Adopting a Cat in Australia: How It Works

Cats listed for adoption near you

If you are ready to look now, start here. Each page lists the cats and kittens currently with the rescues, shelters and council pounds we aggregate in that city, refreshed regularly. Every listing links to the rescue, where you enquire or apply directly.

Want a kitten? See kittens in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Gold Coast.

Something specific? Sydney has pages for bonded pairs, senior cats, indoor cats and long-haired cats, and Melbourne the same: bonded pairs, senior cats and indoor cats.

Elsewhere: Newcastle, Wollongong, Central Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Geelong, Ballarat, Darwin, or statewide for NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

How does cat adoption work in Australia?

The steps are much the same everywhere, whether you adopt from the RSPCA, an animal welfare league, a cat rescue or a council pound:

1. Check your home is ready. Cats can live for 10 to 20 years, as RSPCA WA reminds adopters. Think about time, money, other pets, children and whether your lease allows a cat. The adoption readiness check takes five minutes.
2. Find a cat. Browse listings online. Shelter profiles usually describe personality, health and whether the cat has lived with children, dogs or other cats.
3. Enquire or visit. Shelters often take walk-ins. Foster-based rescues ask you to apply or register interest first, then arrange a meeting with the foster carer, sometimes by video at first.
4. Meet the cat. Ask why it came into care, how it behaves at home or in the cattery, and what health history is known. Bring the people you live with.
5. Sign and pay. You complete the adoption paperwork and pay the fee. Expect to show photo ID; Cat Haven in Perth, for example, asks for photo ID showing your current address and says adopters must be at least 18.
6. Take the cat home. Bring a secure carrier. Some shelters sell them on the day: AWL NSW asks adopters to bring a carrier or buy one there.
7. Register and update. Make sure the microchip is transferred to you and register the cat where your state requires it (the law table below covers this).

Not sure whether a cat is right at all? The dog or cat quiz compares the two honestly.

Where can you adopt a cat in Australia?

• The RSPCA. The RSPCA is a federation: a separate society in each state and territory runs its own shelters, fees and process. The section below covers each one.
• Animal welfare leagues. AWL NSW, Animal Welfare League Queensland (AWLQ) and Animal Welfare League SA all rehome cats as well as dogs. AWL NSW sets each cat's fee individually and shows it on the cat's profile.
• Cat-only shelters. The Cat Protection Society of NSW in Sydney, Cat Haven in Perth and Ten Lives in Hobart specialise in cats and kittens.
• Council pounds and animal shelters. Many councils rehome unclaimed cats directly, often at lower fees, and some include council registration.
• Foster-based rescues. Smaller volunteer groups keep cats in foster homes rather than a shelter. The carer knows the cat well, which helps you choose.
• PetRescue. PetRescue is a national charity and listing platform used by more than 2,000 rescue organisations. You apply to the rescue, not to PetRescue.
• Petbarn and Petstock adoption centres. Rescues, including several state RSPCAs, place cats in store adoption areas. The rescue sets the fee and runs the adoption. Our guide to Petbarn and Petstock adoption explains how it works.

For a fuller comparison of these routes, read where to adopt a pet in Australia. LocalPetFinder pulls listings from many of these organisations into the city pages above, so you can compare cats across rescues in one place.

How do you adopt a cat from the RSPCA?

Each state RSPCA runs adoptions its own way, so the process and fee depend on where you live. This is what each one published, checked on 9 November 2026. Fees are dated references, not quotes, and RSPCA shelters run reduced-fee drives from time to time.

Checked 9 November 2026 on each RSPCA's own site and the RSPCA's Adopt A Pet site. Not a quote: fees change, and some cats are priced individually.

The RSPCA pages we checked say cats are desexed and microchipped before adoption, and most list vaccination too. RSPCA Victoria lists the full set: vet health and behaviour checks, desexing, microchipping, vaccinations, and worming and flea treatment. RSPCA ACT notes it does not run meet-and-greets between two cats, because introductions take time at home.

What does a cat adoption fee include?

Almost always desexing, a microchip, at least a first vaccination, flea and worm treatment and a vet check. If you buy an undesexed kitten privately, you pay for all of that yourself. Our cat desexing cost guide shows what desexing alone costs.

Fees at some of the other big cat rescues, checked on their own pages:

Cat Protection Society of NSW, AWL NSW and Cat Haven checked 9 November 2026; Ten Lives checked 10 November 2026. Published fees on the date shown, not a quote.

The pattern is clear across rescues: kittens cost the most, and older cats the least. If price matters, a young adult or senior cat is the better value, and often the easier cat too.

