Three things tend to catch people out when they set about adopting an animal in Barcelona, and none of them is the paperwork. You cannot adopt without an appointment. The municipal shelter is up a mountain road at kilometre 3,8, with no metro and no train. And of the 162 dogs waiting there, 80 belong to two breeds that carry a licence, insurance and a muzzle for the rest of the animal’s life. There were 250 animals in total on 23 September 2026, 88 of them cats. The address is Carretera de l’Arrabassada km 3,8, the appointment goes to adopcionscaacb@bcn.cat, the nearest bus stop is 191 metres away on the A6 from Lesseps, and the doors shut at 18:00 on weekdays. Knowing which of those three applies to you decides whether this is a morning out or a false start.
What do you need to adopt a dog or cat in Barcelona? An appointment, requested at adopcionscaacb@bcn.cat. From the shelter’s search tool you can also reserve one of the 250 animals online, but that reservation commits you to nothing and only holds until the following weekend. Animals leave vaccinated, dewormed, neutered and microchipped.
What you need to sort before you go
The order matters more than people expect, and doing it backwards wastes a trip up the hill.
- Browse the search tool first. It carries every animal currently available and lets you filter by species, sex and breed.
- Reserve the one you want to meet. The shelter states plainly that the reservation does not commit you and that it lapses after the following weekend, so there is no penalty for changing your mind, but also no point reserving weeks ahead.
- Request your appointment by email at adopcionscaacb@bcn.cat. Without it you can look around, but you cannot complete an adoption.
- Check the date against the opening hours. They change on 1 October and again on 1 June, and the winter timetable runs an extra thirty minutes into the afternoon.
- Work out how you are getting there and back within those hours, because the centre closes in mid-afternoon and the last stretch is a mountain road.
Getting there without a car
The shelter is on the Carretera de l’Arrabassada at kilometre 3,8, inside the Collserola hills. There is no metro and no commuter rail.
The nearest bus stop is 191 metres away and is called, fittingly, La Gossera, which means the dog kennel. It is served by the A6, running between Lesseps and Sant Cugat del Vallès, so from Lesseps metro station on line 3 it is a single change. The Benzinera stop, also on the A6, is 487 metres away, and Olvan, on TMB’s 112 between Horta and Sant Genís, is 516 metres.
One thing worth knowing before you plan the trip: the natural environment of Collserola park has been closed since 12 March 2026 because of African swine fever, but what remains open is anything with tarmac and a door, and the shelter is in that category. Which ticket makes sense for the journey is covered in the public transport guide.
Opening hours change twice a year, and the winter timetable gives you an extra half hour in the afternoon.
| Period | Monday to Friday | Weekends and public holidays |
|---|---|---|
| 1 June to 30 September | 11:00-13:30 and 15:00-17:30 | 10:30-14:00 |
| 1 October to 31 May | 11:00-14:00 and 15:00-18:00 | 10:30-14:30 |
| 24 and 31 December, 5 January | 10:30-14:30 | 10:30-14:30 |
| 25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January | closed | closed |
What is actually waiting there
The gap between what people picture and what is there is the useful part of this.
Of the 88 cats, 87 are European shorthair, the common domestic cat, and one is a longhair. There is no breed to choose and no need for one: you are choosing temperament and age.
The dogs are a different picture. Mixed breeds, Staffordshires and Pit Bulls account for almost the whole population, and everything else comes in ones and twos: eight Belgian Malinois, four German Shepherds, three Rottweilers, three American Bullies, three Belgian Groenendaels and two Andalusian Ratters. The breed figures do not add up to the total, because a mixed dog can be listed under two breeds and the breed counts come to 264 against 250 real records.
It is worth reading the lines the staff write on each card, because they say more than the breed does. «Walks of 10», «I’m a country dog», «The most affectionate dog in the world» and, the most informative of the lot, «Are you coming to earn my trust?». That last one is an honest warning that the animal needs time, and the shelter says so rather than hiding it.
