Best pet adoption centers in Birmingham: find options near you

On Friday, July 11th, we drove over an hour to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, excited to participate in their “Clear the Shelter” event. We truly believed we had found the perfect cat to bring home and love forever.

But within just a few hours of adoption, it became clear something was wrong. Our new cat was sneezing, had thick mucus around her nose, and visible crusting around her eyes. As first-time cat owners, we were completely unprepared for what we were seeing. We did our own research and found information about feline herpes — and she was showing textbook symptoms.

Still, we had read that in some cases it could resolve on its own, and since we were told nothing about any health concerns, we assumed she had a mild case and decided to monitor her closely. After four days, still concerned, we scheduled a vet appointment for Saturday — but before she ever made it there, she suddenly and rapidly declined. In less than five days and five hours after bringing her home, she passed away.

The entire experience was heartbreaking and deeply traumatic. What was supposed to be a joyful, life-changing moment turned into a devastating loss.

We were led to believe that the animals at this shelter were thoroughly examined and evaluated before being adopted out. That was clearly not the case. There is no doubt in our minds that this cat was already sick before we brought her home and possibly suffering from multiple, serious, undiagnosed conditions. If this is happening to one animal, it’s likely happening to many.

The fact that this shelter allowed a visibly ill animal to be handed off to an excited, unsuspecting person without any disclosure is beyond negligent it’s shameful. You should be absolutely ashamed to operate this way. It feels like this was more about moving animals out quickly for the sake of appearances or profit than it was about their actual well-being.

To profit off people’s compassion while failing to protect the animals in your care is disgraceful. No one should have to go through the pain we just experienced, and no animal should be allowed to suffer just to meet some adoption quota. This wasn’t just a mistake it was a failure of responsibility on every level.

Clean and well maintained all pets were in clean kennels and had food and water available. Staff was very friendly and we added a new family member on our visit.. Sugar has become a wonderful companion

I had a wonderful experience here! All the staff were super nice, and the animals looked very well cared for. The adoption process only took about 3 minutes. I adopted Sasquatch a few months ago, and couldn’t be happier!

Although I had a hard time, because each and every one of them tugged at my heart and I wanted them all, it was actually my daughter’s decision. And she had already had her mind on one but when she saw Oakley, he was who stole her heart. They are a perfect match.

Got my cat from here a couple of months ago during a sale and essentially got her at half price, when I went on a Tuesday it was packed. Workers were super nice and the place is kept clean as well. I would just be weary as I was informed my cat was spayed and she was not and it caused some major issues that have now been taken care of. I have no reason to believe this is a common occurrence.

I just surrendered my two LOVELY cats Benjamin and Blue on 12/18/2024. It was the hardest thing I have ever done(and that says a lot coming from an Army vet who deployed). I have cried many tears but unfortunately my baby is highly allergic to cats and she is not able to take allergy meds (conflicts with other health issues). But anyways, if you adopt any of the cats please love them unconditionally. They are fun and lovable. They are pretty much sheltered cats who loves the outdoors and car rides . They will be scared at first but they will eventually grow out of it. was have patience for them and give them grace. They both did well with my baby and they love cuddles. I have shared some photos of them. Benjamin loves snacks and cuddles. He loves be held like a baby. Blue is a Mr grumpy pants but he is a sweet baby at heart. He may be fat but he is fast lol I really wish GBHS would have allowed me to share my contact information because I would love to have updates about the cats..

Unfortunately we were treated very, very unfair. We drove from alabaster to come get Luca but the manager refused to let us get him and because we have several dogs and we just adopted one from Birmingham humane society. She refused to let us adopt lucas. So basically in my opinion the manager discriminated against us. I felt so out of place because she really was insinuating Luca would be in danger if he went home with us. We do have nine dogs and two cats but they are well taken care of. We just lost two of our babies but by just looking at us and she did mention that we don’t let anyone adopt animals if they have more than three. But I had just adopted Domino from there earlier this year from someone else there and it wasn’t a problem. I tried to explain to her and I offered to show her. We are good people and she just wasn’t having it. She was real close-minded to anything by her saying that we have to keep the animals safe to us us that insinuates in my opinion that he would be in danger and we wasn’t able to adopt any animals from there. We had already started interacting with Luca and my wife was already playing with Luca and Luca was playing back with my wife and the manager just kept saying no she wouldn’t let me prove anything. She wouldn’t let me do anything so I felt that we were discriminated against and she had my wife crying.

