Rescue cats for adoption and rehoming in and around Worcester

The nearest cat rescue to the city is Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter at Newland, about 5 miles out, with a 12-pen cattery and a maternity unit for mothers and kittens. Further out, Redditch Cat Rescue fosters cats around Redditch, about 14 miles away, Avon Cat Rescue has its cattery at Welford-on-Avon, about 19 miles, and Cheltenham Animal Shelter is about 21 miles south. Each profile here links to the rescue that cares for the cat, and you apply with them.

Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter asks £115 for a cat and £125 for a kitten under 6 months, with a Pet Remedy kit and 4 weeks' Petplan cover. Cheltenham Animal Shelter asks £125 for a cat or kitten, or £225 for a pair, covering neutering, vaccinations, a microchip and flea and worm treatment.

Avon Cat Rescue and Redditch Cat Rescue don't publish a fee, so ask when you enquire; Avon Cat Rescue gives five weeks' free pet insurance with every cat.

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.

The rescues work differently, so read the one whose cat you like (Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter's adoption process is the most detailed).

• Newland: two meets and a safe room. At Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter you send an interested parties form, meet the cat at least twice within 7 days, and set up a safe room at home after the first meet.
• Cheltenham: email and a deposit. Cheltenham Animal Shelter takes applications by email to its cats team, not by phone, and a non-refundable deposit reserves the cat after you meet it.
• Wythall: your road first. Wythall Animal Sanctuary checks your road before a meet and won't rehome a cat near a busy road or railway line; young kittens go only in pairs or to a home with a young cat.

Cats Protection has a volunteer branch, Worcester & District, covering Worcester, Malvern and Kidderminster postcodes; you enquire through each cat's own listing. The RSPCA Worcester & Mid-Worcestershire Branch rehomes cats from its centre near Kempsey. We don't list either one's cats, so search their own sites.

In England a pet cat must now be microchipped, so a vet's scan is the quickest way to find the owner. Cheltenham Animal Shelter warns that many "stray" cats belong to a neighbour, so don't feed or invite in a cat that may have a home. The council's warden service is for dogs.

Our guide to Worcester cat rescues compares them side by side. Looking for a kitten? The kittens page lists every kitten near Worcester today, and there are pages for older cats and bonded pairs too.

Need to rehome your own cat instead? Our Worcester rehoming page covers the local options.