If the dog you like falls under the special regime
This is the likeliest outcome, and it is worth settling in your head before you meet the animal rather than after. A dog in the special regime means a municipal licence, civil liability insurance of no less than 150.253 euros, a lead and muzzle at all times in public, and no handler under 18. Any change to the licence details has to be reported within 15 days, and the microchip and health document come before you register the dog in the municipal census, not after.
The category is not decided by breed alone. The regulation also defines it by chest circumference, height at the withers and weight, so a large mixed-breed dog can fall into it too.
The honest question is whether you can live with it: a muzzle every day, an annual policy and the occasional sideways look in the street. If the answer is yes, those 80 dogs are the ones who have been waiting longest. If it is no, better to know now and look at the small mixed breeds or at the cats.
The cat route, which does not involve a mountain
There is an alternative inside the city that many residents never hear about. Espai de Gats, at Carrer de Terol 29-33 in la Vila de Gràcia, is Barcelona’s first cat café and also a registered adoption centre, with Joanic on line 4 and Fontana on line 3 a few minutes away.
The practical difference is large. Instead of climbing to Collserola during morning and midday hours, you go in the evening. It opens 17:00 to 21:00 every day, adds a 10:30 to 13:30 morning slot from Friday to Sunday, and at weekends the afternoon session starts at 16:00.
The catch is that booking ahead is compulsory, stated twice on their site in both languages, for the cats’ sake. It is not a place to wander into.
Fostering, if the timing is wrong
A dog or a cat can live 20 years, and the shelter puts that fact ahead of everything else. If this is not the moment, fostering is a separate role rather than a trial run at adoption.
Foster homes take the animals that cannot be at the centre: unweaned puppies and kittens, seniors, sick animals, or the pets of someone in hospital. Periods run from 8 weeks to 3 months, some longer. The shelter provides 24-hour veterinary cover and a permanent clinical emergency service, and trains and supports the families. The contact is coordinaciovoluntariat.caacb@bcn.cat.
There is also volunteering: more than 150 people walk the dogs and keep the cats company alongside 20 staff. The centre houses an average of 2.500 animals a year, and around 1.200 are found on the street annually. Either route is a way to find out whether this suits you before signing anything.
The day you take one home
The animal leaves vaccinated, dewormed, neutered and microchipped, having completed the minimum legal holding period that guarantees nobody will claim it back. After the adoption there is a safety period to confirm the animal has settled. The cost is not published, so you ask when you book.
Then the other half begins. Barcelona has more than 180.000 dogs, 116 dog areas and over 200 dog spaces in total, of which more than a hundred are time-slot spaces covering 921.953 m². Outside those, dogs stay on the lead. Where to take one is covered in Barcelona with dogs, the best parks and the dog beaches, where the rules change with the bathing season.
Before adopting it is worth checking where the dog will run: twelve spaces citywide are open between 4 and 7 pm, and a loose dog outside them costs 100 euros, as covered in dogs off the lead.
Frequently asked questions about adopting an animal in Barcelona
Can you just turn up at the Barcelona animal shelter and adopt?
No. Adopting requires an appointment, which you request by writing to adopcionscaacb@bcn.cat. You can visit the centre without one, but you cannot complete an adoption. Separately, the online search tool lets you reserve an animal, and that reservation only holds until the following weekend.
How do you get to the Barcelona animal shelter without a car?
It sits at kilometre 3,8 of the Arrabassada road, inside Collserola, with no metro or train. The nearest bus stop is 191 metres away and is called La Gossera, served by the A6 between Lesseps and Sant Cugat del Vallès. The 112 stops 516 metres away.
What kind of dogs are actually available in Barcelona?
Mostly mixed breeds and two specific ones. On 23 September 2026 the search tool returned 64 mixed-breed records, 44 American Staffordshire Terriers and 36 Pit Bull Terriers, out of 162 dogs. Pedigree dogs are one-offs: one golden retriever, one labrador, one beagle.
What does the dangerous dog licence involve in Barcelona?
Civil liability insurance of at least 150.253 euros, a registered microchip and health document before you enter the municipal census, a lead and a muzzle at all times in public, and no handler under 18. Any change to the licence details must be reported within 15 days.