Absolutely brilliant. We have adopted mable and all ready she has made herself at home. She now share a bed with me she is just a sweetheart need to get her more tennies balls but she is a treasure and the staff have been wonders thank you all again for your hard work love from myself and mable xx

We adopted Pearl just over a year ago, highly recommend Birmingham dogs home. The staff go that extra mile to help you. I always adopt a dog from a rescue, as so many need loving homes.

Brought mable home today and let me tell you she has made her self at home and she is absolutely a treasure to have. Yes she will be on our bed when it bed time haha. Really happy she has chosen us and we chosen her hear to her happy future ❤️

What an absolute shambles! Went here to go and see the doggies of course I took my 2 children as we want a dog to become part of our family, snotty woman on the “information desk” caked in make up was so rude!! This place is like doggy lottery we had 7 different numbers from the pens to choose from, only 2 was available that being a old greyhound type, and a little dog that she said wasn’t suitable with children filled out all my information to be told a 2 bedroom ground floor flat with own access and a huge 500ft green practically over the road is not suitable!! Well surely a loving home is more suitable then a see through pen where they all look depressed!! The woman on the desk needs to work on her customer service skills and manners and go and shovel some dog muck!! Yes you have now moved from the city centre to Solihull, but that doesn’t make that woman in particular any better!! I have never felt so be little’d in nearly my 40 years!! I also think she forgot Birmingham dog’s home is a charity…they say charity begins at home well that’s certainly where she left hers that particular day!! I was so upset I called the dogs home to let them know about my awful experience!!!

Be mindful of the opening times for the dogs home as we drove 40 minutes with all the children to go to the kennels. To arrive and be bluntly told they close at 4pm although google opening times state 4.45pm. The lady bluntly told us this then just walked off in the opposite direction. End of conversation, completely rude. We had to then take the three children upset back to the car and head home. Now had the staff acted differently that’s one thing, but to be so blunt about it, completely unprofessional. Won’t be visiting again. MAKE THE OPENING TIMES CLEAR FOR PEOPLE TRAVELLING TO YOU. And teach the staff how to communicate with your visitors.

Fantastic place really good cause. We have picked up our beautiful puppy from there. Really helpful staff can’t recommend enough

Lovely place for the animals, well looked after, very clean, staff are there to help you always with a smile, as i could imagine they are really busy.thank you.for taking time.for all clients that work though the doors.

I took a car full of donations I collected in the month I called ahead to see what they were accepting, when we got there we was greeted at the door by a rude lady after taking all the belongings in ie bags and boxes of food, blankets, toys, collars, harness ect and getting short snappy replies, we got what seemed a very ungreatful and insincere “thanks” and that was it then completely ignored us. Feel sorry for the animals there I hope they are treated better than the staff treat the public

A lovely place with lovely people
The staff were very warm and kind, and it was a pleasure donating pet food to them.

The Wythall Animal Sanctuary do incredible work rescuing animals and helping to get them re-homed and find a ‘forever home’ with new, loving owners.

They do fundraising events to support the animals they rescue and regularly post about the animals in need of a new home, and provide information on how to look after animals.

The Wythall Animal Sanctuary gives pets that have been abandoned, abused and neglected by previous owners, a second chance, and give them all the love and care they need.

A really wonderful little place that does incredible work helping animals ♥️

Left my french bulldog sky for 12 days while I was a away they kept in touch with us to let me no how she settled in collected her today sky seemed very happy seemed well looked after easy process to book in online will definitely be using again next year

Love Wythall have had last 3 dogs from them. Shame we can no longer walk around without an appointment, but seems that’s the same everywhere.

We adopted our lovely pooch from Wythall animal sanctuary a year and a half ago. The staff were lovely, the grounds are spacious and the play areas are nice too. Josie still enjoys going back for a visit every now and again! 🙂

These 2 cats named Suvi & Lexi (Tinkerbell & Angel) were wrongfully given to Wythall Animal Sanctuary (rescue) by my mother because at the time she thought she was doing what was best for them but of course it was not what was best for them as I am the real owner of the cats not my mother and I tried explaining this to Wythall Animal Sanctuary (rescue) but they just try to ignore me every chance they get.

So I try calling them they won’t pick up I tried messaging them on Facebook they BLOCK me on there and I write a review about them on Yelp they go and REPORT it. I said I have evidence to prove they belonged to me not my mother but they don’t really care about that.

So yeah I said im still fighting to try and get my cats back wether they have been rehired or not. This place has the WORST customer service ever, the WORST service, and the WORST management of a problem ever.

