Cat Adoption Process

CAT’s Shelter: Prospective adopters can schedule an appointment to visit our Sherwood shelter in-person. You’ll be able to look at the available cats and kittens and then choose one or two to spend a little more time getting to know. If you decide to adopt, you’ll can submit your application while you’re here.

Online: Cats and kittens available for online adoptions have an online profile that includes photos, a brief bio, and sometimes video to help you get to know them as much as possible. For any animal listed as available for adoption on CAT’s website, you can click their photo and then click the “Adopt me” button on their profile to submit an application for that cat. (We do not have a general application option.)

Foster Homes: Foster cats and kittens available for adoption have an online profile on our website that includes photos, a brief bio, and sometimes video to help you get to know them as much as possible. Information about availability for in-person or virtual meet-and-greets, as well as the potential pick-up location will also be included in the profile. For any foster animal listed as available for adoption on CAT’s website, you can click their photo and then click the “Adopt me” button on their profile to submit an application for that kitten or cat. (We do not have a general application option.) 

Offsite Adoption Centers: For most offsite adoption locations, you don’t have to visit the adoption center to apply for a cat housed there. For cats housed at Petco or PetSmart stores, you will go through our online adoption process. Visit CAT’s website, scroll to the cat you wish to adopt, click their photo to open their profile, and then click the “Adopt me” button to submit an application for that specific cat. To meet and adopt cats housed at Purrington’s Cat Lounge, you must make an appointment to visit that location. 

Once an adoption is finalized, any remaining applicants will be notified by email that the cat is no longer available. At that point, we encourage you to revisit the Available Cats & Kittens page to see if another cat would be a good fit for you.

If we receive a large number of applications for a cat/kitten and yours isn’t among the first few, it may take a few days before you hear from us about the status of your application — but you will receive an email.

An adoption counseling session is the last step to finalizing your adoption. At this session, we’ll talk in detail about the cat you applied for and you can ask us questions to make sure the cat you selected is the right fit for you. We’ll also share general cat care info and discuss CAT’s adoption policies. (Please note that this session does not include a “meet and greet” with the cat—if you want to meet cats in-person, you can schedule a visit to our shelter visit or one of our our offsite adoption centers.)

Once the adoption is fully agreed upon, this session ends with signing the adoption contract and paying the adoption fee. You will then schedule time to pick up your new pet!

For virtual adoptions, your adoption counseling session will take place via Zoom, an online video conferencing system. We have an online process for signing your adoption contract, paying the adoption fee, and receiving adoption paperwork.

For in-person adoptions, you may meet with an adoption counselor at our shelter or we may schedule a virtual session depending on adoption counselor availability. You will sign your paperwork and pay your adoption fee at the time of your adoption counseling session.