Adopting a street animal in Morocco: law 19.25, the steps and the real cost
In Morocco, most animals waiting for a family started life outside: kittens found in a stairwell, abandoned dogs, neighbourhood cats. Adopting one is the most direct way to help a street animal. You still need to know which route to take, especially since law 19.25, and what it really involves.
This guide answers those questions, with checked figures and their sources at the bottom of the page.
This article is general information, not legal or veterinary advice. For your exact situation, contact your municipality, an association or your vet.
In short
- Do not take a stray animal home on your own. Article 5 of law 19.25 forbids anyone from taking charge of a stray animal. Go through an association or your municipality's centre.
- Adopting often costs under 500 dirhams. In Casablanca, one association asks for at least 100 dirhams for a cat. On your own, a vaccine and a sterilisation cost about 1,150 dirhams.
- An adult already has a known character. The shelter usually knows whether it is sociable or fearful.
- In the first week, the vet: rabies, parasites, identification, and the right test (leishmaniasis for a dog, FIV and FeLV for a cat).
- Every month, it has to be fed: about 100 to 150 dirhams of kibble for a cat, 250 to 450 dirhams for a 10 to 20 kg dog.
- It is for a long time: a median lifespan of 12 years for a dog, 14 for a cat.
What law 19.25 says about street animals
Law 19.25, enacted by dahir no. 1.26.55 of 28 July 2026 and published in Bulletin officiel no. 7533, changes how you can help a street animal. Our full guide to law 19.25 covers every measure. Here are the ones that matter for adoption.
What is forbidden. Article 5 states that no one may take charge of a stray animal, in particular by sheltering it, feeding it or giving it care. The fine, 500 to 2,000 dirhams according to the most widely reported figures, applies to these acts in public space. The wording of the ban itself is not limited to the street.
What replaces it. The law creates care centres that capture, treat, vaccinate, sterilise and identify stray animals. Municipalities can work with legally constituted associations under an agreement. Above all, the centres can entrust an animal to a person who wishes to look after it, at no cost or for a contribution, after checking that they are able to.
What it means for you. If a street animal moves you, the safe route is no longer to take it home. It is to report it to an association or your municipality's centre and, if you want to adopt it, to go through them. Once adopted, it becomes your animal: you declare it, it wears an identification number and you keep its health record up to date. A change of owner must be declared within 24 hours.
The system is being rolled out gradually, and associations are asking for intermediate solutions for families who already helped the animals of their neighbourhood. With such a recent law, check with your municipality how far the centres near you have got.
You see a cat or dog alone in your street?
- Do not take it home. That is the ban in article 5.
- Report it to an association in your city or to your municipality. Our city guides list verified associations: Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Fes, Tangier, Agadir, Meknes and Tetouan.
- Keep your distance from an animal that looks ill or aggressive, drools a lot, staggers or snaps at nothing.
- If you are bitten or scratched, wash the wound with soap and water for 15 minutes, then go straight to a health centre. In Morocco, rabies still causes about 22 human deaths a year, and in nine cases out of ten the person was infected by a dog.
Adopting an animal from the street, step by step
1. Find a shelter or association
The big cities have shelters and associations, and the law adds the municipal centres. Start with your city's guide (links above) or our guide to adoption in Morocco.
2. Consider an adult
A puppy or kitten is appealing, but its character only shows as it grows. An adult, the shelter already knows. An Australian study of 123 dogs found that the shelter's assessment predicted well, after adoption, whether a dog was friendly, fearful or anxious. It did not reliably predict aggression or problems when the dog is left alone: ask about those directly too.
3. Ask the right questions
Where does it come from? Is it vaccinated, dewormed, sterilised, identified? How does it react to children, other dogs, cats? Has it been tested for leishmaniasis (dog) or FIV and FeLV (cat)?
4. Sign the contract and contribute to costs
Serious associations offer a contract: you commit to treating the animal well and not reselling it, and if there is a problem, it goes back to the association rather than to the street. The contribution is usually modest. In Casablanca, the association Mchichates asks for at least 100 dirhams for a cat. It also states what this care costs when you pay for it yourself: 350 dirhams for a vaccine, 800 for a sterilisation. An animal already vaccinated and sterilised at the shelter therefore saves you about 1,150 dirhams.
5. Declare it
Since law 19.25, every dog and cat must be declared and wear an identification number at all times. Ask the shelter whether it is already identified, and leave with its health record.
First care at the vet
Plan a visit in the first days, even if the shelter has already treated the animal. Our guide to adopting a dog recommends 48 to 72 hours for a dog that comes from the street.
