Adopt a cat in Madrid

We have 14 shelters and rescues located in Madrid, with where they are, how to phone and their website. Below them, the associations that work only with cats and the search sites where you can see the cats available right now.

Shelters and rescues in Madrid

Phone before you go: many only open by appointment and do not always have cats (in spring and summer, with the litters, they usually have many more). Those marked “Cats only” work exclusively with cats.

Centro de Recogida de Animales Los Cantiles

Calle de la Fundición 1, 28522, Rivas Vaciamadrid

No contact details published. It is on the map, but to get in touch you will have to look it up by name.

See where it is ↗ Suggest a correction ↗

Cipar – Centro Integral de Protección Animal de Rivas Vaciamadrid Mary Tealby

No contact details published. It is on the map, but to get in touch you will have to look it up by name.

See where it is ↗ Suggest a correction ↗

Locations come from OpenStreetMap, © its contributors, under the ODbL licence · downloaded on 23 September 2026. We have removed the pounds and shelters that only take in dogs, and the linked websites lead, where there is one, to their cat section. Phone numbers and websites that OSM does not have are taken from each organisation’s own website or from its town council’s, so if anything has changed, go by what their website says. Is one missing or is something wrong? “Suggest a correction” fixes it on the map, and it will show up here in the next update.

Cat associations in Madrid

They work only with cats, almost always through foster homes: their cats are socialised in a home, and they can tell you what each one is really like.

Protección FelinaCats for adoption in the Madrid region and colony care with the TNR method. MadridTNR Madrid FelinaA Madrid cat association with cats for adoption, volunteering and articles on living with cats. MadridCats only Gestión Felina MadridSupports colony carers in Madrid and rehomes the cats that cannot go back to the street. MadridColonies AGAR · Amigos de los Gatos del RetiroLooks after the cats of Retiro Park and has cats for adoption and foster homes. MadridColonies La GatotecaSpecialises in the cats that are hardest to rehome: adults, seniors, and cats with a disability or a chronic illness. MadridAdults and seniors Nuevavida AdopcionesA Madrid cat rescue with adoption and sponsorship profiles. MadridCats only GATAA Madrid association focused on cats, although it also rehomes the odd dog and rabbit. MadridCats and other pets Gatos Sin Hogar VillalbaAn association in the Madrid sierra with cats for adoption. Collado VillalbaCats only Velilla GatunaCats for adoption, fostering, sponsorship and guides to help a cat settle in at home. Velilla de San AntonioColonies

Checked rescues in Madrid

Cat and dog rescues whose cat section we have checked and found to work.

ANAA · Amigos de los AnimalesOne of the longest-standing rescues in Madrid, with an adoption centre and plenty of cats. Fundación Animal RescueAn animal protection centre with cats and dogs for adoption. AXLA · Amig@s x los AnimalesA Madrid association with detailed profiles of each cat, many of them rescued from colonies. RivanimalA rescue in Rivas-Vaciamadrid with cats for adoption and a TNR colony programme.

Search sites: start here

They bring together the listings of hundreds of rescues. Each link takes you straight to the cat section, where you can filter by province, age and sex. The sites are in Spanish, but your browser’s translate option copes well with the listings.

MiwukiThe longest-running adoption search site in Spain, with cats listed by province and town. Bambú DifundeCats for adoption from rescues all over the country, with a page for each province. Save One AnimalA national platform that brings together the listings of over a thousand organisations, with a filter for cats. Dejan HuellaDetailed profiles of cats and dogs, with a section for each region. Kiwoko AdoptaSearch across nearly five hundred partner rescues, many of them cat-only associations. MundimascotaAdoption listings for cats and kittens, by province. WallamascotasA noticeboard of cats for adoption from private owners and associations.

Cat colonies: your town council’s programme

Since Law 7/2023, cats that live on the street are “community cats”, and managing them is the town council’s job: a census, neutering (the TNR method: trap, neuter and return, known in Spain as CER) and authorised carers. If you have spotted a colony, want to look after one, or have found a kitten that cannot go back to the street, start here.

Madrid · Cat colony management programme 2026-2027Madrid. The Madrid Salud city programme, as a PDF: the TNR method, the colony census and the carer card. ANAA · Cat colony managementMadrid. How one of the longest-standing rescues in Madrid works with colonies.

Before you adopt: what the law requires in Madrid

Spain’s animal welfare law, Law 7/2023, sets the common minimum for the whole country; each region also has its own law and register, and each town council its own bylaws.

The national law requires every cat to be identified with a microchip and neutered before six months of age, except those registered as breeding animals with a registered breeder (art. 26). It bans the sale of cats in pet shops: only registered breeders may sell them (art. 27), and it does not allow a pet to be left unsupervised for more than three days in a row. Public centres must hand animals over for adoption identified, with a contract, and neutered or with a commitment to have it done (art. 23). In Madrid, Law 4/2016 on the protection of companion animals, amended by Law 7/2024, also applies, and the microchip is recorded in the Companion Animal Identification Register (RIAC), run by the College of Veterinarians. Its law, brought into line with the national one in 2024, requires cats to be microchipped. Neutering before six months. The same as the national law (art. 6). Not on the terrace or balcony. It forbids keeping cats on terraces or balconies on a regular basis (art. 7). Cat colonies. It regulates colony management with the TNR method (trap, neuter and release). If the cat you adopt comes from a rescue, they or your vet will usually take care of transferring the microchip registration into your name. What each Spanish region requires (Spanish) →

Other sources

Third-party directories, in case you want to compare (in Spanish). These do take you away from Michipedia.

FAADA · Madrid ↗ Protectoras.es · Madrid ↗
Every link in this guide was checked one by one on 17 October 2026, and the rescues were also checked to confirm that they really have cats for adoption. They are external websites with no connection to this project: rescues change websites and close down, so if you find a broken link, let us know. Always check that the organisation is registered, and be wary of anyone who hands over a kitten without a contract, without a microchip or “without papers” in exchange for money.

Other regions

AndalusiaAragonAsturiasThe Balearic IslandsThe Canary IslandsCantabriaCastilla-La ManchaCastile and LeónCataloniaThe Valencian CommunityExtremaduraGaliciaThe Region of MurciaNavarreThe Basque CountryLa RiojaCeutaMelilla