The cost of living crisis is leading to people cutting back on caring for their pets, it has been warned.

Citizens Advice Scotland said an estimated 460,311 people cut back on care for their pets in the past year due to rising energy bills in particular.

Polling by YouGov and analysis by CAS found one in ten adults cut back spending on dog grooming and vet appointments.

Emma Jackson, CAS Social Justice spokesperson, said: “People are having to cut back on spending because of rising energy bills and the wider cost of living crisis, and that might mean less care for household pets.

“For many, particularly pensioners or people living alone, their dog or cat is their best friend and a source of comfort against loneliness and isolation.

“Cutting back on vet appointments or grooming to keep them clean and healthy could be a really distressing decision for people.”

The charity is running “Worried this winter” a campaign encouraging people to seek advice from the network in a variety of ways.

It said it can help with energy issues.

People can visit www.cas.org.uk/worried  and from there they can choose an option that works for them such as online advice pages or interactive self-help tools like www.moneymap.scot,  specialist services like the Money Talk Team or finding their local CAB if they feel they need one to one advice.