Pierce Co. shelter suspends cat adoptions, starts quarantine after virus scare
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Shelter halted cat adoptions and intake for at least three days after virus scare.
- Staff quarantined cats, observed and re-tested after initial positive FPV results.
- Shelter continued dog services while treating cats and monitoring for FPV spread.
A Pierce County animal shelter has suspended cat adoptions for three days after some stray cats tested positive for a virus.
Metro Animal Services – a shelter at 1200 39th Ave. SE in Puyallup – said in a Facebook post on March 9 that staff have implemented a “temporary quarantine” on the shelter’s cats.
“Over the weekend, three stray cats in our shelter began to exhibit symptoms consistent with a virus that can be highly contagious amongst cats and kittens,” the post said. “Out of an abundance of caution, our staff immediately implemented a temporary quarantine for a minimum of 3 days; this will allow time for our staff to conduct additional observation and testing of the cats in our care, while also providing care for the three symptomatic cats.”
The shelter serves Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Algona, Edgewood, Milton and Pacific. The City of Sumner operates the shelter under a partnership with the City of Puyallup.
Carmen Palmer, spokesperson for the City of Sumner, told The News Tribune in an email Tuesday that the virus is feline panleukopenia. Palmer said there are 34 cats at the shelter right now.
“Animals in the facility get routine tests, like taking your temperature. If a test comes back positive, then we decide if the outcome of that test means we should quarantine pets as a precaution. We never test for quarantine,” Palmer wrote. “We repeat the tests over a number of days. In this case, the following tests on these three cats have come back negative, which seems to indicate we likely received a false positive, which happens too.”
Palmer said the three stray cats in the shelter are showing signs of recovery.
“We have decided to be cautious and continue to closely observe and re-test daily, while treating any residual symptoms appropriately,” Palmer wrote. “The cats that tested positive were bright and alert today, which is certainly a good sign.”
Until the quarantine lifts later this week, the shelter won’t take in stray or owner surrendered cats, the Facebook post said, or adopt out any cats. Dogs and puppies are not impacted, the post said, because the virus only impacts cats — meaning the shelter can still accept stray dogs and adopt them out.
The News Tribune asked Palmer what residents in East Pierce County can do while cat services are suspended.
“[Owners] need to wait until we can accept again. We know that’s not ideal, and we appreciate people’s patience,” Palmer wrote. “... Our shelter is operating at and beyond capacity, which means that unfortunately, we cannot help people outside our service area, even after our normal services resume. We continue to get quite a few calls from frustrated people in Lakewood, Tacoma and unincorporated Pierce County who want us to serve them too, especially for intakes and strays.”
Kittens, unvaccinated cats and immunocompromised cats are the ones most at risk when catching FPV, according to a post from Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The virus spreads through “fecal-oral transmission,” meaning cats can often get infected by being near infected cats, touching contaminated bedding, food bowls or litter boxes, or “contact with infected feces or vomit,” the post said.
Common symptoms, according to WSU, are lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weakness, collapse or “sudden death in severe cases.”
“While rare in fully vaccinated pet cats, FPV remains a serious concern in shelters and multi-cat environments, where many cats are unvaccinated or recently rescued,” the WSU post said. “FPV targets rapidly dividing cells in the intestines, bone marrow, and immune system, which can lead to severe illness or death, particularly in kittens under 5 months old.”
For more information about the quarantine, visit metroanimalservices.org.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information about the number of cats at the shelter, testing practices and what the suspension means for pet owners.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM.