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT THE PHOTOS OF THEM JUST CLICK MY NAME BY MY REVIEW & THEN GO AHEAD AND CLICK REVIEWS.

EMAIL: hash251298@outlook.com

Superb and caring facility. We adopted a young cat from here and the process was in depth and made us feel like they were doing everything possible to make sure the cat had a suitable home. Absolutely lovely staff, top class facilities for the animals

Wonderful place to have a wonderful souls for your home! Long years I was not confident to have a cat thinking it will require a lot of hard work. But Cats Protection was amazing to match us with the best cat we could ever dreamed off! And now, I can’t imagine life without our beautiful house member! Absolutely amazing stress relief that loves cuddles and shows love all the time! Thank you for all volunteers to help us find our beautiful lady and make huge positive impact to our lives.

Absolutely lovely place and the staff are amazing and very caring towards their inmates. Very well organised appropriate checks carried out before adoption. It’s a great way to get a new companion or companions! Our new fella has settled in very well and it’s not been a week yet.

The staff are absolutely amazing and clearly adore the animals under their car. Everyone was really friendly and professional. They clearly aim to save as many cats as possible and have done an amazing job with the 2 I was lucky enough to adopt. A big big big thank you from jack and Jill (not marmalade and branston pickle :’D) I think they like their new home!

I adopted my gentleman Charlie, it will be 2 years in June/July. He’s 14 now.
They’re a wonderful charity and really love and care for all the cats who are there.

Charlie is very loving and sweet, obviously loved in his former life.

Staff here are absolutely wonderful. They spent so much time with us to help us find the best match for our new furry family members. The care and attention paid both to cats and prospective adopters is exceptional. Thank you.

I found the service provided by Cats Protection absolutely brilliant. They were very helpful in answering all my questions, concerns and even eased my fears with regard to re homing my cats.

Two different members of staff, re assured me that I will be able to get updates with regard to my cats, until they go to their new forever homes. This I found very comforting as it’s a difficult time for my self and family having to re home our cats.

I feel that this charity organisation is doing an absolutely fantastic job in looking after cats and making sure they go into loving, safe and kind forever homes. I myself have decided to do a regular monthly donation to this charity and I would strongly urge others to help in whatever way they can. Every little helps

As a delivery driver the staff are always pleasant and polite, the parking can be a bit tight at times.

Thank you Lisa for all your help with rescuing / rehoming the stray kittens in my garden. Great communication throughout. I had contacted a plethora of rehoming charities in my area, the RSPCA and Cats Protection; Lisa was able to help me last minute and one of foster mother’s collected the kittens the same day.

We are very happy with the care and service offered from this sanctuary. Highly recommended! They even sorted out a cheap cat carrier to take our new kitten home.

I have just seen the review by Julie Page and quite honestly I’m disgusted by her comments.
Lisa as a scan angel was asked to scan the dog in question which she did. No chip was found so Finder was advised to take the dog to a local vet which they did. Vet refused to take the dog in so finder did what they could and kept the dog till the dog warden/rspca was able to take.
All this is in the message trails.
Lisa was then verbally attacked by Julie to say Fur&Feathers and Lisa had sent the dog to its death.
Lisa was acting as a scan angel and if I had been contacted instead I would have had to advise and follow the same.
The sanctuary was not involved in this only a scan angel.
We are not rescues and do not have facilities to look after every animal that someone needs scanned. That is why we are scan angels not rescues and I certainly wouldn’t have let any random person take the dog in as dog baiting is still rife and many of these illegal activities use nice woman to offer to take in cats dogs et. On the pretence of giving a home or temp shelter but are really just looking for freebies for this disgusting activity.
Keyboard warriors need to get their facts straight about what scan angels do which is just scan on the hope the animal found is chipped and owner can be found.
Personal attacks against individuals and rescues that are stretched to their limits with abandoned and mistreated should not be accepted and how this lady thought that a cat sanctuary could randomly take in a dog when they no longer have land and only fosters is beyond belief.

A charity with staff that do care about the animals however sadly they have let me down twice now… initially didn’t disclose my cats full medical history so we were suddenly placed with very large vet bills (we were told they had conditions but they didn’t explain the full extent and only got their medical history when we had to request it through the vets). Then recently I was told my mum would be able to apply for two cats despite her living further away in London and then suddenly they changed their minds for no reason at all and my mum was left devastated.

Very unprofessional.

