If you have spent time in Spanish towns or cities, you have probably seen them. Small groups of cats living around parks, plazas, alleyways, and empty lots. Usually there is a feeding station, sometimes a small shelter, and almost always a local volunteer quietly looking after them.
The funding for local authorities is focused on managing these feral cat colonies in a humane way, as required under Spain’s Animal Welfare Law. This usually means trap-neuter-return programmes, maintaining colony records, and ensuring basic health monitoring.  Trap-neuter-return is the standard humane approach. Cats are captured, sterilised, and returned to their original colonies instead of being removed or culled. Over time, this stabilises populations, reduces disease, and allows cats to live safely in familiar environments with ongoing care.

A good example of how this looks in practice comes from Alhendín in Granada, where the municipality recently opened a “Cat Hotel.” It is a repurposed recycling container adapted to give colony cats shelter from heat, cold, and rain. It is a small project, but it shows how local authorities can adapt creatively when resources exist.

𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
The need for support is much larger than the current budget.
In the previous funding round, more than 2,000 projects were submitted by shelters and organisations, requesting around €55 million in total. That is far beyond the €4 million available now.
This gap highlights two things at once. First, how widespread animal welfare work is across Spain. Second, how much of it still depends on limited funding and volunteer effort.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁
This announcement builds on recent changes in Spain’s approach to animal welfare.
The Animal Welfare Law, passed in 2022, introduced stricter rules on pet ownership, mandatory identification and microchipping, and stronger responsibilities for local governments in managing stray animals.
The law created obligations. This funding is part of how those obligations are being implemented in practice.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱
Living here, you notice the cat colonies quietly integrated into everyday spaces. Water bowls in corners. Small feeding stations tucked out of sight. Volunteers who show up regularly, often without recognition.
Over time, it becomes clear this is not random. It is organised, even if it is informal. And now there is increasing national support behind it.
Seeing that shift is great. It means the system is moving from relying mainly on goodwill to being supported by structured public funding.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁
Spain is not the only country dealing with stray or feral animals, but it is one of the few that has formally built a national framework around humane colony management and is now funding it directly.
That choice reflects a broader direction in policy. The law sets expectations, and the funding helps make those expectations real at a local level.
𝗔 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲
We sometimes walk past small cat colonies in Valencia. There is something steady about them. Someone is always looking out for them, even if you never see that person.
Knowing that this work is now supported, even partially, by national funding changes how it feels. It signals that this care is not just private effort. It is something the country has decided to recognise.
For anyone moving to Spain with pets, or watching from abroad, this is worth paying attention to. It says something about how animals are treated here, and where things are heading.
How do you feel about this project? Let’s talk in the comments!
Sources:
Spanish News Today — Spain commits almost €4 million to dog shelters and feral cat colonies (May 18, 2026)�
Euro Weekly News — Spain animal welfare fund announcement (May 15, 2026)�
Euro Weekly News — Alhendín Cat Hotel project (March 13, 2026)