Rescue guide
Cat rescues in Oxford and Oxfordshire, compared
Until this update we showed no cats around Oxford. Now seven rescues add theirs: a small charity at Forest Hill, the county sanctuary at Stadhampton, two foster networks in west Oxfordshire, a Reading charity with heated cat houses in its volunteers' gardens, a Berkshire Downs centre and a Banbury group. Most have no building you can walk into, so the steps are different from a shelter visit.
By the LocalPetFinder Team · Checked 7 November 2026
The short answer
The closest rescue cats we list to Oxford are with Four Paws Cat Rescue, 5 miles east at Forest Hill, from £80 for an adult. The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary at Stadhampton charges £120, and two foster-based charities, Nine Lives around Witney and Sunshine across the county, ask £110 and £95. Two larger names, Cats Protection's Oxford branch and Blue Cross at Burford, advertise separately.
- Rescue adoption fees
- 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.
- Four Paws Cat Rescue
- From £80 per grown cat, which arrives neutered, chipped and treated for fleas and worms, insured for 5 weeks but not vaccinated.
- Sunshine Cat Rescue
- £95, paid before the cat comes home; vet checked, chipped, neutered if over 5 months.
- Nine Lives Cat Rescue
- £110 for a cat aged 1 to 10.
- Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary
- £120 a cat or kitten, after a £20 deposit; first vaccination done, the second is yours.
- NAWT Berkshire
- £120, with 4 weeks of pet insurance thrown in.
- Owning a cat
- PDSA puts lifetime care at £11,400 to £13,600 and up.
Cat rescues near Oxford compared
This update brings all seven onto our Oxford pages for the first time. The cat numbers are what each rescue showed on its own site on 7 November 2026, and the distances are straight lines from the city.
| Rescue | Where the cats live | On its site, 7 November | First step | Adult cat fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Paws Cat Rescue | Forest Hill, about 5 miles | 6 cats, 3 of them reserved | Online enquiry, then checks | £80 minimum |
| Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary | Stadhampton, about 7 miles | 19 cats in 7 listings | Online questionnaire | £120 |
| Nine Lives Cat Rescue | Fosterers around Witney, about 10 miles | 8 cats, 6 of them kittens | Application, then a home survey | £110 |
| Sunshine Cat Rescue | Fosterers across Oxfordshire | More than a dozen, mostly kittens | Application, then a home visit | £95 |
| NAWT Berkshire | Great Shefford, about 21 miles | A bonded pair | Register interest online | £120 |
| BARKS | Around Banbury, about 22 miles | One cat | Visit, reserve, home chat | Not published |
| Thames Valley Animal Welfare | Fosterers around Reading, about 24 miles | 8 cats, one reserved | Register online | Not published |
How each cat rescue near Oxford works
Four of the seven keep their cats in volunteers' homes or gardens, so you meet the cat where it is living.
Four Paws Cat Rescue, Forest Hill
A small charity just east of the city. You apply on its online form only; it checks your home and area before inviting you to an appointment, asks for your answer within 24 hours of the visit and then holds the cat for about a week while you get ready. It won't hold a cat over a holiday, and it doesn't start vaccinations, to keep the donation low.
Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, Stadhampton
Its cat list mixes single cats with groups: on 7 November 2026 it had a family of seven from one home and five young cats that could go singly or in pairs. Apply online, visit by appointment, reserve with a £20 deposit. Adult cats leave neutered with a first vaccination; the second jab is yours to book.
Nine Lives Cat Rescue, Witney
Set up in 2025, this charity works only in West Oxfordshire, through volunteers it calls Foster Angels. A home surveyor calls once your application has been reviewed; the introduction happens at the Foster Angel's house, and Nine Lives drops the cat off afterwards. It matches on welfare, not first come, first served.
Sunshine Cat Rescue, across Oxfordshire
Started by volunteers in 2012 after a national charity closed its West Oxfordshire branch, it has no centre. After a home visit the fosterer arranges for you to meet the cat, and you can adopt it straight away; a volunteer visits again within six months. Its adopt page also points to Facebook for more kittens.
Thames Valley Animal Welfare, around Reading
Running since 1983, it houses cats in purpose-built heated cat houses in fosterers' gardens, with room for about 50. You register online, a coordinator suggests cats and arranges a visit, and you collect within a week of reserving. Its Golden Oldie scheme pays age-related vet care for any cat it rehomes over 12.
NAWT Berkshire and BARKS
NAWT Berkshire at Great Shefford had Mister Mittens and Bluey, a pair, on 7 November 2026. BARKS, a volunteer charity around Banbury, had one cat available; you visit, reserve and then a volunteer visits your home for a chat.
Choosing a cat rescue from Oxford
Our Oxford cats page shows who is listed. A few things decide which rescue suits you:
- Flats. Four Paws suggests an indoor-only cat for a flat unless you are on the ground floor with your own garden.
