Los Angeles has an unusually large number of cat adoption options — six city shelters, a separate county department, and established nonprofits like Best Friends. Here’s how to navigate it.
LA Animal Services: Six City Shelters
LA Animal Services operates six shelters across the City of Los Angeles, so adopters aren’t limited to a single location — check whichever is most convenient to your part of the city.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Example location | West LA Animal Shelter — 11361 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064 |
| Number of city shelters | 6 |
| Hours | Tue–Fri 8 AM–5 PM; Sat–Sun 11 AM–5 PM (closed Monday & holidays) |
| Included with adoption | Vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, microchip |
LA County Animal Care and Control
Separate from the city’s own shelters, LA County Animal Care and Control serves unincorporated areas and other cities within the county, with its own fee schedule and locations.
Best Friends and Other LA Nonprofits
Best Friends Animal Society runs its own Los Angeles adoption center as well, working alongside the city and county shelters to place cats and other animals.
Which Option Should You Try First?
- Start with the LA Animal Services shelter closest to you — six locations means proximity is often the deciding factor
- Check LA County Animal Care and Control if you live in an unincorporated area or a city outside LA proper
- Best Friends and similar nonprofits are worth checking for a different selection or adoption event schedule
City Living With a Cat
LA’s apartment-heavy rental market makes our guide to renting with a cat worth reading, and our guide to cat-proofing your home before adoption applies especially well to smaller living spaces.
Weighing a Kitten vs. an Adult Cat
Across any of LA’s many options, it’s worth genuinely weighing an adult cat against a kitten, especially in a smaller apartment. Adult cats generally arrive with an already-formed personality, making it easier to predict how they’ll fit your household, while kittens require significantly more supervision and room to play safely during their especially active first year.
Budgeting Beyond the Adoption Fee
Whichever organization you choose, plan for costs beyond the fee itself — a litter box, litter, food and water bowls, a scratching post, and a first round of supplies ready before pickup day. LA veterinary costs also tend to run higher than in smaller inland markets, so it’s worth getting a sense of local pricing before an unexpected bill catches you off guard. Pet insurance is worth researching within the first few weeks of adoption, before any condition becomes a pre-existing exclusion on a policy.
Settling In After You Get Home
Set up a single quiet room with food, water, a litter box, and a hiding spot before giving your new cat access to the rest of the house, rather than introducing it to every room at once. A calmer, more gradual first week tends to produce a noticeably more confident, settled cat over the following month — especially useful advice in a compact apartment where the whole home is within reach almost immediately.
Multi-Cat Households and Introductions
If you already have a cat at home, plan for a gradual introduction over several days rather than a same-day meeting. Keep the new cat in its own separate room at first, swapping bedding between the two so each becomes familiar with the other’s scent before any direct interaction — rushing this step is one of the most common reasons an otherwise good match gets off to a rocky start.
Give the Adjustment Time
Whichever option you choose, give your new cat real time to settle before drawing conclusions about its personality. A cat that seems withdrawn or nervous in its first days at home is not necessarily reflective of how it will behave once it’s had a few weeks to adjust — this is especially true in a compact apartment, where a cat may initially retreat to a single corner before gradually claiming more of the space as its own.
Navigating a City This Large
With six city shelters, a separate county department, and multiple nonprofits, it’s worth being strategic rather than trying to visit every location in person. Start with whichever LA Animal Services shelter is genuinely closest to your daily routine, since traffic across the city can turn a short distance on a map into a much longer actual drive. If that location doesn’t have the right match, expanding outward to nearby shelters or checking LA County’s separate listings is a reasonable next step rather than a sign you need to reconsider adopting altogether.
If You Already Have Pets at Home
If you already have a cat or dog, plan for a gradual introduction over several days rather than a same-day meeting. Keep the new cat in its own separate room at first, swapping bedding between the two so each becomes familiar with the other’s scent before any direct interaction — see our guide to introducing a new cat to resident pets for the complete process.
One Last Thing to Keep in Mind
With so many options across such a large city, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choice — but that’s ultimately a good problem to have. Narrowing down by proximity first, then by any specific needs (a particular age, a specialized rescue, a specific medical history), tends to make the decision far more manageable than trying to compare every option in the county at once.
Whichever route you take, patience during the search itself pays off — a city this size has enough turnover across its shelters that the right match is very likely out there, even if it takes checking a few locations to find it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LA Animal Services shelters are there?
LA Animal Services operates six city shelters across Los Angeles, so adopters can visit whichever is most convenient rather than being limited to a single location.
What are LA Animal Services’ adoption hours?
Tuesday through Friday, 8 AM–5 PM, and Saturday–Sunday, 11 AM–5 PM. Centers are closed Mondays and city-observed holidays.
What does the cat adoption fee include?
LA Animal Services adoption fees include vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, and microchipping. City of LA residents also get the first year’s dog license fee included, though that specific benefit is for dogs, not cats.
Is LA County Animal Care and Control different from LA Animal Services?
Yes — LA Animal Services covers the City of Los Angeles specifically, while LA County Animal Care and Control is a separate department covering unincorporated areas and other cities within the county.
Not in Los Angeles? We Can Still Help
Cats By The Tracks is a foster-based rescue serving Fresno and the Central Valley.