Rescue cats for adoption and rehoming in and around Plymouth

Gables Dogs & Cats Home on Merafield Road and Woodside Animal Welfare Trust at Elfordleigh, both on the Plympton side of the city, rehome cats as well as dogs. Margaret Green Animal Rescue has cats at its Wingletang centre near Tavistock, about 15 miles north, and Animals in Distress (Torbay & Westcountry) has a cattery at Ipplepen, about 23 miles east. Each profile here links to the rescue that cares for the cat, and you apply with them.

Gables Dogs & Cats Home asks £70 for a crossbreed cat and £75 for a crossbreed kitten; pedigree fees vary. That includes neutering, a vet health check, a microchip, vaccinations and flea and worm treatment.

Woodside Animal Welfare Trust asks from £70 for a cat or kitten over 14 weeks and from £85 for a kitten under 14 weeks, with pedigree cats up to £300; its fees include neutering, vaccinations, microchipping and flea and worm treatment, with a discount for a pair (its adopt a cat page). Animals in Distress asks £190 for a cat aged 6 months to 10 years, £165 for a cat over 10 and £300 for a kitten under 6 months, less per cat for a pair. Margaret Green Animal Rescue discusses its fee when you reserve.

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.

Cats around Plymouth are rehomed by appointment, after you apply (Woodside's adopt a cat page).

• A safe road. Gables Dogs & Cats Home asks only that you live on a safe road, so its cats can be safe outdoors; some of its cats need to stay indoors and suit a home with no safe outside space. It doesn't put all its kittens online, so join its kitten waiting list through the application form.
• Viewing strictly by appointment. At Woodside Animal Welfare Trust you call 01752 347503 to arrange to see a cat.
• No kitten waiting list. Animals in Distress doesn't reserve kittens in advance or keep a waiting list: watch its cats page and apply for a kitten as soon as one is listed. For an adult cat, apply on the cat's own page, and the cattery team contacts you if it is a match.
• Phone call and home check. Margaret Green Animal Rescue follows your application with a phone call, then a Zoom call or home visit, before you meet the cat.

Cats Protection's Plymouth & Rame branch is run by volunteers and covers postcodes PL1 to PL11, PL13, PL19, PL20 and PL21, and asks an adoption fee of £85 for a cat and £105 for a kitten up to 6 months old. 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. Gables' lost and found advice is to check with neighbours first, since a cat you haven't seen before may simply be new to the street, then tell local vets and rescues.

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 Plymouth today, and there are pages too for older cats, indoor cats and bonded pairs.

Need to rehome your own cat instead? Our Plymouth rehoming page covers Woodside and Animals in Distress.