Stray cats are counted in several different ways: as free-roaming animals, shelter intakes, reported disease risks, or cats reached by trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs. These measures describe different parts of the picture. In the United States, the New Jersey Department of Health has cited an estimate of about 70 million free-roaming cats, while shelter and municipal records show how many animals enter organized care in particular places and years.
Contents
- Free-roaming cat population estimates
- Shelter intake and national outcomes
- New York City stray-cat intake
- Fort Worth capture, adoption, and TNR data
- Rabies and cat-scratch disease statistics
- What TNR population data show
Free-roaming cat population estimates
The New Jersey Department of Health has estimated that free-roaming cats in the United States may be equal in number to owned cats: about 70 million animals. This is an estimate of the national free-roaming population, not a count of cats entering shelters or a census of every stray animal. It also describes the United States as a whole, so it should not be applied directly to a particular city or neighborhood.
That scale helps explain why local shelter statistics represent only one part of the stray-cat population. A city’s intake records measure animals brought into its system, while free-roaming estimates include cats that may never be captured, reported, or admitted to a shelter.
NOAA Fisheries reports that a free-roaming colony managed through TNR must have 70% to 90% of its cats sterilized before the population can begin declining. NOAA also specifies that no new cats can join the colony for that decline to occur. The percentage is therefore a program threshold tied to sterilization coverage and colony stability, not a national estimate of how many cats are sterilized.
Shelter intake and national outcomes
The ASPCA reported that 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues in 2024. The same 2024 shelter statistics reported 4.2 million shelter animals adopted and about 607,000 animals euthanized. These totals combine dogs and cats, so they are useful for understanding the overall shelter system but do not provide a cat-only national intake figure.
The ASPCA also reported that shelter euthanasia rates fell from 13% in 2019 to 8% in 2024. That is a change in the reported rate across those two years, not a count of stray cats specifically. Shelter and rescue totals include animals entering those organizations, while the New Jersey estimate concerns free-roaming cats across the country.
| Measure | Geography and period | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Free-roaming cats | United States estimate | About 70 million |
| Dogs and cats entering shelters and rescues | United States, 2024 | 5.8 million |
| Shelter animals adopted | United States, 2024 | 4.2 million |
| Animals euthanized in shelters | United States, 2024 | About 607,000 |
| Shelter euthanasia rate | United States, 2019 | 13% |
| Shelter euthanasia rate | United States, 2024 | 8% |
Because the categories differ, these figures should not be added together or treated as a single population count. The free-roaming estimate, shelter intake, adoptions, and euthanasia rate answer different questions about cats and animal care.
New York City stray-cat intake
The New York City Comptroller reported that stray dogs and cats represented 55.4% of total animal intake in fiscal year 2023, 60.8% in fiscal year 2024, and 58.1% in fiscal year 2025. These percentages cover stray dogs and cats together, whereas the cat-intake figures below are cat-specific.
Cat shelter intake was 9,578 in FY 2023, 8,977 in FY 2024, and 9,613 in FY 2025. The Comptroller reported that stray cats made up 56% of total cat intakes in FY 2023, 59% in FY 2024, and 56% in FY 2025.
| New York City fiscal year | Cat shelter intake | Stray cats as share of cat intake | Stray dogs and cats as share of total intake |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2023 | 9,578 | 56% | 55.4% |
| FY 2024 | 8,977 | 59% | 60.8% |
| FY 2025 | 9,613 | 56% | 58.1% |
These records show a three-year pattern in which stray cats were more than half of cat intakes in each reported fiscal year. The figures are city shelter-intake measures, not estimates of every free-roaming cat living in New York City.
Fort Worth capture, adoption, and TNR data
Fort Worth Animal Care & Control reported annual stray-animal capture of 8,391 in FY 2015, 8,943 in FY 2016, 7,323 in FY 2017, 6,867 in FY 2018, and 7,171 in FY 2019. Its fiscal-year-to-date stray-animal capture figures were 2,266 in FY 2015, 2,224 in FY 2016, 1,746 in FY 2017, 1,680 in FY 2018, 1,768 in FY 2019, and 1,579 in FY 2020. The annual and fiscal-year-to-date labels describe different measures and should not be combined.
