ACCC will accept cats when an appointment has been made.  

It is important to note that cats are 10 times more likely to find their way home if left where they are found than if they are brought into a shelter.

While there will always be a need to care for cats at the ACCC, most cats do not need to be sheltered. In fact, there are almost always better alternatives to intake that can provide humane, long-lasting solutions that helps free up shelter capacity to better serve the animals truly in need of admission.

Citizens are encouraged to first make attempts to find the animal’s owner before making an appointment for admittance into the ACCC.


+ Cats are permitted to roam under the Animal Licensing and Control bylaw
+ Cats are ten times more likely to return to their owners if left in the community, therefore, healthy
found cats should be monitored and only admitted to the shelter if their condition begins to
deteriorate, or once all attempts to reunite the cat with its owners have been exhausted.
+  Feral Cats are born in the wild, have had limited human interaction and are completely self sufficient and should only come to the shelter if they are sick or injured.

If you find a lost cat that is healthy you can:
+ Look for a City of Edmonton tag and call 311 to see if they have contact information for the owner (please note
   that the agent will only be able to provide the owners contact information if they have provided approval to do
   so)
+ Bring the animal into a veterinary clinic or make an appointment at ACCC to check for a microchip
+ Talk to your neighbours to see if they might be familiar with the cat and know who owns it
+ Place a paper collar on the cat with your contact information. Paper collars can be found at edmonton.ca/pets
+ Place Found Cat Posters around the neighbourhood and in mailboxes
+ Use online platforms like Facebook and Kijijji to find the owner
+ Post a photo and details on Edmonton Lost and Found Pets page, Edmonton & Area Lost Pets

• Obviously ill (thin, weak, not mobile, any discharge from eyes or nose)
• Injured (wounds, limping, bleeding)
• Kittens under two months old that have no mother and the finder cannot care for them
• Very pregnant (imminent birth)
• Below -20C with windchill where the finder is unable to bring inside and they feel the cat is in distress