- Busy roads. Four Paws recommends an indoor-only cat or a cat-proofed garden if you live near a main road.
- Renting. Four Paws asks for your landlord's written permission.
- Pairs. Nine Lives usually places kittens under six months in twos, and several sanctuary listings are pairs or groups.
- Older cats. Thames Valley Animal Welfare covers age-related vet bills for cats rehomed over 12.
Cat rescue from Reading
Thames Valley Animal Welfare's fosterers are around Reading itself. Further out, Marjorie Nash Cat Rescue, a volunteer charity in the Chiltern and South Bucks area, is about 22 miles away, and Cats Protection Reading & District covers several RG postcodes on its own site. Our Reading cats page starts from the town.
The cat charities that list elsewhere
Cats Protection Oxford & District keeps every cat in a foster home and asks £100 a cat or £120 a kitten. Blue Cross Burford has room for 21 cats, and the RSPCA Oxfordshire and Reading Branch rehomes its own. We list none of their cats. English law requires a pet cat to be microchipped before it is 20 weeks old, and our rescue kittens guide covers the youngest.
The law in England
Microchipping cats
In England, cats must be microchipped before they are 20 weeks old and registered on a database, a rule in force since 10 June 2024. An owner found without one has 21 days to comply or may be fined up to £500. Free-living cats (farm, feral and community cats) are exempt.
Lucy's Law: buying a kitten
In England, Lucy's Law has meant since 6 April 2020 that kittens under six months can't be sold by a third party such as a pet shop or dealer: you buy direct from the breeder or adopt from a rehoming centre.
Questions
Tap a question to expand
Is there a cat rescue in Oxford?
Yes. Four Paws Cat Rescue at Forest Hill, about 5 miles from the city, is the nearest we list. The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary at Stadhampton rehomes cats too, and Cats Protection Oxford & District has fosterers in the area.
Which cat rescues near Oxford are on LocalPetFinder?
Four Paws Cat Rescue, the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, Nine Lives Cat Rescue, Sunshine Cat Rescue, Thames Valley Animal Welfare, NAWT Berkshire and BARKS. All seven join our Oxford pages with this update.
What does a rescue cat cost in Oxford?
Fees run from £80 at Four Paws to £120 at the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary and NAWT Berkshire, with Sunshine Cat Rescue at £95 and Nine Lives Cat Rescue at £110 in between.
Can I visit a cat shelter in Oxford?
Only by appointment. Four Paws and the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary book visits after you apply, and the foster-based rescues introduce you to a cat at its fosterer's home once they have visited yours.
Do Oxford cat rescues accept tenants?
Yes, with written permission from your landlord, which Four Paws Cat Rescue asks to see.
Do cats from Oxford rescues come vaccinated?
Not always. Four Paws doesn't start vaccination courses, and the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary gives a first jab and leaves the second to you. Ask each rescue before you adopt.
Is there a cat rescue in Reading?
Thames Valley Animal Welfare keeps its cats with fosterers around Reading, and its cats join our Reading pages with this update. Cats Protection Reading & District also rehomes cats there, on its own site.
Will an Oxford rescue take my cat?
Four Paws Cat Rescue and the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary both take owners' cats through a form and a wait for space. Our Oxford rehoming page covers the other routes.
Keep reading
For rescues and rehoming centres
Are you a rescue near Oxford? Get your animals listed free.
Every animal links back to your own adoption page, and you can ask to be removed at any time.
Sources: Four Paws Cat Rescue: adopt a cat (dated snapshot, appointments) · Four Paws Cat Rescue: FAQs (donation, checks, flats, roads, renting, vaccinations) · Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary: the adoption process (cat fee, deposit, vaccination) · Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary: cats (dated snapshot) · Nine Lives Cat Rescue: home page (fees, fosterers, dated snapshot) · Nine Lives Cat Rescue: adoption process · Sunshine Cat Rescue: adopt (fee, dated snapshot) · Sunshine Cat Rescue: about (2012, fosterers) · Sunshine Cat Rescue: adoption process · Thames Valley Animal Welfare: cats for adoption (dated snapshot) · Thames Valley Animal Welfare: fostering (cat houses, capacity) · Thames Valley Animal Welfare: golden oldies · Thames Valley Animal Welfare: rehoming process · NAWT: the process (cat fee) · NAWT Berkshire: cats (dated snapshot) · BARKS: animals (dated snapshot) · BARKS: adoption process · Marjorie Nash Cat Rescue: home page · Cats Protection Oxford & District (fosterers, fees) · Cats Protection Reading & District (postcodes) · Blue Cross: Burford rehoming centre · RSPCA: Oxfordshire Branch · GOV.UK: microchipping for cats becomes compulsory · PDSA: the cost of owning a cat · gov.uk: Get your dog microchipped · gov.uk: Banned dogs · gov.uk: Lucy's Law in England · legislation.gov.uk: Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023