Montreal animal shelters see surge in abandoned pets as moving season drives up intakes

Animal shelters across Montreal are feeling the impact of moving season, and warning that the busiest weeks are coming.

Animal shelters across the island are feeling the impact of moving season, with organizations reporting a sharp increase in the number of animals arriving at their doors and warning that the busiest weeks of the summer are still ahead.

At Proanima’s shelter in Montreal, executive director Anny Kirouac said the surge of animals being taken in since July 1 is leaving them scrambling to keep pace.

“It’s at least twice the number of animals that we take in during the winter,” she said.

The shelter was caring for nearly 200 animals on Friday, bringing it closer to its capacity of 250. Kirouac said reaching that limit would create serious challenges for the organization.

She compared the shelter’s operations to those of a hospital, where the most urgent cases are treated first.

“That might mean that someone with a broken arm, who is not at risk of dying, might have to wait a little bit longer,” she said. “But if we have to deal with for example a whole bunch of heart attacks, we want to make sure we have that capacity to look after these people and give them proper care.”

To help create space, Proanima waived adoption fees between June 20 and July 19.

The impact was immediate: the shelter set a record on Saturday, with 35 cats adopted in a single day.

Danielle Andrianarivony is among the prospective adopters who came to the facility on Sunday. She came hoping to adopt a sibling for her eight-month-old cat.

She said choosing a rescue animal was important to her because so many cats are still waiting for homes.

“There’s so many cats that need a home and I didn’t want to buy one from a breeder,” she said. “I believe it’s really important to care for these rescue cats— I want a rescue one.”

Despite the increase in adoptions this weekend, Kirouac said challenges are ongoing. As animals leave the shelter, new ones continue to arrive.

The trend is also being felt at the Montreal SPCA. The organization welcomed an average of about 20 animals a day during the first four months of 2026. Over the past two weeks, that figure climbed to more than 30 animals a day, and the shelter expects it could reach 40 daily admissions later this summer.

The organization has said moving season is only part of the story. Summer also brings an increase in orphaned kittens, injured animals, neglected pets and other emergency situations that require immediate attention.

While moving remains one of the main reasons people surrender their animals, Kirouac said she prefers to focus on another side of the equation: the people who are now in a position to adopt.

“Sometimes it’s a great opportunity and a better situation for someone to adopt,” she added.

Animal advocates say adoptions are only one way the public can help.

Marie-Claude Larivière has been caring for foster animals for eight years. She began fostering with Proanima this weekend.

“We make a difference, we help,” she said. “Because shelters could not take care of all the newborn animals or the sick ones on their own.”

For Larivière, fostering is a way to ease some of that burden.

“To me, a shelter is a community effort,” she said. “They can’t do it alone, so I come and do my part.”

With intakes continuing to climb across the city, shelters say that support — whether through donating, adopting, fostering or volunteering — will remain critical in the weeks and months ahead.