05/07/2025
All cats are protected under the law in Minnesota. It can be a felony to cause substantial or great bodily harm to any cat in the state of Minnesota - whether they have a home or not.
We've been getting more reports about people advising others to shoot or live trap and dispose of cats who wander onto their property. Cats are not considered a pest or nuisance animal, they are protected under Minnesota law. Do not advise harm and do not cause harm.
If a cat wanders onto your property you can safely and humanely live trap the cat.  If you know who the cat belongs to reach out to them immediately to try and make arrangements to return the cat to them. If you do not know who the cat belongs to you can contact local law-enforcement, contracted animal control, rescues, or shelters. Different cities have different ordinances and not all cities are equipped with animal control or law-enforcement that are able to pick up cats. It may be best to reach out to a local rescue or Humane Society and make arrangements to either drop off, or in some cases, cats can be picked up. If you know who the cat belongs to, please share that information with authorities. Please attempt to make arrangements as soon as possible to get the cat/s back into the custodians or a professionals hands because the cat/s should not be deprived of care as required by law. For a list of participating cat rescues in the state of Minnesota. Please check out our resources page on our website.
If you are witnessing a cat being harmed, call 911 immediately, try to safely and lawfully take photos or video, make sure there's a report, and then follow up with us at https://www.mnfedhs.org/how-to-report-animal-cruelty.html
