It’s not just humans who have felt the harshness of the economic climate this year – many animals have been abandoned as their owners scaled back on households costs. And so many of the pets lucky enough to be taken in by UK animal charity, the RSPCA, have still to be rehomed.

The charity has taken in 57 per cent more animals than last year and has now launched a Christmas campaign to help feed them all.

Created by specialist direct marketing agency Whitewater, the campaign uses TV, online and warm and cold mailings to reach existing and potential new donors during one of its busiest periods. The campaign focuses on the cost of feeding and caring for the animals in its rescue centres – a cat, for example, costs £12 a month; a dog £26.

Brendon Elliott, personal fundraising manager of the RSPCA, said: “It’s been an extraordinary year for the RSPCA, unlike anything that’s gone before. The world changed rapidly this year and the RSPCA and the animals that rely on us were hit surprisingly hard. In 2009 animal abandonments in the UK rose by a staggering 57 per cent meaning demand for our services is incredibly high. This campaign will help us raise the money we so urgently need to feed and care for the pets in our care.”

The mailing campaign broke mid-November with warm mailings being sent to 300,000 donors in the run-up to the Christmas season, and a further 75,000 cold mailings were sent on November 23. The TV campaign is airing early this month. Media buying was by MC&C, with additional work by AMP.

Mark Roper, managing director of Whitewater, added: “RSPCA animal centres are likely to be busier than ever before this Christmas and a key challenge for them is feeding so many hungry mouths. The campaign makes a direct appeal to supporters to buy food for a number of days or weeks – putting it like that will motivate supporters to respond to the Big Christmas Feed and deliver to the RSPCA the money it needs at this critical time.”