Rescue cats for adoption and rehoming in and around Middlesbrough

Three cat rescues list their cats with us around Middlesbrough. Pawsitive Cattitudes Rescue is a foster-based rescue at Eaglescliffe, about 6 miles south west, whose cats live in volunteers' homes until they are adopted. S.A.R.A. The Ann Prosser Foundation at Redcar, about 7 miles away, has a cattery, and Care4Cats Rescue is based at Loftus, about 14 miles east.

Further out, Pawz for Thought and Animal Krackers on Wearside, about 23 miles north, list cats too. Each profile here links to the rescue that cares for the cat, and you apply with them.

S.A.R.A. asks £150 for one cat or £200 for a pair, and tests every cat for FIV and FeLV before it goes. At Care4Cats Rescue you reserve a cat with a minimum of £40 a cat, taken off what you pay on adoption day; its adoption fee varies with the cat's age and breed, and reservation and adoption donations are not refundable.

Further out, Pawz for Thought asks £125 a cat and Animal Krackers a £100 donation for a kitten or an adult cat. Pawsitive Cattitudes Rescue doesn't publish a fee, so ask it.

Each rescue sets its own adoption fee. 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, and Blue Cross fees start from £150 for cats aged 4 months to 7 years. The fee usually covers neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations, and each rescue confirms its own fee.

Each cat rescue here checks your home before a cat goes, so allow a little time (Care4Cats Rescue's adoption page).

• Form, home check, visit, then reserve. Care4Cats Rescue starts with an application form, then a home check, where you may be asked for ID and, if you rent, proof that pets are allowed. Only then do you visit the cats, and there are no same day adoptions. It rehomes young kittens in pairs unless you have an existing kitten or young cat at home, and won't rehome a cat used to going outside as an indoor cat, except in very special circumstances.
• Meet at the cattery, then a trial. S.A.R.A. books a visit to its cattery with a staff member, checks that your home and the area around it are safe if the cat needs outdoor access, and won't rehome an outdoor cat in a high traffic area. Each cat then goes on a one-week trial, and a cat that likes to go out stays in for at least nine weeks.
• Meet the cat in its foster home. Pawsitive Cattitudes Rescue has you meet the cats at the home they are fostered in, has no upper age limit for adopters, and asks you to take time to think after meeting a cat before you decide.

Cats Protection has a volunteer-run Teesside branch covering the TS postcodes, from TS1 to TS29. We don't list its cats, so search its own site.

In England a pet cat must now be microchipped, so a vet's scan is the quickest way to find the owner. Pawsitive Cattitudes Rescue says it can't take in a cat known to be owned by someone else.

The council stray service is for dogs: in England, section 149 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 deals with stray dogs, not cats.

Looking for a kitten? The kittens page lists every kitten near Middlesbrough today, and there are pages too for older cats, indoor cats and bonded pairs.

Need to rehome your own cat instead? Our Middlesbrough rehoming page covers Cats Protection's Teesside branch and the other local routes.