Kitten, adult cat or a bonded pair?

A kitten is the most wanted and the most work. It needs supervision, play and gentle handling for months, and its adult personality is still forming. Rescues have the most kittens in the warm months; our guide to kittens for sale: adopt or buy? explains kitten season and the scams around kitten ads.

An adult cat arrives with its temperament known. Shelter staff and foster carers can tell you whether it is confident or shy, likes being held, or has lived with children or dogs. Adults are usually cheaper to adopt and often calmer. For a first-time owner or a busy household, an adult is often the better match.

A bonded pair is two cats a rescue keeps together because they rely on each other. Two kittens also tend to play with each other rather than your ankles. Some rescues price a pair below two single fees: $250 for two at Cat Protection Society of NSW, and $300 for a bonded adult pair at RSPCA ACT. Browse bonded pairs in Sydney or Melbourne.

New kitten owners sometimes feel overwhelmed in the first weeks. That is common, and our guide to kitten blues and adoption regret covers what helps. If you want a sense of which kind of cat suits you, try the what cat breed am I quiz.

What cat laws do you need to know in your state?

Cat rules differ a lot across Australia. A rescue cat arrives desexed and microchipped, which covers most of it, but registration and containment are up to you. This is what each official page says.

Sources, checked 10 November 2026: NSW Office of Local Government (cat permits), Agriculture Victoria, Queensland Government, WA Government, Dog and Cat Management Board (microchipping), NRE Tasmania, ACT City Services, City of Darwin. General information, not legal advice: check your state's page and your council before you rely on a detail.

Containment is the rule most likely to catch out a new owner. In the ACT it is territory-wide for cats born since mid-2022. In Victoria it is council by council, so a cat that may roam at night in one suburb must be inside in the next. If you plan to let your cat outside, check your council first, and think about a cat enclosure: many rescues prefer indoor homes or homes with one anyway.

Can you adopt a cat if you rent?

Yes. Have your landlord's written approval ready before you apply, because many rescues ask for it: RSPCA ACT says renters may be asked for it and AWL NSW asks renters to sort it out before they visit. Tenancy rules on pets differ by state; our guide to renting with pets in Australia covers each one. In an apartment, an adult cat that is already used to living indoors is often the easiest fit; Sydney and Melbourne have indoor cat pages for exactly this.

What if someone in the house has a cat allergy?

Talk to your doctor before you adopt. ASCIA, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, says that as all cats have sebaceous glands, all cat breeds can cause allergies. So no breed, hairless ones included, is a safe bet on its own. Spending time with the specific cat before you commit is the most useful test, and a foster-based rescue is often the easiest place to arrange that. Our guide to hypoallergenic cats covers the claims you will see and what the evidence says.

What happens in the first weeks at home?

Expect a quiet start. Most rescue cats hide at first, and that is normal. These steps come from the RSPCA Knowledgebase and the Cat Protection Society of NSW:

• One room first. Set up a single room with a bed, toys, a scratching post, a litter tray, food and water. The RSPCA suggests a couple of days there before you open up more of the house over the next few days.
• Let the cat come to you. Sit quietly while it explores. Hiding a little dry food around the room encourages it to move about.
• Keep it inside. Cat Protection Society of NSW advises keeping a new cat completely indoors for at least one month. Close doors and windows and block escape routes.
• Update the microchip. Make sure the microchip registry, your vet and the cat's ID tag all show your details.
• Introduce other pets slowly. Give the new cat and any resident pets separate food, water and litter, and introduce them gradually.
• Know when to call a vet. Hiding is normal; a cat that stops eating or stops using the litter tray needs a vet's advice. Cat Protection Society of NSW notes that behaviour problems can be signs of health problems, so call early.

Shy adult cats can take several weeks to relax. A cat that is still nervous in week two is not a failed adoption.

Is adopting the right choice for you?

For most people who want a healthy, friendly companion, yes. Rescues have cats of every age, colour and temperament year-round; the fee covers the vet work; and you meet the cat before you pay, which removes the scam risk that comes with online kitten ads. Most rescue cats are domestic shorthairs, the everyday Australian moggy, and they make fine pets.

Adoption is not the only sensible route. If you have your heart set on a particular pedigree breed for its known look and temperament, buying from a breeder registered with a cat council is a reasonable choice, because pedigree cats rarely reach rescue. Check the breeder's registration, your state's breeder or source number, and the parents' health testing; our kittens for sale guide sets out those checks state by state.

Not ready to commit? Fostering a cat lets you help a rescue while you find out what living with a cat is like, and the rescue covers the vet bills.