Giving Your Cat Up For Adoption - Battersea

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1. Rehoming

Giving your cat up for adoption

At Battersea, we know that life doesn’t always go to plan. Sometimes, being a loving pet owner means making tough decisions, and deciding to rehome your cat can be one of the toughest.

Rehome your cat with Battersea

At Battersea, we aim never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help, and we are committed to ensuring that every dog and cat receives the highest standards of care.

No matter your circumstances, we will listen without judgement, and do what we can to make things as simple as possible. We’ve been finding loving new homes for beloved pets for over 160 years and our staff are dedicated to caring for every cat. We will help them to settle in, get to know their individual quirks, and do everything we can to find the best possible home for them.

What happens once I've given my cat to Battersea?

Take a look at this video for more information on what to expect when you rehome your cat with Battersea, and when you are ready, please complete the online form.

Complete the online form

Bringing your cat to Battersea

If you are looking to bring your cat to Battersea, please complete our online form. The form will take around 15 minutes to complete and asks a range of questions related to you and your cat, including how they have responded to situations in their past. This helps us to get all the information we need upfront to advise you best based on the needs of your animal. We ask that you answer all questions as honestly and accurately as possible.

Once you’ve registered with us, we’ll get in touch if we’re able to help. When you bring your cat into Battersea, you will be asked for a suggested donation of £50 to help towards the care of your pet. If you're able, we would be grateful for any donation you choose to make.

Please be aware that Battersea is currently experiencing very high levels of demand to take in cats to our centres and so customers are being placed on a waiting list to ensure we have space and capacity to respond to emergency cases of cats needing our help. This means we may not be able to take in your pet for some time, depending on your circumstances.

Battersea carefully assess all intake applications to ensure that we prioritise any urgent cases, but we would advise you to contact several rehoming centres so that you can receive the help that you need as soon as possible.

If you are struggling with your cat’s behaviour issues, we would encourage you to visit our pet advice pages where you will find lots of information and videos to help you manage problem behaviours. If your cat's behaviour has changed suddenly, we strongly recommend a veterinary check-up to rule out any medical or pain-related causes.

Our intake policy

This booklet will help answer some of the questions you may have and explain the process that each dog goes through when they arrive in our care.

Read the booklet

Is your cat experiencing behavioural problems?

If you are struggling with your cat’s behaviour issues, we would encourage you to visit our pet advice pages where you will find information and videos to help you manage any problem behaviours.

Search our cat advice Previous Next

Not local to Battersea? Contact your local rescue centre

Rescue centres have access to lots of potential new loving homes for your cat, and the time, resources and expertise to find them the one that feels like home again.

We know that circumstances change quickly, but rescue centres like Battersea and lots of others are here to help, so please don’t be afraid to get in touch.

Read our intake policy and FAQs

We aim never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help. However, we may not be able to legally, safely and responsibly rehome all animals, and it is important that you fully understand our euthanasia policy.

Read our intake policy

What to do if you've found a cat

If you have found a cat and suspect they may be stray or lost, please follow our found cat advice.

Who will look after my cat when I'm no longer here?

Battersea’s Forever Loved is a free service that will ensure your cat will be looked after should you pass away before them. By signing up you can be reassured that, should the worst happen, Battersea will be there to care for and rehome your pet, and give them the happy, loving future you would want for them. Find out more and how to join our Forever Loved Service.

Learn more about our cat care

Caring for our animals

Expert care is at the very heart of Battersea. Learn more about how we do our best for dogs and cats.

Learn about how we care

Veterinary and Rehabilitation

Our dedicated clinic team are here for every dog and cat that arrives at a Battersea centre.

Find out more