Rescue cats for adoption and rehoming in and around Portsmouth

Just north of the city, Purrfect Paws Feline Welfare has an adoption hub and tea room at Waterlooville, open Tuesday to Saturday. East along the coast at Sidlesham, about 13 miles away, The Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre sees adopters by appointment every day of the week.

St Francis Animal Welfare at Fair Oak and Second Chance Animal Rescue at Mansbridge, Southampton, have cats too, and HappyCats Rescue fosters cats around Bordon. Each cat's profile links to the rescue that holds it, and you apply there.

The Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre charges £90 for an adult and £110 for a kitten, or £50 for a cat over 12. St Francis Animal Welfare asks £100 a cat and £150 a kitten, and Purrfect Paws £160 a cat and £200 a kitten.

Phoenix Rehoming charges £145 to £195 for a cat. HappyCats Rescue asks at least £175 for a neutered cat, £150 for a kitten under five months and £250 for a pair of kittens.

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 one wants a form before a visit, and some reply only when they have a match, so don't take silence as a no (Purrfect Paws says so outright).

• Sidlesham: a home visit by photo. The Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre asks for 4 to 5 photos or a video of your home, then you book a meeting, and a cat can go home the same day.
• Waterlooville: checks and a home visit. At Purrfect Paws you fill in the enquiry form online or at the hub, and a home visit follows.
• Bordon: no busy roads. HappyCats Rescue won't home a cat on a busy road or by a railway line, and wants written landlord permission if you rent.
• Southampton: kittens away from main roads. Second Chance keeps a kitten registry all year and asks for a home away from main roads.

Across the Solent, Feline Welfare rehomes its Isle of Wight cats only on the Island, so its cats are for Islanders, not mainland adopters.

The RSPCA Solent Branch at The Stubbington Ark in Fareham rehomes cats through its own website after a home check; we don't list RSPCA cats.

In England a pet cat must now be microchipped, so ask a vet to scan a cat before you decide it has no home. The council stray services on this page deal with dogs.

Our guide to cat rescues in Southampton and Portsmouth sets the rescues side by side, and our rescue kittens guide answers the "kittens for sale" searches. For what is listed today, try the kittens, older cats or bonded pairs pages.

Need to give up a cat? Our Portsmouth rehoming page lists who can help.