Advice: Healthy stray and feral cats

(For sick or injured stray animals, see our separate advice.)

Healthy stray cats

With healthy stray cats, it is important to establish that the cat is truly a stray. For more information on steps to follow when you find a stray cat, please click follow the specific advice on the main RSPCA site.

Although our Emergency Fostering Unit has to prioritise those animals in most desperate need, please contact us and we will make arrangements to collect the cat as soon as possible and find it a new home wherever possible.

If you cannot catch the cat yourself, we have special humane trapping equipment.

If the stray is at risk of injury or starvation or does not have access to water, you can call our emergency line on 07710 294 180 (manned 9.30am to 6pm Sun-Fri).

Pregnant strays / mothers with kittens / bedraggled or dirty strays / animals in danger

Please inform us urgently about any of the above.

We will help you or advise you on where to find other help if we cannot help immediately. Kittens especially need immediate help because the risk from foxes is very great in London.

Breeding feral cats

Feral cats that are breeding or causing a nuisance are generally un-neutered. We can humanely trap them and either return them neutered or re-site them via our feral re-siting programme, following which they live out their life more peacefully and easily. Many homes found via this scheme are extremely luxurious and most cats just can’t believe their luck! Contact us for more information.

Please do not try to drive away a stray or feral cat asking for food or help. We will come as soon as we can. If you have helped the cat by providing food, water and shelter, it will be easier for us to locate it and provide help as the cat will be in a routine to trap at certain times of day.

Offering permanent homes to stray cats

If you would like to offer a permanent home to your stray, but are concerned about its health or that it is not neutered, we can make arrangements for the cat to be tested for feline viruses, neutered, treated for parasites and other problems and given the ‘all clear’ health-wise so that you can then adopt it and get it insured without facing an expensive vet bill at the outset. However, after adoption, the responsibility for the cat’s health and welfare will be yours.If you wish to adopt, you will be required to follow our standard adoption procedure.

Contact us

For emergencies (eg. to report cruelty or sick/injured animals), call: 0300 1234 999

(Please be aware that our branch is unable to assist with reports of animal neglect and abuse, the number above is for the National Control Centre.)

To contact the branch office for other enquiries, you can:

Our postal address is:

RSPCA Central London Branch
45 Primrose Avenue
ENFIELD
EN2 0SZ