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Shelter Animals Count (SAC), a program of the ASPCA, estimates that 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues in 2025. Its latest update covers January through June 2026: intake rose 2% from the same period a year earlier, and 213,000 more animals entered care than left through the outcomes counted in the release. These are national estimates, not a census of every shelter or rescue.
U.S. shelter intake and outcomes in 2025
SAC’s 2025 Annual Data Report, published February 4, 2026, estimates that 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues during 2025—about 2% fewer than in 2024. The report estimates 4.2 million adoptions and 597,000 euthanasias that year. The annual totals describe separate flows through the system; they do not track one closed group of animals from intake to outcome.
| Measure | Cats | Dogs | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 intake | 3.0 million | 2.8 million | 5.8 million |
| 2025 adoptions | 2.2 million | 2.0 million | 4.2 million |
| 2025 euthanasias | 277,000 | 320,000 | 597,000 |
Intake fell by about 121,000 animals year over year, while adoptions increased 0.7%, according to SAC. The ASPCA’s public summary describes the adoption change as slight; the exact percentage here is SAC’s report figure.
Where animals entered care—and what happened afterward
Intake pathways
Among 2025 community intakes, 59% were strays, 30% were owner surrenders, and 11% came through other pathways. These percentages describe how animals arrived; they are not outcome categories and do not, by themselves, explain why an owner relinquished a pet.
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Live and non-live outcomes
SAC distinguishes live community outcomes—such as adoption, return to owner, and return to field—from non-live outcomes. Its 2025 report estimates about 5.2 million live community outcomes and about 6 million outcomes when all outcome categories are included. The broader non-live category totals 757,000 and includes euthanasia, animals that died in care, and animals lost in care. It is not synonymous with euthanasia: the euthanasia estimate alone is 597,000.
Latest update: January through June 2026
SAC’s midyear summary, released by the ASPCA on October 6, 2026, estimates that 3.7 million cats and dogs entered care from January through June 2026, 2% more than in the first half of 2025. During that same six-month period, 213,000 more animals entered care than left through adoption, transfer, reunification, or other outcomes listed in the release. This net difference indicates added pressure on the population in care; it is not a count of animals still waiting at the end of the period.
- Cats accounted for nearly all of the reported year-over-year increase in intake.
- There were 1 million cat adoptions and 1.1 million dog adoptions in the first half of 2026.
- At midyear, 236,000 adult dogs—66% of dogs still in care and waiting for outcomes—were in that waiting population.
SAC projects approximately 7.4 million intakes for all of 2026. That is a projection in the midyear summary, not a finalized annual count, so it should not be treated as directly equivalent to the completed 2025 estimate. The 2026 announcement says the analysis draws on data representing more than 13,000 shelters and rescues nationwide; this does not mean every U.S. organization submitted a complete record.
How to interpret national shelter statistics
Estimates are not a complete census
The ASPCA explains that its 2025 national figures are based on SAC data and may vary from state to state. SAC’s annual report uses animal-level data and an estimation model. National totals help describe broad trends, but they cannot show every local shelter’s experience or establish a single capacity threshold for the country.
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For a meaningful trend comparison, use the same time period, species, and outcome definition: full year against full year, cats against cats, and adoptions against adoptions. A first-half figure should be compared with the first half of another year, not a completed annual total. Raw totals can also reflect differences in the number and mix of reporting organizations across regions and organization types.
What the totals do not establish
These national figures do not identify the cause of each surrender, establish an individual animal’s probability of adoption or euthanasia, or measure capacity in a uniform way. The ASPCA identifies veterinary-care access, pet-friendly housing, and behavioral support as relevant pressures, but the reported totals do not quantify the causal contribution of each factor.
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What the figures mean for dogs and cats
The 2025 national picture was broadly stable to improving on headline measures: intake declined slightly and adoptions edged up, yet SAC reports that 147,000 animals were added to shelter populations by year-end. The first half of 2026 showed a less favorable net pattern, with intake rising and more animals entering than leaving through the listed outcomes. Those aggregate trends conceal important differences by species, age, state, region, and organization type; they are useful context, not a complete account of any one shelter or animal.
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