The Cat’s Out of the Bag: These U.S. States Save the Most Cats in Shelters
Best Friends Animal Society has unveiled new data that shows cats are having some (extended) time in the spotlight.
According to data from the national nonprofit, the number of cats killed in shelters across the country has hit its lowest point in history, with a record high save rate of 82.9%. Best Friends attributes much of this progress to community-based kitten fostering, community cat programs, and increased adoption demand from Gen Z. This good news demonstrates a trend, as cats in shelters saw similarly groundbreaking progress in 2024.
Curious about where cats are especially popular with adopters? Best Friends’ data shows the top 10 states saving the highest percentage of cats in shelters:
- North Dakota
- Delaware
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Rhode Island
- Oregon
- Maine
- Connecticut
- Idaho
“For the second year in a row we’ve seen terrific progress for cats in shelters, but thousands are still killed simply because they don’t have a safe place to call home,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “To help shelters across the country reach no-kill*, which means saving every healthy and treatable pet in their care, we encourage everyone to get involved by adopting and fostering cats and kittens, volunteering, donating, and supporting community cat programs.”
To help more people bring home a feline friend this month, Whisker, the global leader in connected cat care and maker of Litter-Robot®, is partnering with Best Friends to help more cats find loving homes. Whisker will cover cat adoption fees throughout June at all Best Friends locations, including Houston, Los Angeles, Northwest Arkansas, Salt Lake City, the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, and Best Friends temporary adoption location in New York City.
To learn more about how to bring home a new best friend this June, please visit bestfriends.org.
*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.