HOSTING ADOPTABLE CATS during special events helps retailers support rescue organizations in their communities while also creating new customers. These five businesses take such efforts a step further by setting aside space within their stores to foster full-time. They share tips on how to do this in a variety of square footages and with resources provided by brand and community partners.
End of the Leash
MUKWONAGO, WI
In The Kitty Room, litters of adoptable kittens play with toys, navigate wall obstacle courses and nap in cat trees. Owner Summer Street adds, “We test all new cat toys with our resident kittens and will post their interactions on our social media outlets.” Customers often pop in to enjoy the room, giving them a relaxing escape and helping the kittens socialize before adoption. Since July 2024, more than 65 kittens have gone to loving homes, with the room deep-cleaned and sanitized between each litter.
TIP: “You don’t need to have a giant space to do this,” Street says. “Our space is small, only 6 feet by 12 feet. It’s more than enough to create a wonderful environment for these litters.”
City of Paws Pet Care
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Passersby, customers and the cats themselves appreciate the location of this store’s double-cage adoption area. Since setting it up just inside the front window in February 2021, more than 250 cats have found their forever homes. The cages sit 3 to 6 feet off the ground, away from most shopping dogs, and each kitty has a “Meet the Cat” profile attached to their cage that includes vet records and adoption info. Customer volunteers visit twice daily to scoop litter, feed, and play with the adoptable pets.
TIP: Teaming up with brand reps helps cover in-store needs such as litter, food, treats, toys and bedding, owner Danny Offenbacher says. He adds that using Astro Loyalty’s Sharing the Love program, which provides free product bundles, helps turn adopters into regular customers.
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Firehouse Pet Shop
WENATCHEE, WA
At this store’s Search and Rescue Adoption Center, every detail shines. The 10-by-10-foot room has huge windows that look outside or into the store. Cats enjoy an 8-foot-tall custom driftwood tree donated by Scratch and Sniff Unique Cat Furniture, and local artist Lindsay Breidenthal painted a dreamy mural featuring former store cat Mr. Carmen watching over the room from atop a fluffy cloud. “These homey touches offer a calming spirit for both the guests and the cats,” owner Allen Larsen says. A complimentary coffee area nearby encourages lingering.
TIP: Capture each adoption and track the memories, Larson recommends, admitting that he wishes they’d kept better track of the estimated 1,000 cat adoptions from the Search and Rescue Adoption Room in the past decade.
Woofta Pet Shop
DICKINSON, ND
Adoptable cats from Bakken Paws Animal Rescue get socialization and meet with potential adopters at the in-store Molly’s Lounge. Owner Tasha Hermanson uses five Ferret Nation enclosures for up to 10 cats, who enjoy exercise and socialization with a wheel, trees, and window perches for catching some rays. “The rescue is foster based, but cats don’t get enough public attention being in people’s homes prior to adoption, so the cat room has been a way to get more cats into forever homes,” Hermanson says, adding that they average 40 adoptions a year. “It’s a huge draw for customers and those who want to donate.”
TIP: “Cat acclimation is super important,” Hermanson says. “We start with the cat in the Ferret Nation [cage] for a few days and then let them roam while other cats are put away, and slowly we can start introducing them all to each other.”
Forepaws
MINOOKA, IL
Styled as a cozy living room, this 800-square-foot adoption space features sliding-glass doors that let shoppers get a peek at up to 18 adoptable cats roaming freely. Owner Megan Kurzweil describes the partnership with local animal control like a foster system. “They own the cats, get them fixed, vaccinated, microchipped, and medically cleared for adoption,” she says, while “Forepaws feeds and cares for the cats.” In 3.5 years, more than 430 cats have found their forever homes through the adoption room.
TIP: “Sure, it costs a bit of money, but if you work with your brand reps, use the Astro adoption program, and buy during blitz orders, you can make the overhead mostly disappear,” Kurzweil says. “You are their best chance, so why not help?”
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