The best cat rescues in Birmingham, compared

Every rescue below is based, or keeps the cats we list, within about 25 miles of Birmingham. Click a name to see the cats it has listed with us today, or follow the link to the rescue's own page. Each rescue runs its own application, home check and fee: we don't rehome cats ourselves.

The table is alphabetical. Grouped by where they are and how they work, the picture looks like this.

If you live in a flat or beside a busy road, look for a rescue that rehomes cats indoors. Birmingham's rescues differ, and the indoor cats page lists the cats whose rescue says they need an indoor home. This is what each rescue says on its own page:

Start from your own home, because each rescue's rules decide who it can rehome to. These are the ones Birmingham adopters run into most.

• You have children. Wythall Animal Sanctuary doesn't rehome to homes with children under 3, and Team Cat Rescue says an adoption is not guaranteed with children under 5. Coventry Cat Group looks at kittens going to homes with children under three individually, and likes to see any children when you meet the cat.
• You live on a busy road. Wythall Animal Sanctuary won't rehome cats on or near a busy road or railway line. An indoor-only cat from Fur and Feathers Animal Sanctuary or Coventry Cat Group may suit you better.
• You live outside the West Midlands. Ravens Rescue UK rehomes only within the West Midlands, and Team Cat Rescue aims to, so check the area before you apply.
• You want one kitten. Expect to be offered two: Wythall Animal Sanctuary rehomes young kittens in pairs, and Avon Cat Rescue prefers pairs.
• You need the cat later. Coventry Cat Group can hold a cat that isn't ready to go yet for a non-refundable £50 deposit, with the rest due 3 days before adoption.

The order varies, but most Birmingham cat rescues follow the same steps. A "home check" is a short visit, video call or set of photos to see that your home suits the cat. Coventry Cat Group says its visit is "just for us to make sure that your house is suitable and safe" for the cat.

1. Find a cat on the rescue's site or ours, and read its profile for the home it needs: indoor or outdoor, children, other cats, dogs.
2. Apply or enquire. The Animal House Rescue has an "Apply to Adopt" button on each cat's card, and Midlands Animal Rescue Team asks you to phone the number on the cat's card.
3. Talk to the rescue. At Team Cat Rescue you chat with its Rehoming Coordinator, and the cat is reserved for you pending a home check.
4. Have the home check. Wythall Animal Sanctuary does most by video or photos, while Fur and Feathers Animal Sanctuary visits in person.
5. Meet the cat, usually at the foster home, sign the adoption contract, pay the fee and take your cat home. MART says its whole process takes just a few days.

Two national charities rehome cats close to Birmingham. We don't list their cats, so search their own sites. Cats Protection and Blue Cross fees are in the cost box above.

• Cats Protection's West Midlands Cat Centre is at Hollywood, about 7 miles from the city centre, and covers most Birmingham postcodes. It is open for cat adoptions by appointment only, six days a week (closed Wednesdays) between 11am and 2pm. North Birmingham has its own Cats Protection volunteer branch.
• The Blue Cross Bromsgrove rehoming centre has space for 24 cats as well as dogs, and you apply through the form on each pet's profile.
• The RSPCA also rehomes animals; search on its own site.

Take it to a vet or a cat rescue, who can scan it for a microchip. In England, the council stray service is set up for dogs: the law behind it, section 149 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, is headed "Seizure of stray dogs" and covers dogs, not cats. The RSPCA says it can't respond to calls about healthy stray cats, and in England a cat must now be microchipped (the law section below), so a scan is the quickest way to find its owner.

Each page lists every cat of that kind with the rescues above, nearest first: kittens, older cats, indoor cats, bonded pairs, special needs cats, long-haired cats, domestic shorthairs, domestic longhairs, British Shorthairs, Ragdolls, Maine Coons, Siamese cats, Bengals, Persians, black cats, black-and-white cats, tabby cats, ginger cats, grey cats and tortoiseshell cats. Or see every cat near Birmingham.