Glossary

Rescue group

A volunteer-run organisation that takes in cats from shelters, streets and owners, cares for them in foster homes and finds them permanent homes.

Also called: cat rescue, rescue organisation, rescue organization, breed rescue

A rescue group is a charity or informal network, usually run by volunteers, that saves cats and rehomes them. Unlike most shelters, many rescues have no building at all. Cats live in foster care homes until adopted, which lets the group look after kittens, nursing mothers and cats that need quiet or medical care.

Rescues get animals from many sources: municipal shelters that are full, owners who cannot keep a pet, cats picked up from the street, and sometimes from hoarding or neglect cases. Some focus on a type of cat, such as seniors, a medical need like feline immunodeficiency virus, or one breed. A breed rescue takes in pedigree cats and mixes of one breed.

Adoption steps often include an application, a reference or home check, an interview and a signed contract. The process can feel strict, but its aim is a lasting match. Ask what vet care the cat has had, whether it is spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and what the adoption fee covers. Check that the group is a registered charity where that applies, and be wary of any group that cannot show where its cats come from. If you cannot adopt, you can foster, donate, drive or help at events.

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

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Related terms

Animal shelter A facility that takes in stray, lost and surrendered animals, holds them, and works to return them to owners or place them in new homes. Foster care Caring for a shelter or rescue cat in your own home for a limited time until it is adopted, often a kitten, a mother or a recovering cat. Adoption fee The payment a shelter or rescue asks when you adopt a cat, which usually helps cover its veterinary care and the cost of running the organisation. No-kill shelter An animal shelter that saves at least about nine in ten of the animals it takes in, a benchmark often called the 90 percent live release rate. Special-needs cat A cat that needs extra care because of a disability, chronic illness, injury or age, and is often harder to place for adoption.