News · Saginaw
Saginaw County’s animal shelter pauses cat intakes and closes its cat adoption areas after two kittens test positive for feline parvovirus
SAGINAW, Mich. — Saginaw County Animal Care and Control has stopped taking in cats and closed its cat adoption areas to the public after two kittens tested positive for feline panleukopenia, a highly contagious virus also known as feline parvovirus, the shelter said Monday, according to WNEM and WSMH.
Four kittens were returned to the shelter from foster care after concerns about their lack of appetite, WNEM reported. Two of them had elevated temperatures and later tested positive.
What is paused. Cat intakes are suspended through Nov. 1, WSMH reported. The two stations described adoptions differently: WNEM said cat adoptions are suspended, while WSMH said adoptions are limited while the adoption areas are closed and the shelter’s veterinary team keeps monitoring. Anyone hoping to adopt or surrender a cat should call the shelter first at 989-797-4500.
Dog intakes and adoptions are continuing as normal, WNEM reported.
No other positive cases. No other cats housed at the shelter have tested positive, the shelter said, according to both stations. Staff are assessing possible exposures and taking added precautions to keep the virus from spreading.
About the virus. Panleukopenia is most dangerous to young kittens and to cats that are not fully vaccinated, WSMH reported, and WNEM noted that it can be deadly.
The shelter is at 5615 Bay Road in Saginaw. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and it is closed to the public Wednesday and Sunday, according to the county.
Sources:
WNEM, “Saginaw County shelter pauses cat adoptions after parvovirus cases,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.wnem.com/2026/10/19/saginaw-county-shelter-pauses-cat-adoptions-after-parvovirus-cases/
WSMH (Mid-Michigan NOW), “Cat Adoptions & Intakes on pause at Saginaw County Animal Care & Control,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/cat-adoptions-intakes-on-pause-at-saginaw-county-animal-care-control
Saginaw County, Animal Care & Control, https://www.saginawcountymi.gov/departments/animal-care-control/
Photo: Lisafern, “Shleter kitten 6.jpg,” Aug. 23, 2012, Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shleter_kitten_6.jpg
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