Having a clear-out? Give your pre-loved items another life and help cats.
Donating to our charity shops
We have charity shops all over the UK that raise vital funds to help cats. We rely on generous donations to keep our shops well stocked with pre-loved items ready for their next owner.
Not sure whether something is suitable to donate? A good question to ask yourself is: would someone else be happy to buy it?
What our shops need can vary, so before bringing your donations in, we recommend getting in touch with your local shop to check what they can accept and where to leave your items.
Find your nearest Cats Protection shop
What we can usually accept
Items must be clean, good-quality, complete, safe, and saleable. What a shop can accept may vary, so please check before travelling.
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Handbags, hats, belts, ties, scarves and other accessories
- Complete, safe and good-quality toys and games
- Good-quality, saleable household furniture and electricals at participating shops
- Upholstered furniture where the required fire-safety labels are present
What we cannot accept
For legal, safety, hygiene, or environmental reasons, there are some items we cannot sell. This includes damaged or unsafe goods, hazardous products, and some items without the required safety labels.
Select a category below to check your item. If you’re still unsure, contact your nearest shop before bringing it in.
- Car seats and booster seats
- Cots, carry cots and cot mattresses
- Highchairs
- Playpens
- Prams, pushchairs and buggies
- Safety gates
- Inflatable beds, dinghies or toys designed for use in water
- Soft toys without the required CE or UKCA safety marking
- Children’s garments with unsafe drawstrings around the hood or neck
- Nightwear without the required fire-safety or flammability labelling
- Worn underwear
- Used swimwear without a hygiene strip
- Homemade clothing where relevant safety requirements cannot be confirmed
- Built-in kitchen appliances
- Ceiling or wall lights requiring permanent wiring
- Electric blankets
- Electric hoists
- Electric showers
- Gaming machines
- Gas appliances
- Gas bottles or cylinders
- Oil or gas AGAs
- Portable oil heaters and oil lamps
- Oil-filled radiators without a thermostat
- Petrol or diesel-powered items
- Storage heaters requiring permanent wiring
- Stair lifts
- Sunbeds and tanning equipment
- Tumble dryers and washer dryers
- Waste disposal units
- Electrical products subject to a current safety recall
- Used personal electrical-care items such as electric shavers or foot spas
- Items in poor, damaged or unsafe condition
- Upholstered furniture without the required fire-safety labels
- Furniture containing or painted with lead paint
- Carpet offcuts
- Cushions, cushion covers or tailored upholstery covers without the required fire-safety labels
- Used pillows, duvets and quilts
- Home-recorded DVDs, CDs, videos or audio tapes
- Copied or home-recorded computer games or software
- Counterfeit or pirated media
- Home printers unless new, boxed and supplied with the necessary ink or toner
- Ivory or items containing ivory
- Real fur or fur-trimmed items
- Prescription spectacles
- Safety helmets, including riding, cycle and motorcycle helmets
- Safety harnesses
- Buoyancy aids and life jackets
- Inflatable boats or water-safety equipment
- Firefighting equipment
- Guns, ammunition, imitation firearms or other weapons
- Swords, daggers, crossbows or similar items
- Knives, blades or other pointed items that present a safety risk
- Fireworks
- Cigarette lighters and lighter-refill canisters
- Vaping products
- Petrol, diesel or other fuels
- Cleaning chemicals, solvents or adhesives
- Paint, poisonous, toxic or hazardous substances
- Medication, including vitamins
- Flammable products such as firelighters
- Opened cosmetics or toiletries
Donating furniture and electricals
Give your quality pre-loved furniture and electricals another life and help raise vital funds for cats.
Selected Cats Protection shops can accept furniture and electricals that are clean, good-quality, complete, safe and saleable. Upholstered furniture must also have the required fire-safety label. Donating furniture and electricals helps keep useful items in use for longer while helping us raise more for cats.
What furniture and electricals can I donate?
Participating shops may be able to accept items such as:
- sofas and armchairs
- dining tables and chairs
- coffee tables and side tables
- bookcases
- chests of drawers and bedside cabinets
- wardrobes
- lamps and other small electrical items
- TVs, radios and audio equipment
- small kitchen appliances
- other good-quality, working electrical items, subject to the appropriate safety checks before resale
Free furniture collection
Furniture to donate? Let us do the heavy lifting. At participating shops, our free furniture collection service makes it simple to donate give quality pre-loved furniture another life, without having to transport larger items yourself.
Get in touch with your local shop to find out what they can accept and whether free furniture collection is available in your area.
Ask your local shop about furniture donation
House clearances
Clearing a home can feel like a big task. Our house clearance service can help make the process easier, while giving good-quality items another life and helping raise vital funds for cats.
What we can clear
Depending on condition and suitability, we may be able to accept:
- furniture
- electrical items
- homeware and bric-a-brac
- clothing, shoes and accessories
- books, music and entertainment
- toys and games
- decorative items
Items would still need to meet our usual safety, legal and resale requirements. Find out what items we cannot accept.
How does the service work?
Contact your local Cats Protection shop to find out whether house clearance is available in your area.
The shop team can then talk you through what they may be able to accept and explain the next steps. Depending on the clearance, we may ask for photographs or further information about the property and the items you would like us to collect.
Ask your local shop about house clearance
Donating items for the cats in our care
Local Cats Protection teams sometimes need practical items to care for cats waiting for new homes. Their needs and storage space can change, so please contact your local Cats Protection before buying or delivering anything.
Some items that can be useful to help us care for cats include:
- blankets
- towels
- cat toys
- cat food (for a variety of ages, wet or dry)
- cat treats
- cat carriers
- litter trays
Donating cat food
Our cat centres are also partnering with local organisations to help cat owners during times of hardship to access food for their cat. Our Community Kitty scheme enables us to provide donated cat food to community partners tackling hunger and poverty. This is an opportunity for us to support owners who may find themselves in a position where they are concerned about having to give up their cat.
Find your local Cats Protection
