Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center Start an adoption application

The Municipality of Anchorage's open-admission animal shelter on Elmore Road, and the largest municipal shelter in Alaska. It houses cats, dogs and a rotating mix of small animals, birds and reptiles, and every adopted cat goes home already sterilized or with sterilization included in the fee.

Adoption fee From $62
Hours Mon-Fri 12pm-7pm, Sat-Sun 11am-5pm. Showings run from opening until one hour before closing.
Areas served Municipality of Anchorage
Adopting

Fees, requirements & process

From $62

Cats already spayed or neutered $62; cats sterilized by the shelter $152; kittens under 6 months $195

Requirements

Cats are spayed or neutered as part of the adoption. The fee differs depending on whether the shelter performs the surgery or the cat arrived already sterilized.

How it works

Fill out an adoption application at Customer Service or online, select a pet from the in-shelter board or the 24PetConnect listings, meet the animal in a one-on-one showing, then finalize at Customer Service.

Location

Find Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center

The area

Anchorage Municipality at a glance

Population 288,976
Housing units 120,348
Est. households with a cat 34,860

Estimated by applying the AVMA's 2024 national cat-ownership rate (32.1% of households) to the county's real household count from the Census Bureau — a national rate applied locally, not a local survey. Population and housing figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to adopt a cat?

It depends on whether the cat is already sterilized. An already spayed or neutered cat is $62, a cat the shelter sterilizes before adoption is $152, and kittens under 6 months are $195.

What are your hours?

Monday-Friday 12pm-7pm and Saturday-Sunday 11am-5pm. Showings run from opening until one hour before closing, so arrive with time to spare.

What if the cat does not work out at home?

There is a 30 day return policy with a full refund of deposits. After 30 days a returned pet goes onto the owner surrender waitlist.

Get involved

Support Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center

Surrendering a cat

Owner surrenders are handled through a waitlist. Adopters also get a 30 day return window with a full refund of deposits.

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