Rescue cats for adoption and rehoming in and around Edinburgh

The one cat rescue we list inside the City of Edinburgh is Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home at Seafield. You apply to the rescue for the cat you want: we don't rehome cats ourselves.

This page also covers about 25 miles around the city, so it shows the cats at Fife Cat Shelter at Cleish, by Kinross, about 20 miles north of Edinburgh. When we checked on 29 October 2026, six of the seven cats on this page were at Fife Cat Shelter and one at Seafield. Fife Cat Shelter hands cats over in person only, so plan for the drive.

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home runs one process for dogs and cats (its rehoming process). Read each cat's profile for the home it needs before you apply.

• Apply for one cat. You apply online for the cat you want, and it aims to tell you within a week, by email or phone, whether you are through. Tell it about your past pets, other pets and any children who visit.
• Meet by invitation. There are no drop-in visits: a successful applicant is invited to meet the cat, perhaps in its cat pen, and when several applications fit, the Home moves forward with the people who can visit earliest.
• Profiles mean it. An adult only home or an experienced owner is asked for when a cat's history or behaviour calls for it, and some cats need a quieter home away from the city centre.
• Settling in. Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home recommends keeping your cat indoors for at least a month before letting it outside.

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home charges £150 for a cat aged 9 months to 9 years (£220 for a pair), £100 for a cat over 9, and £200 for a kitten under 9 months (£280 for a pair). Every cat goes home with a month's pet insurance, and an optional cat pack costs £17.

Fife Cat Shelter asks a donation of £120 for a neutered cat, £180 for two cats, £100 for a kitten that is not yet neutered and £150 for two kittens, paid when you collect.

Each rescue sets its own adoption fee, and Cats Protection says you can expect to pay £80 to £120 on average for an adult cat and £100 to £120 for a kitten, varying between its branches. The fee usually covers neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations, and each rescue confirms its own fee.

The Scottish SPCA has its Edinburgh & Lothians rescue and rehoming centre in Balerno, EH14 7JU, with a cattery among its facilities. We name it but don't list its cats: the Scottish SPCA also rehomes animals; search on its own site.

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home suggests checking local social media and the cat's collar, taking it in a carrier to a vet to scan its microchip, and reporting it to a shelter such as the Home. Once you know a cat is a stray and not a missing pet, it says it is not an offence to keep it yourself; if you can't, call the Home.

The council stray service set up by section 149 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which extends to Scotland, deals with stray dogs, not cats. In Scotland a cat doesn't have to be chipped: you can choose to microchip your cat, so a scan may or may not find an owner.

This page's filters narrow the cats to kittens, older cats or bonded pairs. Each cat's card shows its distance from Edinburgh.