- Rabies. The vaccine is the priority. The dog remains the main carrier of rabies in Morocco. In September 2026, ONSSA ran a rabies vaccination campaign at no cost for dogs and cats in urban areas: ask about the next ones.
- Parasites. Deworming, ticks and fleas: a street animal often has them.
- For a dog, leishmaniasis. This disease, carried by a small insect, is present in Morocco. In a study of 1,013 dogs in five northern provinces, 8.6% had antibodies, and it has also been found in southern provinces. A blood test detects it, often before any symptom.
- For a cat, FIV and FeLV. The American Association of Feline Practitioners recommends testing every cat that joins a home for these two viruses.
- Sterilisation, if it has not been done.
What it really costs each month
The adoption fee is the smallest cost. The real budget is monthly.
We recorded kibble prices at four Moroccan retailers in September 2026, then calculated what an animal eats from the energy needs published by FEDIAF, the European pet food industry federation. The price detail is in our food reference.
| What it eats | Kibble per month | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 kg cat | 1.5 to 2 kg a month | about 100 to 150 MAD |
| 10 kg dog | about 5 kg a month | about 250 MAD |
| 20 kg dog | about 8.5 kg a month | about 450 MAD |
How we calculated it. For a dog, FEDIAF uses an average of 110 kcal per kilo of metabolic body weight per day for a moderately inactive adult, about 620 kcal for 10 kilos and 1,040 kcal for 20 kilos. For a cat, between 75 and 100 kcal per kilo of metabolic body weight, depending on whether it is neutered and lives indoors. With kibble at about 3.7 kcal per gram (check the label of yours), and the median price of bags of 7 kilos and more for dogs (53 MAD a kilo, across 56 offers) and of bags of 2 kilos and more for cats (74 MAD a kilo, across 58 offers), you get the figures in the table. A small bag costs much more per kilo.
Add:
- Litter for a cat: about 8 MAD a litre at the median in our survey. See our litter guide.
- Vet care: vaccine boosters, parasite treatments, and at least one visit a year.
- A reserve for emergencies. An illness or an accident comes without warning, and has to be paid at once.
A commitment of more than ten years
In a study of more than 5,000 dogs under veterinary care in England, the median lifespan was 12 years. For cats, across more than 4,000 cats, it was 14 years. In both cases, crossbred animals lived a little longer than purebreds: 1.2 years more for dogs, 14 years against 12.5 for cats.
Before adopting, think about those years: moving house, your work, your travel, a family that may grow.
Are you ready to adopt?
Our compatibility test asks concrete questions about your home, your time, your budget and your experience. It tells you which animal fits your life, what to plan for, and sometimes that it is not the right time yet. It is an honest answer, not a verdict on you.
Take the test: are you ready to adopt?
Sources
- Dahir no. 1.26.55 of 28 July 2026 enacting law no. 19.25, Bulletin officiel no. 7533; text of the bill (articles 5, 12, 13 and 44) published by SPA du Maroc; Le Brief, 18 August 2026; Le360, 27 August 2026.
- Mchichates, Casablanca, "Adoptez un chat" page (contribution and cost of care), consulted 7 October 2026.
- Clay, L., Paterson, M., Bennett, P. C., Perry, G., & Phillips, C. J. C. (2020). Do Behaviour Assessments in a Shelter Predict the Behaviour of Dogs Post-Adoption? Animals. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10071225
- World Health Organization, rabies fact sheet (washing the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes).
- Darkaoui, S. et al. (2014). First trials of oral vaccination with rabies SAG2 dog baits in Morocco. Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research. https://doi.org/10.7774/cevr.2014.3.2.220
- ONSSA, "Action Stop Rage" campaign, September 2026, reported by Le Matin and Aujourd'hui le Maroc.
- Nejjar, R. et al. (1998). Canine leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum MON-1 in northern Morocco. Parasite. https://doi.org/10.1051/parasite/1998054325
- Boussaa, S. et al. (2014). Epidemiological Investigation of Canine Leishmaniasis in Southern Morocco. Advances in Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/104697
- Levy, J. K. et al. (2008). 2008 American Association of Feline Practitioners' feline retrovirus management guidelines. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2008.03.002
- FEDIAF, Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs (2025).
- Pettopia price survey at four Moroccan retailers, September 2026 (method).
- O'Neill, D. G. et al. (2013). Longevity and mortality of owned dogs in England. The Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.020
- O'Neill, D. G. et al. (2014). Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x14536176