Edit: I’m confused as to what you mean by “thanks for your second review” I have very clearly only reviewed this once based off your response to this and other comments people have made you’re proving that my initial review of very unprofessional is true.

Cat animal rescue centre they are working 24/7 and could do with as many donations as possible.

Lovely, friendly sanctuary that has given us our two beautiful cats. All cats are indoor only and the sanctuary has very reasonable rehoming policies. If you have been rejected from another sanctuary, I recommend giving this one a go

We got our last four cats from Donna.

She’s everything you’d want in someone running a cat rescue; caring, hard-working and organised, friendly and kind.

The cat-loving people of Birmingham are so lucky to have someone like Donna working hard every day to positively impact the welfare of so many cats.

Well done, Donna!

I met Donna a couple of days ago and was really impressed by the care and attention paid to her 100+ cat residents. As a first time cat owner I had lots of questions and she took a lot of time answering my concerns and providing lots of advice. I was really impressed by their adoption process – nothing is rushed, its all focused on doing things properly and safely and trying to avoid distress, and waiting until all vaccinations have been completed, with follow-up aftercare and advice. I can’t wait to adopt little Tony. Thank you Donna, and your family.

Donna, i would never be able to put into words the absolute OUTSTANDING care & love she gives to these animals. A world without Donna & her rescue would be a sad world to live in. The difference she makes for me couldn’t be matched. This is NOT a part time run this is what she does FULL time. From the moment she wake up till the moment she falls to sleep. Thank you Donna for all & absolutely everything you do!!

I’ve met Donna quite a few times, she’s one of the most kindest ladies I’ve ever met. Very thoughtful & communication is always perfect.

Always leave feeling happy & very thankful for all her hard work.

Thank you Donna ❤️

I discovered Donna some time ago on Nextdoor website, being an animal rescuer myself I know very well the effort, time and soul she is putting into rescuing these poor cats. I am helping a bit by donating, unfortunately my health and full time job won`t let me do more for now. God bless you Donna, you need all the support you can get 🙂 xxx

Absolutely amazing rescue! Donna is the most hardworking person I’ve ever met! I’ve volunteered in cat rescue’s before but she is out of this world! What she doesn’t know about cats you couldn’t find a stamp small enough to write it on! She’s so knowledgeable and friendly and always willing to help anyone who needs it. The cats are so well looked after and if there is anything that needs a second opinion/advice she’s straight to the vet with them. I just haven’t worked out how she manages to find time to sleep!!! Thank you for all you do!!!
Not all superheroes wear capes!!! ❤️

Donna at Donna’s cat rescue is angel to all the cats she helps. All cats in her care are well cared for and loved. She goes above and beyond to help cats and kittens. She helped me with a formerly stray cat when other rescues wouldn’t.
I would of been lost without her help.
Keep going you star

I have supported Donna’s cattery for a couple of years, with donations of cat food and blankets, as well as a donation towards vets bills when she took on a particularly poorly kitten.
Donna is friendly and approachable. She does her utmost to support our furry friends. I have recommended her to many people. Next time we are seeking a cat / kitten I will certainly contact Donna.
I prefer to support small rescue centres as I cannot justify giving our hard earned cash to organisations were CEOs take large salaries.
Support your local cattery.

Well this has been a long time coming.. (six months) So on the 5th November 2024 our family decided to adopt a fluff ball from the RSPCA everything went smoothly from finding her to collection day, everyone was helpful who we spoke with and with the advice we received, Katie helped us on the day of collection which we are very thankful for, also from being a previous cat owner many years ago it just felt right to give a home to a rescue cat…. and indeed she took ownership of our house as well as adopting myself and my family, we put a lot of though into her name but realised we should just keep the one she was given by the RSPCA Darkness (260348/5668 encase anyone here wanted to look her up) we are still making memories and she is an amusing part of our life, its a big thank you from myself and my family 🙂 oh and a big shout out to Millie

we adopted lola a few weeks ago she has bought so much joy to us both we love her so much she is our forever dog thank you all so much x

