The best cat rescues in Manchester, compared

Every rescue below is based, or keeps the cats we list, within about 25 miles of Manchester. 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.

Many Manchester cat rescues won't rehome a cat that will go outside on or near a main road, and some won't rehome near one at all, even an indoor cat. If you live on a busy road, check the rule before you apply, and see the indoor cats page for 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 Manchester adopters run into most.

• You have young children. Warrington Animal Welfare doesn't rehome to families with children under 5, nor do Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary and Heatons Cats. English Barn Cats Rescue rehomes to households with children 6 and over, and Cheshire Cats Rescue will consider young children but says "we are selective".
• You have a dog. Heatons Cats doesn't rehome to households with dogs, and English Barn Cats Rescue only places a cat with a dog if the cat is used to dogs. Windyway Animal Rescue won't rehome to homes with un-neutered adult animals, and Avid's Angels Cat Rescue asks for proof that your other pets are neutered and vaccinated.
• You live on a main road. See the table above: several rescues, such as Saving Strays Animal Rescue, won't rehome near one at all.
• Check your area. Stopford Cat Rescue rehomes in Stockport, Bramhall and South Manchester only, English Barn Cats Rescue within 15 miles of Darwen, and PawPurrs Halfway House does home checks "within a reasonable distance".
• Your age. Animals in Distress says "Adopters must be over 21 years of age".
• You rent. Expect to show your landlord's permission: Destitute Animals Shelter and PawPurrs Halfway House ask for it.

The order varies, but most Manchester cat rescues follow the same steps. A "home check" is a short visit or video call to see that your home suits the cat. Heatons Cats says "Our visit is not intrusive".

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. Most rescues use a form. Not every rescue replies to every applicant: Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary contacts you only if it thinks you are a good match, and StraySafe Rescue doesn't rehome on a first come, first served basis.
3. Talk to the rescue and meet the cat. Warrington Animal Welfare calls you, you meet the cat, and then you can reserve it.
4. Have the home check. English Barn Cats Rescue visits in person, Avid's Angels Cat Rescue does it virtually, and Society for Abandoned Animals uses a home visit or a video call.
5. Pay the fee and take your cat home. Some rescues bring the cat to you: English Barn Cats Rescue does. Cats Guidance Rescue prefers its fee paid by bank transfer before adoption, and several fees, such as Avid's Angels Cat Rescue's, are non-refundable.

Cats Protection and Blue Cross rehome cats around Manchester. 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 Manchester branch takes enquiries through its North Manchester Cat Centre in Oldham, which is open by appointment only and charges £85 for an adult cat and £105 for a kitten up to 6 months. Its Trafford branch asks £75 for an adult cat and £95 for a kitten, and its Warrington Cat Centre £85 and £105. Stockport and Bolton & Radcliffe have their own branches.
• Blue Cross rehomes cats from its Greater Manchester rehoming, advice and behaviour unit in Radcliffe.
• The RSPCA also rehomes animals; its Manchester and Salford Branch rehomes cats and small animals, so 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 Manchester.