The same Fort Worth report recorded cats as 2,451 of annual stray-animal capture in FY 2015 and 2,047 in FY 2016. It also recorded cats as 431 of December stray-animal capture in FY 2015, 368 in FY 2016, and 399 in FY 2019. The December values are month-specific, so they are not annual cat-capture totals.
Fort Worth reported annual cat adoptions of 1,281 in FY 2015, 1,227 in FY 2016, and 1,535 in FY 2017. Annual cat return-to-owner outcomes were 492 in FY 2015, 601 in FY 2016, 683 in FY 2017, 766 in FY 2018, 878 in FY 2019, and 858 in FY 2020.
| Fort Worth measure | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cat adoptions | 1,281 | 1,227 | 1,535 | — | — | — |
| Annual cat return-to-owner outcomes | 492 | 601 | 683 | 766 | 878 | 858 |
| Cats in TNR program | 207 | 379 | 109 | 152 | 191 | 303 |
The Fort Worth report recorded cats in its TNR program at 207 in FY 2015, 379 in FY 2016, 109 in FY 2017, 152 in FY 2018, 191 in FY 2019, and 303 in FY 2020. These are reported program counts for the stated fiscal years, not estimates of the total local stray-cat population.
Rabies and cat-scratch disease statistics
The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says approximately 200 to 300 cats are reported rabid in the United States each year. The CDC also identifies cats as the most frequently reported rabid domestic animal in the United States. These figures concern reported rabies cases in cats, not the number of stray cats nationwide.
CDC research in Emerging Infectious Diseases estimated about 12,000 outpatient cat-scratch disease diagnoses annually among people under 65 in the United States and about 500 inpatient hospitalizations annually among people under 65. The estimated annual incidence was 4.7 cases per 100,000 people under 65. The same analysis found outpatient incidence peaked at 5.7 per 100,000 in 2005 and declined to 4.0 per 100,000 in 2013.
Geography and age also varied in the CDC report. Cat-scratch disease incidence was 6.4 cases per 100,000 in the southern United States and 2.2 per 100,000 in the Mountain division. Within the South, the West South Central division had 6.1 cases per 100,000 and the East South Central division had 6.4. The South Atlantic division accounted for 26.3% of all reported cases, while the West South Central division accounted for 19.7%.
Children ages 5 to 9 had 9.0 outpatient diagnoses per 100,000 people and 0.4 inpatient admissions per 100,000. Children under 14 accounted for 32.5% of diagnoses. Women and girls accounted for 62.0% of outpatient diagnoses and 55.6% of inpatient diagnoses. Inpatient admissions were more common in males than outpatient diagnoses, with a reported relative risk of 1.17.
What TNR population data show
The available TNR figures illustrate why sterilization coverage and new-cat movement matter when interpreting colony trends. NOAA Fisheries’ 70% to 90% threshold applies to a colony that must also have no new cats joining before its population can begin declining. Fort Worth’s reported TNR-program counts—207 in FY 2015, 379 in FY 2016, 109 in FY 2017, 152 in FY 2018, 191 in FY 2019, and 303 in FY 2020—show program activity by year, but they do not establish that any specific colony reached NOAA’s threshold.
Taken together, the statistics show several distinct scales of stray-cat measurement. The New Jersey Department of Health estimate describes a possible national free-roaming population of about 70 million. New York City’s fiscal-year records describe thousands of cat shelter intakes and a majority share identified as stray. Fort Worth’s figures track captures, adoptions, return-to-owner outcomes, and TNR participation. CDC health statistics describe reported disease and diagnoses rather than population size, while ASPCA totals describe the broader U.S. shelter and rescue system in 2024.