Cat Adoption Team works to connect homeless cats with loving new families and to support those relationships over time. Life is better with a cat, so we want to make life better for them!
CAT takes our role as feline experts seriously. With support from donors, volunteers, and our whole community, we work hard to deliver quality programs and services that make life better for cats and the people who care for them.
CAT is a limited-admission, adoption guarantee shelter. That means we only take in cats that we have the space and resources for, and that we commit to giving every cat we take in all the time and care they need to find a loving home. We offer enrichment, behavior modification, excellent veterinary care, and a variety of housing options to meet the individual needs of the cats and kittens in our charge.
In order to provide quality care and optimal chances at adoption, CAT has a limit to the number of cats and kittens our organization can care for at any one time. We don’t want to bring in more felines than we can manage in a healthy, respectful, loving way. Our goal is to meet the individual needs of each cat in our care while providing them the best possible chance of finding a new loving home. A majority of cats at CAT come in through our Nine Lives Transfer Program. However, if you’d like information about bringing a cat to CAT for adoption, please see our admissions information.
In addition to ensuring that all shelter cats and kittens are spayed or neutered prior to adoption, CAT also provides low-cost spay and neuter services for cats whose owners are struggling financially. Our clinic performs between 800-1,000 low-cost surgeries for owned cats each year.
More than 500 volunteers are part of a CAT community that works together every day to help make life better for homeless cats and kittens. Volunteers contribute their time, skills, and talents in areas as varied as socializing cats one-on-one to raising awareness at outreach events.
With the support of our donors, CAT helps local cat owners feed their beloved feline companions. We currently partner with Washington County Meals on Wheels to provide cat food to homebound clients and senior citizens on fixed income. Donations of dry or canned cat food are always welcome!
The following locations accept donations of cat food for the CAT Food Bank:
- CAT Sherwood shelter: 14175 SW Galbreath Dr, Sherwood
- Cat’s Exclusive Medical Center: 811 N Main St, Gresham
- Cat’s Meow Cat Clinic: 19743 S Hwy 213, Oregon City
- Frontier Park Veterinary Hospital: 4500 NE Cornell Rd, Hillsboro
- Gabriel Park Veterinary Clinic: 4421 SW Vermont St, Portland
- Healthy Pets: 16140 Boones Ferry Rd, Lake Oswego
- Morel Ink: 4824 NE 42nd Ave, Portland
- Murrayhill Veterinary Clinic: 14831 SW Teal Blvd, Beaverton
- Pet Loft: 6333 SW Macadam Ave, Portland
- Tualatin Petco: 8775 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd, Tualatin
- Western Pet Supply: 6908 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Portland
The CAT Helpline offers resources and advice to help cat owners and others who are struggling with a feline behavior or health problem or trying to rehome a cat. By connecting with these individuals, the CAT Helpline team offers support and information to help keep cats in their homes whenever possible. When necessary, Helpline counselors can also guide individuals in finding a new home for their cat or assist them with our admissions process.
One of CAT’s core values is to provide excellent veterinary care to the cats and kittens we serve. Our medical team includes veterinarians, certified vet technicians, and other trained personnel. The first animal shelter in Oregon to have on onsite veterinary hospital, our medical ward now features a surgical suite and prep room, private exam room, x-ray and laboratory services, and isolation wards to care for cats with infectious diseases.
Thanks to the support of our donors and the expertise of our hospital staff, we’re able to perform surgeries and procedures beyond routine medical care, including fracture repairs, urinary blockage corrections, and eye surgeries.
CAT’s nationally recognized kitten foster program provides temporary care for kittens too young for adoption and too vulnerable to be safely housed in the shelter. Once they are ready for adoption, foster kittens move into our adoption program. Foster homes are also vital to providing housing and care for adult cats. Cats and kittens may sometimes be adopted directly out of their foster homes; other times, they may return to CAT’s shelter or offsite locations for adoption.
CAT operates a thrift store in the Raleigh Hills neighborhood of Southwest Portland, Oregon. The CAT Thrift Store collects and resells donated new and gently used quality items to raise funds that support our cause. The Thrift Store also raises awareness about CAT, houses a”shelter ambassador” cat for adoption, and hosts and participates in community events to engage the public with our organization.
About 80 percent of the cats and kitten for adoption from CAT come from other shelters, rescue organizations, and veterinary clinics, including local county animal control services. We seek out and cultivate partnerships with other organizations to transfer at-risk cats and kittens into our shelter for adoption and care.
Our Nine Lives Transfer Partners include animal shelters and rescue groups in the Portland metro area, as well as others throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
As our local and regional communities increase their lifesaving, we’re able to assist communities from outside these areas to have a positive impact for cats nationwide.
CAT is a founding partner of the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP), a coalition of shelters and veterinary organizations. Working together, ASAP partner shelters have increased the save rate for cats in the Portland metro area for 46% to over 95% since 2006. CAT also works with other public and private shelters and animal welfare organizations in Oregon, Washington, and beyond.
