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About us -  Making a difference 

 Cats In Distress is a registered cat welfare charity based in Frome, Somerset. Since we opened our doors in May 2016, our team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to save lives and promote animal welfare.

We've helped over 1500 cats, and now help in excess of 350 cats per year.

In addition to helping to rehome domestic cats and working with members of the general public to help strays and abandoned cats, we are proud to work alongside other welfare organisations such as Search & Scan, Cats Protection and the RSPCA.

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From domestic pets to farm and street cats, we advocate for the most vulnerable animal populations.

We believe that each and every life is precious, deserving to be treated humanely with a chance to live happily and cruelty-free.

Our mission is to relieve the suffering of cats & kittens in need of care & attention,

by providing compassion protection treatment & security.

What we do & how we help  We run a purpose built rescue, with the focus being on cat friendly housing. Generally, we require all cats are admitted into the rescue first. This gives us the opportunity to assess, provide treatment as necessary and establish an indivividual care plan. The rescue has spacious accommodation, with heated bedrooms, providing lots of places for our guests to hide if they wish. Our team of volunteer socialisers, are trained in cat behaviour and understand the needs of our residents. Whilst some like to play, others require a lap, and some just need space, a calm reassuring voice and a Dreamie or two. Sadly, we always have a waiting list of cats that need help and there are always more cats than spaces available. We give priority to those cats most in need, in particular pregnant or feeding queens and their kittens. Whilst we might not be able to admit a cat immediately, we do respond to calls and can offer advice and practical solutions until we have space. We are totally independent and receive no money from lottery funding and rely solely on donations and our own fundraising initiatives.

Domestic Cats There are countless reasons why a domestic cats needs to be rehomed. Despite best laid plans, we know life happens, and situations change. Relationship breakdowns, moving house, the death of an owner, a changing financial situation, all reasons why a beloved cat has to be rehomed. In addition behavioural issues, pets not getting or neighbour disputes. What ever has or is happening. we are here to help Domestic cats Understandably, domestic cats can find life in a rescue pen very stressful. For those cats, we have a large team of fosterers. Fosterers look after those cats that are healthy and used to living in a home providing them some much needed TLC & reassurance. Fostered cats stay with their fosterer until we find them their purrfect home. This allows us to help more cats and frees up our rescue space for cats who have been living on the streets. Those who require veterinary treatment or specialist handling or time to adjust to living amongst people again, benefit greatly in this environment.

Home to Home We are very good at finding the perfect home for our cats. This service gives owners an alternative solution to traditional rehoming centres or private advertising. We understand that some cats don't need immediate help, and also that some people are reluctant to use traditional rehoming and rescue centres for fear an animal will get overlooked. Home to Home means exactly that, your cat remains in your home until we find a suitable home for her. In exactly the same way as we interview prospective adopters & carry out checks for the cats in our care, we provide this same level of attention and care for home to home cats. Please contact us directly for more details about this service.

Stray or Abandoned  Unfortunately, we are being asked to help more and more with cats living on the streets. If you have any doubt as to whether a cat is a stray or abandoned, please don’t hesitate to get in touch - we have a wealth of knowledge and can provide help.

Feral, Frightened or In-betweener The term 'feral' is commonly misused to label any cat that lives outdoors and are unsocialised to humans, often displaying instinctive fearful and defensive behaviour and avoiding human contact. Some of these cats will have been born in the wild, the descendants of unneutered domestic cats that have strayed or been abandoned. But many are stray, homeless, unwanted or abandoned cats displaying 'feral' behaviour just to survive. Very often these aren't feral, they are just scared frightened animals.  Whether feral or timid we work with all cats to find the right home for them. Cats that have always lived by their wits and don't want human interaction are generally feral. They can’t be rehomed in a traditional home but neither should they be allowed to suffer. Feral are generally not neutered and can quickly become a problem. We can help with neutering, If there is sufficient food and shelter available, we will suggest an assisted TNR, (trapping, neutering and return) programme. But if conditions aren’t suitable for the cat to be returned, due to abuse or neglect we will co-ordinate a transfer to a smallholdings or farm, where people have agreed to provide food and shelter, in return for an ecological pest control solution.

Don't just take our word for it, read what people say about us 'They do an amazing job taking care of lots of kitties. They make sure they are happy and know exactly how to make the perfect matches! Thank you, Cats In Distress, for your invaluable help.' DS  'Since adopting these two beautiful girls I would highly recommend! The Adoption process was so quick and easy! Recommend to anyone thinking of adopting!   A wonderful charity which has the cats at heart, I love fostering for them.' AT

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