Volunteering can be very rewarding, whether you are doing it for enjoyment, or to gain valuable employability skills for your CV. As a volunteer you give as little or as much time as you are happy with, and will never be expected to be out of pocket for the work that you do. There are a huge range of opportunities on offer through cats protection and if you feel you can offer your time in any way then please fill in the
online contact form and add to the comment box which area of volunteering you are interested in.
Some people specialise in one area, other do a range of tasks from the following list. In all cases training is provided, and for many of them you would work alongside other volunteers. Some people start with one small thing and build up their expertise as they get more involved.
- Fostering of domesticated cats - offering a temporary home to one or more cats. We often have to look after cats while we assess them, check them out, and find a permanent home for them. All you need is some space and if you have your own cats they need to be kept entirely separate. For people who love cats but cannot commit long term to their own this is a great way of helping them and very rewarding.
Fundraisers - we need money! Cats and all their associated care costs and the more funds we have the more cats we can help. Fundraising can be simply being on a stall at local events, organising and booking stalls and people to run them, coming up with new fundraising ideas and schemes, sourcing items to use to fundraise.
- Driving - we often need to transport cats to a foster home, taking them to and from Vet appointments, delivering food, litter and other essentials to fosterers, pick up donations to use in our fundraising or to use with our foster cats.
- Administration - helping with record keeping, ordering resources, producing flyers for cats we have which may be lost by their owners, posting on lost and found sites.
- Cat trapping - we trap feral cats, neuter and return them to their site. This is very important to stop the flood of unwanted kittens and for the female cat’s own welfare. Trapping often involves checking out the site, developing a feeding pattern, laying the trap, removing the cat(s) and organising visits to the vets, recuperation with a fosterer and return to site.
- Homing visits - before any cat is rehomed we visit as a pair to check that the home is suitable to the cat in question and also answer any questions from the prospective new owner.
- Updating and developing the Website, developing the social media side of our work and creating more awareness of the issues of unwanted cats.
- Assisting with the running of the helpline, our first point of contact for any queries
- Looking after one aspect of our work and coordinating it for others.
We cover the postcodes listed below. Any potential volunteers would need to live in or close to the postcodes listed.
NE1 - NE13
NE15 - NE17
NE 21 - NE30
NE35
NE37 - 40
NE42 - NE46
NE61 - NE65
Please be aware that all equipment is provided, that any expenses are covered, and that we are a very friendly group who will support anyone starting off in any of these activities. We regularly arrange ‘get togethers’ so its not all about working on this by yourself.
Please note that any volunteers must be 18 or over and that we have no facility for keeping cats other than in volunteer's homes, so there are no opportunities for any form of work placement with us.
Fundraising Events Helper
As a charity we can continue to help cats and kittens in need thanks to the donations we receive at fundraising events from generous members of the public. Our Fundraising Event Helpers have the exciting and varied role of helping at local fundraising events - such as cakes sales, barn dances, quiz nights – and everything in between!
Closing date: 25 Mar 2024
Fosterer volunteer
Across the UK, many cats are cared for by volunteer fosterers who provide a stable, safe and loving environment in their homes or in purpose-built pens in their gardens. They provide vital hands-on care and accommodation to stray or abandoned cats or cats whose owners could sadly no longer keep them, and are part of a dedicated team of volunteers committed to finding new homes for cats in need. Our fosterers carry out this role with support from their local branch or centre.
Most of our fosterers care for one or two cats at a time and enjoy providing lots of TLC to those cats, who have been pre-loved or have had a difficult start in life. Some of our fosterers look after new mums and kittens and provide round-the-clock care to newborns to give them the best start in life.
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024
Fundraising events organiser
As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising events organisers have the exciting and varied role of helping plan and deliver local fundraising events to raise the vital funds needed to help our feline friends. Our fundraising events organisers use their passion for cats and people to plan cake sales, barn dances, quiz nights and everything in between.
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024
Fundraising volunteer
As a charity we rely on funds donated by generous members of the public to continue to help cats and kittens in need. Our fundraising volunteers are part of a passionate team that help raise funds to help our feline friends in need. They help plan and deliver exciting and varied fundraising events, which can be anything from craft fairs, cake sales, sponsored abseils and anything in between!
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024
Transport Volunteer
If you enjoy driving and would love to use those skills to help our cats, this could be the role for you. Our transport volunteers provide vital assistance to our teams and volunteer groups in the local area by transporting equipment, litter, food – and even cats! They have the essential role of connecting our network of volunteers, sites, vets and supporters.
Without the passionate and committed teams of volunteers across Cats Protection, we wouldn’t be able to help the thousands of cats and kittens each year that rely on us for help.
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024
Trap, Neuter, Return Lead volunteer
As a trap, neuter and return (TNR) lead volunteer you will make a vital contribution to maintaining a healthy population of feral and community cats and will help alleviate cat welfare and community problems caused by uncontrolled cat populations. You will lead a team of TNR volunteers in your local area, who in turn will help reduce the number of unwanted cats.
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024
Social media volunteer
Our social media volunteers use their passion and knowledge of social media to promote the activities of local volunteer groups and teams though various channels. They directly help cats by raising awareness of Cats Protection. A higher profile can help us raise the funds we need for our work, ensure people know they can adopt a cat from us, help promote neutering and help as many people as possible learn more about feline welfare.
Closing date: 20 Apr 2024