Adopt a cat | Find a cat to adopt

Thinking about adopting a cat or kitten? Find out more about adopting a cat with Cats Protection in our guide.

At Cats Protection we believe in matching the right cat to the right home. That's why we look at everything from your potential pet's personality to where you live – creating the perfect match for both cat and owner.

While there can be a lot to think about when adopting a cat, Cats Protection aims to take away some of your worries, providing plenty of advice along the way.

How to adopt a cat

The majority of our centres are now offering face-to-face opportunities to visit our cats, either by appointment or walk-ins. Our volunteer-run branches continue to offer a range of options but are not open for walk-ins. Please check your local branch or centre website to find out more.

Here’s our three-step guide to adopting a cat with Cats Protection.

1. Find a cat

Use our handy Find-a-cat tool to search for cats and kittens in your area.

cats for homing sign — 2. Get in touch

Speak to your local branch or centre and they’ll let you know the next steps.

Find a branch or centre

cat with man and woman — 3. Adopt your cat

Once you’ve sorted the paperwork, your local branch or centre will arrange for you to collect your cat.

Prepare for a cat

Why adopt a cat from Cats Protection?

With many cats needing homes in the UK, our centres are often full. There are countless cats waiting for an owner to give them love, care and attention.

We aim to make sure all cats and kittens in our care are ready for their new homes. All cats and kittens homed from Cats Protection are:

health checked by a vet
treated for fleas and worms
vaccinated against cat flu and enteritis – find out more about why vaccinations are important
neutered, where appropriate (from four months old, or earlier if vet provision allows) – find out more about why neutering is important
microchipped (from three months old, or earlier if vet provision allows) – find out why microchipping is important
with the option of four weeks' free Petplan insurance

Kittens for adoption with Cats Protection

Looking to adopt a kitten? Kittens arrive at Cats Protection from various places and with varying needs - from those that have been abandoned to those that are born in our care if their mother is a stray.

While kittens can be cute to look at, they need additional care and patience from their owners. They are likely to be more energetic than older cats too - something worth thinking about before you consider kittens for adoption. Find out more about settling a kitten in.

Find out more about choosing the right cat for you

Cats Protection's homing process

While our branches and centres are all unique, Cats Protection aims to make the cat adoption process as easy as possible. You can find the opening times and address details of each centre by typing your postcode into our handy Find us tool.

Here’s how the adoption process works

Once you’ve found a cat, either using our Find-a-cat tool or by speaking to us on the phone, you’ll need to fill in a homing questionnaire
We’ll then complete the cat matching process with you. This helps us to ensure that you and your pet are right for each other
You may be given the option to meet your potential pet by making an appointment to visit them in the centre
Living in rented accommodation? You might need a letter from your landlord. You can find out more about how to go about this with our Purrfect Landlords campaign
You’ll then fill in some paperwork to adopt your cat, pay your adoption fee and arrange a date to collect your new companion

What is Cats Protection's adoption fee?

The adoption fee varies for different branches and centres. Some may have to pay more for veterinary treatment than others, and some have higher costs in looking after cats.

The adoption fee goes towards paying some of the cost of your cat's health check, neutering and vaccinations.

Find out more about our adoption fee

Adopt a cat FAQs

If you’re looking to rehome a cat with Cats Protection, you might have many unanswered questions. Hopefully we’ve answered some of them below. If you’d like to discuss anything else, please get in touch with us.

See our adoption FAQs