Catcuddles is a registered charity that believes in promoting and strengthening the feline-human bond and helping pair up unwanted cats with loving forever homes and humans.
What We Do
A majority of our work is about finding new homes for cats in need. Cats who come to us may be healthy or poorly, in need of affection, attention and rehabilitation, or simply in need of a new loving home. Cats come to us in a variety of situations: sometimes they are strays or abandoned cats, others are feral cats and kittens facing life on the streets due to rampant breeding of un-neutered cats. Find out why neutering is so important >
Other times, cat owners have a change in life circumstance such as critical illness or other situation that leaves them unable to care for their cat, so they come to us for help in finding new homes. We have also been called into emergency rescue situations, both here in the UK and abroad, and when resources allow us to step in, we do our best to help these cats in dire need. Read some of our rescue success stories >
Another main objective is to help senior citizens to keep their felines when they have pressure to give them up due to lack of mobility, by helping them with vet trips and occasional hands-on care. We believe pets are the most precious form of therapy to humans and they should remain in caring, familiar environments. If we can help make this possible for as many as our resources can support, it will be worth the effort.
Our Approach
We put cats first; their welfare and comfort is paramount to us. How we do this:
We offer a home-from-home environment in volunteer foster homes.
We passionately believe that no cat is too difficult to be given a chance at a happy life.
We operate a strict no kill policy (unless expert veterinary advice is that the animal is suffering).
We ensure all our cats are neutered, health checked, vaccinated and microchipped.
We carry out physical home checks for all our potential adoptees and ensure the best match possible between human and feline.
We are spotlessly clean and our kitty quarters are heated, lit, double-glazed and fully insulated, so kitties are cosy indoors and calm all year round. We also have radio playing gently for 16 hours each day. Our volunteers socialise the kitties every day, 365 days a year. We feel it is important that we have the time to share life with our feline guests, not just board them. We call it "cuddle time" and it is the perk of the job!
All of our volunteers are passionate about caring for our foster cats as if they were our own, taking time to assess their feline behaviour so we can find each one of the furry characters that calls Catcuddles their temporary home a responsible, deserving adoptive home. Learn about the Volunteer Team at Catcuddles >
We feel it's important to match cats with the right homes because that is what we believe a true-to-cause cat charity should be about.
Rehoming
Although we are a nation of cat lovers, sometimes circumstances make it objectively unviable for some of us to keep our beloved companions. This is where Catcuddles steps in to help. We request that the owners handing their cats over to us to rehome make a donation to contribute towards the costs of vets and ongoing care. Cuddles and volunteer time is on us, as are the long hours of care spent daily with the kitties, but our unavoidable costs include transport to vets and adoptive homes, cleaning supplies, alternative remedies, medication, heating, cat supplies (food and litter), utilities, and many more. More about the rehoming process >
Adoption
We always carry out a proper home visit to prospective adoptive homes and only home a cat if we feel the adoptive home is as suitable for the cat as the adopters are keen to proceed. We therefore enjoy an exceptionally high happy-endings rate and extremely rare return guests. We also follow up on our adopted kitties after they leave us, so we can ensure they are enjoying life as much as they deserve to. We aim to be by the new owners' side with practical advice for the life of the adopted feline. Information about adopting from Catcuddles >
Aftercare
Our relationship with Catcuddles cats and adoptive parents doesn't stop at the point of adoption. We offer advice to adoptive parents on a donation basis (subject to availability of our most experienced volunteers), and we are on hand through our thriving Facebook Group where adoptive parents can ask questions, get advice, and share stories and photos of their cats with our community of volunteers and supporters. And if for whatever reason, things don't work out in the new home, we understand and will work with you to ensure the best possible outcome for the cat and family. Join our Facebook Group here >