Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
PAWS offers a range of support services, such as counseling, referrals, supplies, temporary housing, and more. If you need support or are considering surrendering your pet, they may be able to help. Please fill out this form for cats, or this form for dogs, and a member of PAWS’ team will respond as quickly as possible. To learn more about behavioral counseling and support, click here.

Community Pet Help Desk
Help is available for dog and cat behavior problems, housing issues, financial troubles, and many other challenges facing pet owners. Contact the Community Pet Help Desk to receive friendly, knowledgeable support aimed at helping you keep your pet as part of your family. Email helpdesk@phillynokill.org or call 484-466-2913.

ACCT Philly Help Desk
If you are a Philadelphia resident and need help with your pet, or are looking to surrender a pet, please fill out our Request For Assistance form here. A staff member will contact you to discuss your options, resources, and next steps. Please make sure to look at the pages on this site regarding various support available to pet owners, such as pet food, low cost vet care and information on rehoming your pet and avoiding bringing them to a shelter. ACCT Philly is an open intake animal shelter meaning we do accept strays and surrendered animals from within Philadelphia, however should be a last resort, as it is at capacity daily. Utilizing support and alternative resources helps ACCT Philly use its limited resources for the animals most in need.

Pets for Life Philadelphia
If you live in 19124, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19140, you have access to support from Pets for Life Philadelphia! Pets for Life helps with providing free spay/neuter for your pet with vaccines, wellness care, and supplies when available as well as helping with information and resources.
You can reach them by calling 1-877-993-2111 or texting 240-620-2208

• Emergency housing for those displaced by emergencies or disasters (housefires etc): Airbnb.org works with partner organizations to provide housing to residents displaced by emergencies or disasters, you can call 211 to learn if this partnership is active and if there are pet friendly Airbnb’s available.
• Housing for unhoused individuals or individuals escaping domestic violence situations: Safe Havens for Pets provides resources by zip code that help pet owners in these situations. You can search their resource library here.
• Praline’s Backyard Foundation also provides temporary housing for pets of victims of domestic violence
• PAWS’ Safety Net Foster Program provides temporary housing for pets whose owners are going through times of transition. For pet owners who only need a few weeks or months to get resettled or tend to difficult life circumstances, the safety net program helps keep pets out of the shelter and with people who love them. If you need temporary foster care for your pets, they will do their best to help.  Please fill out this form for cats, or this form for dogs, and a member of their team will respond as quickly as possible.*Note they can only assist as many pets as they have available foster homes for. 
• Operation Foster is a service of PACT, and supports military personnel facing deployment and pet owners undergoing medical treatment by placing their pets into safe, loving foster homes until they can be reunited. *Note they can only assist as many pets as they have available foster homes for. 
• Thanks to the P.E.T.S Fund (Philadelphians Empowered Through Support), ACCT Philly can facilitate short term boarding at partner facilities as resources and availability allows, however can only provide this on a short term basis (1-4 weeks) for pet owners who have a set date they can take the pet back. Please fill out a request for assistance here.

If you’re having trouble affording pet food, there are free pet pantries across Philadelphia.

These programs exist to help pets stay with their families going through a hard time. While they’re not intended to be long term, they are a great way to get help with feeding your pet!

Some pet pantries do offer specialized food so if you have a picky eater, you can always ask if it’s possible to get a certain kind of food and depending on available donations, they might be able to provide them.

Note: many pet food pantries do require you fill out an application or form to receive assistance. In order for them to continue to get donated food, they need to be able to show how many people they are able to help with the pantry.

ACCT Philly
You can fill out an application and get up to several months of assistance. Once you have an appointment you can come and pick up the food or have someone pick up on your behalf. ACCT Philly’s pet pantry require applicants to be:

• A resident of Philadelphia, with valid ID or proof of address
• Able to provide proof of spay/neuter for all pets at your residence
• Able to show verification of income (pay stub, benefit verification letter, etc.)

If you are interested in applying for Pet Pantry assistance, please fill out our Pet Pantry Request form here. We will be in touch with you shortly!

The majority of our supplies are donated by the public, and we have limited inventory. Supplies are provided on a first-scheduled, first-served basis and availability is not guaranteed. Recipients may only schedule one appointment per month to pick up supplies. We ask that participants request only the food they need, so that we may make these donations available to as many families as possible.

Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
PAWS operates a pet food pantry program, you can fill out an application for assistance here and if approved, you’ll get an appointment to come and pick up food.

Many pet pantries do have rules that you cannot add more pets to your family while getting pet pantry support, and may also require your pet be spayed or neutered. This is usually because the pantries rely on donations, and the goal is to provide you a helping hand until you can get back up on your feet. Adding another pet to the family while you’re in this position can make this take longer, especially if it’s a litter of puppies or kittens! But, if your pets aren’t spayed or neutered most pet pantries with this requirement will help you get your pet fixed. And, if you’re looking to add another pet or maybe your pet prefers to have company, you may want to look at fostering instead! It’s a great way to help a pet while not committing to a permanent addition to the family. 

Help for dogs living outside
Underdogs of Philly is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life for dogs living outdoors across Philadelphia. They provide veterinary care, shelter solutions, food support, and—when necessary—rehoming assistance. Through direct support and education, they empower owners with the tools and resources to improve living conditions and provide lasting care, building stronger, more compassionate communities for people and pets alike. Visit Underdogs of Philly here.

The Cat Collaborative 

The Cat Collaborative is a Philadelphia-based trap-neuter-return (TNR) organization devoted to helping homeless cats in the city. They also provide free spay/neuter for owned cats as resources allow, and work with rescue partners to find placement for cats. Visit the Cat Collaborative here.

Need help for your cat’s behavioral challenges? 
The National Cat Behavior Helpline provides no-cost, phone-based cat behavior assistance to help keep cats in homes & out of shelters! It’s even available for cat foster parents for any shelter or rescue! E-mail felinehelpline@gmail.com with your name, phone number, role (owner/foster), and a short summary of the issue; experts call you back within 48 hours.