Most weeks, someone messages us from Benidorm or somewhere nearby asking the same thing: how do I adopt one of your cats? We love that question. It means another cat is about to get a proper home. Cat's Club Benidorm is a network of foster carers. Since 2020 we've been a group of volunteers, mostly women, who pull cats off the streets and look after them in our own homes until they find a family. We call those homes foster homes, and they're the heart of everything we do. It means that when you adopt from us, you're taking home a cat that has lived in a flat, slept on a sofa and got used to people. You already know its character before you decide, because someone has been living with it.
Who we are
Every cat we rescue lives in a volunteer's home while it recovers and waits for a family. That brings a real advantage: the person fostering it actually knows it. They know if it purrs the moment you sit down, if it hides from loud noises, whether it gets on with other cats or would rather be the only one in charge. We pass all of that on to you before you decide anything.
Here's something we say a lot: without foster homes, there are no rescues. Every foster space that frees up when a cat is adopted is one more cat we can take off the street. Adopting changes one cat's life and, at the same time, opens a space for the next one.
The adoption process, step by step
We've kept it as simple as we can. Here's how it actually goes:
- Have a look at the cats available on our site or on social media, @catsclubbenidorm. If you'd rather, tell us what you're after and we'll point you in the right direction.
- Contact us and tell us which cat you're interested in or what you're after. We'll reply as soon as we can.
- We'll explain how it all works and send you a pre-adoption form so we can get to know you. We ask about your home, whether you've had cats before, who lives with you and how many hours the place is empty. It's not an exam. It's so the cat genuinely fits your life.
- We put you in touch with the volunteer fostering the cat and usually arrange a meeting, so you can get to know each other.
- If it all feels right, we sign a straightforward adoption agreement and the cat goes home with you.
We're not only in Benidorm. We've rehomed cats across l'Alfàs del Pi, Altea, La Nucía, Finestrat, Villajoyosa and the wider Alicante area. If you're nearby and can come and meet the cat, all the better.
What's included when you adopt
When a cat leaves Cat's Club, it leaves ready. The cat you take home will be:
- Neutered or spayed. Spanish law requires cats to be sterilised and microchipped before six months of age; the law itself carves out animals on the official breeders' register, and the Ministry's official guidance also accepts a vet's justified criterion advising against it.
- Microchipped and registered to you.
- Vaccinated according to its age.
- Tested for feline immunodeficiency and leukaemia (FIV/FeLV), so you know exactly where its health stands.
We usually ask for an adoption contribution, which helps cover part of those costs and funds the next rescue. We explain all of it openly when we talk. It isn't a price tag on the cat. It's how we keep the whole thing going.
The one condition we never bend on: indoor cats and protected windows
Our cats are rehomed as indoor cats. And we always ask, no exceptions, that your windows and balconies are protected. It's essential. Out here most of us live in flats with terraces, in urbanisations several floors up, and a curious cat chasing a pigeon doesn't do the maths on the height.
There's a stubborn idea that cats always land on their feet and walk away fine. It's a myth, and a dangerous one. Cats fall from balconies and windows and are badly hurt or killed. There's even a name for it: high-rise syndrome. A net or a sturdy fly screen costs very little and prevents it completely. For us this isn't red tape. It's the difference between the cat we worked so hard to rescue growing old, or not.
What makes a good adopter
We're not looking for the perfect magazine home. We're looking for commitment. A cat lives fifteen, eighteen, sometimes twenty years. That's the thing we'd ask you to sit with before you message us: this is a long haul. It holds when August arrives and the heat is brutal. It holds when there's a vet bill to pay. It holds if you move. A good adopter understands the cat is family, not a souvenir from a summer on the Costa Blanca.
The cats that are hardest to rehome
Everyone wants a kitten. We get it, they're little bundles of joy. But let us put in a word for the others. We have calm, settled adult cats who'd be wonderful company for someone who doesn't fancy the chaos of a kitten. We have older cats who just want a warm sofa and some affection for their later years. And we have pairs who've grown up together and who it breaks our hearts to split up.
Open your door to an adult cat or a bonded pair and you get a personality you already know, no surprises, plus the quiet satisfaction of choosing the one nobody else would. Those, more often than not, are the ones most grateful to finally have a home.
And if you can't commit to forever right now? Foster. You look after a cat in your home for a few weeks or months, we cover the vet and the food, and meanwhile you free up space for us to rescue another. It's the help we need most of all.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to adopt a cat from Cat's Club?+
We ask for an adoption contribution that helps cover the vet costs (neutering, microchip, vaccines and tests) and funds the next rescue. We explain the amount openly when we chat. It isn't a price for the cat. It's what keeps the rescue going.
Can I adopt if I live outside Benidorm?+
Yes. We rehome cats across the Marina Baixa and the wider Alicante area, including l'Alfàs del Pi, Altea, La Nucía, Finestrat and Villajoyosa. Ideally you'd be able to come and meet the cat before deciding.
Does the cat come neutered and microchipped?+
Yes. All our cats leave neutered or spayed, microchipped, vaccinated for their age and tested for FIV and leukaemia. Spanish law requires cats to be sterilised and microchipped before six months of age; the law itself carves out animals on the breeders' register, and the Ministry's official guidance also accepts a vet's justified criterion advising against it.
Why do you insist on protecting windows and balconies?+
Because cats fall and are seriously hurt or killed, especially from high flats. The idea that they always land safely is false and dangerous. A net or sturdy fly screen prevents it, and it's a condition we never bend on.
Can I let the cat go outside?+
No. We rehome our cats as indoor cats. The Costa Blanca means traffic, extreme summer heat, dogs, poisonings and more, and a cat that lives indoors is safe and lives a great deal longer.
If you've read this far, something's tugging at you. Have a look at the cats waiting for a home on our site, and when one steals your heart, get in touch. And if you can't adopt just yet but want to genuinely help, become a foster home. Without foster homes there are no rescues, and you could be exactly the home the next cat is waiting for.