Two people driving the RSPCA van pulled out dangerously in one of these vans this morning at Morrisons Rubery. They didn’t look as they pulled out of the petrol station at all, just pulled out and I had to hard brake to avoid hitting them. Ordinarily, I would have thought nothing of it and thought it was just an innocent mistake due to stress that they probably felt awful about because my child was in the car. On this occasion, however, because I pulled into the car park after them, I saw them very obviously laughing about this. Again, I was willing to let it go because they looked around 30-40 years old so I figured it was just the classic millenial awkward laugh when they’ve made a boo boo and that maybe they hadn’t even realised it was me and my daughter’s lives they’d endangered but it’s simply impossible to pull out on someone like that and not realise so I know they knew what did (unless they were under the influence then I could understand them not realising what happened). However when they were shopping in the shop after, I noticed they both kept behaving very awkwardly when they saw me so I do believe they know what they did and that they thought it was funny. Idk about anyone else but I personally wouldnt trust anyone who treats endangering a child’s life on a random Wednesday at a petrol station as a joke to help animals. Like it was just honestly very odd behaviour that I wouldn’t expect from fellow millennials so I feel compelled to write a review so that somebody can tell them that this behaviour was odd and that they should be a little more mindful when they are out in the community representing the RSPCA.

My impression was of a very well run establishment, with knowledgeable staff, whose primary motivation was the well fare of the animals in their care.

Me and the wife recently adopted a beautiful dog here recently. The staff were amazing offerd endless help and support even now weeks after the adoption. We were always greeted with a smile and welcoming arms.. really can’t praise this place any more there doing great things for animals in need

The centre was fantastic in the adoption of our cat Skippy. They made everything easy and simple and all the literature they gave us was informative and helpful. Skippy is now enjoying having a big house to run around, though I think she is looking forward to going outside to chase the birds!

All the staff dealing with “Spotty” now Poppy were very caring as she was a nervous and frightened Border Collie. It is close coming up to two years now, with a few months dog training after I got her she became a different dog. She is fascinated with all types of animals on tv or in close proximity. She has her own quirks and is comical on occasions. Thank you for letting me adopt her and give her a new life my forever dog.

Been going here since 2018, one of my favourite places. Chill atmosphere, you just get to relax with some animals around.

Open day was great. Not overly busy. Got to walk alpacas. Great to support a worthwhile local charity.

Lovely happy animals. Well cared for by dedicated and committed volunteers.

Love it great pkayce

Pauline and the volunteers are doing a fantastic job taking care of all the kittens and older cats any donations much appreciated

The phone number is wrong, so we just went along to the house, the husband wasn’t impressed with that but it was ok the lady was nice, straightforward, not sure how the cats where treated or anything but she gave us the right number and asked us to ring a couple of days later, but we found a sanctuary Instead

How is your day going now and how is hope doing. N how much has been raised so far towards the vets bill for hope?.

The owner is irresponsible and puts the cats in danger with her thoughtlessness. Me and my partner adopted 2 cats from her and both passed away in less than 6 months due to the low immune systems and pre-existing conditions they picked up from this disease infested hell hole. All cats are unvaccinated and just allowed free-reign to mingle with one another unchecked.

Due to me and my partner being naive when we were adopting (as first time cat owners), we were told ‘not to bother’ getting each of the cats vaccinated by the owner. When the older of the two cats we adopted began to get ill we attempted to get the previous vet information from the owner Pauline who was trying to insist that we bring both of the cats back so they could take them instead (which I’m sure was a tactic to keep from us how poorly both cats actually were).

Due to their awful practice, both of our cats were too far gone to save and therefore, lived tragically short lives. The younger was not even a year old.

I would urge anyone to stay away. The fact this place is called a ‘rescue’ is a joke and I’m disgusted they’ve managed to get away with it for so long.

OMG this place is amazing! All cats are immaculately kept, Pauline who runs this amazing rescue is incredible if you can give a place in your home and heart to a rescue cat and give them a home then this has to be your first port of call! Simply cannot recommend highly enough!!

This place is so calming that if you are stressed about anything and you love animals it’s a good place to be even just for half an hour. Please visit a rescue centre and volunteer for the animals. It can be any rescue centre. But please go to the rescue centre with insurance and the intention of caring. Children can learn from others as well as animals and people who’ve looked after animals. Vetinary nurses and vet’s are few and far between. Animals of all kinds are not able to be helped if people don’t help them like people help each other.

This woman is wonderful her compassion for cats is relentless. I don’t know why someone would leave a negative post

I tryed to ring for months but phone kept been put down or no one is picking up tryed it again at different Times but no luck are they meant to be 24:7

I liked the help I recieved, they were really informative and handled my worries and concerned about an animal I rescued accordingly. The woman on the phone was so kind too which really put me at ease

Thank you raynor for all your care and dedication to all animals in need. Love TNT

My grandaughter used to attend here