Rachel Eason recently saw an urgent request on Facebook that stopped her from scrolling.

As she looked at the post, which included photos of cats, she learned that St. Paul Animal Services was so overcrowded that the animals would be euthanized if they weren’t rescued.

“I saw their little faces, and I could not stomach the thought of these poor pets being put down in 24 hours,” she said. “It just broke my heart.”

Eason told Twin Cities Pet Rescue in Maplewood, which had posted about the situation at St. Paul Animal Services, “Sign me up for two.”

“By the grace of humanity, there was just an amazing outpouring of foster support, so I ended up with one,” said Eason who is now fostering one of the kittens from the group, a little orange domestic short-hair named Hash Slinging Slasher, until he is adopted.

Hash Slinging Slasher, a cat that was rescued from St. Paul Animal Control when they were overcrowded, is now being fostered. (Courtesy of Rachel Eason)

With local pet rescues quickly stepping in, and arranging for foster homes or housing the pets that were at risk, five dogs and 13 cats were taken in, said Casey Rodriguez, spokesman for St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, which includes St. Paul Animal Services. They helped “resolve this crisis in under four hours,” he added.

There was a rush to help in this case, though employees and volunteers at rescue organizations say their work never ends and they’re always looking for people willing to foster and adopt rescued pets, along with anyone who can volunteer or help with donations.

‘Euthanasia list due to severe overcrowding’

Twin Cities Pet Rescue wrote the post on May 12: “URGENT: St. Paul Animal Control has posted a euthanasia list due to severe overcrowding. This is something we rarely see from this shelter, and it speaks volumes about how overwhelmed animal control and rescues are right now across the Twin Cities. These dogs and cats need somewhere safe to go — and fostering truly saves lives.”

St. Paul Animal Services reached out to their community partners that morning to help reduce the number of animals in their shelter.

“Springtime means many wild and domestic animals are having babies, and we often see a seasonal increase in our shelter population,” Rodriguez said. “When the shelter is past capacity, it’s difficult to keep up with the individual needs of every animal, which is stressful for the animals and staff who care for them.”

Because it’s rare to see city-run animal control facilities in the Twin Cities euthanize due to space, it was “startling” to hear about the pets at risk earlier this month, said Katie Rodrique, Twin Cities Pet Rescue executive director.

Rodriguez of St. Paul Animal Services said they’ve had close calls, but haven’t had to euthanize due to space in more than 10 years.

“We work hard to only euthanize animals that are suffering to the point that veterinary care is not possible, or to protect public safety due to observed or historically documented aggression,” he said. “Like all animal shelters, space and staff capacity are factors that can sometimes lead to space-based decisions. Those situations are rare, and in that case each animal is evaluated in terms of adoptability based on factors such as health, temperament and time in shelter.”

Katie Rodrique, executive director of Twin Cities Pet Rescue, holds two newly-arrived kittens, Aye Aye, front, and Lemur in the nonprofit’s Maplewood office on May 20, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

St. Paul Animal Services has received cats from hoarding situations, including 24 cats from one home recently and 30 from another in March, according to Rodrique.

“It starts out as someone seeing a cat in need and taking them in. … Then, they take in another cat,” she said of hoarding situations. “They try to independently rescue without having the resources to actually fully vet the animal, which then turns into an overwhelming situation, and they are embarrassed to ask for help.”

Always a need

Azure Davis, founder and CEO of Ruff Start Rescue, said they continue to see an overwhelming need for animal rescue support across Minnesota, especially with impound partners like St. Paul Animal Services.

Throughout last year, Ruff Start Rescue, which is based in Princeton, Minn., took in 374 animals from St. Paul Animal Services. This year, they’ve already taken in 105 pets.

Meanwhile, The Rescue Crew “got an email — what we call a code red or a 911 email — and we sprung into action,” said Chris Maddox, the group’s executive director.

Over a week and a half, they took in four cats to foster care and nine cats into their rescue’s adoption center in Andover. People can come in and meet the cats in Andover, and they’ll be available for adoption after they’ve received all their required veterinary services.

In the Facebook post from Twin Cities Rescue that drew so much attention, Twin Cities Pet Rescue noted they were looking for people in a 60-mile radius to foster pets.

“A lot of people expressed interest in fostering that were outside our radius, so we’re hoping that they were able to find a rescue closer to them that they were able to help as well,” Rodrique said. “It was a much bigger response than we have ever had when we shared these lists before.”

The post brought 60-75 applications to foster, though 25 percent or less followed through or are in the process of doing so, according to Rodrique.

The pets in foster care for Twin Cities Pet Rescue will be available for adoption after they’re checked by a veterinarian who provides her services at a discount for Twin Cities Pet Rescue. Dr. Ann Marie Bork will make sure they’re vaccinated and have received age-appropriate routine care.

The rescue will post the pets on their website when they’re adoptable, though there are always animals ready to be adopted, with info at twincitiespetrescue.org.

Pet pantry open to community Twin Cities Pet Rescue has a pet food pantry along with other pet necessities in its Maplewood office. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Rescue groups are hearing from pet owners who say they can’t afford to care for their pets anymore. Twin Cities Pet Rescue holds low-cost wellness clinics quarterly and saw “a dramatic increase” in the people who brought pets to the rescue’s first clinic this year compared to the one at the beginning of 2025, Rodrique said.

Twin Cities Pet Rescue runs a pantry with dog food and other supplies that are donated. It’s open to the public, during their office hours, and there are no income limits to use it.

They’re in the process of opening a low-cost spay and neuter clinic at their Maplewood office, which Rodrique said is important for controlling the pet population and trying to avoid situations of pets needing to be rescued.

“We’ve had so many people reach out to us asking, ‘Do you guys do these surgeries?’ because even low-cost clinics have income restrictions,” Rodrique added.

The rescue is applying for grants for the clinic and fundraising. They need to have HVAC work done for the clinic, if any local companies are interested in donating some of their skills, resources or time, Rodrique said.

Ruff Start Rescue is wrapping up its 2026 Local Love campaign, ending Sunday, with a goal of rescuing 100 animals from local impounds and shelters. “Thanks to a generous donor,” every donation made during the campaign will be matched up to $10,000, Davis said.

Fosters needed for pets

Like other rescues, all animals that enter Ruff Start Rescue go directly into foster homes while they receive care before they are adopted.

“Right now, our greatest need is more fosters,” Davis said. “Even temporary fostering can make a huge impact. If someone can foster for just a weekend, a few days, or a few weeks, it helps create lifesaving space and allows us to continue pulling animals in need.”

The cat that Rachel Eason recently began fostering, who she calls Hash for short, is just over a year old. She was already fostering another cat for Twin Cities Pet Rescue, Butterfree, when Hash joined them at her Afton home.

“They have very different personalities,” though the cats have been good companions, Eason said. “Butterfree is just a baby, she’s like a rambunctious child and wants to play and get into everything. Hash is a little shyer but loves to play and cuddle. He’s definitely a people person.”

Eason said she finds fostering cats to be “such a joy to be able to save a life.” She provides food and litter for the cats she’s fostering and regards it as an in-kind donation to Twin Cities Pet Rescue, but she and Rodrique say finances should not be a concern to anyone who wants to foster. Rescue groups will provide food and other basic needs for pets.