10/12/2026
This is a long read but very much worth it.
Many people believe themselves to be helping an animal, but often times animal control is the worst place for them.
Many armchair advocates hop on here and comment on every found cat post that the cat should go to animal control and āthey donāt euthanizeā. But they do. āThe cat will go to fosterā. No. A few will, but there are not enough fosters. And they have no system in place for feral cats. Feral cats are euthanized. The resources are not available for them to do otherwise. It is not animal controlās fault.
There is not enough community support for all the animals brought in to be saved. There is not enough proper legislation for all the animals brought in to be saved. There are not enough low cost spay/neuter facilities. There is not enough funding. The city has no TNR program. There are not enough people in the trenches who know how rescue works. Our lawmakers are definitely letting us all down. It shouldnāt be caring shelter workers and rescue volunteers taking on all this burden. Itās breaking them.
The answers exist. The funds exist. Where are our legislators? Where are the big orgs that get all the funding but doing the bare minimum? Change is needed. Please read MADACCās post and educate yourself on how to help. š Be the change.
Bringing a Cat to Animal Control: Understanding What Happens Next
Every year, approximately 6,000 cats come through MADACC's doors. Some are truly lost pets. Others have been living outdoors for months or years, sometimes cared for by neighbors or community members. Still others may have previously lived in homes but arrive at MADACC with little or no information about their history.
We understand that most people who bring a cat to MADACC believe they are helping that animal. Their intentions are often kind, and they hope the cat will receive veterinary care, be placed for adoption, and eventually find a loving home.
Unfortunately, the reality is much more complicated.
**MADACC is a municipal animal control facility, not a traditional humane society or rescue organization.** Our primary responsibility is to provide animal control and public safety services for Milwaukee County's 19 municipalities, including caring for thousands of stray, abandoned, and seized animals every year.
While we work very hard to find positive outcomes for the animals in our care, bringing a cat to MADACC does not guarantee that it will become available for adoption.
Why Cats May Behave Differently in a Shelter
Cats are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment. Unlike dogs, most cats have never experienced confinement in a kennel. A cat that was comfortable in a home or familiar outdoor environment may become extremely frightened when suddenly placed in a cage, surrounded by unfamiliar people, sounds, smells, and other animals.
Some cats adjust. Others do not.
A cat that someone remembers as friendly and affectionate may be unwilling to be touched or handled once it arrives at MADACC. It may hide, hiss, swat, or react defensively. These behaviors do not necessarily mean the cat was never friendly. They may simply reflect how overwhelmed and frightened the animal has become.
Unfortunately, we often have no way of knowing what that cat was like before it arrived.
Was it comfortable being picked up? Did it enjoy human contact? Had it lived indoors? Was it accustomed to being handled by multiple people, or was it only comfortable with one familiar caregiver?
These details matter enormously when evaluating whether a cat can safely and successfully enter a traditional adoption program.
Why Can't Every Cat Be Adopted?
We wish every cat entering our facility could find a loving home. However, we must consider the animal's behavior, medical condition, safety, and overall welfare when determining an appropriate outcome.
Adult cats that have had little human socialization can be especially challenging. While young kittens often respond well to socialization in foster homes, adult cats with significant handling difficulties may require specialized care, experienced caregivers, and considerable time.
Most rescue organizations and foster homes have limited resources and may not be equipped to accept adult cats that cannot be safely handled.
MADACC also cannot provide extended behavioral rehabilitation for thousands of cats. We must balance the needs of each individual animal with those of every other animal entering our care.
Prolonged confinement can create additional stress, increase susceptibility to illness, and negatively affect a cat's overall welfare. Keeping a frightened cat in a kennel indefinitely is not necessarily the kindest or most humane solution.
**Sometimes, what people envision as a rescue can unintentionally place an animal in a more difficult situation.**
What Happens When Someone Brings in a Stray Cat?
When someone brings a cat to MADACC as a stray, we generally have very little information about that animal.
With approximately 6,000+ cats entering our facility annually and only about 3ā5% being reclaimed by their owners, the number of cats needing an outcome far exceeds the number of owners who come looking for them.
We also recognize that some cats brought to animal control may have been cared for by people who knew them, fed them regularly, or even considered them their own pets.
That history can make an enormous difference.
If someone has been feeding a cat for months, knows it is friendly, and wants to help it find an indoor home, there may be better options than bringing it to animal control and hoping it will be adopted.
Working with a rescue organization, arranging veterinary care and sterilization, or helping the cat find a home directly may provide a much better opportunity for success.
What If You Know a Cat Is Friendly and Want to Help?
If you are concerned about a particular cat at MADACC because you know it to be friendly, affectionate, or comfortable in a home, please share that information with us.
We welcome information that can help us better understand an animal's history and behavior.
If the cat is not a candidate for our traditional adoption program, there may still be ways for you to help.
For example, our current adoption fee for cats six months and older is just $12. When a cat is legally available and eligible for placement, someone familiar with that cat may be able to adopt it and help find it a permanent home.
You may also contact rescue organizations to see whether they have the resources and willingness to assist.
We cannot promise that every cat will be eligible for these options, but we are always interested in finding appropriate solutions when they are available.
Helping a Cat Means Considering the Entire Journey
We would love for more people to think about what happens *after* they find a cat.
Bringing an animal to a shelter is not always the same as rescuing it.
True rescue often involves time, patience, and personal involvement. It may mean arranging veterinary care, having the animal sterilized, determining whether it is comfortable living indoors, networking with rescue groups, or helping find a suitable home.
We understand that not everyone has the financial means, experience, or living situation to do these things. That is why we encourage people to explore available community resources and ask questions before deciding that bringing a healthy cat to animal control is the best option.
**The goal should not simply be to get a cat off the street. The goal should be to improve that cat's life.**
Sometimes those are two very different things.
A Shared Responsibility
MADACC's staff care deeply about the animals that come through our doors. We see the fear, stress, illness, and uncertainty that many of these cats experience. We also see the enormous efforts made by staff, volunteers, foster families, and rescue partners to give them the best possible outcomes.
But no municipal animal control facility can be the solution to every situation involving an unwanted, outdoor, or unsocialized cat.
That requires a community working together.
We need more accessible spay/neuter services, more responsible pet ownership, more education about outdoor cats, stronger public/rescue partnerships, and a greater understanding of when shelter intake is truly necessary.
Most importantly, we need people to recognize that **the decisions made before an animal enters a shelter can have just as much impact on its future as the decisions made after it arrives.**
We want people to help cats. We want people to care about their welfare. And we want those good intentions to result in the best possible outcomes for the animals themselves.
That begins with understanding that not every cat needs to enter a shelter to be helped, and not every cat that enters a shelter will be able to find a home through a traditional adoption program.
Our hope is that, together, we can make better decisions for cats long before they ever reach our doors.
