is focused primarily on assisting individuals and organizations seeking to take those initial steps that are critical to achieving a significant benefit or advancement toward protecting animals and their habitats.
The Diedra Fund - Provides veterinary medical services for families with pets in need of such services but without the financial resources to provide such services. Based in Southlake, TX. Visit their Facebook page.
The Dollar Club - The Dollar Club helps fundraise for animals needing emergency vet care for life or death situations or cases involving severe pain. They also help with food for starving animals/colonies.
The Magic Bullet Fund: — Cancer-specific help for families with cats or dogs that have cancer, but can’t afford treatment.
The Mosby Fund: — For vet-confirmed critical situations that are non-basic and non-urgent for dogs.
The Humane Society of the United States - provides support for spay/neuter, pet food and other necessities when times get tough.
The Pet Fund: — The Pet Fund works only on non-basic, non-urgent care such as cancer treatment, heart disease, chronic conditions, endocrine diseases, eye diseases, etc.
The Reidel & Cody Fund: — Support for pets suffering from cancer – funding for chemotherapy and radiation treatment
The Shakespeare Animal Fund: (775) 342-7040, https://www.shakespeareanimalfund.org/ — Small grants of between $50 and $100 typically to people on a fixed income or with annual incomes below the federal poverty guidelines. It may only be for those in Nevada.
The Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation: The Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation’s Lending Economic Assistance for Pets (LEAP) program provides much needed veterinary care, free of charge to animals belonging to economically disadvantaged community members.
The William and Charlotte Parks Foundation for Animal Welfare - The Grants Committee makes grants to both animal protection organizations and to individual scholars pursuing work consistent with the goals of the Trust founders. Grant deadline is May 1st.
United Spay Alliance - Community Cats Grants to support spay/neuter programs for community cats. Formerly managed by Community Cats Podcast, the Community Cats Grants program was designed to help small organizations build their fundraising capacity to help even more cats. Grants are targeted toward grassroots TNR groups, rescue organizations, and low-cost spay/neuter providers. Applications for the spring/summer cycle are due by March 31 and applications for the fall/winter cycle are due by August 31.
Voice for the Animals Foundation: (310) 392-5153 — Their Helping Friends Program helps seniors, people with disabilities, terminal illnesses, or fixed incomes take care of their pets.
Waggle - strives to raise funds for pets in medical crisis.
Walmart Local Community Grants - local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000.
YouCaring - YouCaring is part of GoFundMe and is an online fundraising platform.
Other Options Related to Financial Assistance
If you have a purebred dog or cat, check to see if there is a breed-specific club or rescue that can offer assistance.
Helpful tips
Try negotiating with your veterinary clinic for a better price or a payment plan to finance the cost of your pet’s medical care over time. Also, consider getting price comparisons from other vet clinics.
Apply for CareCredit which provides flexible financing for veterinary care and many of these organizations require proof that you have applied and been denied CareCredit.
If possible, contact sources of financial aid before procedures are done. Few sources are willing to pay bills for care that has already been provided. Most require a diagnosis by a veterinarian.
Most grants are small and will only cover a small portion of expensive procedures. It is important to contact as many sources as possible. The grants may be very small, but they can add up if you get help from several sources.
Few, if any, organizations will pay for ongoing medication that pets will need for extended periods of time.
Most organizations require online applications only. If you aren't computer-savvy, find a friend or relative who can help you.
These organizations receive a lot of requests so please be patient, it may take a while to receive a response.
Visit The Animal Foundation for more helpful information.The Shakespeare Animal FundThe Shakespeare Animal FundThe Shakespeare Animal Fund
