RSPCA Derby and District Animal Centre

- Many recent adopters describe the rehoming process as smooth, simple and professional, especially for cats, with several saying staff were welcoming, kind and knowledgeable throughout. - The centre itself gets positive comments for being clean and comfortable, and one reviewer specifically mentioned adopted cats having a vet health check before going home. - Support after matching is also mentioned positively, with reviewers saying staff helped them find the right cat and were supportive during the process.

RSPCA Derby and District Animal Centre is an animal rehoming centre in Derby focused on helping cats and dogs find new homes. Recent feedback continues to point to a straightforward adoption experience, supportive staff, and a clean, comfortable environment for animals. Foster care appears to form part of the process for some animals, and some adopters mention vaccination updates, vet checks before adoption, and follow-up contact after rehoming. A recurring point of criticism is communication, and one recent reviewer noted that the centre is no longer operating as a walk-in service.

Services

•Animal rehoming and adoption: Reviews continue to centre on cat and dog adoption, with several people describing the process as simple, well explained, and professionally handled.
•Foster care as part of rehoming: Foster homes are mentioned as part of the pathway for some animals before adoption.
•Pre-adoption health and vaccination support: Earlier feedback mentioned vaccination updates, and a recent adopter said their cats had a clean bill of health from the vet before adoption.
•Post-adoption support and contact: At least some adopters mention supportive follow-up and ongoing contact after adoption.

Pricing

No published pricing information is currently available for this clinic.

People

Recent reviews regularly mention friendly, supportive and informative staff, but no individual team members are named.

Reviews

RSPCA Derby and District Animal Centre has a Google rating of 4.5 stars from 312 reviews.

•Many recent adopters describe the rehoming process as smooth, simple and professional, especially for cats, with several saying staff were welcoming, kind and knowledgeable throughout.
•The centre itself gets positive comments for being clean and comfortable, and one reviewer specifically mentioned adopted cats having a vet health check before going home.
•Support after matching is also mentioned positively, with reviewers saying staff helped them find the right cat and were supportive during the process.
•The main negative theme is communication: alongside one complaint that the centre is no longer a walk-in, there are more serious criticisms from a small number of reviewers about poor responses around volunteering, fostering, and a disputed dog rehoming case.

Reviews for RSPCA Derby and District Animal Centre

Note: Showing the 10 most recent Google reviews out of 312 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.

Graham Jones

1 month ago

Really good service. Adopted a 5 year old cat from here last autumn and everything was done professionally and in a friendly manner. Would definitely recommend!

Rachael Bundy

Damian Rawcliffe

We adopted two 8 month old cats from Derby. They were absolutely amazing, very simple process and very professional with clean bill of health by the vet prior to adoption. Strongly recommend! Thank you, now we have two beautiful girls running happily around the house. We should have called them mischief and mayhem.

Luke Harris

2 months ago

Friendly staff

Melanie Hine

Found the perfect cat for us and been very supportive

Sue Croysdale

3 months ago

Lovely people and a clean, comfortable centre for the animals. I found the sweetest cat to adopt.

Knifey McShotfun

No longer a walk-in, which is a disappointment.

Lee

4 months ago

Heartbroken by poor communication and broken promises I rehomed my dog, Miya, through RSPCA Derby around five months ago after being at risk of homelessness and having to move into a flat that doesn’t allow pets. She was with me for nearly two years and was like family, so this was an incredibly hard decision. Well before I handed her over, I was promised that my details would be passed to her new owner if they chose to contact me. I’ve since been told this was not done and is not part of their process, which left me very upset. Before she was placed in foster care, I was reassured she would not go to a foster home with multiple dogs because she is nervous around them. However, I later discovered she was fostered in a household with several dogs. While I’m sure the foster family cared for her, this was not what I had been promised, and it left me worried about her transition. Communication throughout has been poor, and this has made an already painful situation even harder. I still think of Miya every day and hope she is safe and happy. Update (December 2025): Since posting this review, I have gone through the full complaints process with the branch manager and the Chair of Trustees. In her written response, the Chair of Trustees acknowledged that, in order to reassure me, staff may have given me an inaccurate impression about what would happen after I rehomed Miya through them. However, she has refused to offer any practical remedy in my case. The manager and staff still deny giving the reassurances I describe, even though I have a witness who was present for some of these conversations. I have been told that the branch will not provide me with any updates about Miya, will not pass my contact details to her adopters, and will not share records about decisions that involved me, will not take any disciplinary action, will not here my impact statement. I was denied the chance to make a fully informed decision about her future. I would have chose to rehome her through other means had I known this from the start in order for me to have some form of updates and potential contact. As a result, I have raised a governance concern with the Charity Commission. As someone with a degree in Wildlife Conservation and experience volunteering with conservation NGOs, I find it especially disappointing that a charity using the RSPCA name is comfortable with this level of misleading communication and lack of accountability when it is challenged. Based on my experience, I will not use or support this branch again. I would strongly encourage others to think very carefully before rehoming an animal, adopting or donating here while these practices and attitudes remain in place. There are many other animal charities in real need of support, and I will be directing any future donations and help towards organisations that are more transparent and open with the people who trust them.

Kelly Vincent

Can't recommend Derby RSPCA high enough! What a wonderful experience. We adopted Rizzo (now Pumpkin) yesterday & the process couldn't of been better. Such kind well knowledgeable staff. Thank you so much x

Bec Savage

5 months ago

The guys at the centre have been fantastic, welcoming and informative throughout the rehoming journey. Thanks to all of them and the work they do