Intake Policy
Town Cats does not accept stray cats or kittens – See the list of defintions here. Stray cats or kittens should be taken to your local animal control facility.
Because we are a no-kill facility, our highest priority is to help cats/kittens at risk in shelters. We limit our intake based on the current capacity of the spaces at our adoption centers and foster homes.
*Please note that at time, our waitlist for surrenders is 2-6 months depending on the situation*
Surrender of cats/kittens will NOT be accepted at our adoption centers or through foster homes. If you need to surrender your cat, please note that completing the surrender form does not guarantee we will be able to take your cat.
Please contact surrender@towncats.org with any questions specifically regarding intake.
Friendly and Adoptable
Our goal is to help as many cats as possible by taking in friendly, healthy, homeless cats from our community shelters and getting them adopted as quickly as possible into good homes. It is not our policy to accept feral or semi-feral cats and confine them in a shelter.
Residency at Town Cats is temporary. Every social cat in our care deserves a home and a family. Every unsocial/feral cat deserves a working cat placement in a managed cat colony.
Owner surrendered cats and those formerly adopted from Town Cats are taken in on a limited basis and only if there is room at the shelter or in a foster home and only if the animal is determined to be healthy, friendly, and adoptable by shelter staff. There is an owner surrender form as well as an associated surrender fee to help offset the cost of caring for the cat going forward. The cats’ vaccines must be current.
To be considered for acceptance back into Town Cats, a person must contact us and make an appointment by sending an email to surrender@towncats.org. All cats must be approved in advance so it is essential that you contact Town Cats prior to the time you wish to surrender the cat. If we have space available and we agree to take your cat, our Shelter Intake Coordinator will schedule an appointment with you. It is critical that you arrive at the required time or call us if you are going to be late. The surrender process takes approximately 30 minutes. Under no circumstances will we accept a cat without an appointment.
Town Cats is a proud member of the WeCARE Coalition (Community Alliance to Reduce Euthanasia). Town Cats sometimes “pulls” cats from our WeCARE partners’ shelters, such as the “Two to Three Pound Kitten Program” that we have with our partner SJACS. As space allows we will also transfer social adults into our adoption centers. We have transfer agreements with the government shelters that are our WeCARE partners.
Town Cats does not accept incoming stray cats
Good Samaritans who find a stray cat should contact their local municipal shelter. This is where an owner would search for a lost pet. Any cat over two pounds is defined as a stray cat. Town Cats does not have the resources or the facility to provide services for stray cats.
If you have found a stray cat, please contact animal control for the city in which you reside. Local shelters are listed at Shelters First.
The City of Morgan Hill Animal Control Services operates out of the Field Operations Division of the Police Department.
📞 Phone: 408.779.2101 (Non-emergency Dispatch)
🌐 Website: https://www.morganhill.ca.gov/
Animal control services for residents of the City of Gilroy are provided by the Gilroy Police Department.
📞 Phone: 408.846.0338
🌐 Website: https://cityofgilroy.org/
Unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County are managed by County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter
📍 Location: 12370 Murphy Ave, San Martin, CA 95046
📞 Phone: 408.686.3900
📩 Email: scc.animalshelter@aem.sccgov.org