Surrendering Your Cat
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to a high volume of surrender requests and limited shelter capacity, we are currently experiencing a delay in accepting new surrenders. At this time, we anticipate a wait of approximately 4–6 weeks for new surrender requests. All requests are carefully reviewed, and we maintain a waitlist as space becomes available.
All surrender requests, including those for kittens and mothers, are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please allow up to 72 hours for phone responses and up to 48 hours for online replies.
To help us manage requests as efficiently as possible, we strongly encourage submitting your surrender request through our online form. Requests received by phone may experience an additional delay.
We always accept cats previously adopted from HART.
If your surrender request involves an emergency or urgent situation, please indicate this at the top of the surrender form.
Surrender Information
HART understands that surrendering a cat can be a difficult decision. Because our shelter has limited space and resources, we are not able to accommodate every surrender request. We encourage you to also contact your local registered animal shelter for assistance and available options. A list of Maine shelters can be found here.
Returning a Cat Adopted from HART
Once a HART cat, always a HART cat. If you can no longer care for a cat or kitten adopted from HART, our adoption contract requires that the cat be returned to us.
Please email intake@hartofme.org or call 207-829-4116 and leave a voicemail to arrange their return to the shelter.
Additional Information
Stray or feral cats: Please contact your local Animal Control Officer. They can typically be reached through your town's non-emergency police number. A list of Animal Control Officers is also available through the State of Maine here.
Other surrenders: HART is an open-concept shelter where cats live together in communal rooms, and all HART cats are adopted as indoor-only pets. Cats who live exclusively outdoors or who are unable to comfortably live around other cats may be better suited to a different shelter environment.
A surrender form must be completed before a cat can be considered for intake. A surrender fee is assessed when a cat enters the shelter.
Rehoming Your Cat
If you would like to find a new home for your cat without bringing them into a shelter, there are reputable rehoming services that allow you to be involved in finding the right home:
Rehome by Adopt a Pet: rehome.adoptapet.com
Home To Home: home-home.org/rehome
For your cat's safety, HART does not recommend advertising pets as "free" on Facebook, social media, or other unscreened platforms.
Questions?
If you have questions about surrendering a cat, please contact our Intake Team at intake@hartofme.org. Email inquiries are generally answered within 48–72 hours. Messages left at our main number, 207-829-4116, may take additional time to receive a response.