I can only afford one meal a week, but I still feed my six cats
A woman claims that she can sometimes only afford one meal a week due to the crisis in the cost of living, as she spends most of her money on feeding her cats.
Yasemn Kaptan, 46, from Tottenham, North London, has been skipping meals for a year to care for her six felines.
Yasemn receives a monthly disability benefit of £400 due to her osteoporosis, which is paid for from rent and bills.
As she cares for her partner, she also receives an allowance of £69 a week – £60 of which she spends on her pets.
She says she drinks mint tea to stave off hunger and has lost five stone weight since she reduced her food intake.
Yasemn claims the cost-of-living crisis means she can only afford one meal a week — as she spends most of her money on feeding her cats
Yasemn said, “I have no money left, but I can’t let the cats go. They grew up with us. I’ve had them since they were little babies.
‘I paid a lot of money to have them, they are at the end of their lives. It’s really not fair to let them go.’
Yasemn refuses to get rid of her cats because she doesn’t know how she or her partner, Erdinc Hassain, 46, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, would manage without them.
So she lives on just one meal a week, which has dropped her weight from 14 stone to 9 stone.
Yasemn’s one meal usually consists of BBQ vegetables such as peppers, onions and salad. Otherwise, she drinks mint tea for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Yasemn Kaptan, 46, has been skipping meals for a year to care for her six feline friends
The stay-at-home carer receives an allowance of £69 per week – £60 of which she spends on food for her pets, pictured here
Yasemn also receives £400 monthly disability benefit due to her osteoporosis, which goes on rent and bills
She says she drinks mint tea to stave off hunger, and has lost five stone weight since cutting back on her food intake — but her cats (pictured) come first
She said, “If I get my caretaker allowance, it will go towards cat litter, cat food, biscuits and special milk, it will take all my money. I can barely pay my phone bill.
‘My partner is worried about me, but I’m used to that now. You’ll be fine, things will get better. I can’t do anything, I can’t get rid of my cats. I’ve had them for 17 years, they’re my little babies, they keep me going.’
Yasemn got her cats when she worked as a personal shopper and was comfortable taking care of herself and the cats and paying her bills, she says.
But she had to quit her job in 2022 after being diagnosed with osteoporosis – a health condition that weakens bones, making them more fragile and more likely to break. This leaves her with less money.
Yasemn got her cats when she worked as a personal shopper and was comfortable taking care of herself and the cats and paying her bills, she says
Yasemn added, “I eat out once a week. I only have mint tea or liquids all week. When I eat it should be something soft like yogurt or vegetables.
“I cry every other day, I try to be happy with myself, but I’m down and tired. Some weeks I don’t eat well at all and only have fluids to keep me going.’
Her story comes amid growing concerns about the cost of living, plus food and energy prices.
It was revealed last year according to research published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the number of people using a food bank had risen to one in six.
More than one in five (22 percent) of those surveyed in March 2022 say they skipped a meal or ate less because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.